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






3. 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






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






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






6. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






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






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






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. 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






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






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






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






15. 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.






16. 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






17. 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






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






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






20. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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21. A government with a one house legislature.






22. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






24. 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.






25. 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






26. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






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






29. 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.






30. 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'






31. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






32. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






34. 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






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






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






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






39. 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






40. 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)






41. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






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






44. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






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






46. 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






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






48. 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






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






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