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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. 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






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






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






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






6. 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






7. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






8. 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)






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






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






11. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






12. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






13. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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






15. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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






17. The making of collectively binding decisions






18. 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'






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






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






21. A subset of culture - based on our ability to attach labels to ourselves and others - or to define ourselves in terms of the groups we belong to - Some political examples: Partisan identity - Class identity - Ethnic identity - National identity






22. 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






23. 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.






24. 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






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






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






27. 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






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






29. 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






30. No or low citizen accountability ('subjects' rather than 'citizens') - Reciprocal relationship between leader and selectorate - Totalitarianism vs. authoritarianism






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






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






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






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






35. 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






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






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






38. 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






39. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






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






42. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






43. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






44. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






45. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






46. 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.






47. 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






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






49. 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






50. Shared sets of meanings