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AP Comparative Government — Practice Questions flashcards

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Multiple-choice practice questions, one best answer each, on legitimacy, sovereignty, regime types, institutions, electoral systems, cleavages and political economy in the six course countries.

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Practice deck · part of AP Comparative Government and Politics · written against: College Board AP Comparative Government and Politics Course and Exam Description (six course countries). Updated 2026-10-10.

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  1. Which of the following statements is normative rather than empirical?

    A) China's National People's Congress meets in full once a year.
    B) Iran's Guardian Council vets candidates for the Majles.
    C) Nigeria elects its House of Representatives by plurality.
    D) Mexico ought to let its presidents seek a second term.
    D) Mexico ought to let its presidents seek a second term.

    A normative statement says what ought to be and rests on values, so evidence cannot prove it true or false. The other three describe how institutions actually work and can be checked against the facts, which makes them empirical.
    Political Systems and Regimes › Methods and Key Terms
  2. Countries X and Y have nearly identical GDP per capita, but Country X has a much higher Human Development Index score. Which conclusion is best supported?

    A) X is likely more democratic in its politics than Country Y
    B) Income in X is likely spread more evenly than in Y
    C) X likely earns less of its revenue from oil than Y
    D) People in X tend to live longer and get more schooling
    D) People in X tend to live longer and get more schooling

    The HDI combines income per person with life expectancy and education, so with income equal the gap must come from health and schooling. HDI does not measure inequality (that is the Gini coefficient), regime type or the source of state revenue.
    Political Systems and Regimes › Methods and Key Terms
  3. In a parliamentary system, what normally follows when the government loses a vote of no confidence in the lower house?

    A) The prime minister serves out a fixed five-year term
    B) The cabinet resigns or a new election is called
    C) The upper house holds an impeachment trial
    D) The courts review whether the vote was lawful
    B) The cabinet resigns or a new election is called

    A parliamentary executive survives only while it keeps the lower house's confidence, so a lost vote forces resignation or an election. Impeachment for misconduct is the presidential route to removal, not the political one used here.
    Political Institutions › Executives and Legislatures
  4. In Nigeria the mainly Muslim Hausa-Fulani north and the largely Christian Igbo southeast differ by ethnicity, religion and region at the same time. What are divisions that line up like this called?

    A) Cross-cutting cleavages
    B) Class cleavages
    C) Reinforcing cleavages
    D) Generational cleavages
    C) Reinforcing cleavages

    Reinforcing cleavages stack several differences on the same line, which sharpens conflict. Cross-cutting cleavages divide people differently on different issues, so groups overlap.
    Political Culture and Participation
  5. In a single-member district plurality election, Party A wins 40 percent of the vote and 55 percent of the seats, while Party C wins 15 percent of the vote, spread evenly across districts, and 2 percent of the seats. What does this result best illustrate?

    A) A hung parliament
    B) A high electoral threshold
    C) A list-PR seat allocation
    D) A manufactured majority
    D) A manufactured majority

    Plurality rules reward a party that narrowly wins many districts and punish one whose support is spread thinly, producing a manufactured majority for Party A. Because Party A holds 55 percent of the seats, the parliament is not hung.
    Party and Electoral Systems
  6. A state earns most of its revenue from oil exports and taxes its citizens lightly. According to rentier-state theory, which political consequence is most likely?

    A) A rapid shift into export manufacturing
    B) A more equal distribution of national income
    C) Weaker pressure on rulers to be accountable
    D) Stronger demands for representation by taxpayers
    C) Weaker pressure on rulers to be accountable

    Because a rentier state needs little tax from citizens, it faces less pressure to answer to them, and oil money can fund patronage and repression. Nigeria, Iran and Russia are the course examples.
    Political and Economic Change

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Concepts and InstitutionsThe Six Countries

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About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

  • Topic outline follows the College Board AP Comparative Government and Politics Course and Exam Description (effective Fall 2026; Units 1–5, six course countries); used as an outline only, no text copied.
  • Facts follow the AP Comparative Government study decks in this folder, which were checked against the constitutions of Mexico (1917), Russia (1993, as amended 2020), Iran (1979, revised 1989), China (1982, as amended 2018) and Nigeria (1999) in English translation, and UK statutes on legislation.gov.uk (Open Government Licence); reference only, no text copied.

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