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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. 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






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






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






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






5. 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






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






7. 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






8. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






9. 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






10. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






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






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






14. 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.






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






16. 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.






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






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






19. 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






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






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






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






23. 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.






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






25. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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26. 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






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






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






29. 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.






30. A government with a one house legislature.






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






32. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






33. 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






34. Shared sets of meanings






35. 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






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






37. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






38. 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'






39. 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






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






41. 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






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






43. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






44. 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)






45. The making of collectively binding decisions






46. 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?






47. Force + Legitimacy






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






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






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