Comparative Politics: Concepts and Approaches MCQs 2026

Transitology studies

1. Atransitions from authoritarianism toward democracy✓
2. Bonly ancient empires without change✓
3. Conly permanent dictatorship✓
4. Donly feudal stability✓

Area studies approach focuses on

1. Aignoring all local history✓
2. Bonly universal laws without context✓
3. Cin-depth regional expertise within comparison✓
4. Donly laboratory experiments✓

Gender and politics scholarship examines

1. Aonly mineralogy✓
2. Bonly tidal charts✓
3. Chow gender structures power and participation✓
4. Donly vehicle engines✓

Political economy in comparative politics studies

1. Aonly poetry meters✓
2. Bonly insect taxonomy✓
3. Conly bridge architecture✓
4. Dinteraction of economic structures and political institutions✓

Consociational democracy (Lijphart) uses

1. Awinner-take-all exclusion✓
2. Bban on all minorities✓
3. Cgrand coalitions and group vetoes in divided societies✓
4. Done-language assimilation only✓

Federalism is often adopted to

1. Aeliminate all regional identity✓
2. Baccommodate territorial diversity or plural societies✓
3. Ccentralize all culture✓
4. Dabolish provinces✓

Parliamentarism versus presidentialism is a key

1. Acomparative institutional variable affecting stability✓
2. Bliterary genre only✓
3. Cmusical scale only✓
4. Dculinary style only✓

Theocracy in comparative typologies is

1. Astrict secular bureaucracy only✓
2. Banarchist federation✓
3. Ccorporate board only✓
4. Drule justified by religious authority✓

Electoral authoritarian regimes hold

1. Ano elections at all✓
2. Bperfectly fair contests always✓
3. Celections that are seriously flawed in favour of incumbents✓
4. Donly judicial appointments✓

Democratic backsliding involves

1. Astrengthening courts always✓
2. Berosion of norms and institutions toward authoritarianism✓
3. Cexpanding press freedom always✓
4. Droutine peaceful alternation✓

Democratic consolidation means

1. Aa coup every year✓
2. Bno elections ever✓
3. Cone-party rule forever✓
4. Ddemocracy becomes the only game in town✓

Most different systems design compares

1. Aonly identical countries✓
2. Bdissimilar cases sharing one outcome✓
3. Conly one time period without cases✓
4. Donly fictional states✓

Most similar systems design compares

1. Aplanets and stars✓
2. Bunrelated random variables only✓
3. Ccountries alike in many factors but differing in outcome✓
4. Didentical twins only in biology✓

Qualitative comparative method (QCA) uses

1. Aonly one case without comparison✓
2. Bset-theoretic comparison of cases✓
3. Conly opinion polls alone✓
4. Donly laboratory chemistry✓

Historical institutionalism stresses

1. Athat history never matters✓
2. Bonly biology of plants✓
3. Conly coin flips✓
4. Dpath dependence and timing of institutional choices✓

Rational choice in comparative politics assumes

1. Aactors maximize goals under constraints✓
2. Bpure random behaviour always✓
3. Cno preferences exist✓
4. Donly divine intervention✓

Structural functionalism views politics as

1. Asystems with inputs, conversion and outputs✓
2. Bonly individual psychology without institutions✓
3. Conly literary criticism✓
4. Donly geology✓

Przeworski and colleagues found that

1. Ademocracy never lasts✓
2. Bonly rich countries democratize instantly without history✓
3. Cdemocracy once reaching a income threshold often survives✓
4. Delections cause instant war always✓

Lipset's hypothesis linked democracy to

1. Apermanent poverty as ideal✓
2. Bfeudalism as necessary✓
3. Cisolation from trade✓
4. Deconomic development and a large middle class✓

Political cleavage is

1. Aa temporary weather event✓
2. Ba persistent social division shaping party competition✓
3. Ca building crack only✓
4. Da math error✓

Interest aggregation in political systems is

1. Aignoring all demands✓
2. Bcombining demands into policy alternatives✓
3. Conly violent repression✓
4. Donly random choice✓

Civil society in comparative politics

1. Amediates between individuals and the state voluntarily✓
2. Bis identical to the army✓
3. Cis only the cabinet✓
4. Dis only the central bank✓

Hard power relies on

1. Acoercion or payment to change behaviour✓
2. Bonly public diplomacy✓
3. Conly educational exchange✓
4. Donly moral example alone✓

Soft power influences others through

1. Aonly military invasion✓
2. Bonly tariffs only✓
3. Cattraction and persuasion rather than coercion✓
4. Donly sabotage✓

Westphalian sovereignty emphasizes

1. Aworld government mandatory✓
2. Bterritorial integrity and non-interference✓
3. Cno borders✓
4. Dprivate armies everywhere✓

Sovereignty denotes

1. Aonly cultural fashion✓
2. Bonly corporate branding✓
3. Conly sports rankings✓
4. Dsupreme authority within a territory✓

Failed state lacks

1. Aonly high GDP✓
2. Bonly large population✓
3. Ceffective monopoly of force and basic governance capacity✓
4. Donly long history✓

Hybrid regimes combine

1. Apure consensus without elections✓
2. Bno institutions at all✓
3. Cdemocratic forms with authoritarian practices✓
4. Donly anarchist communes✓

Authoritarian regimes permit

1. Afull liberal democracy✓
2. Bno state institutions✓
3. Climited pluralism but restrict political competition✓
4. Dcomplete press freedom always✓

Dependency theory argued that

1. Aall colonies industrialized equally✓
2. Btrade always benefits periphery instantly✓
3. Cmarkets have no power relations✓
4. Dperipheral economies remain subordinate in the world capitalist system✓

Modernization theory once linked development to

1. Apermanent feudalism✓
2. Babolition of all cities✓
3. Crejection of all education✓
4. Dsecularization, urbanization and democratic pluralism✓

Political socialization transmits

1. Aonly agricultural seeds✓
2. Bpolitical norms to new generations✓
3. Conly ocean currents✓
4. Donly building materials✓

Government is

1. Athe incumbent leadership and administration at a given time✓
2. Bthe entire regime forever fixed✓
3. Conly the constitution text✓
4. Donly the opposition✓

Regime refers to

1. Aonly weather patterns✓
2. Bthe formal and informal rules determining who rules and how✓
3. Conly GDP numbers alone✓
4. Donly sports leagues✓

A nation is often defined as

1. Aa community sharing identity, often culture or history✓
2. Bonly a stock exchange✓
3. Conly a building✓
4. Donly a military rank✓

The state in political science is

1. Aany private club✓
2. Bthe institution claiming monopoly of legitimate force in a territory✓
3. Conly a cultural festival✓
4. Donly a family✓

Comparative politics primarily studies

1. Apolitical systems across countries to identify patterns and causes✓
2. Bonly one village's folklore✓
3. Conly astronomical orbits✓
4. Donly chemical reactions✓