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AP Comparative Government and Politics Unit 2: Political Institutions

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Unit 2: Political Institutions

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Question 1

The National People's Congress (NPC) of China formally holds the highest legislative authority in the country, yet in practice it is best described as:

A.An independent legislature that routinely challenges and overrides decisions of the Chinese Communist PartyB.A rubber-stamp legislature that ratifies decisions already made by the Communist Party leadershipC.An upper house of a bicameral legislature, checking bills passed by a lower houseD.A judicial body that reviews legislation for consistency with the Chinese constitution

Question 2

In a parliamentary system, the term 'fusion of powers' refers to the fact that:

A.The courts hold both executive and legislative powers in cases involving constitutional questionsB.Executive leaders (Prime Minister and Cabinet) are drawn from and remain accountable to the legislatureC.A single constitution fuses the laws of multiple previously separate nations into one legal systemD.The head of state and head of government are the same individual, as in a presidential system

Question 3

Mexico's presidential term is called the 'sexenio,' a six-year period defined by a constitutional prohibition on reelection. This provision was designed primarily to:

A.Align Mexico's electoral cycle with the six-year terms of state governors to simplify administrationB.Prevent the consolidation of personal power by a single leader, a reaction to the long Díaz dictatorshipC.Give the president enough time to implement a full economic development plan before handing power to a successorD.Satisfy a US requirement for term limits as a condition of NAFTA membership

Question 4

A political scientist argues: 'Iran's Assembly of Experts is the institution that most clearly reveals the paradox at the heart of the Islamic Republic — it appears to be a democratic check on clerical power but in practice reinforces it.'

Which of the following best supports this argument?

A.The Assembly of Experts is directly elected by voters but its candidates are vetted by the Guardian Council, which the Supreme Leader controls, producing a body unlikely to challenge the Supreme Leader who appointed the Council that screened themB.The Assembly of Experts is appointed entirely by the Supreme Leader and has never been subject to popular electionsC.The Assembly of Experts can dissolve the Majles (parliament) but has never exercised this power, making it a largely dormant institutionD.The Supreme Leader appoints all 88 members of the Assembly of Experts directly, bypassing any election

Question 5

Russia's State Duma is formally the lower house of the Federal Assembly, but its actual political power is best described as:

A.Highly independent, regularly rejecting presidential legislative proposals and directing budget prioritiesB.Subordinate to the president; United Russia's supermajority ensures Kremlin proposals pass with minimal independent scrutinyC.The most powerful branch of government, with authority to override presidential vetoes by a simple majorityD.A purely ceremonial institution with no legislative functions, replaced in practice by presidential decree

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Question 6

Nigeria's Federal Character Commission is responsible for ensuring that federal appointments reflect the country's ethnic and regional diversity. This institution reflects which broader principle of Nigerian governance?

A.Consociationalism — the deliberate sharing of executive power among leaders of all major ethnic segmentsB.The Federal Character Principle — a constitutional requirement that national institutions reflect Nigeria's ethnic and regional diversity to prevent domination by any groupC.Proportional representation — allocating legislative seats according to each group's population shareD.Affirmative action — temporary measures to correct historical disadvantages faced by previously excluded groups

Question 7

Which of the following best describes the role of the judiciary in China compared to the United Kingdom?

A.China's courts are independent of the party and frequently rule against the government, while UK courts defer to Parliament on constitutional mattersB.China's courts are subordinate to the Communist Party and cannot meaningfully check executive power, while UK courts operate with significant independence under the rule of lawC.Both China and the UK have independent constitutional courts that can strike down government legislationD.The UK's House of Lords functions as China's Supreme People's Court does — as a final appellate body that also reviews legislation

Question 8

Iran's executive branch is unusual among the six AP Comparative Government course countries because it includes:

A.A separately elected prime minister who controls domestic policy while the president handles foreign affairsB.A Supreme Leader (Rahbar) who holds ultimate authority over the president and all major state institutionsC.A military junta that must approve all presidential appointments before they take effectD.A constitutional monarchy in which a hereditary shah retains veto power over the elected government

Question 9

In the Westminster parliamentary system used by the United Kingdom, what is the most important mechanism that ensures executive accountability to the legislature?

A.The Prime Minister is directly elected by the public in a separate nationwide voteB.The Prime Minister and Cabinet must maintain the confidence of the House of Commons or resignC.The House of Lords has the power to remove the Prime Minister through a vote of no confidenceD.The monarch appoints and can dismiss the Prime Minister independently of parliamentary support

Question 10

The table below shows key features of executive systems in three AP Comparative Government course countries.

Country	How executive is chosen	Can legislature remove executive?	Executive term length
UK	Leader of majority party in Commons	Yes, via vote of no confidence	No fixed term
Mexico	Direct popular election	No (impeachment only)	6 years, no reelection
Russia	Direct popular election	Very limited	6 years

Based on the table, which conclusion is best supported?

A.The UK Prime Minister has the most stable tenure of the three because parliamentary systems always produce longer-serving executives than presidential onesB.Mexico and Russia share the feature of direct popular election but differ significantly in the legislature's practical ability to check the executiveC.All three executives are directly accountable to their legislatures through formal confidence mechanismsD.Russia's executive is most constrained because it has the longest term limit, giving the legislature more time to accumulate opposition to presidential policies

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Question 11

Nigeria's bicameral National Assembly consists of a 360-seat House of Representatives and a 109-seat Senate. How does Nigeria's legislature compare structurally to the UK's Parliament?

A.Both are bicameral with elected lower houses, but Nigeria's Senate is directly elected while the UK's House of Lords is mostly appointedB.Both are unicameral — the UK's House of Lords is not a real legislative chamber because it cannot block bills passed by the CommonsC.Nigeria's Senate is appointed by the president, while the UK's Lords are elected by regional assembliesD.Both legislatures can remove the head of government through a vote of no confidence by either chamber

Question 12

The UK Supreme Court, created by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, differs most fundamentally from the US Supreme Court in that the UK Supreme Court:

A.Cannot strike down Acts of Parliament as unconstitutional because parliamentary sovereignty means Parliament is supremeB.Has a larger membership (twenty-five justices) to reflect the UK's multi-nation compositionC.Is controlled by the party in government, which appoints all justices without confirmation proceedingsD.Reviews all legislation before it is enacted, operating as a pre-enactment constitutional check

AP Comparative Government and Politics Unit 2: Political Institutions — Free with Answer Explanations | Test Practice Hub