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






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






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






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






5. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






6. 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






7. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






9. 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.






10. 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'






11. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






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






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






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






16. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






17. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






19. 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.






20. Basically - density and quality of civil society






21. A consideration of how nations interact with each other within the frameworks of law - diplomacy - and international organizations such as the United Nations.






22. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






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






25. Force + Legitimacy






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






27. 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






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






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






30. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






32. 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






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






34. 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.






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






38. 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






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






40. 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






41. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






44. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






46. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






47. A government with a one house legislature.






48. 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.






49. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






50. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance