2012 - Question #12 – short answer/concept question

(A)          Describe an aspect of the Mexican regime that uses plurality elections.

(B)          Describe an aspect of the Mexican regime that uses proportional elections.

(C)          What is a political reason for using each of these electoral methods?

See pp. 42, 43, and 131-132 in What You Need to Know

Question No. 26 (29 April 2009)

Here's Question No. 26:

In Russia, voter turnout has declined with each successive presidential election.

a. What are two reasons for the decline in the percentage of citizens voting in the last two presidential elections? (2 points)

b. Explain why falling oil prices would encourage or discourage voting in the next presidential election. (2 points)

(See pp. 75-78 in What You Need to Know.)

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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. 20 (28 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 fine 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. 20:
What was Putin's primary public explanation for favoring the elimination of single member districts in Duma elections?

What did Putin's opponents suggest was the actual motivation for the electoral law reform?

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