Test your basic knowledge |

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. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






2. 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






3. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






5. 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






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






7. Efficiency vs. representativeness


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






9. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






10. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






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






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






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






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






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






17. 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






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






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






20. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






22. 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






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






24. 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.






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






26. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






27. 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






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






29. Force + Legitimacy






30. 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






31. 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.






32. 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?






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






34. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






35. 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






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






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






39. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






40. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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. 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






43. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






44. 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






45. 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)






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






47. 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






48. 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






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






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