SWD 1

Question 1

In the majoritarian model of democracy whose interest should the government be responsive to?

Answer 1

The Majority of the people

Question 2

In the Consensual mode of government, who would the government be responsive to?

Answer 2

As many people as possible

Question 3

Do Majoritarian systems represent the median voter well?

Answer 3

No, not when compare with a proportional election system

Question 4

What model assumes that voters make their choice on the basis of the performance of the incumbent

Answer 4

Policy mandate mode

Question 5

What is clarity of responsibility?

Answer 5

Which political party or coalition of parties is responsible for govt policy - ∴ important for policy mandate model

Question 6

How is there a blurring of the clarity of responsibility under a consensus model?

Answer 6

There is a reasonable chance that a party that has been voted out will be part of the new coalition given it will be broadly based

Question 7

What function do the two models of government optimise?

Answer 7

Majoritarian supposed to optimise accountability function

Consensus supposed to optimise the representation model