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






2. 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.






3. 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






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






5. 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.






6. Basically - density and quality of civil society






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






8. Shared sets of meanings






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






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






11. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






12. 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






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






14. 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






15. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






16. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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






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






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






20. The making of collectively binding decisions






21. 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






22. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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






24. Traditionally measured as capacity and autonomy






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






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






27. 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






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






29. 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.






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






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






32. 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.






33. 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






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






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






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






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






38. 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






39. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






40. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






41. A government with a one house legislature.






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. 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'






44. 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






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






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. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






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






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






50. 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