PLS 1003: Introduction to Comparative
Politics
Exam 2 Review Sheet
NOTE: This is intended to help you review the material and focus on some of the important issues covered in class and in your textbook. However, this is NOT intended to replace reading the text or attending class. I reserve the right to include in the exam material that might not be explicitly mentioned below.
1. Definitions: Interest
group, relative deprivation, social capital, legitimacy, political party, civic
duty, political efficacy, policy voting, policy-making institutions, authoritarian regime, totalitarianism,
democracy, traditional democratic theory, parliamentary system, presidential
system, semi-presidential system, premier-presidential system, bi-cameral
legislature, uni-cameral legislature, Federal System,
Unitary System, Elections, Vote of No-Confidence, Proportional Representation,
SMD, Majority, Plurality (review additional terms used in class)
2. Types of Interest
Groups
3. Types of
Interest Groups systems
4. Constitutional
and Extra-Constitutional means for Interest Group influence
5. Functions of
Political Parties in Democracies and non-Democracies
6. Types of
Political Party Systems and Examples
7. Relationship between Electoral
System and Political Party System
8. Reasons for having
Elections
9. Reason for
Voting
10. How do citizens
decide who to vote for
11. Considerations
for writing a Constitution
12.
Characteristics of Autocratic/Authoritarian regimes
13. Types of autocratic/authoritarian
regimes
14. Reasons for
autocratic regimes in the world
15. How can we reduce the number of
autocratic regimes in the world?
16. Characteristics
of the democratic citizen
17. Strengths and weakness of democracy
18. Reasons for
the “Third Wave of Democratization"
19. Types of Democracy
20. Relationship
between national and state governments
21.
Characteristics of the Parliamentary System
22.
Characteristics of a Presidential System
23. Strength and
weakness of Parliamentary and Presidential Systems
24. Mixed Systems:
Presidential and Parliamentary
25. Types of
Legislatures
26. Types of Electoral Systems
27. Distribution
of Electoral Systems across the world.
28. Advantages of
Proportional Representation Systems
29. Advantages of SMD systems
Films:
In addition to your reading and
lecture notes, the exam can contain information from internet pages visited in
class, films, as well as current events information discussed in class.