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






2. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






3. Force + Legitimacy






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






5. 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)






6. 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






7. The mathematical formula used to allocate the seats according to the vote - Plurality or 'first-past-the-post' - various PR formulas - such as D'Hondt - largest remainders - St. Lague - etc.






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






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






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






11. 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'






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






13. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






20. The making of collectively binding decisions






21. 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.






22. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






24. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






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






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. 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






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






30. 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






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






32. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






33. 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






34. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






37. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






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






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






41. 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






42. 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?






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






44. 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






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






46. 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.






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






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






49. Basically - density and quality of civil society






50. 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