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CLEP Political Science

Subjects : clep, political-science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
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  • 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. 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






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






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






4. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






5. Force + Legitimacy






6. 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






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






8. 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






9. Shared sets of meanings






10. 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






11. Describes the principal characteristics of what has been studied.






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






13. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






15. 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






16. 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






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






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






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






20. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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21. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






22. 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






23. 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)






24. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






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






27. 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.






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






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






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






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. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






33. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






34. 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






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






36. 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?






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






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






39. 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






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






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






42. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






43. 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






44. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






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






47. 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.






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






49. 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.






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