TOEFL Reading: Academic Passage Detail Question – Political Science (Advanced)

Pregunta 9 — detail

According to paragraph 5, a key weakness of the transitology approach is that it...

fails to provide a convincing explanation for the role of elites.
overstates the importance of economic prerequisites for democracy.
is too deterministic and does not account for political choice.
may not adequately explain transitions resulting from revolutions.

Answer Explanation

[PASSAGE] "The emphasis on pacts may also fail to explain transitions that occur through collapse or revolution, where elite negotiation is minimal." The transitology approach, with its focus on elite pacts, may not adequately account for transitions that happen due to regime collapse or revolution, which involve little elite negotiation. [WHY CORRECT] Option 4 is correct because the last sentence of paragraph 5 explicitly states that the transitology approach, with its emphasis on elite pacts, "may also fail to explain transitions that occur through collapse or revolution, where elite negotiation is minimal." This directly identifies a weakness of the approach in accounting for transitions driven by revolutions. [TRAPS] Option 1 is incorrect because the passage actually highlights transitology's *focus* on the role of political elites and their strategic interactions, not its failure to explain their role. Option 2 is incorrect because modernization theory, not transitology, is the one that emphasizes economic prerequisites; transitology shifts away from this. [TIP] For detail questions, locate keywords from the question in the passage and carefully read the surrounding sentences for the specific information requested. Avoid making inferences beyond what is stated.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect

Option A (“fails to provide a convincing explanation for the role of elites.”) distorts a detail that the passage actually gives.
Option B (“overstates the importance of economic prerequisites for democracy.”) confuses two separate points from the text.
Option C (“is too deterministic and does not account for political choice.”) swaps the cause and effect described in the passage.

Key Language in Context

Pay attention to the precise wording used to discuss Political Science. In TOEFL detail questions, transitions and qualifiers carry the meaning that separates the correct answer from close distractors.

Skill Takeaway

Locate the exact supporting line in the text instead of relying on memory.