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Social Studies Summary test -
Parliamentary Democracy
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REDO SET 1 SOCIAL STUDIES – social issues, parliamentary democracy TTO-4
This SET contains open questions, multiple-choice questions and true / false statements.
You are free to start with any part.
In brackets you find the marks you can get for each subquestion.
PART A: OPEN QUESTIONS
Question 1
 Read the column below, which was published in the online newsletter Dutchnews, and
answer the first question.
Girls, girls, girls…

There have been few front page photos more depressing recently than that in
today’s Telegraaf - a production line of girls in bikinis queuing up to pose
provocatively for a photographer working on shots for the 2007 Axe deodorant
calendar.
In total, 365 girls (one for
every day of the year) lined
up for the privilege of
being a pin-up.
Hands on hips, chest out
and that’s your 24-hours
of fame - one page in a
calendar promoting
chemicals to keep teenage
boys’ armpits sweet.
They were all perfectly
nice looking girls and, the
Telegraaf tells us, the atmosphere was very jolly. After all, to be popular these days, girls
mustn’t mind exposing acres of flesh on every occasion: jeans cut so low you wonder how
they stay up, cropped tops and plunge necklines. And why wouldn’t they? Today’s music
videos could easily pass as straight porn and 12-year-old girls are quite happy to sing
along to pop songs urging boys to ‘Loosen up my buttons baby’. They even think ‘pimping’
means making your car look better. So why wouldn’t they think it was perfectly normal to
pose for a bikini calendar? And then to get on the front page of the Telegraaf as well!
It’s enough to make you force your daughter into a burqa…
Source: Dutchnews.nl, 02 October 2006
a.) In recent years, there have been lots of debates about the ‘sexualisation’ of Dutch
society. Argue, while using the four characteristics of a social issue, if sexualisation
qualifies as a social issue. (2)
b.) Which four points of view do we use to analyse any social issue? (2)
c.) Choose one point of view that suits the article above best and analyse the problem of
sexualisation from that angle. (2)
d.) A few parties in Dutch parliament want to ban promotional activities such as the photo
shoot for Axe, because it encourages the sexualisation of society. Explain to which
political ideology those parties typically belong and name two parties that can be
linked to this ideology. (2)
e.) Other political parties object to the idea of governmental interference in these kinds of
issues. Explain to which ideology those parties typically belong and name two parties
that can be linked to this ideology. (2)
P.T.O.
1
Question 2
 Read the newspaper article ‘Bullets hit Russia’s freedom of press’ below and answer the
next set of questions.
Bullets hit Russia’s freedom of press

Moscow – Russia’s most famous journalist, Anna Politkovskaja (48), was murdered
in her apartment in Moscow last Saturday. Politkovskaja was a fierce critic of
president Vladimir Putin. She acquired fame with her reports about human rights
violations in Chechnya*. All over the world there was shock about the killing, but the
Kremlin* has stayed silent so far.
Politkovskaja’s death casts a dark shadow over

Russia’s freedom of press. The last couple of years
not only the broadcasting stations, but also large
national newspapers have been taken over by the
state or by companies that are loyal to the state.
Ever since Putin’s inauguration in 2000, at least 13
journalists have been murdered in Russia, “which is very obscure, because often they were
looking into unlawful or financial state practices and none of these murder cases have
been solved”, according to the international watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists.
Neighbours found the journalist, hit by two bullets, in the elevator Saturday afternoon. One
of the bullets was fired into the head from a close distance, according to police sources. A
gun was found in the direct area of the crime scene. The Russian police is working on a
sketch and profile of the perpetrator, based on surveillance cameras in the apartment
building. Indignant reactions from all over the world poured in on Sunday. The main
rejecting reaction in Russia itself came from a handful of advocates of democratic and
human rights, whose names appear more often in foreign than in Russian newspapers. In
Russia, their opinions are banned from the news. One of them, Ludmilla Aleksejeva,
chairperson of Moscow’s Helsinki Committee, said: “People who tell the truth are being
murdered in this country. That’s the only thing you can have against Politkovskaja’s
writings.”
Aleksejeva protested with 2500 sympathizers against the murder of Politkovskaja and
against the state organized fury against Georgian people, that continues without any
objection. People placed flowers and burned candles at photographs of Politkovskaja at
the Pusjkin Square. Also in St. Petersburg hundreds of people went outside to protest
against what a Memorial activist called ‘a regime that has made political terrorism a part of
daily life’. Chief-editor Alexander Lebedev of Novaja Gazeta, the newspaper Politkovskaja
wrote for, offered a reward of 750.000 euro for the tip that can help solve the murder.
From source: De Volkskrant, 9 Oktober 2006
* Additional information to the article:

- The Kremlin is where the Russian government resides
- Chechnya (in Dutch: Tsjetsjenië) was a Muslim province within the former Soviet
Union. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union they have been fighting for
independence from Russia
a.) Of which characteristic of a democracy is freedom of press an example? (1)
b.) Name 2 other characteristics of a democracy. (1)
c.) Which freedom from any constitution do you recognize in the lines “Aleksejeva
protested … as far as … any objection” (last paragraph). (1)
d.) Argue, while using 2 characteristics of a dictatorship, whether you think you could call
Russia a dictatorship. Base your opinion solely on the article above. (2)
e.) We distinguish two different indirect democratic systems. Name them and add to
which of them The Netherlands belongs and to which of them Russia belongs. (2)
2
Question 3
 Read the article ‘SP is sick and tired of waiting’ and answer question 3.
SP is sick and tired of waiting

DEN HAAG – “This cabinet behaves as a bunch of first formers, who don’t do their
homework well enough. We cannot ignore this anymore”, according to an SP-
spokesperson. Last Tuesday, 26 written questions that had been handed in more than
3 weeks ago (the official deadline) by the SP were still waiting to be answered by the
cabinet. As a means of protest, the SP registered all these questions for the oral
‘questioning hour’.
The Houses’ clerk received a record of 42 questions to be
answered during the questioning hour. Normally, a maximum of
four questions can be answered in one hour. The Lower
House’s chairperson was kind enough to admitP.T.O.
one of the
unanswered questions. The chairperson scolded the MPs; “Let
this be a warning.”
Seldom does a written question get through to the oral questions. The criteria are strict: a
question must be topical, must refer to a report or media coverage about the topic, must be
important enough for the MPs to deal with and won’t be dealt with in another debate.
MP Jan de Wit (SP): “Written questions are very important to our party, but I have a feeling
that this cabinet doesn’t take its job to answer them properly, neatly and in time, very
seriously.
From source: Volkskrant, 31 oktober 2007
a.) Explain what opposition- and coalition parties are and to which of them the SP thus
logically belongs. (2)
b.) Which right of the Lower House to supervise the cabinet does the SP use in the
article above? (1)
c.) Name two other supervising right of the Lower House. (1)
d.) Explain what dualism is and give an example from the article above from which you
can conclude that we have dualism in Dutch politics. (2)
 Besides supervising rights, parliament also has legislative rights.
e.) Name 2 of those legislative rights. (1)

f.) Say for each right if this applies to both the Lower and Upper House. (1)
Question 4
 Read the text ‘Only Rutte considers Rouvoet to be…’ on page 4. (The article was
published about a month before the last general elections in 2006, when opinion polls
indicated that VVD might become part of a partially Christian cabinet.)
Fill in the correct words on the dots (some numbers occur more than once, which means that
the same word fits in each case) (4):
1.) Choose leftwing or rightwing

2.) Choose coalition or opposition
3.) Choose leftwing or rightwing
4.) Choose one of the Dutch political ideologies.
5.) Idem
6.) Choose one of the political parties in the Dutch party system.
7.) Idem
8.) Choose active voting right or passive voting right.
P.T.O.
3

Only Rutte considers Rouvoet to be …(1)…

VVD-party leader Mark Rutte only wants to cooperate with CDA in a next …(2)…
If CDA and VVD need the ChristenUnie for a majority, VVD doesn’t want to join in. As
most important reason for excluding ChristenUnie Rutte claims that party to be too
explicitly …(1)… Rutte is not only taking a large electoral risk with this statement, he
also pays no attention whatsoever to the profile of ChristenUnie voters. They don’t
consider themselves to be …(1)… at all: two-thirds of them describe themselves as
being ‘…(3)…’
On top of that, two-thirds of ChristenUnie voters would

like to see their party in a cabinet with CDA and VVD
and only 14% prefers a coalition with PvdA. Mark
Rutte does speak on behalf of his own electorate,
when he says that he only wants to go on with CDA.
That’s what half of the VVD voters want as well.
The question remains though, if …(4)… and …(5)…
have a majority after 22 November. In the latest TNS-
NIPO opinion poll CDA and VVD have a combined
number of expected seats of 68. If the ChristenUnie seats are added, they will have a total
number of 75. Still not enough, but the most well-placed combination for success, if we
leave out the possible PvdA-CDA combination.
Although it is not sure yet if ChristenUnie are going to win largely, everything points in the
direction 4that the party will ‘cash in’ on the popularity of its leader André Rouvoet. With
Question
Read
Rouvoetthe text “ New
behind theMPs mainly
steering white
wheel and
the male” belownot
ChristenUnie and answer
only themost
has the questions.
popular leader,
buta.)according
Explain iftothe
theoutcome
voters alsois typical for the
the most representatives
credible, in Dutchand
reliable, intelligent politics? (1)one.
upright
Further, it seems that ChristenUnie is successful in its attempt to try and stop voters to vote
strategically on 22 November, which is not the case for …(6)… and …(7)…
“Entrepreneurs
Where …(6)…deserve and …(7)… respecthaveandto they shouldn’t
fear an exodus* betolimited
PvdA,by thea enthusiasm
surplus of rules and
among
ChristenUnie
regulations. Thevoters to ‘desert’
regulations that and vote for CDA
are imposed is significantly
on trade and industryless
arepresent. Just one
too extensive in
and
every
cost an seven
annualvoters
amount says to contemplate
of more voting
than 8 billion for CDA
euros. In theifnext
that 4serves
yearsthe
this‘realisation
should be of
reduced
Christian to ideals
2 billionin euros by ChristenUnie
politics’. scrapping or simplifying existing
voters are very loyalrules. That’s
in using how
their we think
…(8)…
entrepreneurs can flourish again, as they deserve.”
The only thing left to consider is what Rutte meant exactly by his remark about the distinct
…(1)… character of the ChristenUnie. Is it a political strategy to try to soak off ChristenUnie
voters or does he envy Rouvoet for his soon to be key position in the political field?
* Exodus = leegloop
From source: De Volkskrant, 11 October 2006
Question 5
 Read the article ‘New MPs mainly white and male’ and answer the questions on page 5.
New MPs mainly white and male

Two-thirds of the 150 newly-elected Dutch members of parliament (MPs) are civil
servants, local politicians or worked in the public sector and only 25% have worked
for a private company, according to calculations by the Volkskrant.
Two out of three MPs are male and only 8% have an ethnic minority background. The final
list of MPs was officially published yesterday. Only one new MP managed to get a seat in
parliament as a result of receiving so many preference votes: Fatma Koser Kaya for D66.
Source: Dutchnews.nl, 28 November 2006
4
Question 5
a.) Name the two different electoral systems we distinguish and add which one we use in
the Netherlands. (1).
b.) Explain which of the two electoral systems gives more chance to minorities (eg.
women or people with a different ethnic background) to win a seat in parliament. (2)
c.) Why does the quota in the Netherlands differ from election to election? (1)
d.) Explain why some countries decide to opt for an electoral threshold. (2)
e.) D66 MP Fatma Koser Kaya was elected with preference votes. How many votes do
you need to be elected this way? Use and explain the term ‘quota’ in your answer! (2)
f.) Explain why a candidate such as Fatma Koser Kaya is a likely candidate to receive
many preference votes? (2)
Question 6
How does the formation of a new cabinet take place? Place the following steps in the correct
order. Only use the numbers in your answer! (3)
1.) The coalition parties reach a coalition agreement with their most important plans for
the next 4 years.
2.) The queen appoints a formateur.
3.) Depending on the different political ideas and the allocation of seats the possibilities
for a new coalition are looked at.
4.) Elections are being held.
5.) The queen officially appoints the new ministers and state secretaries.
6.) The queen appoints an informateur.
Question 7
Explain which term does not belong in each of the following lists.
a.) Parliament – Lower and Upper House – Government – states-general (1)
b.) Bill – Minister – Member of the Lower House – Member of the Upper House (1)
c.) Royal Commissioner – Provincial executive – Mayor – Provincial Council (1)
d.) European Commission – Lower House – Local Council – Provincial Council (1)
e.) SER – WRR – Council of State – Pressure groups (1)
PART B: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

(½ point per correct answer)
8
Greenpeace gets a lot of media attention by blocking a tank vessel in the North Sea. In which
phase of the system theory does Greenpeace operate with this action?
a.) Input
b.) Conversion
c.) Output
d.) Feedback
9
If a rightwing minister checks the environmental pollution of companies more strictly, this
means that he or she…
a.) can give the companies less freedom than he would like to, considering his beliefs
b.) will give the government a more passive role
c.) will put business interest before government interest
d.) deals completely according to his or her beliefs
P.T.O.
5
10
The division of powers has as its goal:
a.) That ministers can be checked upon by the Lower House
b.) That ministers make final decisions
c.) That the people get more influence in the judicial, the executive and the legislative
power
d.) That political power is not centred on a small group of people
11
“Entrepreneurs deserve respect and they shouldn’t be limited by a surplus of rules and
regulations. The regulations that are imposed on trade and industry are too extensive and
cost an annual amount of more than 8 billion euros. In the next 4 years this should be
reduced to 2 billion euros by scrapping or simplifying existing rules. That’s how we think
entrepreneurs can flourish again, as they deserve.”
From the manifesto of which political party has this statement most likely been quoted?
a.) PvdA
b.) SP
c.) CDA
d.) VVD
12
At a referendum…
 I. the people elect representatives
 II. the people vote on a certain subject
 III. civilians can decide on the fall of a cabinet
a.) Only II is correct

b.) Both I and III are correct
c.) Both II and III are correct
d.) Only III is correct
13
The difference between the terms leftwing and rightwing mostly concerns:
a.) The question of how conservative or progressive a party is.
b.) The vision parties have of the role of the government.
c.) The vision parties have of moral issues.
d.) The difference between confessional and non-confessional parties
14
 I. Populism came into existence as sort of a protest movement against existing parties
 II. The Christian parties can be considered populist.
a.) I is correct, II is incorrect.

b.) I is incorrect, II is correct.
c.) Both I and II are correct.
d.) I and II are both incorrect.
15
 I. People who want to re-introduce the death penalty are conservative
 II. People who want to invest in green energy are progressive
a.) I is correct, II is incorrect.

b.) I is incorrect, II is correct.
c.) Both I and II are correct.
d.) I and II are both incorrect.
6
PART C: TRUE / FALSE STATEMENTS

Are the following statements true or false? (½ point per correct answer)
16
An indirect democracy is only possible in a presidential system.
17
Confessionalism is based on an organic concept of the state.
18
Liberals believe the government should restrict itself to core tasks, such as defence,
education and the protection of freedoms.
19
Consensus politics in the Netherlands is also referred to as the polder model.
20
Policy-preparation and policy-formulation occur during the output phase of the process of
political decision-making.
21
Supranational European laws have precedence over national laws.
22
The Council of Ministers has the executive power within the EU.
23
The VVD has a huge focus on economic freedom.
24
Groenlinks is for free public transport.
25
SGP has its biggest number of supporters in the bible belt.
26
Trots op Nederland has a male faction leader.
27
This redo SET was easier than the first SET.
THAT’S ALL FOLKS!!!
7
ANSWER MODEL REDO SET1 PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY TTO-4
Question 1
a.) It’s a social issue because many people are involved (children, especially young
girls), There are conflicting interests; some people think sexualisation is a bad thing, it
sets a wrong example, but other people say this is reality and modernisation, which
can’t be stopped. The problem has evolved in society; it’s due to changing norms and
values in society that it has occurred and last but not least: the government is
involved in solving the problem, or at least some political movements think that
government should do something about it.
b.) Socio-cultural, socio-economic, political-legal and comparative points of view.
c.) Most suitable is the socio-cultural p.o.v.; we use different standards of what is normal
these days than we did 40 years ago. Norms and values have changed and
sexualisation is definitely a result of those shifting ideas.
Also possible is the comparative p.o.v.; almost the same things mentioned above + in
Islamic countries for ex. they have different feelings about these kinds of issues.
d.) Most typically they belong to the Christian-democracy. They focus on norms and
values more than anyone else in politics. They think sex and half-naked bodies are
not to be exploited for commercial goals. Examples are SGP, CDA and ChristenUnie.
e.) Liberal parties object to the idea of governmental interference in social issues. They
want the government to abstain from interference in society unless a problem poses a
real and unavoidable threat to people’s safety. They want people to have as much
freedom as possible to make their own decisions. Examples are PVV, VVD, Trots op
NL and D66.
Question 2
a.) Individual freedom for citizens
b.) Choose 2 from:
- Political basic rights
- Limited power for army and police
- Division of powers (Trias Politica)
c.) The right to demonstrate
d.) If you base your opinion on this article you would have to conclude that Russia is
indeed a dictatorship. There is censorship (opinions from advocates of human rights
are banned from the Russian media), there is a restriction of individual freedom
(people cannot freely speak their minds or publish whatever they want) and there are
also signs that there is limited political freedom (13 opponents of the regime have
been killed since Putin gained power).
e.) Parliamentary system: The Netherlands
Presidential system: Russia
Question 3
a.) Coalition parties are the parties that work together in the cabinet. The opposition
parties do have seats in the Lower House, but they are not part of the cabinet. The
SP is in the opposition.
b.) The right to question.
c.) Choose from: the right of enquiry, the interpellation right and the right of motion.
d.) Dualism means that there is a clear separation between the cabinet and the Lower
House. MPs cannot be ministers at the same time. In the article you read that the
Lower House checks the tasks of the cabinet, which in a monistic system would
basically mean that they would ask themselves questions.
e.) + f.) Choose two from:
- Voting right  Both Upper and Lower House
- Right of initiative  Only Lower House
- Right of amendment  Only the Lower House
- Budget right  Both Upper and Lower House
8
Question 4
1.) Leftwing 5.) Christian-democracy or liberalism
2.) Coalition 6.) SP / Groenlinks
3.) Rightwing 7.) SP / Groenlinks
4.) Christian-democracy or liberalism 8.) Active voting right
Question 5
a.) Proportional representation (in the NLs) and district system.
b.) The first gives more opportunities to minorities, because a ‘winner-takes-all’ system
requires winning candidates to attract a majority or substantial plurality of the vote. By
definition, candidates representing political minorities have great difficulty amassing
such a large share of votes, and so stand little chance of being elected. In a PR
system every vote counts and the party is free to determine at which positions on the
list its minorities will represent their party in the elections.
c.) The quota is the total number of votes cast divided by the number of seats (150). The
total turnout changes with every new election and so will the quota.
d.) An electoral threshold means that you don’t allow parties to win seats in parliament if
they don’t reach a certain minimum % of votes. This forestalls a parliament with an
enormous amount of different parties, which some countries prefer to a multitude of
parties.
e.) You need 25% of the quota, which is the total turnout divided by the number of seats
(150). In the NLs this is always somewhere around 62.000, which would mean that
you need at least 15.000 preference votes to win the seat that was in fact reserved
for someone else in the party, who was higher on the list.
f.) She has a different ethnic background and she is a woman, both factors that make
people decide to vote for a specific person on the list instead of the most logical step
to vote for number one on the list.
Question 6
4-6-3-1-2-5
Question 7
a.) Government does not belong in the list, because the other terms are all different
names for exactly the same institution.
b.) - Bill does not belong in the list, because the other terms all represent people
- Member of the Upper House does not belong in the list, because a Member of the
Lower House and the minister can both introduce a bill
c.) Mayor does not belong in the list, because the other terms all have to do with politics
at a provincial level, the mayor is the boss of the local level of politics.
d.) The European Commission does not belong in the list, because the other institutions
are all directly elected by people.
e.) Pressure groups do not belong in the list, because they are not an advisory body of
the government, the others are.
PART B: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS PART C : TRUE / FALSE STATEMENTS

8. A. 16. FALSE 24. TRUE
9. A 17. TRUE 25. TRUE
10. D 18. TRUE 26. FALSE
11. D 19. TRUE 27. TRUE / FALSE
12. A 20. FALSE
13. B 21. TRUE Total amount of
14. A 22. FALSE points to gain: 57
15. C 23. TRUE
9
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Social Studies Summary test -

Gedownload door: summaryking | mrfifagamer@outlook.com

REDO SET 1 SOCIAL STUDIES – social issues, parliamentary democracy TTO-4

PART A: OPEN QUESTIONS

Girls, girls, girls…

Bullets hit Russia’s freedom of press

Politkovskaja’s death casts a dark shadow over

* Additional information to the article:

SP is sick and tired of waiting

 Besides supervising rights, parliament also has legislative rights.

e.) Name 2 of those legislative rights. (1)

1.) Choose leftwing or rightwing

Gedownload door: summaryking | mrfifagamer@outlook.com

Only Rutte considers Rouvoet to be …(1)…

On top of that, two-thirds of ChristenUnie voters would

New MPs mainly white and male

PART B: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

a.) Only II is correct

a.) I is correct, II is incorrect.

a.) I is correct, II is incorrect.

PART C: TRUE / FALSE STATEMENTS

THAT’S ALL FOLKS!!!

ANSWER MODEL REDO SET1 PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY TTO-4

PART B: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS PART C : TRUE / FALSE STATEMENTS

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