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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. The making of collectively binding decisions






2. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






3. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






5. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






6. 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






7. 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.






8. 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






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 government with a one house legislature.






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






12. 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






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






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






15. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






22. 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






23. 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






24. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






25. 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






26. 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






27. Political violence by non-state actors against civilian targets






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






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






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






31. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






33. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






35. 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.






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






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






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






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






40. 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






41. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






42. 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'






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






44. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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45. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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46. Force + Legitimacy






47. 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.






48. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






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