POSC 215 Part II
Kesselman, pgs. 83-87, CP11-12
BRITISH POLITICS IN TRANSITION
True or False Questions
1. Two weeks after the London terrorist attacks by four al-Qaeda–linked suicide bombers the police shot and killed a Brazilian electrician who was affiliated with the same group. True or False
2. Britain has an executive whose political authority is easily the weakest among the western European democracies. True or False
3. The British have very little experience with coalition governments, and yet they presently have one. True or False
4. In the May 2011 referendum, Labour leader, Ed Miliband, was chastened after the “Alternative Vote” system he supported was resoundingly defeated by the electorate. True or False
5. Given Britain’s single-member, simple-plurality electoral system, and no proportional representation, minority representation in Parliament remains very low. True or False
6. Prior to the run up to the war in Iraq in early 2003, Tony Blair was successful in getting the UN to give the green light for the attack and in making significant progress toward a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. True or False
7. Blair accepted the advice of his cabinet and his chief of defense staff in supporting Bush's war in Iraq. True or False
8. When the financial and economic crisis struck in 2008, Britain was among the hardest hit of the core European economies. True or False
9. U.S. interests have tended to exert a tremendous magnetic pull on British foreign policy, to the relative neglect of European partnerships and broader international influences. True or False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Refers to relations between the United States and Britain and is meant to convey not only the largely positive, mutually beneficial nature of the relationship but also the common heritage and shared values of the two countries: a) American exceptionalism b) universal bonding, c) strategic benefit, d) special relationship.
2. Four British suicide bombers, all Muslims, detonated a set of coordinated attacks on the London transport system during morning rush hour resulting in the deaths of 56 people including the al-Qaeda-linked suicide bombers and some 700 people being injured: a) 7/7, b) 9/11, c) 12/7, d) 8/12.
3. What did the Queen of England do in 2007 that was an affront to many Muslims? a) She visited the Pope and made some crude comments about Islam, b) She refused to allow a visit from the Egyptian President Mubarak, calling him a dictator, c) She knighted Salmon Rushdie, d) She visited Saudi Arabia and made some critical comments about the country’s treatment of women.
4. What was David Cameron’s view of multiculturalism in February 2011? a) He supported the longstanding cross-party support for its ability to promote tolerance and understanding, b) He condemned a culture of “hands-off” tolerance in the UK and in Europe, c) He made it clear that immigrants are an asset to economic growth and further development in Britain, d) He refused to take a stand at a security conference, not wanting to ruffle the feathers of constituents back home.
5. Until the Asian financial crisis that began in 1997, it was an axiom of comparative politics that economic success required innovation and competitiveness in the new global economy to be directed and coordinated by: a) an interventionist state, b) a regional central bank, c) a newly created, all-powerful international body with coercive authority, d) restrictive tariff and protectionist policies.
6. In the days following 9/11 which of the following was not a reason that compelled Tony Blair to support the U.S. administration even when the venue of the war on terror shifted from Afghanistan to Iraq: a) A fear that if the United States were left to fight the war on terror by itself, then unilateralist forces in Washington would be strengthened, and the world would be worse off. b) Blair’s conviction that Iraq should be understood as an exercise in humanitarian intervention to save Muslims from catastrophic human rights abuses, c) The special relationship that made it imperative that the UK support the U.S. war in Iraq, viewing it as a necessary part of the global war on terror, d) The Bush administration had promised Blair that the U.S. would aggressively pressure Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories by threatening to cut-off aid to the Jewish state.
Fill-in Questions
1. What are some of the problems raised by the Westminster model of government?
a) Questions about the role of the ______and the House of ______have long been simmering on Britain’s political agenda.
b) In addition, the balance of power among constitutionally critical institutions raises important questions about a ______deficit at the heart of the Westminster model.
c) Britain’s executive easily ______parliament.
d) Add to these concerns the prime minister’s tendency to bypass the ______on crucial decisions and
e) the bias in the ______system that privileges the two dominant parties.
2. According to Kesselman, et. al., why has the UK joined the pack of middle-level European powers?
a) because of the decline of its ______model,
b) its refusal to participate in the ______,
c) unresolved legacies of ______, and
d) its surprising ______uncertainty,
3. Tony Blair’s foreign policy, was referred to as the doctrine of international community which supported the following:
a) it gave new weight to the notion of global ______
b) by asserting a responsibility to use ______force when necessary to achieve
c) ______objectives and contain catastrophic human ______.
Answers
True or False Questions
1. False
3. True
5. True
7. False
9. True
Multiple Choice Questions
1. d
3. c
5. a
Fill-in Questions
1. a) monarchy, Lords, b) democratic, c) overpowers, d) cabinet, e) electoral
3. a) interdependence, b) military, c) humanitarian, rights abuses
11-2