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CLEP Political Science

Subjects : clep, political-science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
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  • Match each statement with the correct term.
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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. 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






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






3. 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






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






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






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






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






8. 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






9. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






10. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






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






13. In social movements - rational choice and culture come together - Culture: the sense of a righteous - popular will that has been subverted ('framing'/'grievance') - Motivates collective action - But also determines the choice of organization and tact






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






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






16. 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






17. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






18. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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19. 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






20. 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'






21. 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






22. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






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






24. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






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






27. 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






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. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






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






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






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






34. 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)






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






36. 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.






37. Shared sets of meanings






38. 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






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






40. A government with a one house legislature.






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






42. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






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






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






46. 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.






47. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






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






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