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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 system controlled by rulers who deny popular participation in government






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






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






4. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






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






7. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






8. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






9. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






10. 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






11. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






12. 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






13. 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






14. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






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






17. 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






18. Force + Legitimacy






19. 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






20. 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.






21. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






22. 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






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






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






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






26. 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.






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






28. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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. Process or moment of changing from one regime type to another Ex: Arab Springs (Causes: cultural or economice - or military culture) - (int'l factors: U.S. foreign policy - Soviet foreign policy - Changes to Catholic doctrine - EU accession - Globali






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






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






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






34. 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.






35. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






36. 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






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






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






39. Shared sets of meanings






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






41. 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






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






43. 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






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






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






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






47. Efficiency vs. representativeness


48. 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






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






50. monopoly over the legitimate use of force