Basic concepts

Traps in Basic concepts

• Over-generalises a feature
  Political systems vary; options with all/always/never are usually wrong unless the definition itself is absolute.
• Picks a closely related concept
  Learn related terms as contrasting pairs with one-line definitions, then identify which one the stem describes.
• Uses the everyday meaning of a term
  Recall the textbook definition of the term before matching options.
• Confuses international organisations
  ECOWAS: 1975, Lagos treaty, HQ Abuja. OAU: 1963 Addis Ababa → AU 2002. UN: 1945, HQ New York. Commonwealth: former British territories.
• Confuses separation of powers and checks and balances
  Separation of powers (Montesquieu): legislature makes, executive implements, judiciary interprets laws. Checks and balances: each organ limits the others (veto, impeachment, judicial review).
• Confuses electoral systems and bodies
  Franchise = right to vote. First-past-the-post: highest votes wins a constituency. Proportional representation: seats in proportion to votes.
• Reverses the principle or its effect
  Ask what problem the principle is meant to solve; the right answer serves that purpose, the reversal defeats it.
• Misunderstands rule of law
  Dicey: supremacy of the law, equality before the law, and protection of rights by the courts. Nobody is above the law.
• Picks the wrong country or place
  Learn the place with its distinguishing fact (OPEC HQ: Vienna; founded in Baghdad). Read whether the stem asks where something began or where it is now.
• Misunderstands features of democracy
  Direct democracy: citizens decide in person (ancient Athens, referendums). Representative: elected representatives decide. Features: periodic free elections, rule of law, majority rule with minority rights, freedom of expression.
• Military rule misconceptions
  Military regimes suspend the constitution and rule by decrees/edicts; the ruling council (e.g. Supreme Military Council) combines executive and legislative powers.
• Confuses political ideologies
  Capitalism: private ownership, market. Socialism: state/collective ownership of the main means of production. Communism: classless, stateless society (Marx). Fascism: authoritarian ultra-nationalism (Mussolini). Feudalism: land held in return for service.
• Confuses political theorists and their works
  Hobbes – Leviathan (1651), absolute sovereign; Locke – Two Treatises (1689), natural rights, limited government; Rousseau – The Social Contract (1762), general will; Montesquieu – The Spirit of the Laws (1748), separation of powers; Dicey – Law of the Constitution (1885), rule of law; Marx – Communist Manifesto (1848).
• Attributes the idea or event to the wrong person
  Pair each thinker with one book and one key idea (Montesquieu – Spirit of the Laws – separation of powers; Hobbes – Leviathan – absolute sovereign; Locke – limited government).
• Describes a different system of government
  Learn each classification as a table with one defining feature per type (parliamentary: fused executive and legislature; confederation: units keep sovereignty) and match the stem to that feature.
• Gives only one part of the concept
  Recall the full definition and check the option covers it, not just one component.
• Confuses rights and duties
  Rights are entitlements (life, expression, movement). Duties/obligations are what citizens owe (pay taxes, obey laws, vote, defend the state).
• Chooses a true but irrelevant statement
  Test each option against the exact term in the stem, not against whether it is true.
• Confuses state, nation and government
  State: a people in a defined territory with a government and sovereignty. Nation: a people with a shared identity (language, culture, history). Government: the machinery/agency through which the state's will is carried out; governments change, the state continues.
• Assigns the function to the wrong body
  Make a table: body → main function → membership. Match the function in the stem to the body, not the topic area.
• Confuses legislative structures
  Unicameral = one chamber (Ghana); bicameral = two (Nigeria: Senate + House of Reps). Speaker presides; whips enforce party discipline; quorum is the minimum number to transact business.
• Misunderstands judicial independence
  Independence is secured by security of tenure, salaries charged on the consolidated fund, appointment through a judicial service commission, and immunity for judicial acts.
• Confuses legal remedies and writs
  Habeas corpus: produce a detained person before the court. Mandamus: compel a public officer to perform a duty. Certiorari: quash a decision of a lower court or tribunal. Injunction: restrain a person from doing something. Prohibition: stop a lower court exceeding its jurisdiction.
• Mixes types of constitution
  Rigid = special procedure to amend (e.g. Nigeria). Flexible = amended like ordinary law (UK). Written = in a single document. Unwritten = conventions, statutes, case law.