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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. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






2. A government with a one house legislature.






3. Shared sets of meanings






4. 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






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






6. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






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






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






10. 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.






11. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






12. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






13. 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






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






15. 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.






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






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






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






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






20. 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






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






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






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






24. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






25. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






27. 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)






28. 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






29. 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






30. 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






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






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






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






34. 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






35. 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






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






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






38. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






40. 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






41. 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






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






43. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






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






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






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






48. 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






49. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






50. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations