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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. 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






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






3. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






4. 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






5. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






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






8. Shared sets of meanings






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






10. 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'






11. 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






12. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






13. 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






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






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






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






17. 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






18. 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.






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






20. Efficiency vs. representativeness


21. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






23. 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.






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






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






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






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






28. 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






29. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






31. A government with a one house legislature.






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






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






34. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


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






36. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






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






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. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






42. 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






43. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






46. 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.






47. 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






48. 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?






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






50. Basically - density and quality of civil society