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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. 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






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






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






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






5. 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






6. 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






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






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






9. 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






10. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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






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






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






14. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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15. A government with a one house legislature.






16. 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






17. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






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. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






21. 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.






22. America's two ideologies (Liberal and Conservative) are two versions of classic liberalism






23. 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






24. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






25. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






26. 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






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






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






29. The making of collectively binding decisions






30. 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






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






32. Force + Legitimacy






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






34. 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?






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






36. 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






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






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






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






40. 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






41. Shared sets of meanings






42. 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






43. 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.






44. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






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






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






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






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






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