Test your basic knowledge |

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






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






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






4. 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






5. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






7. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






9. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






10. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






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. Situation where all fully qualified citizens have an equal say






14. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






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






16. 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






17. 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






18. 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






19. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183


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






21. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






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






24. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






25. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






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






28. Efficiency vs. representativeness

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183


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






30. 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.






31. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






32. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






34. 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.






35. 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






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






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






38. 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.






39. 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






40. 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?






41. 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






42. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






45. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






47. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






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






50. 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