Deck 4: The Causes of War, John Garnett and John Baylis

Question 1

Which explanation of war holds that conflict occurs when two parties are unable to reach an agreement that they prefer to violence?

A) Social-biological imperatives
B) Misperception, misunderstanding, and miscalculation
C) The bargaining model
D) Group explanations

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following arguments supports the contention that 'grievance' is a more important cause of civil war than 'greed'?

A) Civil wars are caused by economic forces, rather than by ancient ethnic hatreds.
B) Civil wars occur because those involved in armed conflicts seek to improve their own financial situation.
C) Civil wars occur when there are lootable resources, such as diamonds or drugs.
D) Civil wars most often result from factors related to identity and to oppression, inequality, or discrimination.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which two men agreed that mankind had an instinct for aggression and violence?

A) Freud and Lorenz
B) Einstein and Freud
C) Lorenz and Wilson
D) Wilson and Dawkins

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Some social psychologists argue that there is a link between this psychological factor and aggression towards a secondary group. Individuals experiencing this may 'displace' their anger, blaming the outside group for their feelings. However, it may be possible to channel the resulting aggressive feelings to benign activities, such as sports, and thus dispel them. What is this psychological factor?

A) Aggravation
B) Disappointment
C) Frustration
D) Resentment

Question 5

Many believe that wars are caused by human frailty-misperception and misunderstanding-rather than by actual malice.

Question 6

Knowledgeable observers almost universally agree that the division of human beings into groups-tribes, nations, and so forth-moderates violent behaviour towards outsiders because peaceful behaviour is more socially desirable.

Question 7

The prevalence of ______ has decreased in recent decades. Only a small percentage of the many recent conflicts worldwide are of this kind.

A) inter-state war
B) terrorism and counter-terrorism
C) guerrilla war
D) sub-state conflict

Question 8

Historical evidence suggests that modern democracies may fight as often as authoritarian states do, but that they rarely, if ever, fight each other.

Question 9

The frequency of civil conflict has waned in recent decades, and ethnic conflicts in particular have decreased in frequency and intensity.

Question 10

The literature on the causes of civil war is predominantly different from that on the causes of (interstate) war.