Question 1

In 2005, Global Call to Action Against Poverty involved some 38 million people in actions to make world leaders live up to their promises to make a breakthrough on poverty. According to the textbook, what term best identifies this organization?

Accepted Answer

The Global Call to Action Against Poverty is best identified as a social movement because it involves a large group of people coming together to advocate for social change, specifically to address and reduce poverty worldwide.

Question 2

According to the textbook, when or under what circumstances do charismatic leaders often emerge?

Accepted Answer

Charismatic leaders often emerge during revolutions, as they are able to inspire and mobilize people towards radical change or to fight against the existing order.

Question 3

According to which of the following models is political power widely dispersed across many competing interest groups?

Accepted Answer

The pluralist model posits that political power is not concentrated in the hands of a few, but is instead distributed among a multitude of competing interest groups. This model suggests that democracy is enhanced when many different organizations and groups can influence political decisions, thereby preventing any single entity from dominating the political process.

Question 4

China has highly concentrated and centralized state power. What type of society does China exemplify?

Accepted Answer

China exemplifies an authoritarian society, where power is concentrated in the hands of a central authority, and political freedoms are limited.

Question 5

Which of the following elements of civil society specializes in keeping a close watch on the activities of politicians and the state and informing the public about their activities?

Accepted Answer

Mass media specializes in monitoring the activities of politicians and the state and informing the public about these activities, acting as a watchdog in society.

Question 6

The Council of Canadians and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives have worked on several campaigns to gain political support for issues like a guaranteed annual income for Canadians and poverty reduction strategies. What kind of group are these organizations?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Council of Canadians and the Canadian...

Question 7

What type of group is the Bloc Québécois?

Accepted Answer

The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada that advocates for the interests of Quebec and promotes Quebec sovereignty.

Question 8

Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi, considered by many as India's founding father, was the spiritual and political leader for Indian people through the first decades of the twentieth century. What type of leadership did he characterize?

Accepted Answer

Mahatma Gandhi is best described as having charismatic authority. His leadership was based on his personal qualities, moral authority, and the ability to inspire and mobilize people, rather than on any formal legal or traditional position of power.

Question 9

A business entrepreneur wants to open a pharmacy, but finds himself bogged down in a quagmire of bureaucracy, rules, and regulations required to set up his business. Select the term that best describes whose responsibility it is to regulate such activities.

Accepted Answer

The state is primarily responsible for regulating business activities, including the establishment and operation of pharmacies, through various laws, rules, and regulations.

Question 10

What do we call the institution that specializes in exercising power and authority over the citizenry of a nation?

Accepted Answer

The state is the institution that specializes in exercising power and authority over the citizenry of a nation, encompassing the government, law enforcement, and other mechanisms of social control.

Question 11

What type of authority is associated with tribal and feudal societies?

Accepted Answer

Traditional authority is associated with tribal and feudal societies, where power is derived from long-standing customs, practices, and social structures.

Question 12

When uncommon people challenge existing authority because they claim to be motivated by a higher authority or higher principles, what type of authority are they exhibiting?

Accepted Answer

Charismatic authority is based on the unique qualities and inspirational appeal of an individual leader, often claiming a higher purpose or moral superiority. This contrasts with traditional authority, which is based on established customs, and legal-rational authority, which is based on laws and procedures.

Question 13

What type of political organization competes for control of the government in regular elections and puts forth policy alternatives?

Accepted Answer

A political party is an organization that competes for control of the government in regular elections and offers policy alternatives, distinguishing it from lobbies or interest groups that seek to influence policy and political revolutions that aim for fundamental changes in the political system, often outside of established electoral processes.

Question 14

In modern societies, authority is derived from respect for the law. Laws specify how a person can legitimately achieve positions of command and accomplish tasks. If a person achieves political office by following societal laws, what type of authority does he or she have?

Accepted Answer

Legal-rational authority is based on a system of rules and laws that determine how a person can achieve positions of power. When someone gains political office by adhering to these societal laws, they are exercising legal-rational authority.

Question 15

The Business Council on National Issues and the Fraser Institute are special interest groups that represent the interests of their constituents by attempting to gain a political profile for their issues. What kind of group are these organizations?

Accepted Answer

The Business Council on National Issues and the Fraser Institute are examples of lobbies, as they are organizations that represent the interests of their constituents by attempting to influence political decisions and gain a political profile for their issues.

Question 16

What do we call groups that seek to influence politicians through their members' votes, organizing skills, and campaign contributions?

Accepted Answer

Lobbies are groups that seek to influence politicians and public policy through various means including their members' votes, organizing skills, and campaign contributions. They are distinct from political parties, which aim to win elections and govern, and from social movements, which are broader collective efforts to promote or resist change in society. Voluntary organizations can encompass a wide range of groups, not all of which are focused on political influence.

Question 17

In Canada, people use an electoral process to determine a leader. What type of society does Canada exemplify?

Accepted Answer

Canada exemplifies a democracy, where leaders are elected through a fair and free electoral process by the citizens.

Question 18

According to the textbook, what is the term for collective attempts to change all or part of the social order?

Accepted Answer

Social movements are collective attempts by people to change all or part of the social order, often aiming at major societal changes.

Question 19

Amartya is angry with the leadership at her university because she believes that most of the grants, student work-study projects, and bursaries are given to undeserving but well-connected students. She organizes other students who create an organization that mounts protests, educates the public and campus population, and attempts to put pressure on the university to change its policies. What is this organization an example of?

Accepted Answer

This organization is an example of a social movement, as it is a group effort aimed at promoting change in societal or institutional practices, in this case, the university's policies on grants and bursaries. Unlike political parties or lobbies, social movements are broader and often grassroots efforts to enact social change, and they do not necessarily seek to gain political power or influence legislation directly as their primary goal.

Question 20

North Korea is a nation that strives to regulate all aspects of the citizenry's public and private life. What type of society does North Korea exemplify?

Accepted Answer

North Korea is a totalitarian society because it strives to regulate all aspects of the citizenry's public and private life.

Quiz 14: Politics