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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 making of collectively binding decisions






2. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






3. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






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






6. 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






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






8. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






9. 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






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






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






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






13. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






14. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






17. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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18. A government with a one house legislature.






19. 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'






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






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






22. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






24. 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.






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






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






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






28. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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






30. 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






31. Think of this as 'gender as cause'. Gender roles change and/or mix of women in politics changes; what is the consequence? Key finding: having more women in public office changes the policy agenda - i.e. - more focus on women's issues






32. 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






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






34. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






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






37. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






38. Force + Legitimacy






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






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






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






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






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






45. 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






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






47. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






48. 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.






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






50. 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