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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. Regime where the rulers are accountable to the ruled.






2. Basically - density and quality of civil society






3. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






4. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






5. 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






6. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






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






9. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






10. 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






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






12. Think of this as gender as outcome; what factors - esp. political ones - lead to changes in gender roles? Key finding: politics does matter - especially who has an organized voice. Formal rules - number/identity of parties - etc.






13. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


14. 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






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






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






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






18. Efficiency vs. representativeness


19. 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






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






21. 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.






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






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






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






25. Process or moment of changing from one regime type to another Ex: Arab Springs (Causes: cultural or economice - or military culture) - (int'l factors: U.S. foreign policy - Soviet foreign policy - Changes to Catholic doctrine - EU accession - Globali






26. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






27. 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






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






29. 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






30. 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?






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






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






33. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






35. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






36. 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)






37. 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






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






39. A government with a one house legislature.






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






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






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






43. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






44. 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.






45. 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






46. 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'






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






48. Situation of stability - no party has incentive and ability to undermine the regime (Causes: cultural or economice - or military culture) - (Int'l Factors: U.S. foreign policy - Soviet foreign policy - Changes to Catholic doctrine - EU accession - G






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






50. 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