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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. 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






2. 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






3. 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?






4. 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






5. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






6. 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






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. The making of collectively binding decisions






9. Force + Legitimacy






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






11. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






13. 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






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






15. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






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






18. 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






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






20. 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






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






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






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






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






25. 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






26. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






27. 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






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






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






30. 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






31. 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.






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






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






34. A government with a one house legislature.






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






36. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






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






39. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


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






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






42. Efficiency vs. representativeness


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






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






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






46. 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






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






48. 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






49. 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'






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