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






2. 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.






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






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






5. 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






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






7. 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?






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






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






10. Efficiency vs. representativeness


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






12. 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






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






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






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






16. Force + Legitimacy






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






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






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. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






22. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






23. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






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






27. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






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






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






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






32. 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'






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






34. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






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






37. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






38. 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.






39. 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






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






41. 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






42. 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






43. 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






44. 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






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






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






47. 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






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






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






50. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations