BSocSc Bachelor of Social Science Bachelor of Social Science Political Science 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which international organization was established after World War II with the primary goal of maintaining international peace and security?
- World Trade Organization
- International Monetary Fund
- United Nations (Correct answer)
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Correct answer: United Nations
The United Nations was founded in 1945 with the central mission of preventing future world wars and maintaining international peace and security through collective security mechanisms.
Question 2: What is 'path dependency' in the study of political institutions?
- Countries following similar democratic trajectories
- The tendency for institutional choices to persist and constrain future options (Correct answer)
- International diffusion of policy models
- Electoral systems evolving toward proportional representation
Correct answer: The tendency for institutional choices to persist and constrain future options
Path dependency describes how early institutional decisions create self-reinforcing mechanisms that make alternative paths increasingly costly, causing institutions to persist over time.
Question 3: Which model of democracy emphasizes citizen participation and deliberation over mere electoral competition?
- Elitist democracy
- Deliberative democracy (Correct answer)
- Competitive democracy
- Illiberal democracy
Correct answer: Deliberative democracy
Deliberative democracy, associated with Jürgen Habermas and others, prioritizes informed public reasoning and discourse as essential to legitimate democratic decision-making.
Question 4: What is the primary argument of 'democratic peace theory'?
- Democracies are more militarily powerful than autocracies
- Democracies rarely go to war with other democracies (Correct answer)
- Democratic transitions always lead to regional stability
- Economic interdependence prevents all interstate wars
Correct answer: Democracies rarely go to war with other democracies
Democratic peace theory holds that liberal democracies almost never go to war with each other, due to shared norms, transparency, and institutional constraints on leaders.
Question 5: Which concept describes the informal rules and norms that constrain political behavior within a regime, distinct from formal constitutional rules?
- Constitutional entrenchment
- Institutional complementarity
- Informal institutions (Correct answer)
- Regime consolidation
Correct answer: Informal institutions
Informal institutions are socially shared rules not created or enforced through official channels but which nevertheless powerfully shape political behavior and outcomes.
Question 6: In U.S. politics, what does the term 'divided government' refer to?
- States with conflicting laws versus federal law
- One party controls the presidency while the other controls at least one chamber of Congress (Correct answer)
- Deep ideological polarization within a single party
- Conflicts between federal courts and the legislature
Correct answer: One party controls the presidency while the other controls at least one chamber of Congress
Divided government occurs when the executive branch and at least one chamber of the legislative branch are controlled by different political parties, often leading to gridlock.
Question 7: Which approach to comparative politics focuses on how broad historical and structural factors shape political outcomes across nations?
- Rational choice institutionalism
- Historical-structural approach (Correct answer)
- Behavioral approach
- Formal modeling
Correct answer: Historical-structural approach
The historical-structural approach examines how long-run historical processes, class structures, and economic development patterns produce different political regimes and outcomes.
BSocSc Bachelor of Social Science Bachelor of Social Science Political Science 4
Which international organization was established after World War II with the primary goal of maintaining international peace and security?