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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






11. 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






12. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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






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






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






16. 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.






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






18. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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19. 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






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






21. 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






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






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






24. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






25. 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.






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






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






28. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






30. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






31. 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






32. Basically - density and quality of civil society






33. 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






34. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






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






37. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






38. 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?






39. 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'






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






41. Force + Legitimacy






42. 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






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






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






45. 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






46. 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






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






48. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






49. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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