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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. Political violence by non-state actors against civilian targets






2. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






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






5. A government with a one house legislature.






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






7. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






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






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






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






15. 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






16. 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.






17. The making of collectively binding decisions






18. 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?






19. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






21. Analyzing the data that has been collected and offering plausible general principles that can be drawn from what has been observed.






22. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






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






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






26. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






28. 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






29. 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






30. Basically - density and quality of civil society






31. 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






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






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






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






35. 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.






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






37. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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38. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






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






41. 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






42. 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






43. A consciously derived - coherent set of beliefs that offers a comprehensive political program






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






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






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






47. 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'






48. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






49. 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






50. 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