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






2. 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)






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. 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.






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






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






7. Force + Legitimacy






8. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






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






10. Long-lived - Extreme lack of social pluralism - Well-defined ideology - Against capitalism - Based on Marxist arguments about class solidarity - economic determinism - Socialism run amok?






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






12. 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






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






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






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






16. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






17. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






18. 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






19. 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'






20. A government with a one house legislature.






21. 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






22. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






24. 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






25. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






26. 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






27. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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. Efficiency vs. representativeness


30. 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






31. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






33. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






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






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






36. 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






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






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






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






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






41. how many seats are allotted to each electoral district






42. 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






43. 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.






44. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


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






46. 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






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






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






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






50. 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