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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. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






2. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






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






5. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






6. 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.






7. 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






8. 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






9. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






10. 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






11. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






12. A formal document that sets up the basic rules of the political game






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






14. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






15. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






16. Number of Parties 2 - Constitutional Review: Judicial Review - Number of chambers: bicameral - Federalism: Federal






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






18. No or low citizen accountability ('subjects' rather than 'citizens') - Reciprocal relationship between leader and selectorate - Totalitarianism vs. authoritarianism






19. 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






20. 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.






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






22. 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






23. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






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






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






27. The making of collectively binding decisions






28. 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






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






30. Basically - density and quality of civil society






31. Public administration (civil service). All (non-military) government workers not elected to their posts - but hired (United States beginning in 1880s)






32. A government with a one house legislature.






33. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






35. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






36. 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






37. Force + Legitimacy






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






39. An identity-based community - where the identity is strong enough that we think we should probably be sovereign...






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






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






42. 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?






43. when you must get a minimum percent of votes to have your votes count or (sometimes) to retain your party registration






44. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






47. 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)






48. 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






49. 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.






50. Concentration vs. dispersal of power