POL. SC. 301 – Political Behaviour Past Questions
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATION 2014/2015 ACADEMY SESSION
COURSE TITLE: POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR
COURSE CODE: POL. SC. 301
TIME ALLOWED: 3HRS
Instruction: Answer three questions including No. 1
- One of the disturbing issues in the study of Political Behaviour as a field of study is the decline and relegation of the study of public opinion and voting behaviour to the backwaters of political science in Nigeria. Account for the reasons for this decline and advance possible ways of making it regain its pride of place and relevance in political science studies.
- Examine the interface and the neuro-psychological impetus for the actions of individuals and the activities of groups towards the political systems.
- Argue out a fine line between difference and convergence across political culture, civic culture, and cultural secularization.
- Ideologies are drives of political behaviour in their different manifestations. With the aid of adequate case studies, discuss the ideologies that you have been taught exhaustively.
- The theory of relative deprivation assumes among other things that violence occurs when the want-get gap becomes intolerable. How do we determine the intolerability of the want-get gap? Discuss a case of your choice.
- The Salient of identity politics defined in the context of ethnicity and religion has continued to intensify its political relevance in the understanding and interpretation of Nigerian politics, yet; a great deal of effort is committed to combating it. Discuss.
- The centre point of the traditionalist argument is not whether behaviouralism has important contributions to make in the study of political phenomena; the question is, whether the behavioural approach is adequate in itself for an understanding of politics. Discuss these contributions. What aspects of the traditionalist’s argument should be cast away, retained or modified by Political Scientists in order to make the empirical component of Political Science more scientific?
- Democratic-Elitism is the product of an attempt to ensure compatibility between elite rule and democratic government. Discuss with particular reference the contributions of Karl Manheim, Schumpeter and Raymond Aaron.
