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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 opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






2. Force + Legitimacy






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






4. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






5. 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






6. 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)






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






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






10. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






13. 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






14. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






15. 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






16. 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.






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






18. Efficiency vs. representativeness


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






20. 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.






21. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






23. The making of collectively binding decisions






24. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






26. 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






27. 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






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






29. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






30. 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.






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






32. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






33. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






34. 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






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






36. Think of this as gender as outcome; what factors - esp. political ones - lead to changes in gender roles? Key finding: politics does matter - especially who has an organized voice. Formal rules - number/identity of parties - etc.






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






38. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






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






41. 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?






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






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






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






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






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






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






48. 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






49. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






50. 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