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






2. 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






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






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






5. 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






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






7. 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.






8. Efficiency vs. representativeness


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






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






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






12. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






14. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






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






17. 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






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






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






20. 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.






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






22. 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






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






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






25. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






26. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






27. 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.






28. 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)






29. 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






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






31. 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






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






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






34. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






35. The making of collectively binding decisions






36. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






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






38. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






39. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






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






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






43. A government with a one house legislature.






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






45. 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'






46. 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






47. 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






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






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






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.