AP COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT AND
POLITICS 2026 EXAM PREPARATION PACK KEY
GOVERNMENT MODELS AND SAMPLE
QUESTIONS WITH EXPLANATIONS
◉ bureaucratic authoritarianism. Answer: A system in which the
state bureaucracy and the military share a belief that a technocratic
leadership, focused on rational, objective, and technical expertise,
can solve the problems of the country without public participation.
◉ capitalism. Answer: A system of production based on private
property and free markets.
◉ central planning. Answer: A communist economic system in which
the state explicitly allocates resources by planning what should be
produced and in what amounts, the final prices of goods, and where
they should be sold.
◉ charismatic legitimacy. Answer: Legitimacy built on the force of
ideas embodied by an individual leader.
◉ civil society. Answer: Organizations outside the state that help
people define and advance their own interests
,◉ clientism. Answer: A process whereby the state co-opts members
of the public by providing specific benefits or favors to a single
person or a small group in return for public support.
◉ conservatism. Answer: A political attitude that is skeptical of
change and supports the current order.
◉ co-optation. Answer: The process by which individuals are
brought into a beneficial relationship with the state, making them
dependent on the states for certain rewards.
◉ corporatism. Answer: A method of co-optation whereby
authoritarian systems create or sanction a limited number of
organizations to represent the interests of the public and restrict
those not set up or approved by the state.
◉ coup d'etat. Answer: A move in which military forces take control
of the government by force.
◉ devolution. Answer: A process in which political power is "sent
down" to lower levels of state and government.
, ◉ economic liberalization. Answer: Philosophy that aims to limit the
power of the state and increase the power of the market and private
property in an economy.
◉ fascism. Answer: A political ideology that asserts the superiority
and inferiority of different groups of people and stresses a low
degree of both freedom and equality in order to achieve a powerful
state.
◉ federalism. Answer: A system in which powers of government are
shared between the central and regional or local bodies.
◉ first past the post. Answer: An electoral system in which
individual candidates compete in single member districts; voters
choose between candidates and the candidate with the largest share
of the vote wins the seat.
◉ foreign direct investment. Answer: The purchase of assets in a
country by a foreign firm.
◉ Gini index. Answer: A statistical formula that measures the
amount of economic inequality within a country. "0" corresponds
with perfect equality and "100" represents perfect inequality.
POLITICS 2026 EXAM PREPARATION PACK KEY
GOVERNMENT MODELS AND SAMPLE
QUESTIONS WITH EXPLANATIONS
◉ bureaucratic authoritarianism. Answer: A system in which the
state bureaucracy and the military share a belief that a technocratic
leadership, focused on rational, objective, and technical expertise,
can solve the problems of the country without public participation.
◉ capitalism. Answer: A system of production based on private
property and free markets.
◉ central planning. Answer: A communist economic system in which
the state explicitly allocates resources by planning what should be
produced and in what amounts, the final prices of goods, and where
they should be sold.
◉ charismatic legitimacy. Answer: Legitimacy built on the force of
ideas embodied by an individual leader.
◉ civil society. Answer: Organizations outside the state that help
people define and advance their own interests
,◉ clientism. Answer: A process whereby the state co-opts members
of the public by providing specific benefits or favors to a single
person or a small group in return for public support.
◉ conservatism. Answer: A political attitude that is skeptical of
change and supports the current order.
◉ co-optation. Answer: The process by which individuals are
brought into a beneficial relationship with the state, making them
dependent on the states for certain rewards.
◉ corporatism. Answer: A method of co-optation whereby
authoritarian systems create or sanction a limited number of
organizations to represent the interests of the public and restrict
those not set up or approved by the state.
◉ coup d'etat. Answer: A move in which military forces take control
of the government by force.
◉ devolution. Answer: A process in which political power is "sent
down" to lower levels of state and government.
, ◉ economic liberalization. Answer: Philosophy that aims to limit the
power of the state and increase the power of the market and private
property in an economy.
◉ fascism. Answer: A political ideology that asserts the superiority
and inferiority of different groups of people and stresses a low
degree of both freedom and equality in order to achieve a powerful
state.
◉ federalism. Answer: A system in which powers of government are
shared between the central and regional or local bodies.
◉ first past the post. Answer: An electoral system in which
individual candidates compete in single member districts; voters
choose between candidates and the candidate with the largest share
of the vote wins the seat.
◉ foreign direct investment. Answer: The purchase of assets in a
country by a foreign firm.
◉ Gini index. Answer: A statistical formula that measures the
amount of economic inequality within a country. "0" corresponds
with perfect equality and "100" represents perfect inequality.
