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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. 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)






2. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






4. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






5. 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






6. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






7. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






10. 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






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






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






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






14. The making of collectively binding decisions






15. 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.






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






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






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






19. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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. 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?






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






23. 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






24. 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.






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






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






27. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






29. 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






30. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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






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






33. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






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






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






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






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. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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40. 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.






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






42. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






44. Force + Legitimacy






45. 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






46. A government with a one house legislature.






47. 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






48. 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






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






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