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






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






3. Efficiency vs. representativeness


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






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






6. 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






7. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






8. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






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






11. 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.






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






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






14. 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)






15. 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






16. 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






17. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






18. 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.






19. 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






20. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






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






23. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






24. 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'






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






26. 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






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






28. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






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






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






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






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






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






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






35. 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






36. 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.






37. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






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






40. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






41. Shared sets of meanings






42. 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






43. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


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






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






47. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






48. 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






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






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