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






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






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






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






5. The making of collectively binding decisions






6. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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. 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






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






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






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






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






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






14. 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.






15. Shared sets of meanings






16. 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






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






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






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






20. Number of Parties 2 - Constitutional Review: Parliamentary supremacy - Number of chambers: Unicameral/weak bicameral - Federalism: Unitary






21. 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






22. 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






23. 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






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






25. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






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






28. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






29. 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'






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






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






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






33. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






35. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






36. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






37. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






38. 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.






39. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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40. 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






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






42. 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






43. 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






44. 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






45. 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






46. 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






47. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






48. 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)






49. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






50. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions