Country Concept question, 8

8. The United Kingdom and China have unitary regimes.

1. What is a primary way in which these unitary regimes are similar?
2. What is a primary way in which these unitary regimes are dissimilar?
3. There is a trend toward devolution in the United Kingdom. What is a major effect that devolution has had on British governments?
4. What is a characteristic of the Chinese nation state that makes maintaining a unitary regime difficult?
5. What is a characteristic of the Chinese political culture that facilitates maintaining a unitary regime?
6. What is a primary reason that devolution is not likely to be a trend in China as it is in the United Kingdom?

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Country Context question, 7

7. Russia, Nigeria, Iran, and Mexico produce large quantities of petroleum.

1. Which country's economy is most like a "rentier" economy? Why?
2. In which country does petroleum production have the greatest influence on domestic government and politics? Why?
3. Which country's regime is most dependent upon continued petroleum production and stable oil prices? Why?

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Question No. 22 (20 April 2009)

(Two weeks until the exam)

Here's Question No. 22:

a. What are two reasons the educated middle class of Iran has so little political power? (2 points)

b. What is an often-cited reason for the decline of political activity among the educated middle class in 2005? (1 point)

c. What is one factor that could offer greater political influence to the middle class in 2009 than they had in 2005 and why would that be so? (2 points)

(See pp. 147-149 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 19 (13 April 2009)

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.

Here's Question No. 19:

a. What are two major explanations for the fact that half of the non-agricultural jobs in Nigeria are government jobs? (2 points)

b. Explain one reason why that situation is detrimental to representative democracy in Nigeria? (2 points)

c. Explain one reason why that situation is supportive of representative democracy in Nigeria? (2 points)

(See pp. 109-111 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 13 (2 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.

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Here's Question No.: 13

In 2005, constitutional changes in Russia eliminated single-member districts in elections for the State Duma.
A. What was one of Putin's arguments that this change would strengthen political parties in Russia? (1 point)
B. What was an argument put forward by Putin's critics and opponents that a proportionally-elected legislature would only solidify Putin's hold on political power? (1 point)
C. What was another constitutional change in 2005 that supported Putin's state goal of strengthening parties? (1 point)
D. What was a constitutional change in 2005 that supported the arguments of Putin's opponents about solidifying Putin's power? (1 point)

(See pages 69-70 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 37 (22 April)

For the next 8 weekdays, I'll post questions about comparative government and politics.

You submit answers to the "Questions" e-mail address 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 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. 37:
What do political scientists mean when they label Iran's economy as "rent seeking?"

What is one major political ramification of a rent seeking economy?

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Question 29 (10 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.

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

And you'll win at least 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. 29:
What is one major effect of guanxi on Chinese politics?

What is one way in which that effect is similar to or different from the effects of prebendalism on Nigerian politics?

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Answer No. 9

Here's the first best answer I received for Question #9.

Question 9 was:
What are two similarities in the recruitment of leaders in Mexico's PRI and China's Communist Party?

What is one difference between recruitment in the PRI and recruitment in the Chinese party?

The answer is:
"9. The China’s Communist Party stresses personal connections with those in government or military, known as gaunxi, as a tool that characterizes elite recruitment. The history of loyalty to the party is also an important factor that is evaluated during recruitment, as is class.

"Mexico has a history of similar practices, but recently, with the weakening of PRI, these traditions have begun to erode. The president of Mexico historically would name or a recommended successor of the PRI Party to take their place in the next election after their six year term as president, but this practice was broken in the 1990s. As PRI has lost presidency, some of its policies have modernized, breaking away from the more traditional practices of recruitment as observed by the Chinese Communist Party."

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This question asks for three things and is worth 3 points.

Similarities between China's Communist Party recruitment and the PRI's recruitment are:

• use of patronage/guanxi
• the importance of "working your way up" in the organization
• the importance of loyalty to the organization and its leaders

Differences between the two methods of recruitment include:

• the evaluation of loyalty to ideology in China
• the identification of very young students with leadership potential through political youth organizations in China
• the importance of success in higher education for Mexican technicos

You would earn points on this question by identifying two of the similarities and one of the differences.

This answer correctly identifies the the use of patronage and party loyalty in the Chinese process of recruiting (identifying) leaders. The second paragraph begins by saying, "Mexico has a history of similar practices..." I am inclined to say that the identifications for China and the inclusion of Mexico in the beginning of the second paragraph are worth 2 points.

However an exam rubric might very well require that the answer specifically "say" that patronage and party loyalty are part of the process within the PRI. This answer does not do that. I can readily imagine that the committee writing the rubric for this question would require the specific description of those practices in Mexico as well as in China. If the rubric did, this answer would not earn those points.

The answer goes on to assert that the PRI has been "breaking away from the more traditional practices..." without specifying how (emphasizing the recruitment of Mexican graduates of prestigious U.S. universities, for example). Without specificity, this answer cannot earn a third point.

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When you write your responses, be as specific as you can be. Exam rubrics usually require specific examples. Even those questions that ask you to make a generalization about a topic will require specific examples to support the generalization.

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Question #19 (27 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 17% of a dozen 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. 19:
What are two political results of the growth of government control and ownership of major economic entities (e.g. corporations) in Russia during the past 10 years?

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Question #7 (11 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 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. 7:
What is one economic change instigated by the Thatcher or Major governments that was continued by the Blair government and why was it continued?

What is one economic change instigated by the Thatcher or Major governments that was reversed or changed in a major way by the Blair government and why was it reversed or changed?

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BTW, no one has answered Question #2 yet. The prizes are still available.

Question #6 (10 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 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. 6:

Since independence, the distribution of oil revenues has been one of the most contentious issues in Nigerian politics. Identify two factors that make the issue contentious and explain why those factors impede resolution of the conflicts.

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PS: No one tried to answer Question #1. The prize is still available.

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