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Politics

Beta Q&A site for questions about governments, policies and political processes.

9
votes
3
answers

How is the *Government* part of *Law & Government* different from Politics?

jan 17 at 2:08 Affable Geek 390
7
votes
0
answers

Why bundle “Law” and “Government”?

jan 16 at 13:05 SF. 2,466
6
votes
7
answers

Would it be better to stick with political history

dec 3 at 17:26 E_ERROR 151
23
votes
4
answers

How will Politics SE keep from being a discussion board?

oct 23 at 12:24 Casebash 808
16
votes
5
answers

Political science looks better

aug 31 at 22:43 ardentsonata 151

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This proposal is now in the Beta phase — example questions are locked!

67 Example Questions (8 closed)

active oldest votes
up vote 24 down vote
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative vote?
added by david4dev Dec 15 '10 at 0:23
link
1  
For those who don't know, this is the voting system in which candidates are numbered in order of preference. There will be a referendum to move to this voting system in the UK in May 2011. – david4dev Dec 16 '10 at 19:32
I believe this is also called "instance run-off" voting -- and this is a question that I was also going to offer as an example :) – dlongley Dec 17 '10 at 20:23
Great on-topic question – Fergus Dec 18 '10 at 22:31
2  
@dlongley - I think you meant instant -runoff voting. – Dori Dec 19 '10 at 8:36
Yup, silly brain. – dlongley Dec 20 '10 at 17:14
up vote 24 down vote
Is Communism a form of government or a form of economy?
added by CrazyJugglerDrummer Dec 17 '10 at 15:48
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up vote 22 down vote
Are the ideals of communism and libertarianism in conflict?
added by david4dev Dec 15 '10 at 0:21
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Maybe a bit fuzzy? But basically on-topic, IMO. – Lennart Regebro Dec 16 '10 at 15:11
Would this be better rephrased as 'Are the ideals of communism and libertarianism in conflict?'? – david4dev Dec 16 '10 at 19:35
Yeah, that's a clearer and narrower question that boils down to the same problem, – Lennart Regebro Dec 16 '10 at 20:23
up vote 21 down vote
What are the advantages/disadvantages of a mandatory voting system?
added by dlongley Dec 17 '10 at 20:00
link
up vote 20 down vote
Are there any benefits to direct democracy as opposed to representative democracy?
added by Jay Dec 26 '10 at 13:46
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up vote 18 down vote
What's are the key differences between a republic and a democracy and what makes the United States government a hybrid of the two?
added by CrazyJugglerDrummer Dec 20 '10 at 13:45
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2  
Assumes that the US government is a democracy... – Traroth Mar 2 '11 at 16:05
up vote 13 down vote
What does [bill] contain?
added by Borror0 Dec 27 '10 at 23:08
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I ask this question because I want to know whether objective discussions (read: not arguments) about the content of bills would be on or off topic. – Borror0 Dec 27 '10 at 23:09
up vote 12 down vote
Please help me understand the electoral college!
added by BenV Dec 15 '10 at 13:22
link
8  
This would be a better example if it asked about a particular aspect of the electoral college, i.e. what part is not understood – Brad Mace Jan 8 '11 at 18:31
up vote 11 down vote
Does Wikileaks change the way politics work? How?
added by Mnementh Dec 17 '10 at 19:14
link
1  
That cannot be answered subjectively, in any shape or form. – Borror0 Jan 5 '11 at 17:10
3  
Perhaps it would work better if phrased as "Are there any definitive cases where Wikileaks has change the direction of government policy?" – Brad Mace Jan 8 '11 at 19:20
2  
@Borror0 I think you mean "objectively". There are plenty of subjective answers :) – eMansipater Apr 19 '11 at 13:30
up vote 8 down vote
What is meant by the "in and out" scandal in Canadian politics?
added by mootinator Mar 10 '11 at 2:01
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up vote 5 down vote
How do the various proportional representation systems work?
added by david4dev Dec 16 '10 at 20:34
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This question is pretty open ended... – fluteflute May 1 '11 at 7:33
up vote 4 down vote
What are the current obstacles blocking reaching reform in Social Security/Medicare?
added by Seth P. Jan 21 '11 at 6:28
link
I guess you are assuming "in the US"? Please don't make such assumptions. – Lohoris Jun 1 '11 at 7:26
Questions like this will be attractive to trolls and answers subjective and argumentitive – Chad Jun 7 '11 at 13:42
up vote 4 down vote
What is the difference between classical liberalism and modern liberalism?
added by mootinator Mar 10 '11 at 1:53
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up vote 3 down vote
Are tax rate reduction good policy for economic stimulus?
added by Fergus Dec 19 '10 at 7:14
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1  
I think the site should be about how governments work, not how effective their policies are, so this is a good off-topic example. – Brad Mace Jan 8 '11 at 18:45
up vote 3 down vote
Where does the concepts of 'left' and 'right' originally come from?
added by Mark Rogers Jan 7 '11 at 6:15
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up vote 3 down vote
What secular organizations in the United States exist that lobby boards of education?
added by mfg Jan 27 '11 at 14:18
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up vote 3 down vote
Is it true that the U.S. has supported [Middle East (or any region really) ruler] in the past? If yes, to what extent and why?
added by ghshtalt, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Apr 11 '11 at 20:29
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up vote 3 down vote
What is meant by right-wing and left-wing?
added by M.Sameer, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around May 4 '11 at 6:41
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up vote 2 down vote
Is it possible to create checks and balances within bureaucracies, and how?
added by Mark Rogers Jan 7 '11 at 6:22
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up vote 2 down vote
What historical factors have worked against the creation of single-payer healthcare in the U.S.?
added by Brad Mace Jan 8 '11 at 19:05
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up vote 2 down vote
Which supreme court rulings have led to the broad interpretation of the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution?
added by Brad Mace Jan 8 '11 at 19:08
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up vote 2 down vote
What specific means does the US Constitution give each of the three branches of government to provide checks and balances against the others?
added by Brad Mace Jan 8 '11 at 19:11
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up vote 2 down vote
What would be the effects of ending U.S. oil subsidies?
added by bryanpackman Jan 31 '11 at 3:44
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up vote 2 down vote
What exactly is the Lisbon Treaty? Is it significant? If so, why?
added by ghshtalt Mar 2 '11 at 13:06
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up vote 2 down vote
How do the EU and the USA differ in their relationship to their member countries/states?
added by dancek Apr 28 '11 at 12:56
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up vote 2 down vote
In the US, how does the decision making process differ between House and Senate?
added by unused Apr 30 '11 at 13:14
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Do you mean House and Senate? – Brad Mace Jun 8 '11 at 15:07
@bemace Yes, fixed. – unused Jun 10 '11 at 8:44
up vote 1 down vote
Are major public social services (Social Security, Health Care, ...) compatible in the long run with tax cuts?
added by VonC Dec 16 '10 at 14:54
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Tax cuts or expenditure cuts? The former not necessarily implying the latter, of course. – CodeByMoonlight Dec 17 '10 at 10:05
@CodeByMoonlight: tax cut, i.e. the idea of "small government", and "more money in the hands of people", but... with big deficits, meaning the need to pay for it with big cuts in social programs. – VonC Dec 17 '10 at 13:31
This is subjective and really argumentive. – Chad Jun 7 '11 at 13:38
up vote 1 down vote
What role did the Whigs have in the escalation of the US Civil War? [closed]
added by CrazyJugglerDrummer Dec 17 '10 at 15:46
link

closed as off topic by Ustice, Nellius, Ruben, Lohoris, daniel.sedlacek Feb 24 '11 at 11:18

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

1  
BTW: It was not a "Civil War". There were two separate countries (USA, and the Confederate States of America.) A Civil War is where a country start fighting itself. – Linuxmint Dec 17 '10 at 17:27
1  
@Linuxmint I agree, but history is written by the victors. The South was fighting for a revolution, just as the US did against britain. But the union force usually doesn't want to be fighting against a revolution, they want to degrade the conflict to look like just a small contained disagreement, hence the term 'civil war', even though war is never civil. What its called all depends on who wins. :D – CrazyJugglerDrummer Dec 18 '10 at 19:20
4  
This is more a history question than a question about politics. – Ustice Dec 28 '10 at 20:39
3  
@Linuxmint Technically the CSA was never an actual country, since no country (other than the CSA itself) ever recognised it as one. Very definition of a civil war IMO! – Nellius Jan 7 '11 at 10:49
1  
@Nellius: You don't have to have the recognition of another country to be one. During the American Revolution, "America" was not recognized by any other country as a country. – Linuxmint Jan 7 '11 at 20:06
show 7 more comments
up vote 1 down vote
Are the types of tactics a political party employs influenced by its ideology? If so, are certain tactics therefore unlikely for a particular party?
added by dlongley Dec 17 '10 at 20:15
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up vote 1 down vote
Is it possible to have a society that is truly classless with equal economic status? [closed]
added by CrazyJugglerDrummer Dec 20 '10 at 13:57
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closed as off topic by Brad Mace, Lohoris, Nellius, M.Sameer, Beofett May 3 '11 at 19:51

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

2  
Seems like answers to this would be highly subjective and speculative – Brad Mace Jan 8 '11 at 18:32
1  
More philosophical question than political to me. – M.Sameer Apr 24 '11 at 22:14
up vote 1 down vote
What is [politician]'s position on same-sex marriage? [closed]
added by Borror0 Jan 6 '11 at 18:53
link

closed as off topic by Brad Mace, Ruben, Lohoris, mootinator, Lennart Regebro Mar 31 '11 at 7:36

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

2  
I'm torn on this question. It's factual, but politician's positions can change regularly and can be hard to pin down. It also seems to be slightly too far removed from the issues of how governments operate, so for now I come down on the side of off-topic. – Brad Mace Jan 8 '11 at 18:56
@bemace: If the proposal is limited to "how government works", then perhaps "politics" is not the best name for the proposal. Moreover, there is no legitimate reason to be that narrow. – Borror0 Jan 8 '11 at 22:39
@bemace: Most proposals on StackEchange have questions whose answers will eventually be wrong. The best solution to a programming problem will eventually change, for example. – Borror0 Jan 8 '11 at 22:41
@Borror0 That's not necessarily true (about the programming solution). But anyways, I agree that this is on-topic because, if nothing else, the answer has a timestamp on it. And answers can be added/edited if information changes. – Matthew Read Mar 29 '11 at 13:14
GotE- mainly because this would be for a specific person, not a government, policies, or processes. also, if this was allowed you'd get one for each government member – DForck42 May 27 '11 at 16:58
up vote 1 down vote
What effect would [tax bill] have on people making less than $100,000?
added by Brad Mace Jan 8 '11 at 18:52
link
up vote 1 down vote
What can the money, raised by a candidate's PAC, be used for after the candidate's election? Legally, how can they divert those money between cycles?
added by mfg, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Apr 11 '11 at 20:32
link
up vote 1 down vote
What resource can tell me the [Senators] that support [issue|bill|etc]?
added by mfg Jan 27 '11 at 14:28
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up vote 1 down vote
Is there any causative evidence that a Keynesian stimulus works?
added by mootinator, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Apr 11 '11 at 20:27
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Meant to test whether questions ostensibly dealing with economics are on topic. – mootinator Mar 10 '11 at 2:19
up vote 1 down vote
Did Saddam-era Iraq try to influence other countries' policies using its oil exports or food imports?
added by Andrew Grimm Mar 11 '11 at 12:59
link
up vote 1 down vote
What is the difference between meritocracy and aristocracy?
added by syockit, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Apr 11 '11 at 20:26
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up vote 1 down vote
Why does communism seem to work just fine in today's China (PRC) while it failed in the Soviet Union?
added by dancek Apr 28 '11 at 12:51
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up vote 0 down vote
How can gerrymandering be mitigated or eliminated in the United States?
added by dlongley Dec 17 '10 at 20:05
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3  
Suggest changing the wording to be, "What system have been proposed to mitigate or eliminate gerrymandering in the United States, and how do they compare against each other?" – Ustice Dec 28 '10 at 20:36
up vote 0 down vote
What is a coup?
added by Mark Rogers Jan 7 '11 at 6:33
link
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