INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE QUIZ

Political Parties

INSTRUCTIONS: Read and answer the following items carefully. Shade the letter of the
correct answer in your ZipGrade answer sheet.
The quiz that you are about to take is TEXT-DEPENDENT, meaning the items are
constructed based from the readings that have been provided and assigned to you. Specifically,
the main text is Politics in a Changing World: A Comparative Introduction to Political Science,
Fifth Edition by Marcus E. Ethridge, Howard Handelman

1. What was George Washington's view a. Control interest groups

on political parties? b. Influence government decisions
c. Control the media
a. He believed they were essential for
d. Implement totalitarian rule
democracy
b. He thought they were divisive and self- 5. Which type of electoral system is more
serving likely to produce multiple competitive
c. He encouraged the formation of more political parties?
political parties
a. Single-member district
d. He was indifferent towards political
b. Multi-party district
parties
c. Proportional representation
2. Why do political scientists consider d. Totalitarian representation
political parties important?
6. What is the key feature of leadership
a. They are easily manipulated for personal recruitment in modern political systems?
gain
a. Inheritance
b. They help repress political participation
b. Only through military service
c. They are crucial for organizing citizen
c. Party affiliation
participation in democracy
d. Political parties
d. They contribute to government instability
7. What do political parties help
3. What country banned political parties
formulate in government?
until 2005 under Yoweri Museveni's rule?
a. Defense strategies
a. Afghanistan
b. National languages
b. Saudi Arabia
c. Government policies and programs
c. Uganda
d. Environmental regulations
d. China
8. Why are two-party systems prevalent
4. What do political parties aim to do in
in Anglo-American societies?
democratic systems?

1|Page
a. Due to excessive government control
b. Result of historical factors and electoral
arrangements
c. Lack of political interest
d. Influenced by neighboring nations
9. What was one characteristic of the first
European and Latin American political
parties in the nineteenth century?
a. Democratic structure
b. Led by industrial workers
c. Competing aristocratic factions
d. Socialist ideologies
10. Which type of parties emerged during
the mid-twentieth century in Western
Europe?
a. Single-party systems
b. Fascist organizations
c. Mass parties
d. Communist groups
11. How do two-party systems in some
Asian countries justify their structure?
a. Prevent corruption
b. Promote political stability
c. Ensure democratic rule
d. Establish unifying influence
12. What is a characteristic of Communist
parties' organizational structure?
a. Highly decentralized
b. Loose federation of local groups
c. Centralized decision-making
d. Adherence to democratic centralism
13. How do parties influence government
programs in democracies?
a. By directly implementing policies
b. Through candidate selection
c. By reducing political demands
d. Ignoring societal interests
2|Page
14. What do American political parties
primarily rely on for selecting
candidates?
a. Leader appointment
b. Primary elections
c. Military endorsement
d. Popular vote
15. What role do ideologies play in
defining political parties?
a. They have no influence
b. Define party's message and policies
c. Determine party size
d. Ensure party discipline
16. Why do countries with proportional
representation systems have more
multiparty legislatures?
a. Strong military influence
b. Fairer electoral representation for smaller
parties
c. One-party rule
d. Disparate government ideologies
17. What is a drawback of multi-party
parliamentary systems?
a. Lack of coalition members
b. Higher government stability
c. Tendency for frequent changing coalitions
d. Development of dictatorial rule
18. Which country has a multiparty
system due to multiple societal divisions?
a. United Kingdom
b. Germany
c. Switzerland
d. Australia
19. What best describes the role of
political parties in modern political
systems?
a. Minimal influence on government
decisions
b. Central piece of political landscape
c. Figures of ancient history
d. Disruptive entities
20. What is a common criticism of the
two-party system in the United States?
a. Lack of diverse backgrounds among
leaders
b. Excessive government control
c. Inability to influence laws
d. Party unity affecting government
programs

3|Page
Answer Key
1. b. He thought they were divisive and self-serving
2. c. They are crucial for organizing citizen participation in democracy
3. c. Uganda
4. b. Influence government decisions
5. c. Proportional representation
6. d. Political parties
7. c. Government policies and programs
8. b. Result of historical factors and electoral arrangements
9. c. Competing aristocratic factions
10. c. Mass parties
11. d. Establish unifying influence
12. c. Centralized decision-making
13. c. By reducing political demands
14. b. Primary elections
15. b. Define party's message and policies
16. b. Fairer electoral representation for smaller parties
17. c. Tendency for frequent changing coalitions
18. c. Switzerland
19. b. Central piece of political landscape
20. d. Party unity affecting government programs

4|Page