Unit One: Advanced Democracies Flashcards

0
Q

What is modernism?

A

A set of values that comes along with industrialization

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1
Q

What is social capital?

A

Reciprocity and trust that exists among citizens, and between citizens and the state

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2
Q

What are values of modernism?

A
  • secularism (an emphasis on non-religious aspects of life)
  • rationalism (reasoning)
  • materialism (valuing concrete objects and possessions)
  • technology
  • bureaucracy
  • an emphasis on freedom rather than collective equality
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3
Q

What are some examples of post-modern values?

A
  • preservation of the environment

- promotion of health care and education

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4
Q

What industries are included in the service sector?

A
  • technology
  • health care
  • business and legal services
  • finance
  • education
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5
Q

Who does the industrial sector employ?

A

People to create tangible goods such as cars, clothing, or machinery

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6
Q

What countries does NAFTA bind?

A

United States, Canada, and Mexico

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7
Q

What is a rational-legal authority?

A

A system of well-established laws and procedures

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8
Q

What does the Magna Carta form?

A

The basis of limited government that placed restrictions on the power of monarchs

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9
Q

What is common law?

A

Legal system based on local customs and precedent rather than formal legal codes

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10
Q

What is insularity?

A

The feeling of separation

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11
Q

What is noblesse oblige?

A

The duty of the upper classes to take responsibility for the welfare of the lower classes

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12
Q

What are England’s geographic features?

A
  • it’s an island
  • it has a small size (limits resources)
  • it has a short supply of fertile soil and a short growing season (limits Britain’s ability to feed its population)
  • it has a temperate climate, but is cold, chilly, and rainy
  • it has no major geographical barriers
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13
Q

What happened with the Great Reform Act of 1832?

A

About 300,000 more men gained the right to vote, and the House of Commons gained more power in relation to the House of Lords

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14
Q

What happened with the Reform Act of 1867?

A

The electorate reached 3,000,000 as many working class people were given the right to vote

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15
Q

What happened with the Representation of the People Act of 1884?

A

The electorate was further expanded so that the majority of the voters were working class

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16
Q

What did the Representation Act of 1918 do?

A

Enfranchise all males and women over that age of 30 who already had the right to vote in local elections

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17
Q

By 1911, what was the only significant power that the House of Lords had left?

A

To delay legislation

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18
Q

When and why was the Labour Party created?

A

Created in 1906 to represent the rights of the newly enfranchised working man

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19
Q

What is the trade union council?

A

A coalition of trade unions

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20
Q

World War 2 marks?

A

The collapse of the old imperialist order and the beginning of the global hegemony of the United States and the Soviet Union

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21
Q

Who did Britain join during World War 2?

A

The allied forces

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22
Q

What party was Winston Churchill the leader of?

A

The Conservative party

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23
Q

What did the Beveridge Report provide for?

A

Social insurance program that made all citizens eligible for health, unemployment, pensions, and other benefits

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24
Q

When was the National Health Service created?

A

1948, under leadership of the Labour Party

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25
Q

Britain’s economic problems in the 1970s included?

A

Declining industrial production and international influence, which were exaggerated by the loss of colonies and the shrinking of the old empire

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26
Q

What were Margaret Thatcher’s policies influenced by?

A

A distinct turn toward leftist politics by the Labour Party that have a great deal of power to labor unions

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27
Q

What did Margaret Thatcher do?

A

She privatized business and industry, cut back on social welfare programs, strengthened national defense, got tough with labor unions, and returned to market force controls on the economy

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28
Q

What are the major social cleavages of Britain?

A

Multi-national identities, social class distinctions, and the Protestant/Catholic split in Northern Ireland

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29
Q

What four nations did the United Kingdom evolve from?

A

England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

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30
Q

What is the most important social class distinction in Britain?

A

Between working and middle class people

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31
Q

What were public schools originally intended for in Great Britain?

A

To train boys for “public life” in the military, civil service, or politics

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32
Q

What is the leaving age for compulsory education?

A

18

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33
Q

What is the most important portal to the elite classes?

A

Oxford and Cambridge Universities

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34
Q

What percent of the British population is of non-European origins?

A

7.1%

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35
Q

What is the civic culture in Britain characterized by?

A

Trust, deference to authority and competence, pragmatism, and harmony

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36
Q

What are the politics of protest?

A

The tendency to disagree openly and sometimes violently with the government

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37
Q

What happened after unions staged crippling strikes during the 1970s?

A

Public opinion turned against them, as people began to view unions as “bullies” to both the government and the general population

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38
Q

What did Thatcherism foster?

A

Entrepreneurial values of individualism and competition over the solidarity of social classes and the tradition of noblesse oblige

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39
Q

What are the linkage institutions in Britain?

A

Political parties, interest groups, and print and electronic media

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40
Q

What are caucuses?

A

Meetings of people from the same area or of like mind

41
Q

What did the Whigs and the Tories eventually become?

A

The Whigs became the Liberal Party and the Tories became the Conservatives

42
Q

What are the two major political parties in Britain?

A

Labour and Conservatives

43
Q

What is a hung government?

A

No party gains a majority and a coalition government forms

44
Q

What is the largest party on the left?

A

The Labour Party

45
Q

What is the main party on the right?

A

Conservative party

46
Q

Who is the current party leader and prime minister?

A

David Cameron

47
Q

Who is deputy prime minister of the coalition formed with the Liberal Democrats?

A

Nick Clegg

48
Q

Who are the only national officials that British voters elect?

A

Members of Parliament

49
Q

How often must elections be held?

A

Every 5 years

50
Q

The prime minister is not elected as prime minister but as…

A

An MP from a single electoral district

51
Q

When do elections officially occur?

A

After the Crown dissolves Parliament, which always happens because the prime minister requests it

52
Q

What are British parliamentary elections?

A

Winner take all

53
Q

In the Good Friday Agreement of April 1998…

A

Britain agreed to give Northern Ireland a regional government in which all parties would be represented on a proportional basis

54
Q

What have the most influential interest groups been?

A

Those linked to class and industrial interests

55
Q

What is the main media outlet?

A

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

56
Q

In a parliamentary system the executive branch is?

A

Fused with the legislative branch

57
Q

Although British government consists of three branches…

A

Little separation of powers exists between the cabinet and parliament

58
Q

What is the House of Commons based on?

A

The assumption that one party will get the majority number of seats, and another will serve as the “opposition”.

59
Q

Who sits across from the prime minister in the House of Commons?

A

The leader of the opposition party

60
Q

What is Question Time?

A

Time during which the prime minister and his cabinet must defend themselves against attack from the opposition

61
Q

Who presides over the debates in the the House of Commons?

A

The speaker of the house

62
Q

What is the opposition seen as?

A

The “check” on the majority party

63
Q

What happens if the majority party loses a “vote of no confidence”?

A

The cabinet must resign immediately, and elections for new MPs must be held as soon as possible

64
Q

What is parliamentary sovereignty?

A

The principle that parliament’s decisions are final

65
Q

What is the only hereditary parliamentary house in existence today?

A

The House of Lords

66
Q

What are hereditary peers?

A

Members of the House of Lords that hold seats that have been passed down through family ties over the centuries

67
Q

What are life peers?

A

People appointed to nonhereditary positions as a result of distinguished service to Britain

68
Q

What is a white paper?

A

An announcement of government policy

69
Q

What is one criticism of the British parliamentary system?

A

The lack of separation between the prime minister and the legislature creates a dangerous concentration of power, since both are controlled by the same party

70
Q

Does the British parliamentary system experience gridlock?

A

No

71
Q

What’s the difference between code law and common law?

A

Code law is much less focused on precedent and interpretation that common law

72
Q

What does the Supreme Court concise of?

A

A president and 11 justices appointed by a panel of lawyers

73
Q

What are important sources of legitimacy for advanced democracies?

A
  • the fact that their systems have been in place for a long time
  • a high level of social capital (trust between population and government)
74
Q

How common is the presidential system in advanced democracies?

A

The United States is the only presidential system

75
Q

What are the major goals of both the European Union and NAFTA?

A

To encourage cooperation among nations and redefine the meaning of national sovereignty

76
Q

What is unique about the British Constitution?

A

There is no British Constitution

77
Q

Why are some Brits worried about participation in the EU? What is a main characteristic of British political culture that explains their cautious attitude?

A
  • Brits are worried that the EU would threaten the traditions that Britain is based on
  • Britain’s insularity explains their cautious attitude
78
Q

During which eras have coalition governments ruled Britain?

A

WW2 era and 2010-present

79
Q

What is neoliberalism?

A

The revival of classic liberal values that support low levels of government regulation, taxation, social expenditures, and the protection of individual property rights

80
Q

Which prime minister most directly reflected the policies of neoliberalism?

A

Margaret Thatcher

81
Q

What is the largest ethnic minority in Britain?

A

Indian

82
Q

Describe the Conservative party

A
  • main party on the right
  • split between traditional wing (noblesse oblige) and “Thatcherites” who want to roll back government control and move to a free market
  • tend to see EU as a threat to British sovereignty
83
Q

Describe the liberal democrats

A
  • main party on left
  • began as alliance of trade unions and socialist groups
  • have moved towards center since 1990s
  • was majority party from 1997-2010
  • more supportive of EU membership
84
Q

How has the plurality system adversely affected the Liberal Democrats?

A

The party won 26% of the votes in 1983, but because of single member plurality system in Britain, it only won 23 seats (3.5%)

85
Q

What is different about elections in Scottish and Welsh regional Parliaments?

A

Their regional parliaments at based on proportional representation

86
Q

What are quangos?

A

Policy advisory boards appointed by the government

87
Q

How do quangos influence policy making in the UK?

A

They help develop public policy in different policy areas. Some advise on policy while others deliver public services

88
Q

What is collective responsibility? How does it apply to the cabinet?

A

Collective responsibility is making policy for the country. The cabinet needs to be unified to keep the government stable

89
Q

How are judges to the Supreme Court determined?

A

The president and all 11 justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by a panel of judges

90
Q

What is the shadow cabinet?

A

The cabinet that opposes and questions the cabinet members of the majority party

91
Q

What is the most important responsibility of the speaker of the House of Commons?

A

To preside over debate

92
Q

What is a vote of no confidence?

A

A vote showing that a majority doesn’t support the policy of a leader or governing body

93
Q

What is the main power of the House of Lords since the turn of the 20th century?

A

To delay legislation

94
Q

Since 2009, which party has held the most seats in parliament?

A

Conservatives

95
Q

Which party is most openly anti-EU?

A

Conservative

96
Q

How has devolution been carried out in Britain?

A

Scotland and Wales have been allowed to have regional governments

97
Q

How has the British principle of parliamentary sovereignty hampered the development of judicial review?

A

Parliamentary sovereignty doesn’t allow for judicial review

98
Q

What is Keynesianism?

A

The government took action to secure full employment, expand social services, maintain a steady rate of growth, and keep prices stable

99
Q

What are some important linkage institutions in the British political system?

A

Political parties, interest groups, and print and electronic media

100
Q

How does social class affect voting behavior?

A

Working class supports Labour Party and middle class supports conservative

101
Q

How do regions affect voting behavior?

A

The Labour Party usually does well in urban and industrial areas.
Industrial cities of the north support Labour Party
The conservatives usually win in rural and suburban areas