AP Comparative Government and Politics: An Essential Coursebook

299 Pages·2015·4.41 MB·English

by  Ethel Wood

AP* COMPARATIVE
GOVERNMENT AND
POLITICS:
AN ESSENTIAL COURSEBOOK
SEVENTH EDITION
by Ethel Wood
WoodYard Publications
*AP and Advanced Placement are registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination Board which was not involved in the
production of and does not endorse this book.
AP Comparative Government and Politics: An Essential Coursebook, Seventh Edi- TABLE OF CONTENTS
tion
PREFACE..........................................................................................7
Published by
WoodYard Publications
285 Main Street PART ONE: CONCEPTS...............................................................11
Germantown, NY 12526
Ph. 610-207-1366 Chapter One: Introduction to Comparative Government and
Fax [phone]
Politics: A Conceptual Approach.......................................................12
[email protected]
http://woodyardpublications.com Questions for Concepts for Comparison..........................................82
PART TWO: COUNTRY CASES..................................................93
Advanced Democracies..................................................................94
Chapter Two: Government and Politics in Britain.............................99

Questions for Britain.......................................................................157
Chapter Three: The European Union..............................................167

Questions for the European Union..................................................187
Communist and Post-Communist Regimes.................................191
Chapter Four: Government and Politics in Russia..........................198

Questions for Russia........................................................................259
Chapter Five: Government and Politics in China..............................270

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any Questions for China.........................................................................329
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, record-
ing or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission
Newly Industrializing and Less Developed Countries................340
from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Copyright 2015 by Ethel Wood Chapter Six: Government and Politics in Mexico...........................350

ISBN 978-0-9895395-5-5
Questions for Mexico......................................................................406
Chapter Seven: Government and Politics in Iran...........................416 Why Comparative Government and Politics?
Questions for Iran............................................................................472
Chapter Eight: Government and Politics in Nigeria........................482 I taught social studies classes for many years, mostly at Princeton High
Questions for Nigeria......................................................................534 School in Princeton, New Jersey. Like most social studies teachers,
my experience included classes in United States history and govern-
PART THREE: SAMPLE EXAMINATIONS............................545 ment. I have also published review books, textbooks, readers, and
web materials that have required me to do extensive research in vari-
Sample Examination One................................................................546 ous types of American studies. Needless to say, I believe that an edu-
Sample Examination Two................................................................566 cation in these areas is incredibly important for high school students,
and every secondary curriculum should include them. So why is com-
MASTER CHARTS.......................................................................584 parative government and politics particularly significant?
INDEX............................................................................................588
The 21st century has taught us that we cannot ignore the world around
us. Happenings around the globe now directly impact our lives, and
social studies teachers and students around the country face the chal-
lenge of interpreting complex, puzzling events. The AP comparative
course focuses on government and politics in other countries and pro-
vides a theoretical framework to compare political systems around the
world. It is my hope that this book will help students to grasp some-
thing of the political complexities of our global environment, and gain
some understanding of both commonalities and differences among
modern political systems. In today’s world, we cannot afford not to
know.

Ethel Wood
Germantown, NY
October 2015
Other Books by Ethel Wood PREFACE: THE COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT AND
POLITICS EXAMINATION
American Government: A Complete Coursebook The AP Comparative Government and Politics Examination adminis-
tered by the College Board in May lasts for two hours and 25 minutes
AP European History: An Essential Coursebook, 1st and 2nd editions
and consists of the following parts:
AP Human Geography: A Study Guide, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions
• 55 multiple-choice questions (45 minutes allowed; 50% of
AP United States History: An Essential Coursebook, 1st and 2nd AP grade)
editions
• a 100-minute free response section consisting of 8 questions
AP World History: An Essential Coursebook, 1st and 2nd editions (50% of AP grade)
The Immigrants: An Historical Reader The multiple-choice questions cover all the topics listed below, and
test knowledge of comparative theory, methods, and government and
Introduction to Sociology politics in Britain, Russia, China, Mexico, Iran, and Nigeria. On the
exam, the College Board no longer subtracts one-fourth of the num-
Multiple Choice and Free-Response Questions in Preparation for the
ber of questions answered incorrectly from the number of questions
AP United States Government and Politics Examination, editions 1-7
answered correctly to come up with your score. Since there is no
penalty for guessing, it is advisable to answer all questions the best
Multiple Choice and Free-Response Questions in Preparation for the
that you can.
AP World History Examination, editions 1 and 2
The free-response questions are of three types:
Teacher’s Guide - AP Comparative Government and Politics
• Definition and description (25% of free-response grade) –
The Best Test Preparation for the Graduate Record Examination in
Students provide brief definitions or descriptions of five con-
Political Science
cepts or terms, briefly explaining their significance. Students
may have to provide an example of the definition or descrip-
The Presidency: An Historical Reader
tion in one or more of the six core countries.
• Conceptual analysis (one question; 25% of free-response
grade) – Students must use major concepts from comparative
politics, explain important relationships, or discuss the causes
and implications of politics and policy.
• Country context (two questions; 50% of free-response grade;
each question 25%) – These questions focus on specific coun-
tries, and require students to use core concepts to analyze
one country or compare two countries.
The recommended total time for definition and description terms is 30 Your best preparation for the exam is to know your stuff. The ques-
minutes; for the conceptual analysis question, 30 minutes; and for each tions do require reading and writing skills, but the surer you are of the
of the two country context questions, 20 minutes. However, there are material, the more likely you are to answer the questions correctly.
no time divisions among the free-response questions. Instead, a total This book provides the concepts and information, as well as plenty
of 100 minutes is allotted to answer all of them. of practice questions that will prepare you for the exam. The most
important things are that you learn something about comparative gov-
Generally, multiple-choice questions are distributed fairly evenly
ernment and politics, and that you learn to love it, too!
among the six countries. In addition, many questions are not country-
specific, but instead test knowledge of the major concepts. According
to the College Board, the topics of the multiple choice questions are
distributed as follows:
Introduction (methods, purpose of comparisons).............................5%
Sovereignty, Authority, and Power.................................................20%
Political Institutions.......................................................................35%
Citizens, Society, and State............................................................15%
Political and Economic Change.....................................................15%
Public Policy...................................................................................10%
This newly revised 7th Edition of AP Comparative Government and
Politics: An Essential Coursebook is designed to help you prepare for
the exam by giving you a sound footing in comparative concepts as
well as country-specific information about the six core countries. The
book is divided into three parts:
• Part One – Introduction to Comparative Government and Poli-
tics: A Conceptual Approach
• Part Two – Country Cases: Advanced Democracies (Great Brit-
ain), Communist and Post-Communist Regimes (Russia and Chi-
na), and Less-Developed and Newly-Developing Countries (Mex-
ico, Iran, and Nigeria)
• Part Three – Practice Examinations: Two complete practice ex-
ams, each with 55 multiple-choice questions and 8 free-response
questions
10 CONCEPTS FOR COMPARISON CONCEPTS FOR COMPARISON 11
PART ONE:
CONCEPTS FOR COMPARISONS
12 CONCEPTS FOR COMPARISON CONCEPTS FOR COMPARISON 13
• Analyzing and interpreting basic data for comparing political
systems
WHAT IS COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS?
Most people understand that the term government is a reference to
the leadership and institutions that make policy decisions for a coun-
try. However, what exactly is politics? Politics is basically all about
power. Who has the power to make the decisions? How did power-
holders get power? What challenges do leaders face from others –
both inside and outside the country’s borders – in keeping power? So,
as we look at different countries, we are not only concerned about the
Comparative government and politics provides an introduction to the
ins and outs of how the government works; we will also look at how
wide, diverse world of governments and political practices that exist
power is gained, managed, challenged, and maintained.
in modern times. Although the course focuses on specific countries,
it also emphasizes an understanding of conceptual tools and methods College-level courses in comparative government and politics vary in
that form a framework for comparing almost any governments that style and organization, but they all cover topics that enable meaning-
exist today. Additionally, it requires students to go beyond individual ful comparisons across countries. These topics are introduced in the
political systems to consider international forces that affect all people pages that follow, and will be addressed in greater depth when each of
in the world, often in very different ways. Six countries form the the countries is covered separately.
core of the course: Great Britain, Russia, China, Mexico, Iran, and
The topics are:
Nigeria. The countries are chosen to reflect regional variations, but
more importantly, to illustrate how important concepts operate both
• The Comparative Method
similarly and differently in different types of political systems: “ad-
vanced” democracies, communist and post-communist countries, and • Sovereignty, Authority, and Power
newly-industrialized and less-developed nations. This book includes
• Political and Economic Change
review materials for all six countries.
• Citizens, Society, and the State
Goals for the course include:
• Gaining an understanding of major comparative political con- • Political Institutions
cepts, themes, and trends
• Public Policy
• Knowing important facts about government and politics in
TOPIC ONE: THE COMPARATIVE METHOD
Great Britain, Russia, China, Mexico, Iran, and Nigeria
Political scientists sometimes argue about exactly what countries
• Identifying patterns of political processes and behavior and
should be studied and how they should be compared. One approach
analyzing their political and economic consequences
is to emphasize empirical data based on factual statements and sta-
• Comparing and contrasting political institutions and processes tistics, and another is to focus on normative issues that require value
judgments. For example, the first approach might compare statistics
across countries
14 CONCEPTS FOR COMPARISON CONCEPTS FOR COMPARISON 15
that reflect economic development of a group of countries, includ-
ing information about Gross National Product, per capita income, and
amounts of imports and exports. The second approach builds on those
facts to focus instead on whether or not the statistics bode well or ill
for the countries. Empiricists might claim that it is not the role of po-
litical scientists to make such judgments, and their critics would reply
that the empirical approach alone leads to meaningless data collection.
The approaches give us different but equally important tools for ana-
lyzing and comparing political systems.
As with research in any social science, comparative government and
politics relies on scientific methods to objectively and logically evalu-
ate data. After reviewing earlier research, researchers formulate a hy-
pothesis, a speculative statement about the relationship between two
or more factors known as variables. Variables are measurable traits
or characteristics that change under different conditions. For example,
the poverty level in a country may change over time. One question
that a comparative researcher might ask is, “Why are poverty rates
higher in one country than in others?” In seeking to answer this ques-
tion, the researcher want to identify which variable or variables may Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, this approach is still taken to-
contribute to high levels of poverty. In other words, the researcher day by many comparative textbooks, whose comparisons are based
is trying to discover causation – the idea that one (or more) variable on democracy vs. authoritarianism and communism vs. capital-
causes or influences another. So a credible hypothesis might be that ism. Even though this method is still valid, newer types of compar-
higher poverty levels are caused by lower levels of formal education. isons between countries are reflected in the following three trends:
In this hypothesis, one variable (the poverty level) is called the depen-
• The impact of informal politics – Governments have formal
dent variable because it is caused or influenced by another variable
positions and structures that may be seen on an organizational
(the level of formal education), which is called the independent vari-
chart, but these formal elements are not all that there is to po-
able. A correlation exists when a change in one variable coincides
litical systems. For example, in formal terms Great Britain
with a change in the other. Correlations are an indication that causal-
is led by a prime minister and has a House of Lords and a
ity may be present; they do not necessarily indicate causation. Com-
House of Commons. In comparison, the United States has a
parative researchers seek to identify the causal link between variables
president, a Senate, and a House of Representatives. You may
by collecting and analyzing data.
directly compare the responsibilities and typical activities of
How do we go about comparing countries? The model most fre- each position or structure in Britain to its counterpart in the
quently used until the early 1990s was the three-world approach, United States. However, you gain a deeper understanding of
largely based on cold war politics. The three worlds were 1) the both political systems if you connect civil society – the way
United States and its allies; 2) the Soviet Union and its allies; and 3) that citizens organize and define themselves and their interests
“third world” nations that did not fit into the first two categories and – to the ways that the formal government operates. Informal
were economically underdeveloped and deprived. Even though the politics takes into consideration not only the ways that politi-
16 CONCEPTS FOR COMPARISON CONCEPTS FOR COMPARISON 17
cians operate outside their formal powers, but also the impact country) represent this group in our study of comparative gov-
that beliefs, values, and actions of ordinary citizens have on ernment and politics.
policy-making.
• Less-developed and newly-industrializing countries – We
• The importance of political change – One reason that the will divide the countries traditionally referred to as the “Third
three-world approach has become more problematic in recent World” into two groups, still very diverse within the catego-
years is that the nature of world politics has changed. Since ries. The newly-industrializing countries are experiencing rap-
1991, the world no longer has been dominated by two super- id economic growth, and also have shown a tendency toward
powers, and that fact has had consequences that have reverber- democratization and political and social stability. Mexico and
ated in many areas that no one could have predicted. However, Iran represent this group, although, as you will see, Iran has
it creates an opportunity to compare the impact of change on many characteristics that make it difficult to categorize as one
many different countries. or the other. Less-developed countries lack significant eco-
nomic development, and they also tend to have authoritarian
• The integration of political and economic systems – Even
governments. Nigeria represents this group, although it has
though we may theoretically separate government and politics
shown some signs of democratization in very recent years.
from the economy, the two are often intertwined almost inex-
tricably. For example, communism and capitalism are theoret- Important concepts that enable meaningful comparisons among coun-
ically economic systems, but how do you truly separate them tries are introduced in this chapter, and will be addressed with each
from government and politics? Attitudes and behavior of citi- of the individual countries separately. However, it is important to re-
zens are affected in many ways by economic inefficiency, eco- member that the main point of comparative government and politics is
nomic inequality, and economic decision making. If citizens to use the categories to compare among countries. For example, never
turn to the government for solutions to economic problems and take the approach of “Here’s Britain,” “Here’s Russia,” without noting
government does not respond, they may revolt, or take other what similarities and differences exist between the two countries.
actions that demand attention from the political elite.
TOPIC TWO: SOVEREIGNTY, AUTHORITY, AND POWER
Keeping these trends in mind, in this book we will study countries in
We commonly speak about powerful individuals, but in today’s world,
three different groups that are in some ways similar in their political
power is territorially organized into states, or countries, that control
and economic institutions and practices. These groups are:
what happens within their borders. What exactly is a state? German
• “Advanced” democracies – These countries have well estab- scholar Max Weber defined state as the organization that maintains
lished democratic governments and a high level of economic a monopoly of violence over a territory. In other words, the state
development. Of the six core countries that we study in this defines who can and cannot use weapons and force, and it sets the
course, Great Britain represents this group. rules as to how violence is used. States often sponsor armies, navies,
and/or air forces that legitimately use power and sometimes violence,
• Communist and post-communist countries – These coun-
but individual citizens are very restricted in their use of force. States
tries have sought to create a system that limits individual free-
also include institutions: stable, long-lasting organizations that help
doms in order to divide wealth more equally. Communism
to turn political ideas into policy. Common examples of institutions
flourished during the 20th century, but lost ground to demo-
are bureaucracies, legislatures, judicial systems, and political parties.
cratic regimes by the beginning of the 21st century. Russia (as
These institutions make states themselves long-lasting, and often help
a post-communist country) and China (currently a communist
18 CONCEPTS FOR COMPARISON CONCEPTS FOR COMPARISON 19
transportation, and effective communication systems – and economic
stability. The concept of state is closely related to a nation, a group of
people bound together by a common political identity. Nationalism is
the sense of belonging and identity that distinguishes one nation from
another. Nationalism is often translated as patriotism, or the resulting
pride and loyalty that individuals feel toward their nations. For more
than 200 years now, national borders ideally have been drawn along
the lines of group identity. For example, people within one area think
of themselves as “French,” and people in another area think of them-
selves as “English.” Even though individual differences exist within
nations, the nation has provided the overriding identity for most of
its citizens. However, the concept has always been problematic – as
when “Armenians” live inside the borders of a country called “Azer-
baijan.” Especially now that globalization and fragmentation provide
counter trends, the nature of nationalism and its impact on policymak-
ing are clearly changing.
Variations of the Nation State
them to endure even when leaders change. By their very nature, states
A binational or multinational state is one that contains more than
exercise sovereignty, the ability to carry out actions or policies within
one nation. The former Soviet Union is a good example of a multi-
their borders independently from interference either from the inside or
national state. It was divided into fifteen “soviet republics” that were
the outside.
based on nationality, such as the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Estonia, Lat-
via, and Lithuania. When the country fell apart in 1991, it fell along
A state that is unable to exercise sovereignty lacks autonomy, and be-
ethnic boundaries into independent nation-states. Today Russia (one
cause it is not independent, it may be exploited by leaders and/or or-
of the former soviet republics) remains in itself a large multinational
ganizations that see the state as a resource to use for their own ends.
state that governs many ethnic groups. Just as ethnic pressures chal-
Frequently, the result is a high level of corruption. The problem is
lenged the sovereignty of the Soviet government, the Russian govern-
particularly prevalent in newly-industrializing and less-developed
ment has faced “breakaway movements” – such as in Chechnya – that
countries, largely because their governments lack autonomy. For ex-
have threatened Russian stability. Minority ethnic groups may feel so
ample, military rulers in Nigeria stole vast amounts of money from
strongly about their separate identities that they demand their indepen-
the state during the 1990s, making it one of the most corrupt countries
dence. Stateless nations are a people without a state. In the Middle
in the world. Today Nigeria’s tremendous revenues from oil largely
East the Kurds are a nation of some 20 million people divided among
evaporate before they reach ordinary citizens, providing evidence that
six states and dominant in none. Kurdish nationalism has survived
corruption is still a major issue in Nigeria.
over the centuries, and has played an important role in the politics that
States, Nations, and Regimes followed the reconfiguration of Iraq after the Iraqi War that began in
2003.
States do much more than keep order in society. Many have impor-
tant institutions that promote general welfare – such as health, safe