Test your basic knowledge |

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. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






2. 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






3. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






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






7. 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?






8. 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






9. 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






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






11. 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






12. Basically - density and quality of civil society






13. 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






14. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






16. 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






17. 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






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






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






20. Efficiency vs. representativeness


21. 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.






22. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






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






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






26. 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'






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






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






29. 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.






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






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






32. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






33. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






34. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






36. 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.






37. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






39. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


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






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






42. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






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






45. 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






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






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






48. 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






49. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






50. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.