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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. 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'






3. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






5. 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?






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






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






8. Shared sets of meanings






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. 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






11. 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.






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






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






14. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






16. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






17. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






18. 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






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






20. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






21. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






23. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






25. The making of collectively binding decisions






26. 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






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






28. Basically - density and quality of civil society






29. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






31. 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






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






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






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






35. 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.






36. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






37. 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






38. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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






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






41. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






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






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






46. 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






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






48. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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






50. 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)