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CLEP Political Science

Subjects : clep, political-science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
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  • 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. Describes the principal characteristics of what has been studied.






2. 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.






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






4. A government with a one house legislature.






5. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






7. Basically - density and quality of civil society






8. 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






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






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






11. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






12. 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'






13. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






14. Shared sets of meanings






15. 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.






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






17. Historical origins. A response to the old feudal order and the rise of modern capitalism - 'The highest good of society [is] the ability of the members of that society to develop their individual capacities to the fullest extent' (p. 26) One of the 3






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






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






20. 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






21. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






22. 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






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






24. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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25. 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






26. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






27. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






28. 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






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






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






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






32. 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






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






34. 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






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






36. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






37. 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?






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






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






40. 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)






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






42. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






44. 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.






45. 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.






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






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






48. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






50. 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