POLI SCI 101 (UBC) EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT
DETAILED ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY
GRADED A+
Politics - CORRECT ANSWER >>>- Comes from scarcity; someone has to decide who gets what,
when, and how
- Competing claims to resources
- Political Science is the study of power
- "Politics is more difficult than physics" -Albert Einstein, Physicist (1879-1955)
Political Spectrum - CORRECT ANSWER >>>Government Action(closed)<—Competition and
exercise of power—>All Human Interaction (open)
Power - CORRECT ANSWER >>>- Some have it, most do not
- A method of making people do what you want
- Neither good not bad, it is a means to an end
- Exercise of power occurs within constantly changing social, political, and economic
environment
1|Page
,- Actors (politicians) will rarely have all the information
Types of Power - CORRECT ANSWER >>>- Coercion (i can use brute force and make someone
weaker than me do something)
- Influence (channeling behaviour, but still some choice of resistance)
- Authority (based on simply being an elected leader, i.e Trudeau in Canada) - Charismatic,
Traditional, Rational-legal
Law of Unintended Consequences - CORRECT ANSWER >>>you don't always know all the
outcomes of your decisions.
Basic View of the State - CORRECT ANSWER >>>"the state is that institution which successfully
upholds a claim to the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force in the enforcement of
its order... within a given territorial area" -Max Weber
Jill Vickers on the sexism of politics - CORRECT ANSWER >>>Jill Vickers (Feminist) echoes many
of her feminist colleagues when she argues that the public/private realm distinction is
fundamentally sexist. She claims that it is based on a tradition of political thinking that accepted
as natural the domination of the public realm by males and the limitation of woman to the
private sphere. She also claims that 'the concept of freedom' has become an almost totally
masculinized idea in western political thought, meaning freedom from constraints - an
autonomy in which no dependence on another is required or recognized. (interdependence
among equals, rather than freedom to act without constraint)
The Rule of Law - CORRECT ANSWER >>>everyone is subject to the law; no one, no matter how
important or powerful, is above the law.
2|Page
,Identity - CORRECT ANSWER >>>a state of mind, a sense of belonging to a community that is
defined by its language, ethnic character, religion, history, regional location, gender
experiences, belief systems, or other factors.
Four Major Challenges to the Canadian Politics - CORRECT ANSWER >>>1. French-English
Relations
2. Native Demands for Self-government
3. American influence on Canadian culture
4. Regional Tensions
red toryism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>conservatives who believe that government has a
responsibility to act as an agent for the collective good, and that this responsibility goes beyond
simply maintaining law and order.
Post-Materialism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>Attaches comparatively greater importance to
human needs for belonging, self-esteem, and personal fulfillment than does materialism.
(which places greater stress on economic security and material well-being)
Social Capital - CORRECT ANSWER >>>fabric of connections between members of a community;
it is made up of both norms, such as trust in your neighbours and behaviours such as voting and
participating in community organizations.
Secularization - CORRECT ANSWER >>>a decline in the belief that religion and religious
authorities should be looked to for guidance about how to behave and how to evaluate
behaviour, and an increase in the social, cultural, and political influences of elites whose
expertise is not based on religious faith.
Totalitarianism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>a system of government that suppresses all dissent in
the name of some supreme goal. (e.g. Nazi germany and their race war, or the soviet union and
the class-war.)
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, Libertarianism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>The belief that individuals should be allowed the largest
possible margin of freedom in all realms of life, including those that involve moral choices.
Although often seen as ideologically conservative, they are more likely to explain themselves as
left-leaning on issues such as abortion, homosexual rights, and so on. (extreme economic
liberalism)
Socialism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>An ideology based on the principle of equality of condition.
Modern proponents of this political ideology, often temper their advocacy of an egalitarian
society with an acceptance of capitalism and the inequalities that inevitably are generated by a
market economy. (greater state role in managing the economy, better working conditions,
rights for workers, and other stuff associated with the welfare state)
Liberalism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>A political ideology associated with support for the welfare
state, the protection of minority rights, and the regulation of business.
Conservatism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>Historically, an ideology based on the importance of
tradition that accepted human inequality and so on.
Today, it is associated with the defence of private property rights, free trade, individualism,
opposition to the welfare state, and (in social-conservatism) maintaining traditional values.
Political Violence - CORRECT ANSWER >>>Violence outside of state control that is politically
motivated. Some political scientists see this as part of "contentious politics" or collective
political struggle, which includes such things as revolutions, civil war, riots and strikes, but also
more peaceful protest movements.
Public Attitude - CORRECT ANSWER >>>The aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by
the adult population. It can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many
different people and the sum of all their views.
Quebec Sovereignty - CORRECT ANSWER >>>A political movement as well as an ideology of
values, concepts and ideas that advocates independence for the Canadian province of Quebec.
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CORRECT
DETAILED ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY
GRADED A+
Politics - CORRECT ANSWER >>>- Comes from scarcity; someone has to decide who gets what,
when, and how
- Competing claims to resources
- Political Science is the study of power
- "Politics is more difficult than physics" -Albert Einstein, Physicist (1879-1955)
Political Spectrum - CORRECT ANSWER >>>Government Action(closed)<—Competition and
exercise of power—>All Human Interaction (open)
Power - CORRECT ANSWER >>>- Some have it, most do not
- A method of making people do what you want
- Neither good not bad, it is a means to an end
- Exercise of power occurs within constantly changing social, political, and economic
environment
1|Page
,- Actors (politicians) will rarely have all the information
Types of Power - CORRECT ANSWER >>>- Coercion (i can use brute force and make someone
weaker than me do something)
- Influence (channeling behaviour, but still some choice of resistance)
- Authority (based on simply being an elected leader, i.e Trudeau in Canada) - Charismatic,
Traditional, Rational-legal
Law of Unintended Consequences - CORRECT ANSWER >>>you don't always know all the
outcomes of your decisions.
Basic View of the State - CORRECT ANSWER >>>"the state is that institution which successfully
upholds a claim to the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force in the enforcement of
its order... within a given territorial area" -Max Weber
Jill Vickers on the sexism of politics - CORRECT ANSWER >>>Jill Vickers (Feminist) echoes many
of her feminist colleagues when she argues that the public/private realm distinction is
fundamentally sexist. She claims that it is based on a tradition of political thinking that accepted
as natural the domination of the public realm by males and the limitation of woman to the
private sphere. She also claims that 'the concept of freedom' has become an almost totally
masculinized idea in western political thought, meaning freedom from constraints - an
autonomy in which no dependence on another is required or recognized. (interdependence
among equals, rather than freedom to act without constraint)
The Rule of Law - CORRECT ANSWER >>>everyone is subject to the law; no one, no matter how
important or powerful, is above the law.
2|Page
,Identity - CORRECT ANSWER >>>a state of mind, a sense of belonging to a community that is
defined by its language, ethnic character, religion, history, regional location, gender
experiences, belief systems, or other factors.
Four Major Challenges to the Canadian Politics - CORRECT ANSWER >>>1. French-English
Relations
2. Native Demands for Self-government
3. American influence on Canadian culture
4. Regional Tensions
red toryism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>conservatives who believe that government has a
responsibility to act as an agent for the collective good, and that this responsibility goes beyond
simply maintaining law and order.
Post-Materialism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>Attaches comparatively greater importance to
human needs for belonging, self-esteem, and personal fulfillment than does materialism.
(which places greater stress on economic security and material well-being)
Social Capital - CORRECT ANSWER >>>fabric of connections between members of a community;
it is made up of both norms, such as trust in your neighbours and behaviours such as voting and
participating in community organizations.
Secularization - CORRECT ANSWER >>>a decline in the belief that religion and religious
authorities should be looked to for guidance about how to behave and how to evaluate
behaviour, and an increase in the social, cultural, and political influences of elites whose
expertise is not based on religious faith.
Totalitarianism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>a system of government that suppresses all dissent in
the name of some supreme goal. (e.g. Nazi germany and their race war, or the soviet union and
the class-war.)
3|Page
, Libertarianism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>The belief that individuals should be allowed the largest
possible margin of freedom in all realms of life, including those that involve moral choices.
Although often seen as ideologically conservative, they are more likely to explain themselves as
left-leaning on issues such as abortion, homosexual rights, and so on. (extreme economic
liberalism)
Socialism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>An ideology based on the principle of equality of condition.
Modern proponents of this political ideology, often temper their advocacy of an egalitarian
society with an acceptance of capitalism and the inequalities that inevitably are generated by a
market economy. (greater state role in managing the economy, better working conditions,
rights for workers, and other stuff associated with the welfare state)
Liberalism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>A political ideology associated with support for the welfare
state, the protection of minority rights, and the regulation of business.
Conservatism - CORRECT ANSWER >>>Historically, an ideology based on the importance of
tradition that accepted human inequality and so on.
Today, it is associated with the defence of private property rights, free trade, individualism,
opposition to the welfare state, and (in social-conservatism) maintaining traditional values.
Political Violence - CORRECT ANSWER >>>Violence outside of state control that is politically
motivated. Some political scientists see this as part of "contentious politics" or collective
political struggle, which includes such things as revolutions, civil war, riots and strikes, but also
more peaceful protest movements.
Public Attitude - CORRECT ANSWER >>>The aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by
the adult population. It can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many
different people and the sum of all their views.
Quebec Sovereignty - CORRECT ANSWER >>>A political movement as well as an ideology of
values, concepts and ideas that advocates independence for the Canadian province of Quebec.
4|Page
