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






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






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






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






5. 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






6. 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






7. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






10. 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






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






13. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






14. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






16. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






18. 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.






19. 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






20. 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?






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. 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






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






24. 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.






25. 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






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






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






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






29. 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






30. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






31. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






32. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






33. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






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






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






37. 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)






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






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






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. 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






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






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






44. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






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






47. 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






48. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






49. 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






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