1 - Bronx High School of Science



Which of the following do Nigeria and Great Britain have in common?

A) Both countries have parliamentary systems of government with directly elected presidents

B) Both countries have ethnic diversity and strong regional identities

C) Both countries have powerful executive branches and very weak legislatures and judiciaries

D) Both countries have economies dominated by the export of crude oil

E) Both countries have a strong sense of national unity with minimal social cleavages

1. In Great Britain, the title “chancellor of the exchequer refers to the

A) Prince of Wales

B) Prime minister

C) Foreign minister

D) Finance minister

E) Head of the House of Lords

2. All of the following are issues currently faced by the European Union (EU) EXCEPT

A) the withdrawal of its founding members

B) trade disputes with nonmember countries

C) the discrepancy in economic power between member states

D) pressure from nonmember states to join the Union

E) challenges to the EU’s authority by nationalist sentiment within the member states

3. Historically, the government of Mexico limited the political power of the Catholic church by

A) Barring Catholics from worshipping within the country

B) Minimizing the number of people who could attend a Catholic service

C) Not allowing Catholic priests to vote

D) Denying Catholics the right to run for office

E) Banning the pope from entering Mexico

4. Which institution has responsibility for organizing federal elections in Mexico?

A) The Institute of Federal Elections (IFE)

B) The Mexican Ministry of the Interior (MMI)

C) The Organization of American States (OAS)

D) The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Branch (TEPJF)

E) Electoral authorities in each Mexican state and federal district

6. The election results of 2005 highlighted

A) the strong resurgence of the Conservative Party

B) strong popular support for Blair’s policy in Iraq

C) Labour’s continued, though reduced, grip on power

D) the continued dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party

E) the increasing popularity of Sinn Fein outside of Northern Ireland

7. The timing of elections in Great Britain’s system is determined by which of the following?

A) A nonpartisan electoral commission sets the date of elections.

B) Citizens decide in a referendum when parliamentary elections will be held.

C) Elections are on a fixed cycle set by law.

D) Members of the upper house call elections by majority vote.

E) The prime minister calls elections within a five-year period.

8. Which of the following characteristics of the modern British political system is most directly linked to the tradition of noblesse oblige?

A) The rejection of the euro as the primary currency of Britain

B) The tendency of the Conservative party to oppose devolution

C) The general willingness of the British to accept a welfare state

D) The tendency to side with the United States in most international agreements

E) The tendency of union members to vote for the Labour Party

9. The use of judicial review in the United Kingdom is limited because

A) the United Kingdom lacks a written constitution

B) judicial review is seen as violating the principle of parliamentary sovereignty

C) the UK is a unitary state

D) the UK lacks a system of checks & balances

E) legal systems in the UK are structured on common law

10. Which of the following is NOT a political party operating in the UK?

A) Labour Party

B) Conservative Party

C) Social Democratic Party

D) Scottish National Party

E) Plaid Cymru

11. Devolution in the UK has allowed

A) separatist parties to have roles in Scotland and Wales

B) the union of Ireland and Northern Ireland

C) Scotland to join the European Union

D) Northern Ireland to establish a separate state

E) England and Wales to merge

12. What is meant by the term “democratic deficit” in the EU?

A) Most new member states do not hold competitive elections

B) Very few democratic parties (parties on the political left) are elected in European elections

C) Turnout for domestic elections in all member states is decreasing

D) Most decision making in the EU is done by nonelected officials

E) The EU has a large deficit because of spending on agricultural subsidies

13. Who selects the head of the British government?

A) The departing prime minister

B) The House of Lords

C) A committee comprised of the majority and minority party MPs

D) The electorate

E) The majority party in the House of Commons

14. In the mid-1990’s, British Labour Party leader Tony Blair changed his party by

A) revising the party’s constitution to indicate clearly Labour’s acceptance of a market economy

B) aligning the party with other parties advocating a phased withdrawal from the European Union

C) increasing union representation within the party

D) taking a position favoring the immediate integration of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland

E) integrating the party into a formal governing coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party

15. Which of the following policies would MPs of the Thatcherite wing of the Conservative Party in Britain be least likely to support?

A) keeling the British pound as the country’s currency

B) decreasing British participation in the European Union

C) expanding the scope of the National Health Service

D) privatizing state-run business and industry

E) containing the influence of labor unions

16. All of the following were elements of Margaret Thatcher's governing agenda except

A) cutting taxes.

B) traditional cultural values.

C) working cooperatively with trade unions to enhance British competitiveness.

D) reducing social service expenditures where possible.

E) using government policy to increase efficiency in the private sector.

17. In the years after the Treaty of Maastricht was signed, the European Union brought about the most change in Europe in regard to its

A) Ability to coordinate international security

B) Creation of an international judicial system

C) Ability to control border crossings and immigration

D) Creation of a common currency for most of its members

E) Coordination of agricultural policies

18. Which of the following issues was addressed directly by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998?

A) Socialism vs. market economy

B) Integration of the British economy with the EU

C) Devolution of power to the Scottish parliament

D) Devolution of power to a Northern Ireland Parliament

E) The role of the Anglican Church in shaping political policies

19. In regard to integration with Europe, which of the following measures has Britain so far refused to adopt?

A) Elimination of significant trade tariffs

B) Establishment of a separate European Parliament

C) A minimum GNP requirement for new EU members

D) Adoption of the Euro as the main currency

E) Establishment of common agricultural policies

20 .What is the main purpose of the weekly Question Time in the House of Commons?

A) To allow the prime minister to ask for opinions on proposed legislation

B) To hold the prime minister and cabinet accountable for their actions

C) To debrief the Queen regarding important events of the week

D) To give backbenchers an opportunity to speak their mind regarding proposed policies

E) To inform the opposition party of decisions made by the majority party

21. Which of the following is NOT an argument for European Union (EU) enlargement?

A) A larger EU will have more weight in trade negotiations with the rest of the world

B) Cheaper labor in new EU states will attract business from the developed west

C) The EU will help promote political stability in new member states

D) A larger EU provides new and diverse markets for all EU members

E) New member states will help contribute to a larger EU military to fight common problems

22. The European Union challenges the sovereignty of member states because

A) Most citizens now identify more with the EU than with their national governments

B) European elections bring out a greater share of the vote than do national elections

C) An increasing number of decisions are now being made by the EU instead of being made solely by national governments

D) Political elites in Europe are uniformly committed to strengthening the EU

E) All member states have now adopted the same currency

23. Which of the following is the BEST explanation for why PRI succeeded in monopolizing political power in Mexico after its establishment in 1929?

A) PRI leaders outmaneuvered leaders from other parties, such as PAN and PRD

B) PRI leaders took advantage of Mexico's independence from Spain to establish a power base

C) Mexican elites were willing to join together as PRI leaders in order to alleviate the chaos and violence of the early 20th century

D) By 1929, the Catholic Church in Mexico had lost influence, and could no longer control the government

E) PRI had support of the United States government, and so was able to defeat the competing parties of the day

24. The Mexican political system that existed for most of the 20th century was BEST described as a

A) monarchy

B) patron-client system

C) limited democracy

D) communist regime

E) direct democracy

25. Rapid economic growth in Mexico over the past three decades has led to the issue of

A) lack of support for NAFTA

B) increasing rates of infant mortality

C) a breaking of dependency on the U.S. economy

D) a growing gap between the rich and the poor

E) sophisticated plans for urban growth and transportation systems

26. Before 2000, the political route to the presidency

centered on

A) inherited wealth

B) individual recruitment of grassroots support

C) repeated electoral victory by wide margins in a legislative constituency

D) loyalty to the PRI organization and the President

E) a reputation for honesty and fairness

27. The two largest ethnic groups in Mexico are

A) indigenous and African

B) indigenous and European

C) mestizo and African

D) mestizo and European

E) mestizo and indigenous

28. The primary reason Vicente Fox did not run for reelection in 2006 is that

A) an obstructionist Congress prevented him from passing most of his reform efforts

B) Mexico's presidency has a one-term limit

C) his last year in office, he was consumed by his dealings with the Donner Party

D) he lost to Felipe Calderon in the PAN primaries

E) he lost to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the PRD primaries

29. In both Britain and Mexico, religion is

A) a very important influence on the political

system

B) A basic principle for organizing political parties

C) Not as influential as it once was in the

policymaking process

D) A dominant factor in interpreting the constitution

E) More important to people in urban areas than in

rural areas

30. On the whole, Mexican para-statals are most similar to

A) The Red Cross

B) The British House of Lords

C) The British Bureaucrats

D) British Quangos

E) The Mexican civil service

31. Which of the following is an accurate comparison between elections to the lower house of the legislatures in Britain and Mexico?

A) Elections in both countries include use of single-member district

B) Elections in both countries include use of proportional representation

C) Elections to the House of Commons take place every four years, but elections to the Chamber of Deputies take place every three years

D) Only two parties compete in British elections, whereas three parties compete in Mexican elections

E) Elections in both countries have been dominated by one political party in recent years

32. Which of the following has become an increasing public policy challenger for Mexico in recent years?

A) Lack of a competitive party system

B) Rapidly increasing debt

C) Increase in drug-related violence

D) Decrease in women’s rights

E) Lower standard of living

33. Which of the following accurately compares the Mexican and British political system?

A) Britain is a corporatist state; Mexico is not

B) Britain has a parliamentary system; Mexico has a presidential-parliamentary system

C) Britain is a federalist system; Mexico is a unitary system

D) Para-statals are important in the British system, but they are not very important in Mexico

E) Britain has a parliamentary system; Mexico has a presidential system

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