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






2. 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






3. 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






4. 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






5. 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






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






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






8. 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






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






10. 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.






11. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






12. 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






13. 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?






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






15. A government with a one house legislature.






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






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






18. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






25. Hypotheses based on what has been observed.






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. Describes the principal characteristics of what has been studied.






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






29. 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.






30. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






31. 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'






32. The making of collectively binding decisions






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






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






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






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






37. Efficiency vs. representativeness


38. 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






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






40. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






41. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






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






43. 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.






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. 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






46. 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






47. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






49. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






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