Deck 7: The Threat of Armed Conflict to the World

Question 1

Which concept refers to countries whose governments have so mismanaged policy that their citizens, in rebellion, threaten revolution to divide the country into separate independent states?

A)revolutionary states
B)status quo states
C)failed states
D)fragile states

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What is the main difference between intraspecific aggression and interspecific aggression?

A)Interspecific aggression refers to killing others that are not members of one's own species, whereas intraspecific aggression entails killing members of one's own species.
B)Intraspecific aggression refers to killing others that are not members of one's own species, whereas interspecific aggression entails killing members of one's own species.
C)Interspecific aggression refers to domestic conflicts such as civil wars, whereas intraspecific aggression has to do with international disputes.
D)Intraspecific aggression refers to domestic conflicts such as civil wars, whereas interspecific aggression has to do with international disputes.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which nonstate actor had planned to build a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria?

A)Al Qaeda
B)the Islamic State
C)the Muslim Brotherhood
D)Hezbollah

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which mental error are we making when we assume that all Russians have the same prevailing preferences and attitudes as their president, Vladimir Putin?

A)ecological fallacy
B)individualistic fallacy
C)extrapolation fallacy
D)stereotyping fallacy

Question 5

Which concept argues that ruthless competition is ethically acceptable to survive, even if the actions violate moral commands not to kill?

A)utilitarianism
B)altruism
C)survival of the fittest
D)just war doctrine

Question 6

What error does a person make when he or she assumes that the attributes of an entire population-a culture, a country, or a civilization-are the same attributes and attitudes of each person within it?

A)ecological fallacy
B)individualistic fallacy
C)extrapolation fallacy
D)stereotyping fallacy

Question 7

Nowadays, what do most social scientists believe about aggression?

A)that some people are genetically predisposed to aggression
B)that some people are aggressive as a result of socialization
C)that people in the Global South exhibit a greater propensity toward aggression
D)that people in the Global North exhibit a greater propensity toward aggression

Question 8

What term refers to wars that arise within, as opposed to between, states?

A)interstate war
B)asymmetric war
C)militarized dispute
D)civil war

Question 9

According to the power transition theory, when are major wars most likely?

A)during periods of hegemonic dominance
B)when a dominant great power is threatened by a rising power
C)during cycles of economic prosperity
D)during periods of systemic equilibrium

Question 10

Which statement is consistent with realist thinking about war?

A)Wars are inevitable due to people's instinctual drive for power.
B)Low interdependence increases the likelihood of armed conflict.
C)International institutions decrease the likelihood of armed conflict.
D)International anarchy is what we make of it.

Question 11

Which variable do realist theories typically discount when explaining armed conflict?

A)systemic polarity
B)balance of power
C)military alliances
D)regime type

Question 12

Which of the following is true of post-World War II armed conflicts?

A)There are more armed conflicts and more casualties.
B)There are fewer armed conflicts but conflicts became deadlier.
C)Europe has become the most war-torn continent.
D)North America has become the most war-torn continent.

Question 13

Which of the following is/are the strongest predictors of state failure?

A)state militarism
B)income and gender inequality
C)a democratic system of government
D)an aging population

Question 14

Of the 52 armed conflicts in 36 different countries in 2018, how many were between states?

A)2
B)8
C)31
D)32

Question 15

Which of the following is true regarding the characteristics of contemporary warfare?

A)Most wars occur in the Global South.
B)Most wars occur in the Global North.
C)Most wars are wars between major powers.
D)Most wars entail the use of weapons of mass destruction.

Question 16

Which of the following refers to a person who believes that the taking of another human's life is never justified?

A)pacifist
B)hippie
C)hawk
D)dove

Question 17

What causes wars, according to the communist theory of imperialism?

A)capitalism's need for new markets
B)incompatibility of class preferences
C)identity politics
D)relative deprivation

Question 18

Who makes binding decisions between disputants during arbitration?

A)a third party
B)the disputants
C)permanent members of the Security Council
D)citizens in a referendum

Question 19

Which of the following summarizes intraspecific aggression ?

A)Humans are one of the few species that conducts routine killing of their own kind.
B)Pacifism is counterproductive because it is contrary to basic human nature.
C)Militarism is counterproductive because it is contrary to basic human nature.
D)Altruism has no place in politics.

Question 20

Which of the following pairs of states is least likely to fight a war?

A)a monarchy and an oligarchy
B)an authoritarian state and a democracy
C)a democracy and a democracy
D)an authoritarian state and an oligarchy

Question 21

Which of the following refers to the liberal idealist school of ethical thought that recognizes no conditions that justify the taking of another human's life, even when authorized by a head of state?

A)realism
B)feminism
C)pacifism
D)universalism

Question 22

Which philosopher argued in Perpetual Peace that countries in which citizens are allowed to choose their leaders are far less likely to go to war than those with autocratic leaders?

A)Woodrow Wilson
B)Immanuel Kant
C)Thomas Jefferson
D)Karl Marx

Question 23

What type of warfare usually occurs between terrorist groups and conventional military forces?

A)genocide
B)asymmetric warfare
C)conventional warfare
D)civil warfare

Question 24

Which of the following statements about war is consistent with the feminist theory of international relations?

A)that wars would not exist if there were no men in the world
B)that wars come from an intense commitment to power and prosperity for the state
C)that war is most prevalent where gender discrimination, inequality, and violence towards women occur
D)that all wars represent intraspecific aggression

Question 25

Which of the following explanations of war operates at the global level of analysis?

A)power transition theory
B)democratic peace theory
C)diversionary theory of war
D)nationalist theory of war

Question 26

Which concept refers to protracted violent conflicts between governments and insurgent groups within a state?

A)failed state
B)fragile state
C)enduring internal rivalry
D)asymmetric rivalry

Question 27

Which fact lends credence to the argument that aggression is an instinctive part of human nature?

A)the fact that humankind is one of the few species that practices intraspecific aggression
B)the fact that humankind is not one of the few species that practices interspecific aggression
C)the fact that the latest genetic research uncovered a gene responsible for aggression
D)the fact that people are pacifist by nature

Question 28

Which of the following is true of three-fourths of all civil wars after World War II?

A)They last for only a short period of time.
B)They have a longer peace spell between wars.
C)They have a low casualty rate.
D)They consist of enduring internal rivalries.

Question 29

What variables did Immanuel Kant emphasize in his writings pertaining to war and peace?

A)balance of power
B)polarity
C)regime type
D)aging population

Question 30

Which of the following refers to an attempt to eliminate, in whole or in part, an ethnic, racial, religious, or national minority group?

A)purging
B)mass violence
C)ethnic cleansing
D)genocide

Question 31

What does the power transition theory maintain?

A)that weak states are more likely to initiate aggression than strong states
B)that war is most likely when a dominant great power is threatened by the rapid growth of a rival's capabilities
C)that the prospects for international peace increase when power is evenly distributed among the major states in the system
D)that peace is only attainable during periods of hegemony

Question 32

Which of the following represents a cause of war at the individual level of analysis?

A)leaders' choices and emotions
B)democratic government
C)trade policy
D)cycles of war and peace

Question 33

Which of the following is considered in danger of becoming a failed state?

A)Somalia
B)Uzbekistan
C)Hungary
D)Mexico

Question 34

What concept refers to the collective characteristics ascribed to the people within a state?

A)socialization
B)nationalism
C)national character
D)demography

Question 35

What does the theory of democratic peace posit?

A)that democratic leaders are constrained by the public from initiating foreign wars
B)that democratic leaders initiate conflict abroad to divert the public's attention from domestic problems
C)that democratic leaders can act more quickly to prevent wars from erupting
D)that democracies are more likely to go to war against other democracies

Question 36

Which of the following is true regarding the outbreak of war in Europe since 1945?

A)War has occurred with greater frequency, starting with the former Yugoslavia, Russia, and finally Georgia.
B)War has shifted to the developing countries of the Global South.
C)War has occurred roughly once a year.
D)War has diminished, making the Global South a safer place to live.

Question 37

What is the most common type of armed conflict?

A)civil war
B)interstate war
C)world war
D)trade war

Question 38

The formal assistance training and arming of terrorists by a state in order to achieve foreign policy goals is/are known as which of the following?

A)freedom fighters
B)state-sponsored terrorism
C)the conciliatory approach to terrorism
D)realism

Question 39

For a long period of modern history, many believed that civil wars would be the primary type of armed conflict in the world. What major event changed the way security analysts thought about strategies and the realities of military conflict?

A)the September 11 terrorist attacks
B)the outbreak of World War I
C)the election of Barack Obama
D)the end of the Cold War

Question 40

What did Karl von Clausewitz note in his famous dictum about war?

A)that war is becoming a less-likely way to settle disputes
B)that war is an extension of diplomacy by other means
C)that war should be the first resort for state leaders
D)that war is immoral and should be made illegal

Question 41

Failed states are often considered a problem to the entire world, as tumultuous failed states provide places for terrorists or transnational criminals to hide or host operations.
(a)What is the role of the United States in preventing or aiding potential failed states?
(b)What is the role of the international community and international organizations such as the United Nations?

Question 42

Which type of terrorism engages in direct political violence carried out in multiple countries by a largely autonomous non-state group, typically with global strategic objectives?

A)transnational terrorism
B)international terrorism
C)state-sponsored terrorism
D)domestic terrorism

Question 43

How do interstate conflicts become internationalized? Which conditions increase the likelihood of such internationalization?

Question 44

What is terrorism and what is asymmetric warfare? Why do terrorist groups engage in asymmetric warfare as opposed to conventional warfare?

Question 45

Which of the following is the least-frequently used tool of terrorist warfare?

A)hijacking
B)bombing assaults
C)taking hostages
D)suicide attacks

Question 46

What contributed the most to the global deterioration in peacefulness in recent years?

A)terrorism and internal conflict
B)great power wars
C)interstate wars
D)ethnic cleansing

Question 47

War is often said to be rooted in multiple sources located at various levels of analysis. Select two levels of analysis (individual, state, or global)and compare the contributions that theories at each level have made to our understanding of the causes of war.

Question 48

Why do terrorist groups rely on asymmetric warfare?

A)because asymmetric warfare is the only option they have in a globalized world
B)because asymmetric warfare is preferred by the weak and politically illegitimate
C)because the failed states they operate in do not have militaries
D)because the fragile states they operate in do not have militaries

Question 49

Which statement accurately describes the perpetrators of terrorism?

A)Terrorists are mostly interested in spreading their religious message.
B)Terrorists desire to create political theater, with a lot of people watching but few being killed.
C)Terrorists have long-term aims and rationally calculate how different operations can accomplish their purposes.
D)Terrorists are mindless and erratic, driven largely by hate and fury.

Question 50

Economic conditions have historically been both a cause of war, both interstate and civil, and a cause of peace.
(a)What are economic factors that lead to war?
(b)What are economic factors that facilitate peace?