Deck 3: Theories of International Relations: Realism and Liberalism

Question 1

Which of the following are the two oldest theories of international politics?

A)Socialism and Marxism
B)Structuralism and constructivism
C)Autocracy and democracy
D)Realism and liberalism

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Under what paradigm does the following statement fall: "The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must?"

A)Liberalism
B)Constructivism
C)Realism
D)Economic structuralism

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What appears to be the primary reason the Iranian government is pursuing a nuclear weapons program?

A)To make itself more secure
B)To have the ability to destroy Israel
C)In order to assert itself as the leading Islamic state in the Middle East region
D)To be able to threaten U.S. interests in the region

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A set of beliefs about what should be taken for granted and what needs to be investigated, about what sorts of forces are most important in the world, and about what assumptions should begin the analysis is known as which of the following?

A)A paradigm
B)The level of analysis
C)A theory
D)A class action

Question 5

An aggregation, such as the individual or group, where analysis takes place, holding the other aggregations constant, is known as which of the following?

A)A paradigm
B)The level of analysis
C)A theory
D)A construction

Question 6

What does "so far as right and wrong are concerned ... there is no difference between the two…." mean?

A)It means that in international politics, power is more important than morality.
B)It refers to the fact that the world is anarchic, so therefore there can be no right and wrong.
C)It means that in international politics there is no shared morality, so morality cannot be the basis for action.
D)It means that capabilities and power govern international politics rather than rules or laws.

Question 7

Which of the following figures was not associated with realism?

A)Machiavelli
B)Hobbes
C)Thucydides
D)Locke

Question 8

Which paradigm examines international politics through the lens of gender?

A)Feminism
B)Constructivism
C)Economic structuralism
D)Realism

Question 9

Of the following U.S. presidents, which was the only political scientist and international relations scholar?

A)Richard Nixon
B)Thomas Jefferson
C)Theodore Roosevelt
D)Woodrow Wilson

Question 10

What does a paradigm determine?

A)A paradigm determines which questions are asked and which questions are not asked.
B)A paradigm determines only which questions are asked.
C)A paradigm determines only which questions are not asked.
D)A paradigm determines the answers to your questions.

Question 11

Realism focuses on which of the following?

A)Trade
B)Democratization
C)Power
D)International law

Question 12

Why are paradigms used instead of theories?

A)Because a paradigm is broader than a single theory and may encompass many theories
B)Because a paradigm is more specific and accurate than a theory
C)A paradigm is really the same as a theory.
D)Because a paradigm is simpler than a theory

Question 13

Henry Kissinger served as national security advisor during which of the following administrations?

A)Nixon
B)Bush
C)Carter
D)Reagan

Question 14

A situation in which there is no central ruler is known as which of the following?

A)Chaos
B)Anarchy
C)A confederation
D)An oligarchy

Question 15

Should Iran develop a nuclear weapon, which of the following states in the region would apparently also be tempted to develop nuclear weapons in response?

A)Israel
B)Syria
C)Iraq
D)Saudi Arabia

Question 16

Which U.S. military actions apparently increased the Iranian government's fears of a U.S. attack?

A)U.S. naval exercises against pirates in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean
B)The success of U.S. air power in Iraq in 1991
C)The U.S. special forces raid in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden
D)The successful blockade of the Persian Gulf by U.S. naval forces

Question 17

Which of the following is an assumption that realism Realism makes about human nature at the individual level?

A)Realism assumes that human nature is inherently peaceful.
B)Realism assumes that human nature is inherently conflictual.
C)Realism assumes that human nature is neither peaceful nor conflictual.
D)Realism assumes that human nature is not relevant to understanding international politics.

Question 18

Which paradigm includes democratic peace at the state level of analysis?

A)Realism
B)Economic structuralism
C)Feminism
D)Liberalism

Question 19

In international politics, what is the definition of a theory?

A)A specific statement about how international politics works
B)An assumption that power drives international politics
C)An assertion that human nature is inherently conflictual
D)A paradigm that explains specific events

Question 20

Which of the following best characterize the state of theory in international politics?

A)Misunderstanding and fear
B)Widespread agreement and cooperation
C)Disagreement and debate
D)Misperception and suspicion

Question 21

What is the game theory scenario in which noncooperation is the rational strategy but leads to both players being worse off than if they had cooperated called?

A)Chicken
B)The prisoner's dilemma
C)Rat's choice
D)The chicken and egg problem

Question 22

"If states are to survive, they must rely on their own means." Which term best fits this statement?

A)Anarchy
B)Balance of power
C)Unitary actors
D)Self-help

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT an assumption of realism?

A)The international system is an anarchy.
B)States are the main actors.
C)International cooperation is the best way to prevent problems.
D)States are rational actors.

Question 24

Which of the following is an important lesson that derives from prisoner's dilemma?

A)Individual rationality leads to collective irrationality.
B)Power vested in the hands of one entity can cause harm to others.
C)Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
D)Individual actors can control outcomes by their own decisions.

Question 25

What is national interest?

A)It is a foreign policy that avoids all war.
B)It is a foreign policy goal that is objectively valuable for the overall well-being of the state.
C)It is a foreign policy that avoids all international conflict.
D)It is a foreign policy that maximizes trade.

Question 26

Which of the following undermines the Westphalian system?

A)The independence of state action
B)The absence of a supranational ruling institution
C)The influence of transnational nonstate actors
D)The ability of states to act as they please

Question 27

What is the main criticism against the realist focus on the state?

A)There are too many different states.
B)There are many influential nonstate actors.
C)No one theory can explain all types of states.
D)States no longer initiate wars.

Question 28

In realism, what does the assumption that states are rational actors mean?

A)That states always make correct decisions
B)That states always make the best decisions
C)That states have consistent, ordered preferences and calculate the costs and benefits of all policies in order to maximize their utility
D)That states always make decisions in the national interest

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT a reason that hegemony leads to peace?

A)Peace results from hegemony because states are not irrational enough to enter into a conflict with the hegemon unless it is absolutely necessary.
B)Peace results from hegemony because the hegemon reduces the level of anarchy in the system by acting as the "global cop."
C)Peace results from hegemony because the hegemon can punish those who defect, which solves the prisoner's dilemma.
D)Peace results from hegemony because there is a balance in the distribution of power that keeps any state from dominating.

Question 30

According to hegemonic stability theory, which type of system is the most stable?

A)A unipolar system
B)A bipolar system
C)A multipolar system
D)A balance of power system

Question 31

What is the security dilemma?

A)The tendency for one state's efforts to obtain security to cause insecurity in others
B)The hesitation to go to war against another country
C)The efforts of states to stake their survival on agreements with other states
D)The willingness of states to always cooperate with each other

Question 32

What is the realist theory which states that stability results from unipolarity?

A)Balance of power theory
B)Democratic peace theory
C)The collective action problem
D)Hegemonic stability theory

Question 33

Which of the following are some of the reasons why hegemons decline?

A)The costs of empire and economic challenges from other countries
B)Internal decay and high taxes
C)War weariness and economic integration
D)High taxes and a growing population

Question 34

Which of the following statements about morality do realists accept?

A)Morality should be the guiding principle in relations between states.
B)When a state pursues its national interest, even at the expense of other states, it is moral.
C)Going to war is always immoral.
D)Allying with morally objectionable countries is immoral.

Question 35

According to realist assumptions, why did Israel attack Iraq in 1981?

A)In order to help their longtime ally, Iran
B)To prevent Iraq from becoming too powerful
C)To stop trans-shipment of oil through its strategic pipeline network
D)Because Iraq attacked them first

Question 36

When journalists or historians write "Russia did X" or "Washington believes Y," they are implicitly advancing the state-centered view of which theory?

A)Hegemonic stability theory
B)Complex interdependency theory
C)Liberalism
D)Realism

Question 37

For realists, which of the following is the central force in international politics?

A)The security dilemma
B)The prisoner's dilemma
C)The distribution of power
D)Hegemonic stability

Question 38

In realism, the relative power of countries is measured primarily by which of the following?

A)Countries' geographic area
B)Countries' military arsenals
C)Countries' economic wealth
D)Countries' share of advanced technology patents

Question 39

According to hegemonic stability theory, when does stability occur?

A)When one great power dominates the others
B)When a balance results from the sharing of power by many states
C)When a world government resolves all conflict between states
D)When all countries agree to cooperate indefinitely

Question 40

Which of the following is an example of a hegemonic power?

A)Britain during the eighteenth century
B)France at the beginning of the twentieth century
C)Italy after World War I
D)The United States after the American Revolution

Question 41

Liberals argue that anarchy can be overcome through the use of which of the following?

A)Military power
B)Elections
C)Institutions
D)Conflict

Question 42

What do liberals believe about human nature?

A)They believe that people are inherently peaceful.
B)They believe that people are prone to conflict and war.
C)They believe that people are inherently irrational.
D)They believe that people should try to solve the world's problems, but they probably will not be successful.

Question 43

What are the three main strands of liberal theory?

A)They are: balance of power, revisionism, and norms
B)They are: world systems, capitalist system, and hegemonic stability
C)They are: liberal institutionalism, democratic peace, and complex interdependence
D)They are: systemic norms, identity politics, and transnational actors

Question 44

Which of the following does not apply to democratic peace theory?

A)The theory states that states can solve disputes without going to war.
B)The theory focuses upon the state level of analysis.
C)The theory claims that nongovernmental organizations are key actors in the international system.
D)The theory claims that the kind of government a state has is important in understanding its actions on the world stage.

Question 45

What historic event preceded the Concert of Europe?

A)World War I
B)The Cold War
C)The Napoleonic Wars
D)World War II

Question 46

Realists contend that liberal institutional theory is undermined by which of the following?

A)Verification provisions
B)The possibility of cheating
C)Ideological rifts
D)Development of nuclear weapons

Question 47

What does liberal domestic theory focus on?

A)Liberal domestic theory focuses on the economic protection of states.
B)Liberal domestic theory focuses on the rights of the individual.
C)Liberal domestic theory focuses on the authority of the state's leadership.
D)Liberal domestic theory focuses on the expansive powers of the state.

Question 48

Realists pejoratively call liberals "idealists"; conversely, liberals claim which of the following about realists?

A)That realists are too optimistic about global politics
B)That realists are pessimistic about global politics
C)That realists do not live in the "the real world"
D)That realists' focus on power is powerful

Question 49

Which of the following is a liberal theory?

A)Balance of power theory
B)Democratic peace theory
C)Hegemonic stability theory
D)Neo-realist theory

Question 50

What was the first international attempt to put liberal theory into practice?

A)The Peace of Westphalia
B)The Concert of Europe
C)The Treaty of Paris
D)The Bretton Woods Agreement

Question 51

Which theorist argued that in order to solve the problem of domestic anarchy, a powerful monarch, the "Leviathan," was necessary?

A)Thomas Hobbes
B)John Locke
C)Niccolo Machiavelli
D)Saint Thomas Aquinas

Question 52

Liberal institutionalism suggests that a partial solution to the security dilemma would occur if which of the following were to transpire?

A)If everyone stops building arms at the same time
B)If both sides continue to arm but at a slower rate
C)If one side evolves into a hegemonic power
D)If one side continues to build arms and the other stops

Question 53

According to liberal institutionalists, which of the following occurs when collaboration breaks down?

A)Everyone is better off
B)Everyone ends up worse off
C)Nothing really changes
D)Conflict always occurs

Question 54

Which of the following do liberals assert is the best form of government?

A)Democracy
B)Authoritarianism
C)Fascism
D)Socialism

Question 55

The liberal approach that considers politics as complex, multifaceted, and collaborative is known as which of the following?

A)Complex interdependence
B)Democratic peace theory
C)Balance of power theory
D)Hegemonic stability theory

Question 56

Which of the following theories argues that states are not the only important actors in the world and focuses on the substate level of analysis?

A)Democratic peace theory
B)Liberal institutionalism
C)Hegemonic stability theory
D)Complex interdependence theory

Question 57

What is the reason that some observers criticize the realist emphasis on power?

A)They claim that states are no longer relevant.
B)The claim that international organizations have more power than states.
C)They claim that defining power in a meaningful way is difficult.
D)They claim that we live in a unipolar world.

Question 58

Which of the following theories focuses on the systemic level of analysis and argues that cooperation is possible, as anarchy doesn't necessarily lead to conflict?

A)Realism
B)Liberal institutionalism
C)Complex interdependence theory
D)Hegemonic stability theory

Question 59

What is the primary way in which liberal institutionalism departs from realism?

A)The inevitability of war
B)Its focus on the systemic level
C)The creation of a security dilemma
D)The focus on states as unitary, rational actors

Question 60

Which of the following scenarios is a zero-sum game?

A)A situation in which one state can gain only at the expense of another
B)A situation in which both states can gain at the same time
C)A situation in which neither state can gain and both will lose
D)A situation in which both states can cooperate with one another

Question 61

Both complex interdependence theory and liberal institutionalism see which of the following as important and possible in international politics?

A)Collaboration and Cooperation
B)A balance of power
C)Hegemonic stability
D)Disarmament

Question 62

What is the prisoner's dilemma? How does the prisoner's dilemma assist in understanding the security dilemma? How do liberal institutionalists use the prisoner's dilemma?

Question 63

What is pluralism?

A)It refers to the idea that in international politics there are many useful theories.
B)It refers to the idea that in complex interdependence theory there are many different actors.
C)It refers to the idea that international organizations have a wide variety of member states.
D)It is a combination of both realist and liberal theory.

Question 64

Which paradigm holds that the basic characteristics of international relations have not changed over the past 2500 years?

A)Liberalism
B)Idealism
C)Realism
D)Socialism

Question 65

Power is an essential concept for both realism and liberalism. How do these two theories consider power? In what ways are their views similar to each other? In what ways are their views different?

Question 66

Which theory would accept that Russia remains powerful in the military area, Japan is powerful in terms of the economy, and Saudi Arabia is powerful in terms of petroleum?

A)Realism
B)Liberalism
C)Constructivism
D)Complex interdependence theory

Question 67

What are the basic features of complex interdependence theory? In what way does complex interdependence theory help or hurt our understanding of international politics, and why?

Question 68

Which of the following is a take by liberal theorists?

A)That progress in international affairs is impossible
B)That collaboration makes all participants better off and should be a priority
C)That war is one of the best ways to become secure
D)That states are unable to work together because of diverse goals

Question 69

The focus on multiple actors in complex interdependence theory is sometimes referred to as which of the following?

A)Liberalism
B)Pluralism
C)Anarchy
D)Socialism

Question 70

The normative claim that progress is certainly possible in international politics generally belongs to which theory?

A)Liberalism
B)Realism
C)Marxism
D)Neorealism

Question 71

What are the central assumptions of realism? Why are realists so attached to the state as the dominant actor in international politics and do they incorporate any nonstate actors into their arguments at all?

Question 72

Which of the following did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu call an "existential threat" to Israel?

A)Iran's possession of a nuclear weapon
B)The increase of the Palestinian population in the Israeli occupied territories
C)The Muslim Brotherhood's takeover of Egypt
D)The current rise of fascism in Europe

Question 73

Given what you know both about Iran's goal to obtain nuclear weapons and what implications this would have, how would a realist and a liberal suggest this conflict be handled?

Question 74

In which ways did the Concert of Europe apply balance of power theory to a tense political and military relationship in Europe in the nineteenth century? What other theories may help to explain the European political and military arrangements during the post-Napoleonic period?

Question 75

Which of the following does complex interdependence consist of?

A)A balance of power
B)A hegemonic world order
C)Multiple channels of interaction
D)Anarchy

Question 76

Which of the following is a realist critique of liberal institutionalism?

A)That states will be reluctant to limit their behavior because of their fear that other states will cheat
B)That liberal institutionalism is only concerned with the individual level of analysis
C)That liberal institutionalism argues that cooperation is the result of bipolarity
D)That liberal institutionalism overemphasizes the importance of power

Question 77

Liberal institutionalism accepts many realist premises but arrive at different conclusions. Identify the premises that these two ideologies share and the possible different conclusions. Which approach do you believe better captures international politics?

Question 78

Which of the following did the Concert of Europe prove?

A)That complex interdependency was unworkable as a system-level theory
B)That the liberal institutionalist theory was correct, in that when collaboration broke down, every state ended up worse off
C)That the realist notion of balance of power was ultimately correct
D)That hegemonic stability theory did not provide the answer to the security dilemma

Question 79

How do realists view international organizations and institutions?

A)They believe that these institutions serve the powerful, and they believe that some states will eventually regret putting their faith in them.
B)They believe that they can solve the world's problems through cooperation and collaboration.
C)They believe that they will increase the level of democracy in the world.
D)They believe that they will be useful in ending war and conflict.

Question 80

Complex interdependence differs significantly from realism by including which of the following?

A)Multiple actors
B)A single goal
C)A single actor
D)Power as the main driving force of state action