Test your basic knowledge |

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. 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






2. 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






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






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






5. 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.






6. Force + Legitimacy






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






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






9. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


10. 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






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






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






13. A government with a one house legislature.






14. Shared sets of meanings






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






16. 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






17. 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'






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






19. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






20. 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






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






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






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






24. 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.






25. 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






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






27. You see a puzzle - You come up with a potential explanation (a 'theory') - You test it with evidence (data drawn from the 5 senses) - You share the results with others and get their feedback - Repeat steps 2 through 4 until you publish






28. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






29. 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






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






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






32. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






34. 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






35. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






37. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






38. 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.






39. 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






40. 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






41. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






42. 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






43. 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






44. 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






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






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






47. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






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






50. 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.