Chapter 39 — Self-Check Quiz
Twelve multiple-choice questions and four short-answer questions. Answers and explanations follow.
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is the best one-sentence definition of a "semi-presidential" system?
A. A system in which the president is elected only every other election cycle. B. A system in which there is both a directly elected president and a prime minister responsible to the legislature, with executive power divided between them. C. A system in which the president serves a half-term before a confirming election by the legislature. D. A system in which the president is the head of state but the cabinet is appointed by the courts.
2. Germany's "constructive vote of no confidence" requires:
A. A two-thirds supermajority in the Bundestag. B. A simultaneous vote electing a successor when the incumbent chancellor is removed. C. Approval by the Federal Constitutional Court before a no-confidence vote can proceed. D. A national referendum on the chancellor's continued service.
3. The Connecticut Compromise of 1787 produced equal Senate representation for all states. The constitutional consequence is that the U.S. Senate's apportionment skew is, compared to other federal democracies in this chapter:
A. The lowest in the comparison set. B. About equal to Germany's Bundesrat. C. Among the highest in the comparison set. D. Roughly equal to Canada's Senate.
4. Which electoral system is used by Germany for its Bundestag?
A. First-past-the-post (FPTP) in single-member districts. B. Pure proportional representation by national list. C. Mixed-member proportional representation with a 5% threshold. D. Two-round single-member districts.
5. The American First Amendment, compared to the free-speech provisions of peer democracies:
A. Provides narrower protection because it allows government regulation of hate speech. B. Provides equivalent protection across the comparison set. C. Provides broader protection of unpopular and offensive speech, including types of speech criminalized in many peer democracies. D. Provides protection only for political speech, with commercial speech unprotected.
6. Among the seven peer democracies in this chapter, which one has the highest civilian firearm rate per 100 residents?
A. Canada B. Germany C. The United States D. Brazil
7. Per-capita healthcare spending in the United States, compared to peer democracies, is approximately:
A. About the same as Germany and France. B. Slightly higher than Canada and the UK. C. Twice the OECD average among peer democracies, with worse outcomes on most aggregate measures. D. Lower than most peer democracies on a per-capita basis.
8. The "basic structure doctrine" — the idea that even constitutional amendments cannot violate certain core constitutional principles — was developed by which country's constitutional court?
A. Germany's Federal Constitutional Court. B. France's Conseil Constitutionnel. C. The Supreme Court of India. D. The U.S. Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison.
9. The Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project's 2024 reports indicate that:
A. The number of liberal democracies has increased steadily since 2010. B. Approximately 71% of the world's population now lives in autocracies, up from 49% a decade ago. C. The United States is the only mature democracy showing signs of erosion. D. India remains classified as a fully consolidated liberal democracy.
10. Which peer democracy in the chapter underwent a meaningful democratic recovery between 2015 and 2023?
A. Hungary B. Poland C. Turkey D. Brazil under Bolsonaro
11. The U.S. has the death penalty in 27 states; among the seven peer democracies in this chapter, which retains it as well?
A. Germany B. Canada C. Japan D. France
12. The 1967 federal statute that mandated single-member House districts (preventing states from adopting multi-member proportional representation for U.S. House elections) is significant because:
A. It is constitutionally entrenched and would require amendment to repeal. B. It is statutory and could be repealed by Congress, opening a path to PR-style House elections. C. It applies only to states that joined the Union after 1900. D. It was struck down by Reynolds v. Sims (1964).
Short Answer
13. In two to three sentences, explain why the chapter argues that "comparison is hard." Include both methodological cautions named in the chapter.
14. In two to three sentences, identify two American institutional strengths and two American institutional weaknesses that the comparative analysis supports.
15. In two to three sentences, explain the trade-off between FPTP and proportional representation as electoral systems, and give one peer-democracy example of each.
16. In two to three sentences, summarize what the comparative analysis of democratic erosion (Hungary, Poland, India, Israel, Brazil, Turkey) suggests about U.S. resilience.
Answers and Explanations
1. B. Semi-presidentialism (Duverger) divides executive power between an elected president and a PM accountable to the legislature. France is the prototype.
2. B. Article 67 of the Basic Law requires that any Bundestag no-confidence vote simultaneously elect a successor — a direct response to Weimar instability.
3. C. The Wyoming-California 70:1 ratio with equal Senate seats produces a skew higher than Germany's Bundesrat or Canada's Senate. Brazil also has high skew.
4. C. MMP with a 5% threshold (Sperrklausel) — half constituency FPTP, half proportional, with proportional allocation determining overall share.
5. C. The First Amendment protects speech criminalized in Germany (Holocaust denial), France (some hate speech), and other peers. Whether wise is contested; that it is broader is empirical.
6. C. The U.S. has ~120 firearms per 100 residents, highest in the world. Canada is at 35; European democracies are below 20.
7. C. The U.S. spends ~$13,000 per capita on healthcare versus ~$6,000 OECD average, with worse outcomes — the cleanest finding in comparative health policy.
8. C. The basic-structure doctrine emerged in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973). No American analog.
9. B. V-Dem 2024: 71% of the world's population lives in autocracies, up from 49% a decade earlier. Liberal democracies declined from a peak of 42 to 32.
10. B. Poland's 2023 election produced a coalition government reversing PiS-era changes. Brazil 2022 is also a recovery, though with different mechanics.
11. C. Japan retains the death penalty (~100 on death row, sporadic executions). European peers and Canada have abolished it.
12. B. P.L. 90-196 (1967) is statutory and could be repealed by Congress. Multi-member House districts with PR are constitutionally permissible but federally forbidden by statute.
13. Comparison is hard because (a) output differences across countries reflect long causal chains involving institutions, culture, geography, and history; and (b) selection bias in the peer set — the chosen seven shape the conclusions.
14. Strengths: First Amendment breadth, federal flexibility, constitutional stability, innovation/research capacity. Weaknesses: healthcare cost-outcome gap, gun violence rates, midterm voter turnout, income inequality and mobility, polarization combined with institutional choke points.
15. FPTP produces clearer majorities and accountability but underrepresents geographically dispersed minorities (UK 2024 Labour majority on 33.7%). PR produces proportional outcomes and small-party access but requires coalitions and slower government formation. New Zealand 1996 is a real transition case.
16. Backsliding cases show resilience varies (judicial independence, federalism, civil service matter), recovery is possible but not automatic, civic culture matters and is non-transferable. The U.S. has resilient features and stressed features. Not uniquely fragile, not invulnerable.