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






2. 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






3. 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






4. 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






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






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






7. 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






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






9. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






11. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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. Shared sets of meanings






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






15. 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






16. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






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






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






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






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






22. 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






23. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






24. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






25. 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)






26. 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






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






28. 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






29. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






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






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






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






34. 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






35. 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






36. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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






38. 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.






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






40. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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. 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.






43. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






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






46. A government with a one house legislature.






47. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






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






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