Test your basic knowledge |

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






2. 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






3. 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.






4. No or low citizen accountability ('subjects' rather than 'citizens') - Reciprocal relationship between leader and selectorate - Totalitarianism vs. authoritarianism






5. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






7. 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






8. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






9. 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






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






11. 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.






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






13. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






15. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






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






18. 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






19. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






20. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






21. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






22. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






23. 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






24. 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.






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






26. Shared sets of meanings






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






28. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






29. 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






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






31. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






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






34. 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






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






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






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






38. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






39. 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






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






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






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






43. 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






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






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






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






47. 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'






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






49. Efficiency vs. representativeness

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183


50. Basically - density and quality of civil society