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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. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






3. 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






4. 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






5. 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






6. 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






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






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






9. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






10. Force + Legitimacy






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






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






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






15. 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






16. Shared sets of meanings






17. 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






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






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






20. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






21. 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)






22. 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






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






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






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






26. 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?






27. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






28. 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






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. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






32. 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.






33. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






44. 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.






45. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






46. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






47. Efficiency vs. representativeness


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






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






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