Final Exam

Question 1

What is the difference between a state and a regime?

Answer 1

State overall system (example: US, Denmark, Sierra Leone)

Regime: style of government that the state has.

Question 2

We all know what a democracy is, but what are the 3 characteristics of a democracy?

Answer 2

• Accountability: elections, impeachment, turnover (has to do with a two-party system)
• participation: universal suffrage and the free right to vote
• Contestation: elections are not rigged and have more than 1 party represented

Question 3

How do we measure democracy?

Answer 3

Polity IV scale, or democracy with adjectives (ex. liberal democracy; illiberal democracy)

Question 4

Why do most larger states (Ex. United States) tend to be federal?

Answer 4

you can divide some responsibility to the state( ex. Federal: President; State of Virginia: Senator; City of Staunton: Mayor)

Question 5

What kinds of dilemnas can federalism help fix in a democratic state?

Answer 5

Better representation because of multiple levels (Ex. Ohio is majority Caucasian versus Florida is majority Hispanic)

• Ethnic representation
• redistribution effect (ex. poorer states can share the wealth)

Question 6

What causes regime change?

Answer 6

• a change in civic culture
• economic change
• military

(look in notes that we took on the 9 of February)