COMPARATIVE POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS (EXAM 1) (PITT)
EXAM ACTUAL 2025/2026 QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED
CORRECT ANSWERS 100%
Explain the difference between two categories of workers employed
in the government bureaucracy: civil servants and political
appointees.
Political Appointees: Officials who serve at the pleasure of the
president or prime minister and are assigned to the task of overseeing
their respective segments of the bureaucracy.
Civil Service: the permanent professional branches of a government's
administration, excluding military and judicial branches and elected
politicians.
Describe the social revolution in Russia, China, or Iran (one of those
will be chosen). Make sure to mention: 1) the decade when the
revolution started 2) the ideology which motivated the revolution 3)
the kind of regime which was established as a result of the revolution
4) three important social policies or reforms undertaken by the
revolutionary regimes.
Communist revolutions: Russia 1917, China, 1949
In Russia, popular revolution led to a short-lived liberal regime,
which was overthrown through a military coup leading to a
Communsit Revolution
In China, Communists won a civil war
Causes of social revolution:
relative deprivation
,weakened state
political opportunity
Differences:
strength and unity of revolutionary political organization
Iran 1979
Was the American Revolution really a revolution? Explain.
Real U.S. revolution was the Civil War (Moore 1960) - disputable;
The American Revolution was "as radical and as revolutionary as any
in history" (Wood 1992)
Atypical revolution: no authoritarianism; no reign of terror
Was it really a revolution? (I prefer just call it war of independence)
Define what is the "dictator's dilemma." Explain how is dictator's
dilemma different in pluralist vs. non-pluralist authoritarian regimes
(in other words, in fake democracies vs. other authoritarian regimes).
An authoritarian ruler's repression creates fear which then breeds
uncertainty about how much support the ruler has in response the
ruler spend more resources than is rational.
Explain what is the regime of "competitive oligarchy." Give examples
of two countries/periods characterized by such a regime.
competitive oligarchy: works like democracy but suffrage is very
restricted. For example, Britain in the 19th century
, Explain the difference between oligarchical-institutionalized and
oligarchical-non-institutionalized authoritarian regimes. Given an
example of each regime (country and period).
The regime is "non-institutionalized" - this means that there is no
group to which the ruler is responsible and which can remove him
from power
· In institutionalized oligarchies, there are formal rules of succession
(e.g. leader is replaced every six years)
· In non-institutionalized oligarchies, there are no term limits and
leader could be removed at any time
Explain the difference between personalist and oligarchical
authoritarian regimes. Give an example of each regime (country and
period).
Personalist
Personalist leaders do not trust other institutions, especially the
military
In personalist regimes, power is concentrated in one person
There are no term limits on how long a ruler can be in power; usually
he rules until he dies or is removed via a coup
Power within the regime depends on personal loyalty to the leader
North Korea, Russia Now
· Oligarchical
o In contrast to personalist regimes, in which one person holds power
and can't be removed (unless by force), the leader in oligarchical
EXAM ACTUAL 2025/2026 QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED
CORRECT ANSWERS 100%
Explain the difference between two categories of workers employed
in the government bureaucracy: civil servants and political
appointees.
Political Appointees: Officials who serve at the pleasure of the
president or prime minister and are assigned to the task of overseeing
their respective segments of the bureaucracy.
Civil Service: the permanent professional branches of a government's
administration, excluding military and judicial branches and elected
politicians.
Describe the social revolution in Russia, China, or Iran (one of those
will be chosen). Make sure to mention: 1) the decade when the
revolution started 2) the ideology which motivated the revolution 3)
the kind of regime which was established as a result of the revolution
4) three important social policies or reforms undertaken by the
revolutionary regimes.
Communist revolutions: Russia 1917, China, 1949
In Russia, popular revolution led to a short-lived liberal regime,
which was overthrown through a military coup leading to a
Communsit Revolution
In China, Communists won a civil war
Causes of social revolution:
relative deprivation
,weakened state
political opportunity
Differences:
strength and unity of revolutionary political organization
Iran 1979
Was the American Revolution really a revolution? Explain.
Real U.S. revolution was the Civil War (Moore 1960) - disputable;
The American Revolution was "as radical and as revolutionary as any
in history" (Wood 1992)
Atypical revolution: no authoritarianism; no reign of terror
Was it really a revolution? (I prefer just call it war of independence)
Define what is the "dictator's dilemma." Explain how is dictator's
dilemma different in pluralist vs. non-pluralist authoritarian regimes
(in other words, in fake democracies vs. other authoritarian regimes).
An authoritarian ruler's repression creates fear which then breeds
uncertainty about how much support the ruler has in response the
ruler spend more resources than is rational.
Explain what is the regime of "competitive oligarchy." Give examples
of two countries/periods characterized by such a regime.
competitive oligarchy: works like democracy but suffrage is very
restricted. For example, Britain in the 19th century
, Explain the difference between oligarchical-institutionalized and
oligarchical-non-institutionalized authoritarian regimes. Given an
example of each regime (country and period).
The regime is "non-institutionalized" - this means that there is no
group to which the ruler is responsible and which can remove him
from power
· In institutionalized oligarchies, there are formal rules of succession
(e.g. leader is replaced every six years)
· In non-institutionalized oligarchies, there are no term limits and
leader could be removed at any time
Explain the difference between personalist and oligarchical
authoritarian regimes. Give an example of each regime (country and
period).
Personalist
Personalist leaders do not trust other institutions, especially the
military
In personalist regimes, power is concentrated in one person
There are no term limits on how long a ruler can be in power; usually
he rules until he dies or is removed via a coup
Power within the regime depends on personal loyalty to the leader
North Korea, Russia Now
· Oligarchical
o In contrast to personalist regimes, in which one person holds power
and can't be removed (unless by force), the leader in oligarchical
