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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 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






2. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






4. 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)






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






6. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






7. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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8. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






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






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. 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?






14. 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






15. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






17. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






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






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






21. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






22. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






23. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






24. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






25. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






26. 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






27. 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






28. 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






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






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






31. 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






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






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






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






35. 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'






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






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






38. 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






39. 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






40. A government with a one house legislature.






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






42. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






43. 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






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






45. 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






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






47. 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






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






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






50. 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.