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A series of exercises and questions related to political science concepts, covering topics such as scientific statements, logical arguments, and game theory. It includes examples and scenarios to illustrate key principles and encourages critical thinking and analysis. Suitable for students studying political science at the university level.
Typology: Exams
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Scientists never prove that their theories are correct. - ANSWER True
Scientific statements are falsifiable. - ANSWER True
The empirical implications (hypotheses) that follow from our theory should be tested on the 'puzzling observation' that started our scientific investigation in the first place. - ANSWER false
Major Premise: If the president commits a criminal act, then he can be impeached. Minor Premise: The president does not commit a criminal act. Conclusion: Therefore, the president cannot be impeached.
What form does this argument take? - ANSWER Denying the antecedent.
Is this a valid argument? - ANSWER No
Major Premise: If the president commits a criminal act, then he can be impeached. Minor Premise: The president cannot be impeached. Conclusion: Therefore, the president has not committed a criminal act.
What form does this argument take? - ANSWER Denying the consequent
Is this a valid argument? - ANSWER Yes.
Major Premise: If a country employs proportional representation electoral rules, it will
have many parties. Minor Premise: The country does not employ proportional representation electoral rules. Conclusion: Therefore, the country does not have many parties.
What form does this argument take? - ANSWER Denying the antecedent.
Is this a valid argument? - ANSWER No
Smoking increases the probability of getting cancer. Is this a scientific statement? - ANSWER Yes
The sun revolves around the earth. Is this a scientific statement? - ANSWER Yes
Education spending increases under left-wing governments. Is this a scientific statement? - ANSWER Yes
Iceland is a country. Is this a scientific statement? - ANSWER No.
Religious faith assures a person a place in the afterlife. Is this a scientific statement? - ANSWER No
Democracies are less likely to go to war than dictatorships. Is this a scientific statement? - ANSWER Yes
Are the conditions shown in capital letters necessary or sufficient to produce the effects shown?
If a person contracts measles, then she was EXPOSED TO THE MEASLES VIRUS. - ANSWER Necessary.
Are the conditions shown in capital letters necessary or sufficient to produce the effects shown?
Consider the Exit, Voice, andLoyalty game mentioned in the previous question.If E = 0. and L = 2, can the Governmentchoose a value of C such that the Citizen will choose to exit (rather than use voice or remain loyal)? - ANSWER Yes
Consider the general Exit, Voice, and Loyalty game. What is required for a citizen to be able to easily influence the Government? - ANSWER The citizen must have a credible exit threat (E > 0), the governmentmust be dependent (L > 1), and voice must not be too costly (C < 1-E)
One of the insights from the Exit, Voice, and Loyalty game is that it can be difficult to figure out who has power and who does not simply by observing their actions in the real world. - ANSWER True
According to the Exit, Voice, and Loyalty argument, what type of activity are people engaging in when they switchpolitical parties? - ANSWER Exit
Drawing on the insights from the Exit, Voice, and Loyalty game examined in Chapter 3, what can we infer when we see governmentsignoring the demands of their citizens? For example, if we know that the average North Korean citizen stays in North Korea and is badly treated by the government, and we also see the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ignoring his citizens, then we can infer: - ANSWER We can't assume anything about whether the governmentis autonomous or dependent, but we can assume that the citizens do not have a credible exitthreat.
What is the subgame perfect Nash equilibrium or equilibria of the game shown here?(Note: if a player is indifferent, then either option is a reasonable choice. When marking the choices, mark all reasonable choices. For example, in the game below, P is indifferent between choosing 'u' or 'd' at the upper choice node. When writing the equilibrium, they need to be written separately -one equilibrium with P2's choice of 'u' at the top node, and one equilibrium with P2's choice of 'd' at the topnode.) - ANSWER (D; u, u) (D; d, u)
What is the subgame perfect Nash equilibrium or equilibria of the game shown here? - ANSWER (R; r, l) (L; r, l)
What is the Nash equilibrium or equilibria in the following game? - ANSWER (D; d)
What is the Nash equilibrium or equilibria in the following game? - ANSWER (U; u)(D; d)
What is the Nash equilibrium or equilibria in the following game? - ANSWER (U; u) (D; d)
What is the Nash equilibrium or equilibria in the following game? - ANSWER (U; d)
Stag Hunt Game:The story of the stag hunt is that two hunters are hunting a deer in the forest. Itrequires the cooperation of both hunters to capture the deer, which can feedthe entire village. Instead of cooperating, though, the hunters can choose to defect to capture a rabbit, which will feed only their own family. Hunters prefer to cooperate and capture the deer, but do not want to be left waiting for their comradeif he or she runs off to get a rabbit. The preference ordering for player 1 is the following: CC>DC>DD>CDThe preference ordering for player 2 is the following: CC>CD>DD>DC C=cooperate (deer), D=defect (rabbit). We list player 1's action first, then player 2's action,i.e. CD means player 1 chooses C and player 2 choosesD. Examine the matrix below.Using the ordinal payoffs (4, 3, 2, 1), fill in the payoff matrix. - ANSWER (C; C) (D;D)
Game of Chicken (or the game from the film 'Footloose'or "Rebel without a Cause')Story: I am one of two drivers racing down adeserted road, and you are the other. We are racing straight at each other. Our friends are watching us to see who has more guts. I want you to swerve while I keep going. If you swerve, you are a chicken and I gainstatus among our peers. If both of us swerve, then it's an OK outcome because neither of us gains or losesrespect, and we both may gain some respect with everyone else just because we played. If I swerve and youdon't, then I am chicken and lose status among
When would states prefer to use TFH as opposed to other repressive state agents (e.g. police, military)? - ANSWER All of the above arereasons why states would prefer to use TFH.
Ong argues that local governments in China use TFH to evict homeowners and expropriate farmland because: - ANSWER -It helps them prevent a small number of citizens from blocking a neighborhood removal project.
-It allows local government officials to profit illegally from expropriation of farmland.
-It allows them to remain formally unconnected with the policy.
The DDmeasure of democracy classifies a country as a democracy if (i) thechief executive is elected, (ii) the legislature are elected, (iii) more than one partycompetes, and (iv) there has been an alternation in power. The Freedom House measureclassifies a country's level of "freedom" based on many criteria, including whether thegovernment is accountable, the level of corruption, if minorities are autonomous, if peopleare treated equally under the law, if they have equality of opportunity and so on. Say youhad the following hypothesis:Governments are less corrupt in democracies than in non-democracies.If you want your hypothesis to be falsifiable, which measure of democracy should youuse? - ANSWER Should use DD.
Say you had the following hypothesis:Democracies are more likely than dictatorships to join international organizations.If you want your hypothesis to be falsifiable, which measure of democracy should you use? - ANSWER Could use either measure and the hypothesis would be falsifiable.
DDclassifies countries as democracies or dictatorships. Their measure ofdemocracy is a(n): - ANSWER Nominal measure.
Imagine that the true value of economic inequality in country X is 4, on a scale from 1-10. Say there are fourpeople who code the level of economic inequality in country X using two different measures of inequality,A and B. Measure A yields values of 2, 3, 5, and 6. Measure B yields values 6, 6, 7, and 6. Is MeasureA or Measure B a more reliablemeasure of democracy in country X? - ANSWER B is more reliable.
Imagine that the true value of democracy in country X is 5. Say there are four people
who code the level ofdemocracy in country X using two different measures of democracy, A and B. Measure A yields valuesof 3, 4, 6, and 7. Measure B yields values 6, 6, 7, and 6. Is Measure A or Measure B a more validmeasure of democracy in country X?
A minimalist conceptualization of democracy classifies a country as being democratic if it: - ANSWER as certain institutions
Consider the examples provided in Kellam's essay. Is it possible for countries be classified as democracies (by standard measures such as Polity) if their media freedom is considered to be "not free"? - ANSWER Yes.
A great deal of empirical evidence indicates that there is a strong association between wealth and democracy. This is what would be predicted by: - ANSWER Modernization theory and survival story
Modernization theory predicts that the likelihood of a transition to democracy increases with wealth, while the survival story predicts that thelikelihood of becoming a democracy is unrelated to wealth. - ANSWER True
According to the variant of modernization theory presented in Chapter 6, why did England develop a limited form of government in early modern Europe while France developed an absolutist and autocratic form of government? - ANSWER The English king had to negotiate with a new type of economic elite (who possessed mobile assets) while the French king did not.
According to the implications of the Exit, Voice, and Loyalty game in Chapter 6, giving foreign aid to dictatorships is likely to: - ANSWER Reduce the welfare of the average citizen in these countries and stabilize dictatorial rule.
The predictions of modernization theory are best described by which statement? - ANSWER Countries are more likely to become and remain democratic as wealth increases.
Preference falsification' makes revolutions unpredictable andmakes revolutions seem inevitable after they have occurred. - ANSWER True
German reunification took place in October, 1990. This refers to the reunification of: - ANSWER East Germany and West Germany.
Portugal, Spain, and Greece experienced transitions to democracy in which decade? - ANSWER 1970s.
Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay experienced transitions to democracy in which decade? - ANSWER 1980s.
South Korea experienced a transition to democracy in which decade? - ANSWER 1980s
The violent repression of citizens protesting in favor of democracy in Tiananmen Square in June 1989 occurred in which country? - ANSWER China.
Which country invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to prop up a communist government against Islamic rebels (who were funded at the time by the United States)? - ANSWER The Soviet Union.
Based on the cardinal payoffs shown in the figure above, what is the preference ordering for the Regime over the three possible outcomes? - ANSWER Democratic Consolidation > Continued Dictatorship > New Religious Dictatorship
Based on the cardinal payoffs shown in the figure above, what is the preference ordering for theModerate Religious Party over the three possible outcomes? - ANSWER Democratic Consolidation > New Religious Dictatorship > Continued Dictatorship
Based on thecardinal payoffs shown in the figure above, what is the preference ordering for theRadical Religious Party over the three possible outcomes? - ANSWER New Religious Dictatorship > Democratic Consolidation > Continued Dictatorship
Solve the subgame on the left (where the Religious Party is moderate)as if there were nouncertainty. What is the subgame perfect Nash equilibrium? - ANSWER (hold elections; pursue moderate policy)
Now that you have solved the subgame on the left, what is the expected outcome? - ANSWER Democratic consolidation
Solve the subgame on the right (where the Religious Partyis radical) as if there were no uncertainty. What is the subgame perfect Nash equilibrium? - ANSWER (cancel elections; pursue radical policy)
Now that you have solved the subgame on the right, what is the expected outcome? - ANSWER Continued Dictatorship
What is the expected payoff for the Regime if they choose to Cancel Elections? - ANSWER 20
What is the expected payoff for the Regime if they choose to Hold Elections? - ANSWER 5+20p
Use the expected payoffs from the two previous questions to calculate the critical probability that the Regime will use to choose whether to hold elections rather than cancel them. The critical probability is: - ANSWER 0.
If the Regime believes that the Religious Party is moderate witha probability of 0.75, will it choose to hold elections, cancel elections, or will it be indifferent between these two actions? - ANSWER Be indifferent
If the Regime believes that the Religious Party is moderate with a probability of 0.8, will
If an analyst is interested in whether the amount of electoral competitiveness varies across different types of dictatorships, which typology of dictatorships would be appropriate to use? - ANSWER One that defines different types of dictatorships according to how the dictator comes to power and maintains it.
According to recent research, if dictatorial regimes hold elections, they are more likely to: - ANSWER Survive longer (have a more stable dictatorship).
What problem(s) of authoritarian rules exist in all dictatorships? - ANSWER It is difficult to set up a credible power-sharing agreement between the dictator and the dictator's support coalition.
t is difficult to control the masses (because a strong military can repress but can also rebel, and co-opting the masses is not always affordable).
What is the basic assumption behind the Selectorate theory? - ANSWER That all political leaders are motivated by the desire to gain and maintain office.
According to BDM2S2, what is the Winning Coalition? - ANSWER The group of people who keep the leader in power.
According to BDM2S2, what is the Selectorate? - ANSWER These are all of the people who could select the leader.
If members of a winning coalition get "paid" with things like national security, rule of law, primary and secondary education, then this is an example of the government providing: - ANSWER public goods.
If members of a winning coalition get "paid" with things like money, special legal protections or special business advantages, then this is an example of the government providing: - ANSWER private goods
When will leaders have an incentive to provide public goods? - ANSWER When W is large
According to the Selectorate theory, when are the members of the winning coalition likely to have the highest loyalty to their leader? - ANSWER When W/S is small
If you were the leader, what type of institutions would you want to set up (assuming that you wanted to stay in power)? - ANSWER Institutions that would generate a small W and a small W/S.
Suppose that a leader raises $1 billion in tax revenue. Assume that the leader can supply public goods worth $2000 to each individual in society if he spends all of this tax revenue on providing public goods. Assume also that the size of the winning coalition is 750,000. If the leader were to spend all of the tax revenue on providing private goods, what would the maximum value of the private goods be for each member of the winning coalition if we assume that they all receive the same amount? - ANSWER $
Would the leader prefer to provide only public goods or only private goods? - ANSWER public goods
Now suppose that the size of the winning coalition is 250,000. Keep everything else the same. If the leader were now to spend all of the tax revenue on providing private goods, what would the maximum value of the private goods be for each member of the winning coalition? - ANSWER $
Based on your answer to the previous question, would the leader prefer to provide only public goods or only private goods in this situation? - ANSWER private goods
In the children's game of Rock, Paper, and Scissors, two children simultaneously choose to play "rock", "paper", or "scissors". Rock beats scissors, paper beats rock, and scissors beat paper. Let's say that you prefer the winner in each of these pair-wise comparisons. That is, you prefer rock to scissors, scissors to paper, and paper to rock. Is your preference ordering complete? - ANSWER Yes.
Is your preference ordering, as described in the previous question, transitive? - ANSWER No.
According to Arrow's Theorem, there is only one way to design a decision-making process to guarantee that all four fairness conditions are met and avoid group intransitivity at the same time. - ANSWER False.
If a country has an elected president, then we necessarily consider it to be a presidential regime. - ANSWER False.
Is it possible to have a monarch as a head of state in a democracy? - ANSWER Yes, this can occur in parliamentary democracies
When we talk about 'the government' in terms of distinguishing parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems we mean: - ANSWER The cabinet (made up of the prime minister or president and the other ministers).
If the opposition in the legislature proposes a vote on whether or not the current government should stay in power, then this is an example of: - ANSWER A no confidence vote.
If an incoming government must face a formal vote before it can officially take office, this is referred to as: - ANSWER An investiture vote.
Which of the following statements best describes a vote of confidence? - ANSWER A government declares that a vote on a particular piece of legislation is also a vote of support for the government itself; if the legislators do not support the legislation, then the government will resign.
In September 2017, the government in Peru had to resign after losing a no-confidence vote. The Peruvian president is popularly elected. Based on these two pieces of information, is Peru a presidential, parliamentary, or semi-presidential democracy? - ANSWER Semi-presidential.
Based on the following information from the Irish constitution, is Ireland presidential,
parliamentary or semi- presidential? •Article 12: There shall be a President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann), hereinafter called the President, who shall take precedence over all other persons in the State and who shall exercise and perform the powers and functions conferred on the President by this Constitution and by law. The President shall be elected by direct vote of the people. •Article 13: The President shall, on the nomination of the Dáil Éireann, appoint the Taoiseach, that is, the head of the Government or Prime Minister. The president shall, on the nomination of the Taoiseach with the previous approval of Dáil Éireann, appoint the other members of the Government. The President shall, on the advice of the Taoiseach, accept the resignation or terminate the appointment of any member of the Government. Dáil Éireann shall - ANSWER Semi-presidential.
Based on the following information from the 1980 Chilean constitution, is Chile presidential, parliamentary or semi- presidential? •Article 4: Chile is a democratic republic. •Article 24: The government and administration of the State are vested in the President of the Republic, who is the Chief of the State. •Article 25: The President of the Republic shall hold office for a term of eight years and may not be reelected for the consecutive period. Article 26: The President shall be elected by direct ballot, with an absolute majority of the votes validly cast. •Article 32: The special powers vested in the President of the Republic are the following:... To appoint, and remove at will Ministers of State, Undersecretaries, Intendants, Governors and Mayors appointed by him. •Article 33: The Ministers of State are the direct and immediate collaborators of the President of the Republic in governing and administering the St - ANSWER Presidential.
Legislative elections were held in Finland on March 18, 2007. Eight parties won seats in parliament. Look at Table 1 below. Based on what you learned in Chapter 12 and the information in Table 1, the leader of which party is likely to be appointed formateur? - ANSWER Center Party.
Look at Table 2 below with results from the 1996 legislative elections in Ecuador. Based on the results in Table 2, from which party would you expect the formateur to come if Ecuador were a parliamentary democracy? - ANSWER Social Christian Party.
Consider Table 2 again and note that Ecuador is in fact a presidential democracy. In the 1996 presidential elections, Abdalá Bucaram Ortz of the Ecuadorian Roldosista Party (PRE) was elected president ahead of Jaime Nebot Saadi of the Social Christian Party
What is the district magnitude in a single-member district? - ANSWER 1.
Is it possible for a candidate to win in a majoritarian electoral system, such as single-member district plurality (SMDP), without receiving a majority of the votes? - ANSWER Yes.
SMDP systems are sometimes criticized because they: - ANSWER Can produce very unrepresentative electoral outcomes at the district level.
The most common method used for electing presidents in the world today is the majority-runoff two-round system. - ANSWER True
The supplementary vote system is cheaper for election officials to administer than majority runoff two-round systems are. - ANSWER True
What is (are) the key difference(s) between majoritarian and proportional representation (PR) electoral systems? - ANSWER In majoritarian systems, the winning candidate must win a majority or plurality of the vote, while this is not necessary in PR systems.
We can characterize all proportional representation systems as those with multi-member districts and in which either a quota or a divisor is used to determine which candidates are elected in a district. - ANSWER True.
All proportional electoral systems have natural thresholds. Some have formal thresholds written into the electoral law as well. - ANSWER True
Which type of party list gives the most power to the party leadership (over the individual candidates)? - ANSWER Closed party list.
What is a mixed electoral system? - ANSWER It is when your electoral system uses both
a majoritarian formula and a proportional formula.
Countries with electoral tiers above the district level are typically more favorable to smaller parties. - ANSWER True.
Which of the following is not a function of political parties? - ANSWER To serve as a link between different branches of government
What is the difference between a party and an interest group? - ANSWER Parties seek to attain power, while interest groups only seek to influence policy
Which of the following are types of party systems found in democracies around the world? - ANSWER Two-party system.
Multiparty system.
Electoral systems with higher district magnitudes are said to be more proportional than those with lower district magnitudes. - ANSWER True.
The effective number of electoral parties is a measure of how many parties win votes, whereas the effective number of legislative parties is a measure of how many parties win seats. - ANSWER True
What is the most direct consequence of the mechanical effect of electoral laws? - ANSWER Small parties are punished, while larger parties are rewarded.
The effective number of political parties in a society is determined by the permissiveness of the electoral system, as well as by the total number of cleavages in the society. - ANSWER True
Duverger's theory predicts that if a country with a heterogeneous society ( many cleavages)uses permissive electoral rules, then it is likely to have few parties - ANSWER False.