AP Comparative Government and Politics
Dr. Afxendiou
January 17, 2012
MIDTERM REVIEW
Free Response Questions
The FRQ portion of your midterm will be made up of two questions on this list. You will
get one question from each of the two categories.
Short Answer Concepts
1. Identify a country from the AP-6 that exhibits procedural democracy but not
substantive democracy. Explain your answer by contrasting the concepts
“procedural democracy” and “substantive democracy.”
2. Explain a difference between a single member district electoral system and a
proportional representation electoral system. Give an example of ONE of the two
from Great Britain.
3. Define civil society and explain the relationship between civil society modern
democracies.
4. Define devolution. Identify one institution created by devolution in the United
Kingdom in the past ten years.
5. Define welfare state and give an example of social welfare policy in Great Britain.
6. Define nation and identify four nations in Great Britain.
7. Define Parliamentary system and explain how votes of confidence work in Great
Britain.
8. Define sovereignty. Describe a way in which members of the European Union
give up some sovereignty when they join the Union.
Conceptual Analysis
9. States vary in terms of their party and electoral systems.
a. Identify and explain the type of electoral system that tends to create a
multiparty system
b. Identify and explain the type of electoral system that tends to create a twoparty system
c. Describe one reason that a one-party system might emerge
10. In AP Comparative we study many political units.
a. Explain the relationship between states, regimes, governments and
countries
b. Define sovereignty
c. Explain how sovereignty is related to the existence of the state
11. Great Britain has in the recent past instituted changes to its judicial system.
a. Describe a major function of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
b. Explain how membership in the European Union affected the judiciary
system in Great Britain
c. Explain why the European Union had the ability to have this effect.