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






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






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






4. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






5. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






6. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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






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






9. 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)






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






11. 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






12. 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






13. 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.






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






15. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


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






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






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






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






21. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






23. 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.






24. 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






25. A government with a one house legislature.






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






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






28. 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






29. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






38. 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






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






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






41. 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.






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






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






44. 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?






45. 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






46. 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






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






48. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






49. 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






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