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






2. 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.






3. A consciously derived - coherent set of beliefs that offers a comprehensive political program






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






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






6. 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






7. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






9. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






11. 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






12. 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






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






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






15. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






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






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






19. 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






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






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






22. 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






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






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






25. The making of collectively binding decisions






26. 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.






27. A government with a one house legislature.






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






29. Shared sets of meanings






30. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






39. 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






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






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






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






44. 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






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. 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'






47. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






49. Force + Legitimacy






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