POLI 201 UOFC MIDTERM REVIEW
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH FULL
A+ SOLUTIONS, UPDATED 2026,
SUCCESS ASSURED
Political Theory and Forms of Analysis
Q: Fukuyama key concept ANSWER End of history; everyone will exist
peacefully and unanimously agree in a liberal society without politics. ✔✔
Note: Writing at the end of the Cold War, Francis Fukuyama argued that the
universalization of Western liberal democracy might be the final form of human
government, signaling the end of ideological evolution.
Q: Aristotle's classification of governments ANSWER | Ruler(s) | Rule for
Common Good | Rule for Self-Interest (Perverted) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | One |
Monarchy | Tyranny | | Few | Aristocracy | Oligarchy | | Many | Polity |
Democracy |
Q: Authority v. Power ANSWER Power: coercion; Authority: consent by
ruled ✔✔
Distinction: Power is the ability to force compliance through strength or threats,
whereas authority is the recognized right to rule, usually based on legitimacy and
the willing consent of the governed.
Q: Civil society ANSWER Private groups and institutions that operate
between the individual and the state. (Eg. unions, business groups, think-
tanks) ✔✔
Q: Sovereign ANSWER a nation recognized by other nations; to have
complete authority over something (eg. the state) ✔✔
, Context: In political science, sovereignty implies that there is no higher power
over the state's decision-making within its own borders.
Q: Normative analysis ANSWER Identify the good, and act to further it. ✔✔
Key Question: Normative analysis asks, "What ought to be?" It deals with values,
ethics, and the ideal state of affairs.
Q: Hobbes ANSWER Leviathan, social contract ✔✔
Note: Thomas Hobbes argued in Leviathan that life in the "state of nature"
(without government) is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short," leading people
to surrender their rights to a strong absolute sovereign in exchange for security.
Q: Positivism ANSWER a scientific approach to knowledge based on
"positive" facts as opposed to mere speculation ✔✔
Q: Empirical analysis ANSWER Observing and studying political
phenomena, gathering quantitative data, using either inductive or deductive
reasoning to produce conclusions ✔✔
Key Question: Empirical analysis asks, "What is?" It relies on observable
evidence rather than moral or value-based judgments.
semantic analysis -ANSWER✔✔Analysis focusing on the meaning of the concepts
we use, where they came from, and why and how we use them.
deductive theory -ANSWER✔✔developed by starting with a theory--or
hypothesis--then gathering data to support, reject, or refine the theory, opposite of
inductive.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH FULL
A+ SOLUTIONS, UPDATED 2026,
SUCCESS ASSURED
Political Theory and Forms of Analysis
Q: Fukuyama key concept ANSWER End of history; everyone will exist
peacefully and unanimously agree in a liberal society without politics. ✔✔
Note: Writing at the end of the Cold War, Francis Fukuyama argued that the
universalization of Western liberal democracy might be the final form of human
government, signaling the end of ideological evolution.
Q: Aristotle's classification of governments ANSWER | Ruler(s) | Rule for
Common Good | Rule for Self-Interest (Perverted) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | One |
Monarchy | Tyranny | | Few | Aristocracy | Oligarchy | | Many | Polity |
Democracy |
Q: Authority v. Power ANSWER Power: coercion; Authority: consent by
ruled ✔✔
Distinction: Power is the ability to force compliance through strength or threats,
whereas authority is the recognized right to rule, usually based on legitimacy and
the willing consent of the governed.
Q: Civil society ANSWER Private groups and institutions that operate
between the individual and the state. (Eg. unions, business groups, think-
tanks) ✔✔
Q: Sovereign ANSWER a nation recognized by other nations; to have
complete authority over something (eg. the state) ✔✔
, Context: In political science, sovereignty implies that there is no higher power
over the state's decision-making within its own borders.
Q: Normative analysis ANSWER Identify the good, and act to further it. ✔✔
Key Question: Normative analysis asks, "What ought to be?" It deals with values,
ethics, and the ideal state of affairs.
Q: Hobbes ANSWER Leviathan, social contract ✔✔
Note: Thomas Hobbes argued in Leviathan that life in the "state of nature"
(without government) is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short," leading people
to surrender their rights to a strong absolute sovereign in exchange for security.
Q: Positivism ANSWER a scientific approach to knowledge based on
"positive" facts as opposed to mere speculation ✔✔
Q: Empirical analysis ANSWER Observing and studying political
phenomena, gathering quantitative data, using either inductive or deductive
reasoning to produce conclusions ✔✔
Key Question: Empirical analysis asks, "What is?" It relies on observable
evidence rather than moral or value-based judgments.
semantic analysis -ANSWER✔✔Analysis focusing on the meaning of the concepts
we use, where they came from, and why and how we use them.
deductive theory -ANSWER✔✔developed by starting with a theory--or
hypothesis--then gathering data to support, reject, or refine the theory, opposite of
inductive.
