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






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






3. 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.






4. 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'






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






6. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






7. 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.






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






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






10. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






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






12. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






13. The making of collectively binding decisions






14. 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






15. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






16. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






17. 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






18. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






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






21. 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






22. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






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






27. 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






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






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






30. Shared sets of meanings






31. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






38. 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






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






40. 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)






41. 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






42. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


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






44. 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






45. 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






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






47. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






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






50. 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.