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






2. 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'






3. Basically - density and quality of civil society






4. 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






5. Force + Legitimacy






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






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






8. 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.






9. 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






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






11. Concentration vs. dispersal of power


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






13. 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.






14. 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






15. 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.






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






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






18. 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?






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






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






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






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






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






24. 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






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






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






27. 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






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






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






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






31. Shared sets of meanings






32. 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






33. 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






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






35. Charismatic - Rational-legal - Traditional/patrimonial






36. All voluntary associations/all secondary associations






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






38. 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






39. A government with a one house legislature.






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






41. Political parties - Interest groups - Social movements






42. monopoly over the legitimate use of force






43. 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






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






45. 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






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






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






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






49. The opportunity to choose among alternative candidates and positions






50. 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)