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CLEP Political Science

Subjects : clep, political-science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
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  • 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 formal document that sets up the basic rules of the political game






2. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






3. 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






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






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






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. 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.






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






9. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






11. 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






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






13. 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.






14. 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






15. The making of collectively binding decisions






16. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






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






20. Force + Legitimacy






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






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






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






24. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






26. 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






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






28. 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






29. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






31. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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. 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






34. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






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






37. 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?






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






39. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






40. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






41. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






42. 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)






43. 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






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






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






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






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






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. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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