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






2. Also known as interpersonal trust & tolerance






3. Force + Legitimacy






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






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






6. Any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions






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






8. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






9. 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?






10. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






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






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






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






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






15. 19th - in the United States and Western Europe.






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






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






18. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






19. 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






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






21. 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






22. Concentration vs. dispersal of power

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






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






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






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






27. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






28. 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'






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






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






31. Use of method of inference to create generalizeable explanations






32. 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.






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






34. 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






35. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






36. 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






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






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






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






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






41. 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






42. Efficiency vs. representativeness

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43. 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






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






45. A government with a one house legislature.






46. 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.






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






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






49. 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.






50. 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