AP CG: BRITAIN

Ch. 15 and Ethel Wood Review

1. All of the following are examples o rational-legal authority in Britain EXCEPT

• A. the Magna Carta• B. the Bill of Rights• C. common law• D. hereditary monarchy• E. the “Constitution of the Crown”

2. Which of the following countries have legal and justice systems based on common law?

• I. Great Britain• II. The United States• III. France• IV. Germany

• A. I only• B. I and II only• C. II, III, and IV• D. III and IV only• E. I, II, III, and IV

3. In the early 21st century, which of the following social cleavages appears to be getting stronger?

• A. social class• B. multi-nationalism• C. ethnicity• D. age groups• E. political ideologies

4. Controversy in Britain over the European Union has most frequently centered on• A. elections of representatives to the European

Parliament• B. competition with France over who heads the

Council of Ministers• C. cooperation with other countries regarding

anti-terrorism• D. competitive educational opportunities on the

continent• E. the adoption of the euro as the national

currency

5. Despite Britain’s numerous political parties, one political party has always been able to claim a majority in Parliament. The BEST single reason is• A. parliamentary majorities are usually based on

coalitions• B. the plurality electoral system is used• C. very few people actually vote for parties other

than Conservative or Labour• D. regional parties are forbidden by law from

controlling Parliament• E. Britain has a conflictual political culture

6. Neo-liberalism is most closely associated with British policymaking under

• A. Winston Churchill• B. Clement Atlee• C. Gordon Brown• D. Tony Blair• E. Margaret Thatcher

7. Which of the following characteristics of Britain’s political culture may be linked most directly to its cautious attitude toward the European Union?

• A. insularity• B. noblesse oblige• C. traditionalism• D. multi-nationalism• E. gradulaism

8. Which of the following BEST describes the nature of political and economic change over the long course of Britain’s history?

• A. frequent coup d’etats• B. economic revolution• C. political revolution• D. gradual reform• E. periods of reform followed by periods of

revolution

9. Which of the following is the best description of Britain’s political party system since its inception in the 17th century?• A. Britain has always had a multi-party system characterized by

coalitions among parties.• B. Britain has always been a two-party system: Conservative and

Labour parties.• C. Britain has always been dominated by two parties, but Labour

replaced the Liberals as a main party in the early 20th century.• D. British political parties were very weak until the 20th century,

when Conservatives, Labour, and Liberals all gained access to the policymaking process

• E. Political parties were strong until the mid-20th century, when their power began to decline.

10. What do Neil Kinnock, John Smith, Tony Bair, and Gordon Brown all have in common?

• A. They’ve all been British prime ministers.• B. They’ve all been leaders of the Conservative

Party.• C. They’ve all been leaders of the Liberal

Democrat Party.• D. They’ve all been chancellors of the exchequer.• E. They’ve all been leaders of the Labour Party.

11. The post-World War II cabinet laid the foundations for a

• A. free market economy• B. socialist economy• C. command economy• D. mixed economy• E. decentralized economy

12. Tony Blair’s “third way” was an attempt to balance the socialist policies of the Labour Party during the 1970s with• A. collective consensus• B. Margaret Thatcher’s free-market policies• C. Winston Churchill’s internationalism• D. Bill Clinton’s new direction for the

Democratic Party in the U.S.• E. the demands made by the Democratic

Liberal Party for more personal liberties.

13. Tony Blair’s support for devolution was primarily stimulated by Britain’s problems with

• A. Multi-national identities• B. increasing numbers of immigrants from

India and Pakistan• C. urban vs. rural areas• D. emigration of education citizens to the U.S.• E. social class differences

14. In modern times political elites in Britain have most often been recruited from

• A. the military• B. business and industry• C. the middle class• D. Oxbridge• E. aristocratic families

15. Which of the following is an accurate description of British Muslims?

• A. They form roughly 20% of Britain’s population.

• B. Most of them emigrated from Africa.• C. Most of them are well-educated.• D. Most of them are involved with terrorist

activities.• E. Most are not well-integrated into British

society.

16. The “Good Friday” agreement addressed the issue of

• A. Protest over the Iraq War• B. the adoption of the euro• C. religious conflict in Northern Ireland• D. sovereignty powers of the Scottish

Parliament• E. government control of the media

17. The political party that gets most of its support from rural and suburban areas of England is

• A. Labour• B. Plaid Cymru• C. Liberal Democrat• D. Conservative• E. Democratic Unionist

18. The British political party most disadvantaged by the plurality voting system is

• A. Labour• B. Scottish Nationalist• C. Conservative• D. Sinn Fein• E. Liberal Democratic

19. Which of the following is characteristic of British elections?

• A. Party leaders run in “safe districts.”• B. MP candidates must live in their districts.• C. Individuals vote for four officials on the

national level.• D. Virtually no minor parties sin MP seats.• E. Elections for the House of Commons are

held at different times than elections for the House of Lords.

20. Quangos best represent which pattern of interest group involvement in policymaking?

• A. interest group pluralism• B. solidarity• C. state corporatism• D. neo-corporatism• E. liberalism

21. Which of the following is NOT an accurate description of the relationship between the British government and the BBC?• A. The government strictly regulates the BBC and private

media companies.• B. the BBC has competition from private media outlets.• C. the BBC seldom criticizes the government’s officials.• D. The government prohibits the BBC from selling

advertisements to politicians, parties, and political causes.

• E. The government allows the BBC to broadcast internationally.

22. Which of the following is an accurate description of the British political system?• A. It’s a unitary state with political authority centralized in

London.• B. It’s a federal state with a central government that shares

powers with sub-units of government.• C. Although officials are directly elected, the fusion between

the executive and legislative branches makes it an authoritarian state.

• D. It has a confederal government that suits the multi-national country very well.

• E. It’s a corporatist state that allows interest group input but chooses which groups have access to the government.

23. Collective responsibility is a concept that applies most clearly to the British

• A. House of Commons• B. House of Lords• C. cabinet• D. bureaucracy• E. judiciary

24. All of the following are accurate statements about the British executive EXCEPT• A. the prime minister serves only as long as (s)he

remains leader of the majority party.• B. the prime minister is elected as a member of

parliament• C. cabinet members are always MPs and leaders of

the majority party• D. the cabinet members rely on bureaucrats to

provide expertise in specific policymaking areas• E. the prime minister has an excellent chance of

ending up in gridlock with parliament

25. The shadow cabinet is formed by the

• A. majority party in Parliament• B. House of Lords• C. Bureaucracy• D. judiciary• E. loyal opposition

26. If a vote of confidence is lost in House of commons, by tradition, what happens next?

• A. The opposition party takes over.• B. The prime minister and cabinet resign.• C. The House votes for a new leadership team.• D. The prime minister chooses a new cabinet.• E. The vote goes to the House of Lords.

27. Britain’s highest court of appeals consists of

• A. the law lords• B. specially elected judges• C. judges selected by the queen• D. cabinet members• E. judges appointed by the prime minister and

confirmed by the House of Lords

28. The most important shapers of the British political economy during the Blair years were Tony Blair and

• A. Gordon Brown• B. Jack Straw• C. John Major• D. David Cameron• E. John Maynard Keynes

29. Referenda on British policy issues have actually been held for

• A. the European Constitution• B. the adoption o the euro as a currency• C. Regional assemblies• D. the National Health Service• E. support for the Iraq War

30. The nature of the issue of terrorism in Britain has changed over the past few years from a focus on• A. international terrorism to violence in Northern

Ireland.• B. violence in Northern Ireland to international

terrorism.• C. solutions crafted by the government in London

to solutions collectively considered thorough the European Union.

• D. control of British citizens to control of immigration into the country.

• E. individual acts of terror to actions sponsored by organized groups.