2012 - Question #16 –country context question

(A)          Explain two reasons we would expect the British political system to be more amenable to change than the Iranian system.

(B)          In terms of being open to change, how would the Mexican system compare with the British and Iranian systems? Why?

See pp. 65-67, 151-152, and 137-138 in What You Need to Know

2012 - Question #15 – country context question

(A)          Identify two factors that make the UK regime a parliamentary system.

(B)          Identify two factors that make the Nigerian regime a presidential system.

(C)          Explain how the factors you identified make one of those regimes better able to make effective social welfare policies.

See pp. 42, 57-62, and 109-112 in What You Need to Know

2012 - Question #10 – short answer/concept question

(A)          What is a "catch-all" political party?

(B)          What's an example of a party in the UK that is not a "catch-all" party?

(C)          Why is it not a "catch-all" party?

See pp. 38 and 59-62 in What You Need to Know

2012 -- Question #6 –conceptual analysis question

(A)          Define rule of law.

(B)          Explain two examples of the role that the constitution plays in the Mexican political system to guarantee a rule of law.

(C)          Explain two features of the political system in the UK that serve to guarantee rule of law without a constitution.

See pp. 43, 57-60, and 130-133 in What You Need to Know

2012 Question #1

This is a short answer/concept question (like the first 5 FRQs on the exam).

In the description of the United Kingdom, political scientists identify several nations that make up the country.
(A) What are two of them?
(B) What is a feature of the regime that bridges the cleavages between those nations?
(C) How does that feature reduce the political effects of the cleavages?

See pp. 41 and 62-64 in What You Need to Know

Question No. 20

A question for Friday, 28 April:

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)



Here's Question No. 20 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

•Identify an historical factor that influences politics in the United Kingdom.
•Explain how that factor influences politics in the United Kingdom.


(See pp. 55 - 59 and 63 - 65 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 15

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.


Here's Question No. 15 (It's a Country Context question.):

•Describe an example of how global interdependence affects (or affected) policy choices available to the Nigerian government.
•Describe an example of how global interdependence affects (or affected) policy choices available to the British government
OR
explain why global interdependence doesn't affect policy choices available to the British government.


(See pp. 122 - 123 and 66-67 in What You Need to Know.)

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Don't neglect the What You Need to Know Facebook pages

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Question No. 14

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.



Here's Question No. 14 (It's a Conceptual Analysis question.):

The heads of government in Russia and the United Kingdom are not directly elected by voters.
•Explain how each is chosen.
•Describe a significant similarity in their roles as heads of government.
•Identify and describe one major difference between the sources of authority for these two executives.


(See pp. 57 - 62 and 74-78 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 8

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.

Here's Question No. 8 (It's a Country Context question.):

Since 1980, major political changes have been proposed in the UK and in China.
•Identify and explain one reason for the relative effectiveness of implementing change in China.
•Identify and explain one reason for the relative ineffectiveness of implementing change in the UK.

(See pp. 63-67 and 96-100 in What You Need to Know.)

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Don't neglect the What You Need to Know Facebook pages

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Question No. 7

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.

Here's Question No. 7 (It's a Country Context question.):

•Identify where in each political system, nation-wide interest groups would most likely try to influence policy making in the United Kingdom AND Russia.
•Explain one factor in each country that prevents these efforts from being transparent.

(See pp. 63-67 and 79-82 in What You Need to Know.)

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Don't neglect the What You Need to Know Facebook pages

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Question No. 27 (30 April 2009)

Here's Question No. 27:

a. What are two widely-held political values in the United Kingdom? (2 points)

b. How do those values contribute to the stability of a regime without a constitution? (2 points)

(See pp. 60-61 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 16 (7 April 2009)

I'll post a sample FRQ here about comparative government and politics almost every week day until May 1. They're for practice, since that one of the best ways of preparing for the exam.

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little orange icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.

No prizes this year. But, I'll add your school's web address to the list of "Worthwhile Links" on the left side of the blog, IF you send it to me.

Here's Question No. 16:

The bureaucracies headquartered along Whitehall Street in London are distinguished by the civil servants who work in them.

a. What is one characteristic of those civil servants that distinguishes them from the politicians in nearby Westminster, the meeting place of the House of Commons? (1 point)

b. Why is that characteristic so desirable of civil servants in a representative democracy? (2 points)

(See pp. 10, 35, and 54 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 10 (30 March 2009)

I'll post a sample FRQ here about comparative government and politics almost every week day until May 1. They're for practice, since that one of the best ways of preparing for the exam.

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little orange icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.

No prizes this year. But, I'll add your school's web address to the list of "Worthwhile Links" on the left side of the blog, IF you send it to me.

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Here's Question No. 10:

What position does the head of government hold in the United Kingdom? (1 point)

What position does the head of government hold in Nigeria? (1 point)

Describe one difference and one similarity between the heads of governments' relationship with his respective legislatures? (2 points)

(See pages 54 and 110-11 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 5 (19 March 2009)

I'll post a sample FRQ here about comparative government and politics almost every week day until May 1. They're for practice, since that one of the best ways of preparing for the exam.

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little orange icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.

No prizes this year. But, I'll add your school's web address to the list of "Worthwhile Links" on the left side of the blog, IF you send it to me.

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Here's Question No. 5:

Political scientists distinguish between power and authority.
A. What is the distinction they make? (2 points)
B. Describe an example of that distinction from the politics or government in the United Kingdom. (2 points)
C. Describe an example of that distinction from the politics or government in Iran. (2 points)

(See pages 35 and 40 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 45 (2 May)

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Here's Question No. 45:
Since Madison, Americans have attributed the preservation of their liberties in large part to the separation of powers in the U.S. regime. What has preserved the liberties of British citizens in a system that lacks separation of powers?

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The AP exam for Comparative Government and Politics
Monday afternoon, 5 May 2008

The exam begins with a 45-minute session for reading and answering 55 multiple-choice questions. (Remember, choose the best answer from among the 5 choices offered.)

The second session is 100 minutes long.

During that time, you will write answers to 8 "Free Response Questions"

• Five definitions and descriptions in the "Short-Answer Concepts" section
• One "Conceptual Analysis" question (which will ask about one of the course's "big ideas")
• Two "Country Context" questions, which are most likely to require comparisons

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Good luck on Monday afternoon.

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Question No. 44 (1 May)

Here is the next-to-last question for this season.

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Here's Question No. 44:
Is the UK a monarchy or a republic? Why?

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Question No. 33 (16 April)

Each weekday between now and May 1, I'll post a question about comparative government and politics.

You submit an answer to the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (FYI: the e-mail address there changed recently.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll publish your answer here a week after the question was posted.

And you'll win a pair of What You Need to Know number two pencils to help you fill in the exam's multiple choice answer sheet. One of the pencils will have all the multiple choice answers on it and the other will display King Arthur's memorable line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, "You don't vote for kings!"

(You can also win a pair of WYNTK pencils by posing a question that gets used here.)

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Here's Question No. 33:

Interest groups attempt to influence government policy making.

Where, in the political system do British interest groups (like British Hydro) concentrate their efforts? Why?

Where, in the political system do Mexican interest groups concentrate their efforts? Why?

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Question 32 (15 April)

Each weekday between now and May 1, I'll post a question about comparative government and politics.

You submit an answer to the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (That e-mail address has changed recently.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll publish your answer here a week after the question was posted.

And you'll win two What You Need to Know number two pencils to help you fill in the exam's multiple choice answer sheet. One of the pencils will have all the multiple choice answers on it and the other will display King Arthur's memorable line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, "You don't vote for kings!"

(You can also win a pair of WYNTK pencils by posing a question that gets used here.)

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Here's Question No. 32:
The British civil service is usually held up as the epitome of a government bureaucracy. What are two characteristics of the British civil service that help it earn that reputation?

What is one reason why one of those characteristics is considered desirable?


Whitehall Street in London. Many government ministries have offices on this street near Westminster which you can see in this photo.

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Answer No. 8

Here's the first best answer I've received for Question #8.

Question 8 was:
How and why is the political role of media in Russia different from the political role of media in the UK?

Anonymous 2's answer is:
8. The UK, had an incredibly diverse and extensive media, with the main source being the BBC. British media is widely reputed for presenting a very respectable and varied body of information on both domestic and international events and developments. The media in the UK creates a form of political check on governmental power in its efforts to reveal the truth about political happenings and issues.

The Russian media, however, has a significant bias in favor of the current regime and has historically been an instrument of both propaganda that has a higher loyalty to the ruling party than to the truth.

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An important thing to keep in mind for this question is that the "how" and "why" questions are separate. Some of the "how the roles differ" may answer part of the "why the roles differ," but they are different question. You must clearly answer both questions.

This is a 4-point question. Up to two points for identifying the ways the political roles differ and up to two points for offering accurate and logical explanations for why the roles differ.

My rubric says that the political roles media play in the UK and Russia differ (this is "how" question) in that

• British media critically assess government and party policies and actions
• UK media choose which policies, candidates, and leaders to endorse or criticize
• British media freely and enthusiastically question rationales and reasoning of political actors
• British media raise issues they perceive the government neglects or ignores

The reasons for these differences (this is the "why" question) include:

• clearly private ownership of most British media vs. ownership by parastatals in Russia
• economic competition for readers, listeners, and viewers among British media vs. subsidies to media from Russian owners with little attention paid to "audiences"
• near absence of government restrictions on the content of British media vs. relatively rigid controls of Russian media because of the ownership structure
• tradition of free press in the UK vs. absence of free press tradition in Russia

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The answer does not offer two labeled lists, but it does say that British media present a "varied body of information on both domestic and international events..." and that the "media in the UK creates a form of political check on governmental power..." The answer also says that Russian media "a significant bias in favor of the current regime..." Those statements about how the political roles differ earn two points.

The statement that the Russian media have "historically been an instrument of... propaganda..." offers a reason why the political roles of the media differ. That earns a point.

So this answer earns 3 points.

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You could keep your thinking and your response clear by writing two paragraphs for this question. The first one should be labeled, "Differing political roles of media in the UK and Russia." The second paragraph should be labeled, "Reasons for differences in the political roles of media in the UK and Russia."

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Question #10 (14 March)

Each weekday between now and May 1, I'll post a question about comparative government and politics.

You submit an answer to the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site.

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll publish your answer here a week after the question was posted.

And you'll win a couple of What You Need to Know number two pencils to help you fill in the exam's multiple choice answer sheet. One of the pencils will have all the multiple choice answers on it and the other will display King Arthur's memorable line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, "You don't vote for kings!"

(You can also win a pair of WYNTK pencils by posing a question that gets used here.)

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Here's Question No. 10:
The Iranian president is elected nationally and directly. The Prime Minister of the UK is elected from one of over 600 constituencies. Does the manner of election affect the power of these two heads of government?

If so, how? If not, what are two major factors that account for the differences between the power of the Iranian president and the power of the British PM?

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