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






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






3. 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






4. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






6. 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






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






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






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






10. 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






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






12. 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.






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






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






15. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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


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






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






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






19. 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






20. 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)






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






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






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






24. 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






25. 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






26. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






28. 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.






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






30. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






31. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






32. A government with a one house legislature.






33. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






34. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






36. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






38. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






40. 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






41. 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'






42. 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






43. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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


44. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






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






47. Force + Legitimacy






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






49. Shared sets of meanings






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