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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. 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






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






3. 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?






4. 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






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






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






7. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






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






10. 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






11. 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.






12. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






13. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






22. 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.






23. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






24. 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)






25. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






27. 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






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






29. 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






30. 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.






31. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






33. 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






34. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






35. 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.






36. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






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






39. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






41. A government with a one house legislature.






42. 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






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






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






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






47. Force + Legitimacy






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






49. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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