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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. 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






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






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






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






5. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






6. The making of collectively binding decisions






7. Force + Legitimacy






8. 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?






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






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






11. 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






12. Shared sets of meanings






13. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






14. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






16. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






17. 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.






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






19. 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






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






21. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






22. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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






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






25. 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






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






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






28. 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






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






30. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






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






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






34. Basically - density and quality of civil society






35. 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






36. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






37. 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






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






39. 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.






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






41. 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






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






43. 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.






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






45. 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






46. 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






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






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






49. 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)






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