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






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






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






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






5. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






7. 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






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






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






10. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






11. The making of collectively binding decisions






12. 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'






13. 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






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






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






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






17. 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






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






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






20. 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






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. 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






23. 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






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






25. 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.






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






27. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






29. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






30. 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






31. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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






33. Force + Legitimacy






34. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






35. 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.






36. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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37. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






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






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






40. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






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






43. 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)






44. 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






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






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






47. 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






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






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






50. 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