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






2. 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






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






4. 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






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






6. Shared sets of meanings






7. Efficiency vs. representativeness


8. 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.






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






10. 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






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






12. The making of collectively binding decisions






13. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






14. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






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






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






18. A government with a one house legislature.






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






20. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






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






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






23. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






24. 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






25. 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.






26. Basically - density and quality of civil society






27. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






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






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






31. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






33. 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?






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






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






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






37. 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'






38. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






40. 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






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






42. 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.






43. 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






44. 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






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






46. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






48. 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






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






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