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. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






2. 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.






3. 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






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






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






6. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






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






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






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






11. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






12. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






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






15. 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






16. 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






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






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






19. Force + Legitimacy






20. 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






21. The making of collectively binding decisions






22. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






23. 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.






24. Efficiency vs. representativeness


25. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






26. Shared sets of meanings






27. 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






28. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


29. 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






30. 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.






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






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






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






34. 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






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






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






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






38. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






39. 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)






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






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






42. 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






43. 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






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






45. 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






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






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






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






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






50. A government with a one house legislature.