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






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






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






4. 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.






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






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






7. 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






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






9. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






11. 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'






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






13. 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.






14. 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






15. Force + Legitimacy






16. A government with a one house legislature.






17. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






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






20. 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)






21. 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






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






24. 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






25. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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26. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






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






29. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






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






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






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






34. 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






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






36. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






37. 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






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






39. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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40. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






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






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






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






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






46. 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.






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






49. 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






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