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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. The set of relationships among parties in a country - Often categorized by the effective number of parties.






2. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






3. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






4. Process tracing through case studies. Requires a well-developed theory and minute examination ('process tracing')






5. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






6. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






7. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






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






10. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






11. A political system controlled by rulers who deny popular participation in government






12. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






14. Tactics An organization that seeks to influence government through 'contentious' or 'disruptive' politics - Currency/instrument: show of force - numbers - brinkmanship - Organization A (non-hierarchical) network of organizations and individuals worki






15. 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.






16. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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17. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






18. 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






19. Selective incentives - Small group size - Social (solidary) incentives - Homogeneity - Others? Duty and altruism? Love?






20. A subset of culture - based on our ability to attach labels to ourselves and others - or to define ourselves in terms of the groups we belong to - Some political examples: Partisan identity - Class identity - Ethnic identity - National identity






21. Energy or righteous zeal wins large numbers of participants - Nimble in framing issues and changing tactics






22. 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






23. 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






24. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






25. 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






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






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






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






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






30. Utility: self-interest - but what constitutes self-interest? Material self-interest? Economics - Politics. Example: vote maximization - The gospel Failures of rationality - Really incomplete information & satisfaction - Intransitivity and other cogni






31. 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)






32. 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.






33. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






34. 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.






35. Political violence by non-state actors against civilian targets






36. Comparative Politics - International Relations - American Politics - (normative) theory or Political Philosophy






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






38. Historical origins. Failure of liberalism to address shortcomings of capitalist industrialization; Marx - Central assumption: All persons are of equal value - but they cannot develop themselves alone






39. America's two ideologies (Liberal and Conservative) are two versions of classic liberalism






40. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






41. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






43. 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






44. 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






45. Shared sets of meanings






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






47. (Voluntary) allocation (production and distribution) of goods and services






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






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






50. The identities that can become political are those formed very early in life or perhaps vaguely racial/genetic. Struggles to explain (rapid) cultural change - or which identities become politicized