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. 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






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






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






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






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






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






7. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






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






11. 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






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






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






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






15. A government with a one house legislature.






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






17. 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






18. The making of collectively binding decisions






19. 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.






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






21. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






22. 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)






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






24. 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






25. 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






26. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






27. 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






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






29. 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






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






31. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






32. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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


33. 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.






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






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






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






37. 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.






38. 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?






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






40. 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






41. 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






42. No or low citizen accountability ('subjects' rather than 'citizens') - Reciprocal relationship between leader and selectorate - Totalitarianism vs. authoritarianism






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






44. Force + Legitimacy






45. 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






46. 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






47. 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'






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






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. Political violence by non-state actors against civilian targets