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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. 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'






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






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






4. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






11. 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.






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






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






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






15. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






16. 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.






17. 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






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






19. 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






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






21. Basically - density and quality of civil society






22. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






23. An organization that seeks elective office - Currency/instrument: votes






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






25. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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






28. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






30. Shared sets of meanings






31. 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.






32. 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






33. 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)






34. 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?






35. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






36. 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.






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






38. 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






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






40. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






41. 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






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






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






44. The making of collectively binding decisions






45. Force + Legitimacy






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






47. 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






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






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






50. 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