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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. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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. 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.






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






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






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






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






8. Efficiency vs. representativeness


9. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






10. 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?






11. Basically - density and quality of civil society






12. 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






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






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






15. 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






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






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






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






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






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. 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)






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






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






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






25. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






26. 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






27. 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






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






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






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






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. Force + Legitimacy






33. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






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






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






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






38. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


39. 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.






40. 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






41. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






43. 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






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






45. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






46. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






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






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






50. 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