Unit 4: Party & Electoral Systems
Comp Gov · Unit 4 · Paper 1

Party & Electoral Systems unit test

A test on this unit alone, marked as a percentage and a letter grade — for the test your class is actually sitting, rather than for May. Answer everything, then submit once: seeing the answer to question 3 before attempting question 4 makes the final percentage meaningless.

Paper 1Paper 2Paper 3
Each paper is built from this unit’s 27 terms and is the same for everyone, so a teacher can assign “Unit 4, Paper 1” and every student sits the identical test. Multiple choice is marked objectively; the written sections you mark yourself against the model answer and rubric.
Suggested time 32 min 29 points0/17 attempted
1

Turnout and compulsory voting

2

Electoral threshold

3

Proportional representation

4

Party discipline

5

UK party system

6

Nigeria's party system

7

Russia's systemic opposition

8

China's one-party system

9

Candidate vetting as an electoral mechanism

10

Interest groups: pluralist vs corporatist

11

Why concentration matters under SMD

12

Iran's factions rather than parties

Short answer 1. Define or explain: Single-member district plurality

3 pts

Short answer 2. Define or explain: Mexico's current party landscape

3 pts

Short answer 3. Define or explain: Mixed electoral systems

3 pts

Short answer 4. Define or explain: Clientelism and patronage

3 pts

Free response

5 pts

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS (Question 2). Examine the line graph, transcribed: FRAGILE STATES INDEX: 2014–2024 (Fragile States Index). The index ranks countries 0–120; 0 indicates the least fragility (most stability), 120 the most fragility (least stability). Four course countries are plotted: Nigeria: about 100 in 2014, peaking near 103–104 in 2016, declining to roughly 97–98 from 2020 through 2023 and about 96–97 in 2024 — the highest line throughout. Iran: about 87 in 2014–2016, easing to about 83 in 2019, near 84–85 in 2021–2023 (small bump to ≈ 85 in 2023), about 82–83 in 2024. China: about 79–80 in 2014, declining steadily across the decade to about 64–65 by 2023–2024 — the lowest line from 2015 onward. Russia: about 76–77 in 2014, rising to about 81 in 2016, declining to about 72–73 in 2020–2022, then jumping sharply to about 80–81 in 2023 and about 81–82 in 2024.

A. Using the data in the graph, identify the country that was the second most fragile in 2016.

B. Using the data in the graph, describe the differences between the trends of the Fragile States Index scores in Russia and Iran from 2020 to 2024.

C. Describe a characteristic of a political party system.

D. Using the data in the graph and your knowledge of course concepts, draw a conclusion about political stability in Nigeria between 2014 and 2024.

E. Explain what the data illustrate about the relationship between a country’s political party system and its Fragile States Index score.