ANALYZING AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
POLITICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
CERTIFICATION EVALUATION EXAMS SET
FULL QUESTIONS AND COMPLETE
SOLUTION
●● What is competitive authoritarianism?
Answer: A political system with elections that are unfair, where those in
power weaken accountability and make it difficult for the opposition to
compete.
●● How does a country's wealth affect its democracy?
Answer: Wealth can protect democracy as richer countries tend to have
more stability and educated citizens, but economic crises can lead people
to support leaders who weaken democratic rules.
●● What are the three stages of democratic decline according to
Kaufman and Haggard?
Answer: 1. Democratic dysfunction and polarization; 2. Increase in
executive power and weakening of checks and balances; 3. Weakening
of institutions like courts and media.
●● How did democratic decline manifest in Venezuela?
, Answer: Chávez replaced Congress with a constituent assembly, packed
the Supreme Court, and weakened the media, with Maduro continuing to
weaken the opposition.
●● How did democratic decline manifest in Hungary?
Answer: Orbán gained a supermajority, passed constitutional changes to
increase his party's power, packed the constitutional court, and
gerrymandered districts.
●● What was Viktor Orbán's reaction to losing an election in Hungary?
Answer: He conceded and accepted the results.
●● What was Nicolás Maduro's reaction to losing elections in
Venezuela?
Answer: He canceled elections or invalidated results and relied on
military crackdowns to maintain power.
●● How does age cohort relate to support for democracy in America?
Answer: Older Americans are more likely to see democracy as essential,
while younger generations' support has weakened over time.
●● What trend was observed in American support for democracy from
1995 to 2011?
POLITICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
CERTIFICATION EVALUATION EXAMS SET
FULL QUESTIONS AND COMPLETE
SOLUTION
●● What is competitive authoritarianism?
Answer: A political system with elections that are unfair, where those in
power weaken accountability and make it difficult for the opposition to
compete.
●● How does a country's wealth affect its democracy?
Answer: Wealth can protect democracy as richer countries tend to have
more stability and educated citizens, but economic crises can lead people
to support leaders who weaken democratic rules.
●● What are the three stages of democratic decline according to
Kaufman and Haggard?
Answer: 1. Democratic dysfunction and polarization; 2. Increase in
executive power and weakening of checks and balances; 3. Weakening
of institutions like courts and media.
●● How did democratic decline manifest in Venezuela?
, Answer: Chávez replaced Congress with a constituent assembly, packed
the Supreme Court, and weakened the media, with Maduro continuing to
weaken the opposition.
●● How did democratic decline manifest in Hungary?
Answer: Orbán gained a supermajority, passed constitutional changes to
increase his party's power, packed the constitutional court, and
gerrymandered districts.
●● What was Viktor Orbán's reaction to losing an election in Hungary?
Answer: He conceded and accepted the results.
●● What was Nicolás Maduro's reaction to losing elections in
Venezuela?
Answer: He canceled elections or invalidated results and relied on
military crackdowns to maintain power.
●● How does age cohort relate to support for democracy in America?
Answer: Older Americans are more likely to see democracy as essential,
while younger generations' support has weakened over time.
●● What trend was observed in American support for democracy from
1995 to 2011?
