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CLEP Political Science

Subjects : clep, political-science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Shorter-lived - Slightly less repressive - Ideology not so clear - In favor of capitalism - though with state involvement - Based more on Social Darwinism/racism/nationlsm - Conservatism run amok?






2. Situation where all fully qualified citizens have an equal say






3. Basically - density and quality of civil society






4. You see a puzzle - You come up with a potential explanation (a 'theory') - You test it with evidence (data drawn from the 5 senses) - You share the results with others and get their feedback - Repeat steps 2 through 4 until you publish






5. The rules about making the rules - often embodied in a constitution.






6. About agency: we deserve freedom and need to be held meaningfully accountable






7. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






8. State of nature (collective action problem) - Hobbes' solution: the social contract






9. An organization that seeks elective office - Currency/instrument: votes






10. Identities are malleable - and anything can become politicized. Struggles to explain fundamental patterns in political identity or their grasp on our souls. Can't really explain which identities become politicized either






11. Long-lived - Extreme lack of social pluralism - Well-defined ideology - Against capitalism - Based on Marxist arguments about class solidarity - economic determinism - Socialism run amok?






12. Ideology An ideology that seeks the active reshaping of minds of individuals and believes this can/must be done by force - Coercive mobilization - No social or political pluralism






13. Historical origins. A response to the old feudal order and the rise of modern capitalism - 'The highest good of society [is] the ability of the members of that society to develop their individual capacities to the fullest extent' (p. 26) One of the 3






14. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






15. Shared sets of meanings






16. Compiling a body of data based on direct observation that can be utilized both to explain what has been observed and to form valid generalizations.






17. A historical exploration of the major contributions to political thought from the ancient Greeks to the contemporary theorists. It also involves the philosophical and speculative consideration of the political world.






18. Basically - synonymous for statistical method - Large numbers of observational data - 'Control' for confounding factors






19. The use of force by states or non-state actors to achieve political goals






20. Territorial monopoly over the legitimate use of force. Refers to the government + the people + the territory ('the country')






21. A systematic study of the structures of two or more political systems (such as those of Britain and the People's Republic of China) to achieve an understanding of how different societies manage the realities of governing. Also considered are politica






22. The mathematical formula used to allocate the seats according to the vote - Plurality or 'first-past-the-post' - various PR formulas - such as D'Hondt - largest remainders - St. Lague - etc.






23. Situation of stability - no party has incentive and ability to undermine the regime (Causes: cultural or economice - or military culture) - (Int'l Factors: U.S. foreign policy - Soviet foreign policy - Changes to Catholic doctrine - EU accession - G






24. Individual rationality does not always lead to collective rationality - Walking on the grass - Policy implementation is problematic - Voting; protests; interest groups; etc. are underprovided (Olson's point)






25. it works better in the long run - less risk/variability






26. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






27. The organized study of government and politics. It borrows from the related disciplines of history - philosophy - sociology - economics - and law.






28. A consideration of how nations interact with each other within the frameworks of law - diplomacy - and international organizations such as the United Nations.






29. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






30. Monarchies - Single-party regimes - Military regimes - Oligarchies - Theocracies - Personalistic regimes






31. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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32. Regime where the rulers are accountable to the ruled.






33. A basic plan that outlines the structure and functions of the national government. Clearly rooted in Western political thought - it sets limits on government and protects both property and individual rights.






34. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






35. Warfare and military technology - Economic: development of trade and manufacturing and new financial/fiscal instruments - Cultural: Enlightenment - (There are also Environmental/geographic factors)






36. Think of this as 'gender as cause'. Gender roles change and/or mix of women in politics changes; what is the consequence? Key finding: having more women in public office changes the policy agenda - i.e. - more focus on women's issues






37. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






38. Historical origins. A reaction to liberalism - Central assumption: 'The highest good of society [is] the maintenance of ordered community and of common values' (p. 28) One of the 3 big idealogies






39. Utility maximization - Preferences: Comparability/Completeness - Transitivity - Probability - Incomplete information and uncertainty about future - Mathematical modeling






40. A civil war (...) in which one party is the state - the insurgents win - the insurgents have a lot of popular support - and the insurgents implement 'wholesale political change'






41. A non-meritocratic system in which jobs and contracts are distributed according to partisan support - (The U.S. 'spoils system' of the 19th century')






42. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






43. equality in political decision making: one vote per person - with all votes counted equally






44. Hard to amass resources (money and information) - Short-lived - The dilemma of formalization






45. Number of Parties 2 - Constitutional Review: Parliamentary supremacy - Number of chambers: Unicameral/weak bicameral - Federalism: Unitary






46. Describes the principal characteristics of what has been studied.






47. Public vs. private goods - Non-exclusivity. The owner can't deny access - Inexhaustability. The good is never used up - Jointness of supply. Its existence depends on our combined contribution; truly 'collective' - Free riding. We generally fail to co






48. A political organization that primarily uses lobbying - Currency/instrument: money - information - numbers






49. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






50. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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