Midterm Flashcards
(148 cards)
1
Q
Politics is defined as
A
the ability to achieve goals in a political system and to have others do as you wish them to
2
Q
The power that political leaders have is said to come from:
A
the law and the electoral process
3
Q
Why should students study politics?
A
To understand how events and decisions affect us.
To learn about how people organize themselves in a social environment.
To understand why some individuals and groups may benefit from social and political institutions but others may not.
4
Q
This institution carries out the affairs and administration of a political system:
A
Government
5
Q
A fundamental goal of politics is
A
achieving fairness in society
6
Q
Harold Laswell defined ‘politics’ as:
A
Who gets what, when and how
7
Q
Conflict resolution refers to
A
the process in domestic or international affairs that aims to reconcile antagonism through mediation and negotiation
8
Q
The institution holds access to the legitimate use of force in its territory
A
The state
9
Q
Approaches used in the study of politics
A
Political philosophy
Canadian politics
International relations
Comparative politics
10
Q
Comparative politics is concerned with
A
making comparisons between countries to understand political events and problems
11
Q
This method of political studies relies on the scientific method of inquiry
A
behaviouralism
12
Q
The scientific approach of behaviouralism was criticized for
A
not sufficiently taking into account values and ideology
13
Q
The political economy approach
A
sees the political and economic spheres as tightly connected
14
Q
Ethnocentrism
A
the belief that one’s culture or group is superior to others.
15
Q
Political scientists maintain that politics affects
A
everyone, in every part of our lives
16
Q
Globalization is the intensification across borders, of
A
Economic, political, social and cultural relations
17
Q
Multinational corporations are
A
Corporate bodies that operate in more than a single country
18
Q
International politics is
A
the study of foreign policy and relations among states and other actors at the international level
19
Q
Political studies is not restricted to the study of nation-states, because
A
politics is not confined to territorial borders
20
Q
Political studies has found that
A
the borders of states do not necessarily divide countries. incorrect
countries may be closely connected despite being separate entities. incorrect
parts of countries may feel tighter connections to other countries, than their own country
21
Q
Citizenship is defined as:
A
the status of being a formal member of a state
22
Q
Canadian society has been described as
A
a mosaic
23
Q
The term “body politic” refers to
A
a political community
24
Q
In a political community, order refers to
A
when actors and interactions are marked by regularity and stability
25
The condition of order in a political community has the following trade-off
loss of freedom
26
Political studies defines agency as
the capacity of people to exercise their free will and act independently
27
When the exercise of power is divided among several government institutions in a state, we call this
the separation of powers
28
The three different forms of authority are
traditional, rational-legal, charismatic
29
When members in a political community accept those people in authority over them, we call this
legitimacy
30
A basic subject in political studies is considering the preference given to certain _______ over others
values
31
The equal status given to everyone's basic characteristics represents
social equality
32
Freedom from danger or injury is the value of
security
33
To ancient Greeks, the meaning of justice considered
the structure of society
34
A modern conception of the meaning of justice considers
economic systems
35
A government deciding not to legislate in a certain area is an example of
negative liberty
36
The social, political, cultural and economic ties that bind individuals together is referred to as
community
37
The concept of identity has traditionally considered national and regional considerations, but now also considers
one's personal identity
38
The term "philosophy", comes from an ancient Greek word, which translated means:
love of knowledge
39
Political philosophy seeks to understand
the nature of politics incorrect
the significance of political phenomena incorrect
what happens in the world
40
Philosopher Thomas Hobbes viewed humans as
selfish and aggressive
41
When political philosophy is described as a normative exercise, this is meaning
it seeks to explain what ought to be
42
Western medieval political philosophers were primarily concerned with
the relationship between political life and Christianity
43
The modern political philosopher, Niccolò Machiavelli, focused on the nature and use of:
power
44
The approach to politics which emphasizes power and interests over ideas and social constructions, is:
political realism
45
_______ provide roadmaps for understanding the world.
Ideologies
46
What components make up what an ideology is?
images
attitudes
values
47
A set of ideas that forms the basis of a political or economic system, is:
an ideology
48
Ideology differs from political theory, because unlike political theory, an ideology:
includes a call for action in the real world
49
In Western countries, this ideology is typically situated in the centre of the ideological spectrum:
liberalism
50
This ideology favours liberty, free trade and moderate political and social change:
liberalism
51
A key philosopher of the ideology of liberalism is:
John Locke
52
Classical liberalism supports _______ liberty; reform liberalism supports _______ liberty.
negative; positive
53
Liberalism philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, introduced the concept of:
the general will
54
The philosophy aiming to maximize the pleasure of individuals in society, is called:
utilitarianism
55
This ideology favours maintaining political and social traditions and customs:
conservatism
56
Representative democracy, is:
a political system in which voters elect others to act on their behalf.
57
The ideology of socialism emphasizes _______ over _______.
groups; the individual
58
In socialism, the class that owns the "means of production" and is seen as exploiting the working class, is called:
the bourgeoisie
59
This ideology represents an appeal to individuals to unite with each other based on the ties that bind them and set them apart from others:
nationalism
60
A criticism of nationalism is that it:
has been used to suppress individual rights and freedoms
61
A central ideal of the ideology of feminism is
equal treatment for women
62
Which stage of feminism argues that women should be free to define their own identities and their own conception of feminism?
"Third wave"
63
Which system of thought seeks to liberate those who have been restricted by traditional power structures?
Post-colonialism
64
Environmentalism has its roots in:
socialism
pacifism
romanticism
65
In everyday use, "fascism" refers to intolerance, when in fact the term is:
an ideology
66
Anarchism maintains that life would be more peaceful if:
there was no state
67
A government that is inspired by the religion of Islam, is called:
caliphate
68
Confucianism stresses the importance of:
social harmony
obedience
morality
69
Philosophical inquiry will remain separate and disconnected from the real world unless it _________________________.
reflects the realities of the human world
70
The job of political scientists is to _______________ the major strands of political philosophy and their impact on real-world debates and _______________ the intergenerational debate over their validity.
understand; participate in
71
At its most basic level, governments serve these two goals:
security; welfare
72
Which of the following is a reason states came about and exist?
A sense of shared interest and/or identity of people in a territory
73
_______ act as the authority in political systems.
Governments
74
To maintain control and power, a government must have:
the support of the people
75
Which of the following is NOT a primary objective of government to provide for its citizens?
Sovereignty
76
Sovereignty depends upon both domestic legitimacy and:
external recognition
77
In theory, in a "night-watchman state," the state's only role would be to:
ensure law and order
78
The four main categories of government activities are economic management, government aid and subsidies, institutional and bureaucratic regulation, and _______.
program development and administration
79
Rules of conduct imposed by government on its citizens and corporations are called:
regulations
80
In terms of the role of government, the "laissez-faire" approach supports:
a reduction in political control to benefit the economic system
81
Socialism maintains that the _______ should decide how economic benefits are distributed.
government
82
The removal of government controls in an economic sector is called:
deregulation
83
In theocracies, who rules the political system?
religious leaders
84
Main objectives of a government
maintaining the political system
adapting the political system
integrating interests and needs
goal-setting
85
In Canada, an example of goal-setting as a main objective of government, is:
the Speech from the Throne
86
A strategy of violence designed to bring about political change is:
terrorism
87
The philosopher Plato feared that democracy leads to:
mob rule
88
The basic law of a country, upon which all other laws are based, is the:
constitution
89
Constitutions:
set out the principal institutions of government for a country
90
In addition to their legal aspect, constitutions also represent a _______ of the nation.
symbol
91
The motto or key phrase of the Canadian Constitution, setting out the larger purpose for Canadian society, is:
Peace, order and good government.
92
The United States has a _______ constitution, the United Kingdom has an _______ constitution, and Canada has a _______ constitutions.
written; unwritten; mix of both
93
"Living document" is a term that means Constitutions:
may be changed
94
_______ is the idea that power in a political system is distributed among many different groups.
pluralism
95
Elements of liberal democracy
political freedom
equality of political rights
political participation
majority rule
96
Liberal democracy is fundamentally based on _______ ideas.
classical liberal
97
States that rely on the use of force to gain acceptance of the ruled and suppress dissent are called _______.
authoritarian
98
States that control most social interaction and seek to force their objectives and values on citizens, are called _______.
totalitarian
99
Canada, like the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, is a: _______.
liberal democracy
100
The two chambers of Canada's legislature, its federal parliament, are:
the House of Commons and the Senate
101
In Canada, the prime minister is the head of _______ and the Governor General is the head of _______.
government; state
102
A prime minister appoints a family friend to a powerful government position. This is an example of:
cronyism
103
The branch of government that maintains the leadership of the entire political system is:
the executive branch.
104
The branch of government that carries out public policy is the _______.
bureaucracy
105
"Responsible government" means that:
the executive branch needs the confidence of the legislative branch to govern.
106
A group of elected representatives, usually from the same political party, is called:
caucus
107
Party discipline is criticized for _______.
giving the party leader too much power
108
The legislative branch is said to have developed to _______.
reduce the power of the monarch or absolute ruler
109
In Canada, the Senate is referred to as a legislative chamber providing "sober second thought." This phrase means:
the Senate reviews House of Commons legislation.
110
Canadian provinces and territories have _______ legislatures.
unicameral
111
What is the greatest function that legislatures perform?
representation
112
A legal system where decisions are made based on precedent and case law, is known as:
common law
113
The main function of the judiciary?
Ruling on the constitutionality of public and private acts
Adjudicating disputes
Interpreting laws
114
The ability of the courts to review the constitutionality of legislation has been criticized for:
overturning the will of the elected legislative branch.
115
To perform their function of adjudicating disputes, courts must be perceived as _______.
independent
116
In their daily lives, most Canadians likely won't have direct contact with the executive and legislative branches of government. What will they more likely have contact with?
The bureaucracy
117
Those who work in the public service, carrying out the decisions of their political bosses, must do so in a _______ fashion.
neutral
118
The expertise found in the bureaucracy means that _______.
legislatures and executives delegate decision-making power to it
119
What does the presidential system of government have its origins in?
The American Revolution (1775-83)
120
What is the executive's (i.e., the president's) constitutional right to reject legislation called?
Veto
121
The Canadian parliamentary system relies on a _______ of powers, and the US presidential system relies on a _______ of powers.
fusion; separation
122
Political culture is _______
the attitudes, values, and beliefs that underpin a political system
123
The three major branches of Canadian government are set out in:
the Constitution
124
The form of governance that divides powers between a central government and regional governments is called _______.
federalism
125
In Canadian federalism, an important role of the judiciary is to:
ensure that legislation enacted at the provincial or federal levels is within the jurisdiction of that level of government
126
Which addition to Canada's Constitution gave the judicial branch of government new power?
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
127
In the Canadian legal system, _______.
higher law takes precedence over inferior law
128
Centralization of power refers to:
the concentration of power in a single body
129
In a confederal system, the regional or constituent governments are said to _______ the central government.
dominate
130
The _______ is an example of a confederal system.
European Union
131
When power and authority is given from the central government to regional or provincial governments, it is called _______.
decentralization
132
What political system is most common across the world?
Unitary systems
133
A central government may restore power lost to devolution via _______.
recentralization
134
A charge against unitary systems is that they _______.
inadequately reflect and promote culture and diversity
135
What is increasingly proposed as a solution to the problems of unitary systems?
Devolution
136
Though it is perhaps the most common critique of unitary systems, it is not true in practice that they are _______.
less democratic than other forms of political organization.
137
Federalism is commonly found in states with _______.
large territories
138
Centralized federalism is the process whereby _______.
the federal government increases its power relative to the power of the regional governments
139
What are federal systems criticized for?
Facing challenges maintaining equality between the regions
Possibility of instability
Difficulties in maintaining public security across a national territory
140
What is the document that established Canada as a federal state?
The British North America Act
141
The sharing of control between provincial and federal levels of government, is called _______.
concurrent powers
142
What is the term for the federal government's power to take control of a local project for the greater public good?
Declaratory power
143
What does "co-operative federalism" refer to?
The coordination of policy between the Canadian federal and provincial levels of government. correct
144
Why does the federal government routinely transfer funds to provincial governments?
Not all provinces have equal capacities to provide public services and programs correct
145
_______ are payments form the federal government that may be spent by the provinces in any manner they choose.
Unconditional grants
146
Provinces derive their power from the Constitution, and territories derive their power from _______.
the federal government
146
Sovereignty-association is:
a province or state acquiring independence from the federal government but retains strong links to the country.
147
