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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. Efficiency vs. representativeness


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






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






4. 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'






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






6. 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.






7. 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






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






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






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






11. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






12. 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






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






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






15. 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.






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






17. A government with a one house legislature.






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






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






20. 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?






21. 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






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






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






24. Force + Legitimacy






25. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






27. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






29. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






30. 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






31. 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






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






33. 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






34. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






35. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


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






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






38. 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






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






40. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






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






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






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






45. 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.






46. 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.






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






48. 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






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






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