Basics of Political Science I Trivia Quiz

Answer: Westphalia

In 1648, the Treaty (or Peace) of Westphalia (which was concluded after negotiations at Münster and Osnabrück) helped bring an end to the Thirty Years War in Europe. Under the terms of this treaty the boundaries of the various nation-states within Europe were clearly demarcated, and the respective governments of these political entities were provided with the legal authority to police their own territories. Formal diplomatic ties were established among the various participants, and firm rules against territorial encroachment were set in place.

Answer: A political entity capable of extending its political, economic and military influence across the globe

While the correct choices describe essential aspects of a nation-state, the incorrect choice (A political entity capable of extending its political, economic and military influence over the globe), though potentially a characteristic of a nation-state, is not considered an essential descriptor. For example, Denmark is considered a fairly healthy nation-state though it has very little influence on global affairs.

Answer: True

In modern parlance, the word 'regime' has come to have something of a negative connotation. This is simply not fair! The word may be almost universally employed to describe the set of rules and institutions, whether they be monarchical, democratic or tyrannical, by which a government exercises authority over its people. A regime is typically institutionalized, and adheres to a set of long-term goals directed toward a particular set of ideals (freedom and equality are two possible examples).

Answer: All of these

A wide swathe is cut by those entities that may be defined as institutions. Any structure or activity, whether it be cultural, political, etc., may be defined as an institution once it reaches a certain level of value and self-perpetuation within a particular society (or globally, as well). An example of an international institution would be the Olympics, an athletic competition which is universally revered and respected throughout the world.

Answer: Dependent variable

A very simple example: Let's say you want to understand party affiliation based on gender. Gender becomes your independent variable, while party affiliation, which you are trying to test, becomes your dependent variable. Notice that gender is still a variable (typically, two choices there), though not the one which you are choosing to ultimately measure for your study. Party affiliation, in your study, is dependent on gender, thus why we refer it as the dependent variable!

Answer: W. W. Rostow

W. W. (Walt Whitman) Rostow's most famous book was entitled 'The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-communist Manifesto'. Written in 1960, in this book Rostow specifically implied that there is only one path of development towards modernization that countries throughout the world could take, and that path was first tread upon by the English, beginning with the Industrial Revolution. Any country can embark upon the same path given the right political and social circumstances, according to Rostow.

Answer: Friedrich Engels

Marx and Engels observed the development of the Industrial Revolution firsthand, and both felt that, as a result of rapid industrial development, the growing social strains within European society would eventually boil over into political revolution. The two encouraged the urban proletariat to rise up against the bourgeois capitalist class and take control of the means of production (meaning, both physical capital and their own labor). Unfortunately for the two political philosophers, their ideas never caught on in the places intended (particularly, England), and Marx had no answer for the development of the labor movement within England and elsewhere. Marxist ideas did catch on in countries like Russia and China, with rather disastrous consequences.

Answer: The End of History

Francis Fukuyama's 1992 book 'The End of History and the Last Man' describes the end of the great struggle between various political ideologies, with the capitalist democratic regime having triumphed over all rivals. Like Rostow, Fukuyama, and other political scientists sympathetic to his views, believes that there is one clear historical path towards modernization and that virtually all nations are now moving along it, albeit at different stages.

Answer: Samuel Huntington

Quite the controversial figure in political science, Huntington in his 1993 article in the journal 'Foreign Affairs' entitled 'The Clash of Civilizations?' (later a 1996 book 'The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order') suggested that the modern world is now divided into competing ideologies based on cultural and religious identities. Several civilizations that are competing against the West (for example, Islam) are a serious threat to the current modern world order, according to Huntington. Huntington is also famous for his 1993 book entitled 'The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century' wherein he describes (what else?) three waves of democratization, the most recent beginning in the 1990s.

Answer: Anarchism

Though anarchism is a serious political ideology, having been touted by thinkers such as Pierre Joseph Proudhon, Mikhail Bakunin and even Noam Chomsky, it has yet to be employed as an official state ideology. Great difficulties would arise from such an application, including the dismantlement of whatever state/governmental apparatus happened to currently exist within a nation-state attempting such an experiment. Fascism and Communism are both ideologies that have been put into motion by various nation-states (Fascism: Italy, Spain, Germany; Communism: Soviet Union, China, Cuba). Neither ideology has proven to be eminently successful in the long-run. Liberalism as an ideology was developed in the U.K., France and the United States, and has proven remarkably versatile and resilient.