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






2. 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)






3. 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






4. 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






5. 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'






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






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






8. 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






9. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






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






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






12. 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?






13. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






14. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






15. 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.






16. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






17. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






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






20. 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.






21. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






22. A government with a one house legislature.






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






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






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






26. 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






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






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






29. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






30. 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






31. Force + Legitimacy






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






33. 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






34. 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.






35. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






36. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






37. 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






38. 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






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






40. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






42. 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






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






45. 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






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






47. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






49. Efficiency vs. representativeness


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