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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. 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.






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






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






4. Efficiency vs. representativeness


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






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






7. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






8. 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.






9. Shared sets of meanings






10. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






12. 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






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






14. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






15. 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






16. 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






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






18. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






19. 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.






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






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






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






23. 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






24. 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.






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






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






27. 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






28. 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?






29. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






30. A government with a one house legislature.






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






32. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






34. 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






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






36. 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






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






38. 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






39. 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






40. 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






41. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






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






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






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






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






47. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






49. 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.






50. 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