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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. Political violence by non-state actors against civilian targets






2. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






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






5. A formal document that sets up the basic rules of the political game






6. 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






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






8. 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.






9. 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






10. A government with a one house legislature.






11. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






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. 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






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






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






17. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






19. 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






20. 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






21. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






24. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






25. 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)






26. 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






27. 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






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






29. 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






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






31. Regime where the rulers are accountable to the ruled.






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






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






34. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






35. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






42. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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






44. 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.






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






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






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






48. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






49. 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






50. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance