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






2. Shared sets of meanings






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






4. The making of collectively binding decisions






5. 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






6. 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






7. 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






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






9. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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






13. 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'






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






15. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






17. A government with a one house legislature.






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






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






20. 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.






21. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






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






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






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






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






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






28. 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?






29. 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






30. 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






31. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






32. Force + Legitimacy






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






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






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






36. 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)






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






38. 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






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






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






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






42. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






44. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






46. 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






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






48. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






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