WAEC Government 2025 Theory Past Questions

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i. Promoting civic responsibility: political parties through their activities of periodic meetings, selection of leaders and candidates to contest elections, awaken civic responsibility in members of society. ii. Promoting political stability and good governance: done mostly by the opposition party presenting a solid contrast to the ruling government, ensuring the best is done; failure means the opposition takes over and the political arena continues. iii. Representation of diverse interests: political parties bring together people of different interests, drawing among them and choosing who will represent the diverse interests in their actions. iv. International relations: as the world has moved almost fully to democratic rule, political parties, through their candidates, can form alliances with other countries to restore stability within and outside their territory. v. Political socialization: through the activities of different political parties, people are socialized based on the ideas of the party that bring them together.

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i. Shaping public opinion: the media plays an important role in shaping the way people think; this can either mar or make the democratic process depending on the choices media houses make. ii. Promoting political communication: the media promotes political communication between members of society and elected representatives, facilitating feedback from the electorate to the elected. iii. Building social trust and solidarity: through the media, the political class can build social trust; the public can also build or destroy that trust initially placed in an elected candidate. iv. Facilitating informed citizenry and information dissemination: this will encourage them if the feedback is impressive, or make them ask for accountability through the media come the next election cycle. v. Amplifying grassroots movements: this can be achieved by giving room to course, promoting people's participation in government through various media programmes.

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i. Restructuring and diversifying fund sourcing: most state enterprises rely largely on government funds, which are often delayed or insufficient; restructuring and diversifying funding sources can improve productivity and contribute to national development. ii. Adoption of modern technological advancement: most government-owned enterprises still operate manually; adopting new technology can improve their productivity. iii. Removal of nepotism in appointment and recruitment of qualified personnel: appointments are often political and based on favouritism rather than qualification, which affects the enterprises' full functionality. iv. Encouraging public-private partnership: government can allow these enterprises to work hand-in-hand with private enterprises, whose push is most likely to motivate the public enterprise to achieve targets. v. Imposition of a minimum standard: government agencies responsible for monitoring these enterprises often fail to keep them accountable; introducing a minimum standard is likely to improve their output and foster development.

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i. Judicial independence: to ensure a fair and balanced judicial system, government must ensure the judiciary is allowed to operate without any arm of government interfering. ii. Rule of law: all arms of government must allow the rule of law to operate maximally, building confidence in citizens and judicial agents. iii. Independence of the media: media independence is another way judicial independence can be promoted and kept in check; it will keep participants in the judiciary alert and watchful of what they do. iv. Protection of whistle-blowers and sanitizing the whistle-blowing system: government should establish a reliable whistle-blowing process to prevent abuse and protect whistle-blowers so credible information can come forth. v. Encouraging alternative dispute resolution: this will reduce the burden on the main judicial processes so small, insignificant issues can be swiftly attended to.

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i. Political culture promotes political tolerance: this gives investors confidence that even though opponents may not align with the populace, they will not take that to heart to the extent of affecting their businesses. ii. It promotes quality of government policy: politically aware citizens tend to challenge some government policies, making government think carefully before releasing policies to the public. iii. Political culture encourages responsible citizenry: by knowing the political rights of everyone, no one will go overboard antagonizing opponents; political culture makes citizens aware there must always be an opponent in everything. iv. It strengthens accountability mechanisms: citizens, especially those on the opposing side, will always question the ruling party's every step, making the ruling party more accountable to the populace. v. Political culture promotes peaceful co-existence among people of different backgrounds and cultures, and people from different regions and walks of life.

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i. Maintenance of law and order: in most third-world countries where people still have regard for traditional authority, if the traditional authority promotes law and order, it prepares the indigenes for the bigger picture presented by democracy. ii. Promoting gender inclusion: in most traditional settings women are naturally excluded; if traditional authorities promote gender inclusion, this will help women contribute their quota to the democratic process. iii. Encouraging political literacy and awareness: traditional authorities can promote the democratic process in their communities by educating indigenes on the importance of political participation. iv. Supporting national values and integration: traditional authorities should not create the impression of promoting only local culture; they should instil a national identity in their people, which goes a long way in promoting the democratic process. v. Traditional authority should partner with government to eliminate harmful cultural practices.

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i. Unity and collective identity: nationalists believed in seeing themselves as belonging to a particular group, working for the interest of all. ii. Mobilization of resources: nationalists sourced funds from everywhere to carry out their activities; such a cause cannot be pursued successfully without sufficient funds. iii. Encouraging education and enlightenment: nationalists believed the power of the people lies in education, and carried people along in every activity that affected them so solidarity could be maintained. iv. Building strong institutions: nationalists built strong institutions such as media houses and political parties, which made the activity of nationalism easier for them. v. Advocacy for independence and self-rule: all nationalists wanted the people to decide for themselves rather than have a foreigner decide for them.

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i. Financial support: international organisations can influence states through financial assistance, which most developing countries need. ii. International legal frameworks: international organisations can promote sanctions using bodies such as the International Court of Justice to influence a sovereign state. iii. Promotion of civil advocacy in local communities: international organisations may support local individuals for advocacy, giving them resources that affect the process of a state. iv. Sending of security operatives for peacekeeping: in cases of chaos in a state, forces such as the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) can be sent to restore peace to the community. v. Support for developmental projects and infrastructural development: international organisations may offer developmental support with conditions attached, which is an indirect way of influencing the affairs of a state.

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i. Alliance with other countries: if a country has a tight alliance with other countries, especially developed ones, the military will be less likely to interfere in the political process for fear of losing that support. ii. Establishment of sound democratic institutions: these institutions campaign against military rule and will not allow the military breathing space in the political process. iii. Strong military-civil relationship: a sound, standard framework and interaction between the civilian government and the military keeps the military disinterested in interfering in the political process. iv. Existence of accountability and corruption-detection processes: since weak accountability and widespread corruption are major reasons the military interferes, mechanisms that promote accountability and detect corruption will reduce the military's interest in interfering. v. Strong regional coordination: countries will be discouraged from military takeover for fear of interference from other regional governments if they attempt to take over the country.

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Note: the source document does not provide a distinct model answer for this question; it is likely intended to draw on the same principles of foreign policy discussed elsewhere in the paper — national interest, national security, regional cooperation, diplomatic relations and economic collaboration — as they relate to shaping a country's development outcomes.