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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. 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






2. 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






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






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






5. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






6. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






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






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






11. 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






12. 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






13. 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






14. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






15. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






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






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






19. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






20. 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






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






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






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






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






25. Force + Legitimacy






26. 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.






27. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






28. 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






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






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






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






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






33. 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






34. 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






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






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






37. The making of collectively binding decisions






38. 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.






39. 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






40. 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






41. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






42. Shared sets of meanings






43. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






45. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






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






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






49. 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






50. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations