CSS Political Science chapter 5: Comparative politics and political change MCQs with answers

By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026

46 exam-style questions on Comparative politics and political change, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.

46 questions · 3 topics · 10 per test

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What chapter 5 covers

Ten Comparative politics and political change questions with answers

Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.

1. The 'civic culture' of Almond and Verba is a

  1. A
    mixture of participant, subject and parochial orientations, balancing activity and deference
  2. B
    pure participant culture, in which all citizens are active in politics and none defers to authority
  3. C
    purely subject culture, in which citizens simply obey the government
  4. D
    culture in which only a small elite takes any interest in politics
Show answer

Answer: A. The authors found that a stable democracy needs citizens who participate, but also keep a degree of deference and loyalty, so that government can act.

2. For Marxists, revolutions arise mainly from

  1. A
    the personal ambition of a few leaders who wish to seize power
  2. B
    contradictions between the growing forces of production and the old class structure
  3. C
    errors in the foreign policy of the government of the day
  4. D
    the influence of foreign ideas and of outside agitators alone
Show answer

Answer: B. Marx held that when the property relations hold back the productive forces, a period of social revolution begins.

3. How many members does the Swiss Federal Council, the national executive, have?

  1. A
    Five
  2. B
    Nine
  3. C
    Seven
  4. D
    Twelve
Show answer

Answer: C. The seven councillors share executive power as a collegial body, and the presidency of the Confederation rotates yearly.

4. Public opinion is best defined as

  1. A
    the official view of the government on every issue of the day
  2. B
    the result of the most recent general election held in a country
  3. C
    the views held by a large number of people on matters of public concern
  4. D
    the editorial opinion of the single largest newspaper in the country
Show answer

Answer: C. Public opinion is the combined attitudes of the public on issues. It is not identical with the result of an election or the view of the media.

5. Rising literacy, urbanisation and industrialisation are all indicators of

  1. A
    decay
  2. B
    revolution
  3. C
    modernisation
  4. D
    secession
Show answer

Answer: C. They are the social and economic changes through which a traditional society becomes a modern one.

6. Reform, as distinct from revolution, is

  1. A
    a violent overthrow of the existing constitution and its institutions
  2. B
    gradual change made within the existing political system
  3. C
    a foreign conquest of the state by a neighbouring power
  4. D
    a seizure of power by the army from the civilian government
Show answer

Answer: B. Reform improves or adjusts existing arrangements by lawful means. Revolution replaces them.

7. Modernisation theory holds that political development is linked with

  1. A
    a return to tradition and reliance on inherited custom
  2. B
    the decline of cities and the growth of village life
  3. C
    falling levels of participation by ordinary citizens
  4. D
    economic growth, urbanisation and rising education
Show answer

Answer: D. Writers of the modernisation school argued that economic and social change produce new demands that political systems must meet.

8. Which executive is collegial, with several equal members sharing authority?

  1. A
    The British Prime Minister
  2. B
    The American President
  3. C
    The Swiss Federal Council
  4. D
    The French President
Show answer

Answer: C. The seven councillors decide together, and the annual president of the Confederation is only first among equals.

9. The principle that elected civilian authorities, not the armed forces, decide national policy is called

  1. A
    civilian control of the military
  2. B
    praetorianism, the dominance of the army in politics
  3. C
    martial law, the rule of a military commander
  4. D
    militarism, the exaltation of military values
Show answer

Answer: A. Civilian control is the basic norm of civil-military relations in democracies.

10. Ted Gurr explained rebellion mainly by

  1. A
    relative deprivation, the gap between what people expect and what they receive
  2. B
    the absolute poverty of the poorest members of the population
  3. C
    the size of the army and the amount of money spent on arms
  4. D
    the climate and geography of the country in which people live
Show answer

Answer: A. In 'Why Men Rebel' Gurr argued that frustration arises when people's expectations rise faster than their conditions.

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Comparative politics and political change: questions students ask

How many Comparative politics and political change MCQs are there?

46, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 3 topics: Comparative government: UK, USA, France, Switzerland, Political culture, socialisation and development, Bureaucracy, civil-military relations and revolution. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.

Is the CSS Political Science chapter 5 test free?

Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.

How is the chapter test marked?

The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.

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