Midterm Flashcards
Politics is defined as
the ability to achieve goals in a political system and to have others do as you wish them to
The power that political leaders have is said to come from:
the law and the electoral process
Why should students study politics?
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.
This institution carries out the affairs and administration of a political system:
Government
A fundamental goal of politics is
achieving fairness in society
Harold Laswell defined ‘politics’ as:
Who gets what, when and how
Conflict resolution refers to
the process in domestic or international affairs that aims to reconcile antagonism through mediation and negotiation
The institution holds access to the legitimate use of force in its territory
The state
Approaches used in the study of politics
Political philosophy
Canadian politics
International relations
Comparative politics
Comparative politics is concerned with
making comparisons between countries to understand political events and problems
This method of political studies relies on the scientific method of inquiry
behaviouralism
The scientific approach of behaviouralism was criticized for
not sufficiently taking into account values and ideology
The political economy approach
sees the political and economic spheres as tightly connected
Ethnocentrism
the belief that one’s culture or group is superior to others.
Political scientists maintain that politics affects
everyone, in every part of our lives
Globalization is the intensification across borders, of
Economic, political, social and cultural relations
Multinational corporations are
Corporate bodies that operate in more than a single country
International politics is
the study of foreign policy and relations among states and other actors at the international level
Political studies is not restricted to the study of nation-states, because
politics is not confined to territorial borders
Political studies has found that
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
Citizenship is defined as:
the status of being a formal member of a state
Canadian society has been described as
a mosaic
The term “body politic” refers to
a political community
In a political community, order refers to
when actors and interactions are marked by regularity and stability
The condition of order in a political community has the following trade-off
loss of freedom
Political studies defines agency as
the capacity of people to exercise their free will and act independently
When the exercise of power is divided among several government institutions in a state, we call this
the separation of powers
The three different forms of authority are
traditional, rational-legal, charismatic
When members in a political community accept those people in authority over them, we call this
legitimacy
A basic subject in political studies is considering the preference given to certain _______ over others
values
The equal status given to everyone’s basic characteristics represents
social equality
Freedom from danger or injury is the value of
security
To ancient Greeks, the meaning of justice considered
the structure of society
A modern conception of the meaning of justice considers
economic systems
A government deciding not to legislate in a certain area is an example of
negative liberty
The social, political, cultural and economic ties that bind individuals together is referred to as
community
The concept of identity has traditionally considered national and regional considerations, but now also considers
one’s personal identity
The term “philosophy”, comes from an ancient Greek word, which translated means:
love of knowledge
Political philosophy seeks to understand
the nature of politics incorrect
the significance of political phenomena incorrect
what happens in the world
Philosopher Thomas Hobbes viewed humans as
selfish and aggressive
When political philosophy is described as a normative exercise, this is meaning
it seeks to explain what ought to be
Western medieval political philosophers were primarily concerned with
the relationship between political life and Christianity
The modern political philosopher, Niccolò Machiavelli, focused on the nature and use of:
power
The approach to politics which emphasizes power and interests over ideas and social constructions, is:
political realism
_______ provide roadmaps for understanding the world.
Ideologies
What components make up what an ideology is?
images
attitudes
values
A set of ideas that forms the basis of a political or economic system, is:
an ideology
Ideology differs from political theory, because unlike political theory, an ideology:
includes a call for action in the real world
In Western countries, this ideology is typically situated in the centre of the ideological spectrum:
liberalism
This ideology favours liberty, free trade and moderate political and social change:
liberalism
A key philosopher of the ideology of liberalism is:
John Locke
Classical liberalism supports _______ liberty; reform liberalism supports _______ liberty.
negative; positive
Liberalism philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, introduced the concept of:
the general will
The philosophy aiming to maximize the pleasure of individuals in society, is called:
utilitarianism
This ideology favours maintaining political and social traditions and customs:
conservatism
Representative democracy, is:
a political system in which voters elect others to act on their behalf.
The ideology of socialism emphasizes _______ over _______.
groups; the individual
In socialism, the class that owns the “means of production” and is seen as exploiting the working class, is called:
the bourgeoisie
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
A criticism of nationalism is that it:
has been used to suppress individual rights and freedoms
A central ideal of the ideology of feminism is
equal treatment for women
Which stage of feminism argues that women should be free to define their own identities and their own conception of feminism?
“Third wave”
Which system of thought seeks to liberate those who have been restricted by traditional power structures?
Post-colonialism
Environmentalism has its roots in:
socialism
pacifism
romanticism
In everyday use, “fascism” refers to intolerance, when in fact the term is:
an ideology
Anarchism maintains that life would be more peaceful if:
there was no state
A government that is inspired by the religion of Islam, is called:
caliphate
Confucianism stresses the importance of:
social harmony
obedience
morality
Philosophical inquiry will remain separate and disconnected from the real world unless it _________________________.
reflects the realities of the human world
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
At its most basic level, governments serve these two goals:
security; welfare
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
_______ act as the authority in political systems.
Governments
To maintain control and power, a government must have:
the support of the people
Which of the following is NOT a primary objective of government to provide for its citizens?
Sovereignty
Sovereignty depends upon both domestic legitimacy and:
external recognition
In theory, in a “night-watchman state,” the state’s only role would be to:
ensure law and order
The four main categories of government activities are economic management, government aid and subsidies, institutional and bureaucratic regulation, and _______.
program development and administration
Rules of conduct imposed by government on its citizens and corporations are called:
regulations
In terms of the role of government, the “laissez-faire” approach supports:
a reduction in political control to benefit the economic system
Socialism maintains that the _______ should decide how economic benefits are distributed.
government
The removal of government controls in an economic sector is called:
deregulation
In theocracies, who rules the political system?
religious leaders
Main objectives of a government
maintaining the political system
adapting the political system
integrating interests and needs
goal-setting
In Canada, an example of goal-setting as a main objective of government, is:
the Speech from the Throne
A strategy of violence designed to bring about political change is:
terrorism
The philosopher Plato feared that democracy leads to:
mob rule
The basic law of a country, upon which all other laws are based, is the:
constitution
Constitutions:
set out the principal institutions of government for a country
In addition to their legal aspect, constitutions also represent a _______ of the nation.
symbol
The motto or key phrase of the Canadian Constitution, setting out the larger purpose for Canadian society, is:
Peace, order and good government.
The United States has a _______ constitution, the United Kingdom has an _______ constitution, and Canada has a _______ constitutions.
written; unwritten; mix of both
“Living document” is a term that means Constitutions:
may be changed
_______ is the idea that power in a political system is distributed among many different groups.
pluralism
Elements of liberal democracy
political freedom
equality of political rights
political participation
majority rule
Liberal democracy is fundamentally based on _______ ideas.
classical liberal
States that rely on the use of force to gain acceptance of the ruled and suppress dissent are called _______.
authoritarian
States that control most social interaction and seek to force their objectives and values on citizens, are called _______.
totalitarian
Canada, like the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, is a: _______.
liberal democracy
The two chambers of Canada’s legislature, its federal parliament, are:
the House of Commons and the Senate
In Canada, the prime minister is the head of _______ and the Governor General is the head of _______.
government; state
A prime minister appoints a family friend to a powerful government position. This is an example of:
cronyism
The branch of government that maintains the leadership of the entire political system is:
the executive branch.
The branch of government that carries out public policy is the _______.
bureaucracy
“Responsible government” means that:
the executive branch needs the confidence of the legislative branch to govern.
A group of elected representatives, usually from the same political party, is called:
caucus
Party discipline is criticized for _______.
giving the party leader too much power
The legislative branch is said to have developed to _______.
reduce the power of the monarch or absolute ruler
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.
Canadian provinces and territories have _______ legislatures.
unicameral
What is the greatest function that legislatures perform?
representation
A legal system where decisions are made based on precedent and case law, is known as:
common law
The main function of the judiciary?
Ruling on the constitutionality of public and private acts
Adjudicating disputes
Interpreting laws
The ability of the courts to review the constitutionality of legislation has been criticized for:
overturning the will of the elected legislative branch.
To perform their function of adjudicating disputes, courts must be perceived as _______.
independent
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
Those who work in the public service, carrying out the decisions of their political bosses, must do so in a _______ fashion.
neutral
The expertise found in the bureaucracy means that _______.
legislatures and executives delegate decision-making power to it
What does the presidential system of government have its origins in?
The American Revolution (1775-83)
What is the executive’s (i.e., the president’s) constitutional right to reject legislation called?
Veto
The Canadian parliamentary system relies on a _______ of powers, and the US presidential system relies on a _______ of powers.
fusion; separation
Political culture is _______
the attitudes, values, and beliefs that underpin a political system
The three major branches of Canadian government are set out in:
the Constitution
The form of governance that divides powers between a central government and regional governments is called _______.
federalism
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
Which addition to Canada’s Constitution gave the judicial branch of government new power?
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In the Canadian legal system, _______.
higher law takes precedence over inferior law
Centralization of power refers to:
the concentration of power in a single body
In a confederal system, the regional or constituent governments are said to _______ the central government.
dominate
The _______ is an example of a confederal system.
European Union
When power and authority is given from the central government to regional or provincial governments, it is called _______.
decentralization
What political system is most common across the world?
Unitary systems
A central government may restore power lost to devolution via _______.
recentralization
A charge against unitary systems is that they _______.
inadequately reflect and promote culture and diversity
What is increasingly proposed as a solution to the problems of unitary systems?
Devolution
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.
Federalism is commonly found in states with _______.
large territories
Centralized federalism is the process whereby _______.
the federal government increases its power relative to the power of the regional governments
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
What is the document that established Canada as a federal state?
The British North America Act
The sharing of control between provincial and federal levels of government, is called _______.
concurrent powers
What is the term for the federal government’s power to take control of a local project for the greater public good?
Declaratory power
What does “co-operative federalism” refer to?
The coordination of policy between the Canadian federal and provincial levels of government. correct
Why does the federal government routinely transfer funds to provincial governments?
Not all provinces have equal capacities to provide public services and programs correct
_______ are payments form the federal government that may be spent by the provinces in any manner they choose.
Unconditional grants
Provinces derive their power from the Constitution, and territories derive their power from _______.
the federal government
Sovereignty-association is:
a province or state acquiring independence from the federal government but retains strong links to the country.
