Deck 5: The State, Society, and Foreign Policy

Question 1

Which of the following is the best summary of the normative explanation for the democratic peace theory?

A)Democracies are more likely to use their economies for good, not evil
B)Democratic politicians are vulnerable if they lose a war
C)Democracies respect the institutions of democracy in other countries as well as their own
D)Democratic publics are less likely to support conflict

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which democratic peace argument focuses on the politics of compromise and commitment to promises?

A)The structural explanation
B)The normative explanation
C)The rational choice explanation
D)The individual democratic model

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The theory that bases explanations of decisions on the assumption that decision makers have clear goals, calculate the costs of various courses of action, and pick the policy that will best serve their goals, is known as which of the following?

A)The prisoner's dilemma
B)The collective action problem
C)Rational choice theory
D)The individual model of democratic peace

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What do researchers largely believe about the individual model of democratic peace theory?

A)The individual model of democratic peace theory has been largely discredited.
B)The individual model of democratic peace theory has been largely proven accurate.
C)The individual model of democratic peace theory has been largely incorporated into the foreign policies of many countries.
D)The individual model of democratic peace theory has been largely widely accepted by democracies.

Question 5

The link between democracy and peace was considered by some to have been an important motivation behind which of the following events?

A)The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq
B)The Kosovo War in 1999
C)The U.S. entrance into WWII in 1941
D)The 2004 expansion of the European Union, with the addition of Turkey and the Ukraine

Question 6

What does the individual model of democratic peace theory suggest?

A)That countries with large armies are more likely to engage in war
B)That the unequal distribution of the world's resources is a major factor in conflict
C)That democracies, in general, are more peaceful than autocracies
D)That individual democracies can radically transform an entire region to democracy.

Question 7

What is the structural argument that supports the dyadic approach to democratic peace theory?

A)The structural argument holds that when two democracies bargain in a dispute, they bargain the same way they do domestically, through a politics of compromise that searches for a mutually acceptable solution. This kind of bargaining then rules out force as an option.
B)The structural argument holds that democracies do not go to war out of mutual respect.
C)The structural argument holds that leaders in a democracy are more sensitive to the political costs of losing a war, because they are more likely to be turned out of office if the war fails and thus both sides have reasons not to engage in conflict.
D)The structural argument holds that the structure of the international system makes war less likely between democracies.

Question 8

During the "Arab Spring" which of the following countries did not see a leader or regime swept from power?

A)Jordan
B)Egypt
C)Libya
D)Yemen

Question 9

What is a state ?

A)The territorial boundaries of a country
B)The government and political system of a country
C)The political control of the military
D)The executive branch of the government

Question 10

When U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that "the fundamental character of regimes matters more today than the international distribution of power," which theory was she rejecting?

A)Liberal institutionalism
B)Economic structuralism
C)Realism
D)Postmodernism

Question 11

In the book, Perpetual Peace , which author first laid out the argument for democratic peace theory?

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

Question 12

What has been the outcome of the "Arab Spring?"

A)As of 2019, Libya, Syria, and Yemen remain engulfed in civil war.
B)Egypt and Libya have established thriving democracies, which have led to the election of pro-U.S. governments.
C)Tunisia and Yemen have established temporary democracies, which has ignited economic growth in the region.
D)As of 2019, all of the countries that had revolutions during the "Arab Spring" established strong democratic governments.

Question 13

U.S. policy makers decided to invade Iraq in 2003 in part in order to introduce democracy into the region. If Iraq and other Middle Eastern states became democratic, policymakers hoped that all of the following would occur, with the exception of which event?

A)States in the region would be more likely to make peace with Israel
B)Middle Eastern democracies would be less likely to harbor terrorists
C)States in the Middle East would distribute oil resources more fairly among their populace
D)New democracies in the region would be willing to make peace with the United States

Question 14

According to the dyadic model of democratic peace theory, why don't democracies go to war with each other?

A)Because democracies tend to be economically poor and cannot afford the war effort
B)Because democracies have managed to create a democratic balance of power in the world
C)Because democracies respect each other more than they respect nondemocracies
D)Because democracies are weaker militarily than other states

Question 15

What does the rally-around-the-flag effect refer to?

A)To the patriotic fervor that often exists in democratic societies
B)To the ability of a leader to increase his or her popularity by declaring war
C)To the widespread support in isolationism in democracies
D)To the increase of nationalism generally found in the developing world

Question 16

The cost of reneging on one's commitments is known as which of the following?

A)Public relations
B)The mainstream effect
C)The politics of compromise
D)Audience costs

Question 17

What is the primary difference between systemic and state level theories?

A)That systemic level theory assumes that countries differ from one another and that they change over time.
B)That systemic level theory asks the question: What explains foreign policies?
C)That systemic level theory provides answers that are presumably valid regardless of the country.
D)That systemic level theory does not offer a general theory of international politics.

Question 18

Which of the following does democratic peace theory assert?

A)That there is a connection between regime type and war
B)That the balance of power in the international system is predictive of conflict
C)That countries with stagnant economies are more likely to engage in war
D)That religious fundamentalism is an important factor behind conflict

Question 19

What is the difference between the individual model and the dyadic model of democratic peace theory?

A)The individual model states that democracies are more peaceful than all other forms of government, whereas the dyadic model says that democracies are more peaceful than communist governments but less peaceful than other types of governments.
B)The individual model states that democracies are more peaceful in general whereas the dyadic model states only that democracies do not fight each other.
C)The individual model is focused on all types of war, whereas the dyadic model is focused on only civil war.
D)The individual model states that democracies are always peaceful, whereas the dyadic model states that democracies will avoid war with more than one opponent.

Question 20

What is one troubling implication of democratic peace theory?

A)It shows how limited democracies are in their foreign policy decisions.
B)It suggests that the United Nations is no longer relevant.
C)It provides a rationale for democracies to engage in war to change a regime from authoritarianism to democracy.
D)It shows that the realists may be correct in their belief that the type of government does not matter.

Question 21

What is a recent example of a political leader using the rally-around-the-flag effect to bolster his popularity?

A)In 2003, Spanish voters unseated a prime minister because of his support of the war in Iraq.
B)In 1974, President Nixon promulgated the Nixon Doctrine, which shifted the focus from military conflict to indirect assistance from the U.S.
C)In 2019, due to low approval ratings, President Donald Trump vowed to pull U.S. troops from Syria.
D)In 2014, due to his declining popularity, President Vladimir Putin seized Ukrainian territories.

Question 22

Which of the following statements regarding initiation of war is correct?

A)Democracies will often attack other democracies.
B)Democracies initiate war just as often as other countries.
C)Democracies are almost always the victims of attacks by autocracies.
D)Democracies rarely initiate war.

Question 23

A "zone of peace" exists, which consists mostly of North America, Western Europe, and Japan. What did Kant envision as his Perpetual Peace 200 years ago?

A)That war will break out if countries try to expand this zone
B)That this zone of peace is the end result of political evolution
C)That war is inevitable outside this zone
D)That this zone can be expanded to include more and more countries until peaceful democracies cover the earth

Question 24

Which of the following statements about youth voting is inaccurate ?

A)In recent German elections, a higher rate of young people voted than its counterpart in recent U.S. elections.
B)In both Germany and Canada, older voters vote at a rate of about 80%.
C)In Germany, older voters vote more than younger voters.
D)American youths vote at the same percentages as their European counterparts.

Question 25

Approximately what percentage of people between the ages of 18 and 29 voted in the 2016 elections in the United States?

A)27 percent
B)33 percent
C)46 percent
D)71 percent

Question 26

What did Michael Doyle find in his 1984 study of war and democracy?

A)He found that the only war fought between liberal democracies was World War I.
B)He found that from 1815 to 1980, there were no wars fought between liberal democracies.
C)He found that from 1815 to 1980, there were only three wars fought between liberal democracies.
D)He found that democracies frequently start wars with other democracies.

Question 27

Rational choice theorists argue that democratic political institutions have two effects on their leaders that make them cautious about going to war with one another. One reason is that democratic states are more likely to win wars. What is the second reason?

A)That democratic leaders have a greater sensitivity to the political costs of losing a war
B)That citizens in a democracy are unlikely to support their government's war efforts
C)That democracies are less likely to have the economic strength to fight protracted wars
D)That other democracies will intervene to prevent conflict

Question 28

Which voting trend have theorists found across the developed world?

A)That the more education one has, the greater likelihood one will vote
B)That voting participation decreases with age
C)That members of the working class vote more often than those in the middle class
D)That voting participation increases with age

Question 29

Which of the following can be said about the claim that democracies are less likely to go to war than autocracies?

A)The claim is not statistically correct..
B)The claim is statistically correct.
C)The accuracy of the claim is dependent on the period of study.
D)The evidence for such a claim is ambiguous at best.

Question 30

What is operationalizing?

A)Operating under certain common assumptions
B)Deconstructing a variable
C)Using a proxy measure
D)Translating a theoretical concept into attributes that can be measured

Question 31

What organizations have attempted to put democratic peace theory into action?

A)The United Nations and the League of Nations
B)NATO and the EU
C)NAFTA and the EU
D)The G-8 and the G-20

Question 32

What is Reporters without Borders?

A)A Washington-based NGO that assesses the state of democracy in the world
B)An NGO in New York that publishes pro-democracy propaganda in authoritarian countries around the world
C)An NGO based in Geneva, Switzerland that seeks to end the discrimination against refugees worldwide
D)An international NGO that promotes freedom of the press

Question 33

What is the institutional argument that supports the view that democracies do not go to war with each other?

A)It focuses on the way that democracies often find it easier to reach compromise with each other.
B)It asserts that democracies have a respect for each other that they do not have for nondemocratic states.
C)As democracies are very successful at fighting wars, democratic politicians are worried that they might lose a war with another democracy. This would make them vulnerable in upcoming elections; so they fear going to war with other democracies.
D)It states that the three branches of government in a democracy and the related checks and balances make it much less likely for two democracies to enter into war with each other.

Question 34

The criteria for membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are based on which concept?

A)Relative power
B)Absolute power
C)Conditionality
D)Economic integration

Question 35

Which democratic theory approach argues that democratic political institutions make democracies more cautious about going to war with one another?

A)The normative explanation
B)The institutional explanation
C)The interdependence explanation
D)The structural explanation

Question 36

How do audience costs help to explain the democratic peace?

A)As the audience in a democracy is always against war, it is difficult for a democratic leader to enter into war.
B)Audience costs no longer explain the democratic peace, as the audience in most democracies has a very weak knowledge of politics.
C)Audience costs describe the cost to a political leader of reneging on a promise. As there are stronger audience costs in a democracy than in a non-democratic state, democratic leaders are less likely to break a promise and enter into war.
D)Citizens and leaders in democracies respect the institutions of democracy, not only in their own country, but in other countries as well. They reject the idea of forcibly conquering another democracy.

Question 37

Why do young people vote at lower rates than their elders?

A)Because in most countries they are not allowed to vote until age 30
B)Because voting is compulsory in most democracies starting at age 50
C)Because the notion of voting as duty has increased over time
D)Because politicians do not address the issues of interest to young people

Question 38

What is the institutional explanation for why war between democracies and autocracies is more likely than war between two democracies?

A)Democratic leaders may have little room to negotiate with autocratic authorities, making compromise less likely.
B)Democratic leaders may perceive a high likelihood of winning a war with an autocracy because they expect that the opposing army will refuse to fight on behalf of the autocrat.
C)Autocratic regimes are much better suited to diversionary war.
D)Autocratic regimes have been growing in military strength and are much more likely to engage in power transition warfare.

Question 39

What is one of the central critiques of the democratic peace theory?

A)That democracies never go to war
B)That democracies have existed for a relatively long period of history
C)That democracy is defined poorly and in contradictory ways
D)That the definition of democracy remains static over time

Question 40

Does the fact that young people have lower voter turnout matter for foreign policy?

A)No, the young and the old tend to vote in the same ways.
B)It is unclear; we do not know how the young and old tend to vote.
C)Yes, evidence suggests that younger voters and older voters tend to support different political leaders, which in turn leads to different foreign policy outcomes.
D)The nature of this impact changes over time.

Question 41

What did the global economic crisis of 2008 show about the relationship between state and society?

A)States like China, where the state played a stronger role in the economy, fared worse than states like the United States, where the state played a smaller role in the economy.
B)In order to overcome the economic crisis, states must increase their role in society.
C)States like China, where the state played a stronger role in the economy, fared better than states like the United States, where the state played a smaller role in the economy.
D)It is more difficult for states like China to overcome the economic crisis because they have such a convoluted system of checks and balances in place when making economic policy.

Question 42

Why was Woodrow Wilson in favor of the United States involvement in World War I?

A)He sought to create a balance against Russia.
B)He assumed the United States could expand its power over Europe.
C)He believed it could help transform Europe into a region of peaceful democracies.
D)He saw that international trade was threatened by a strong Germany.

Question 43

Who are individuals hired by interest groups to influence policy makers?

A)Policy leaders
B)Lobbyists
C)Industry followers
D)Bureaucrats

Question 44

Which three countries have not been admitted to the EU/NATO zone of peace?

A)Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine
B)Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia
C)Slovenia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic
D)Bulgaria, Romania, and Malta

Question 45

Who are the "Asian Tigers"?

A)Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan
B)China, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam
C)South Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Japan
D)Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, and China

Question 46

What best describes the media situation in much of the Middle East?

A)The media is essentially controlled by the state, and dissenting journalists can be imprisoned.
B)The media is controlled by international organizations seeking to increase democracy in the region.
C)The media is controlled by private corporations, which focus on advertising income above all else.
D)The media is controlled by two major conglomerates, FOX and CNN.

Question 47

In terms of the study of interest groups, which of the following is true?

A)The role of interest groups has received less attention in the study of foreign policy than in the study of domestic politics.
B)Interest group activity and influence over foreign economic policy making is easy to determine.
C)The role of interest groups has received less attention in the study of domestic politics than in the study of foreign policy.
D)Interest groups are not an important part of the student of international politics.

Question 48

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has grown from 16 member states to

A)29 members.
B)22 members.
C)36 members.
D)16 members.

Question 49

The issue of state strength has become quite important. According to this concept, the United States is which of the following?

A)Strong
B)Quite autonomous
C)Weak
D)Divided

Question 50

In Woodrow Wilson's view, under which circumstances could an international organization maintain peace?

A)If a strong democracy was the head of the organization
B)If its members were democracies
C)If the international world order was based on a balance of power
D)If each state in the organization paid significant amounts of money to fund the strongest military in the world

Question 51

Which of Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" was enshrined in the Treaty of Versailles?

A)The desire to saddle Germany with massive war reparations
B)The notion that former empires would be broken up to allow for "national self-determination"
C)To replace all autocratic rule with the Great Powers Council
D)The desire to free, unhindered navigation on the high seas

Question 52

What is one implication of democratic peace theory?

A)It encourages democracies to ally with supportive autocracies
B)It creates incentives for economic protectionism
C)It reduces the influence of interest groups
D)It provides a rationale for democracies to pursue regime change

Question 53

After the Soviet Union fell in 1991, who led the Russian Federation as its first president?

A)Mikhail Gorbachev
B)Vladimir Putin
C)Boris Yeltsin
D)Dmitri Medvedev

Question 54

Which countries view democracy as a hostile tactic in a traditional competition for power?

A)Russia and China
B)North Korea and Norway
C)Portugal and Turkey
D)Afghanistan and Latvia

Question 55

According to the Katzenstein study, if a state is heavily influenced by interest groups that are given a prominent role in developing policies it is then considered to be which of the following?

A)A strong state
B)A weak state
C)A post-communist state
D)A socialist state

Question 56

What did Katzenstein find when he compared various states' responses to the oil shortages of the early 1970s?

A)That different states had different policy instruments for influencing their economies
B)That all democracies dealt with the oil shortages in the same way
C)That all autocracies dealt with the oil shortages in the same way
D)That it was impossible to isolate the variables that would explain the different behaviors of states

Question 57

Which of the following is not a way interest groups use financial resources to influence policy makers?

A)By making significant contributions to politicians' campaign funds
B)By conducting research on a specific issue and sharing the results with policy makers
C)By going directly to the people by advertising
D)By rigging voting machines

Question 58

Because interest groups are primarily motivated by business and center on particular industries, their influence is seen most clearly in which of the following?

A)Military policy
B)Foreign aid policy
C)Foreign economic policy
D)Climate policy

Question 59

According to Reporters without Borders, which country has a "very serious situation" in regard to its state of media freedom?

A)The U.S.
B)Brazil
C)Russia
D)China

Question 60

What resulted from the removal of Muammar Gaddafi in Syria?

A)A democratic election, in which the Islamic Brotherhood took power
B)A civil war, during which the Islamic State established a foothold there
C)An economic boom that resulted from easier exports of oil
D)A new constitution that prioritized women's rights

Question 61

What do researchers know about public opinion and foreign policy?

A)Most citizens are very well informed and care about foreign policy.
B)Most citizens have no interest in foreign policy, and they have very little knowledge of foreign affairs.
C)Most citizens are very interested in foreign policy.
D)Most citizens change their mind frequently about foreign policy issues.

Question 62

What it is called when there is only one view expressed by leaders?

A)The mainstream effect
B)The butterfly effect
C)Dogmatic ideology
D)Latent public opinion

Question 63

Interest groups can have significant influence on a country's foreign policy. What are the ways in which interest groups influence policy? What makes an interest group successful in attempting to influence a government's foreign policy?

Question 64

Examine how media influences foreign policy and public opinion in various countries. Provide at least 2 divergent examples to support your arguments.

Question 65

In addition to caring little and knowing little, which of the following is also true about U.S. citizens and foreign policy?

A)The public can be misinformed even on issues to which it is paying close attention.
B)Public opinion never translates to votes.
C)The public who cares about foreign policy at least has most facts correct.
D)The public is well-informed on issues to which it is paying close attention.

Question 66

Most people accept the idea that the United States should help countries become democratic. What would be the best policies in order to achieve this? Do you favor or support the expansion of democracies around the world through military intervention? Explain your reasons.

Question 67

Public opinion in the United States played a major role in which of the following?

A)Ending the Vietnam War
B)Imposing tariffs on Chinese steel
C)Joining the League of Nations
D)Establishing détente with the Soviet Union

Question 68

The textbook refers to the media, public opinion, and the state as the primary actors in shaping foreign policy. Describe how each one competes to be the driving force by explaining each of the three models of influence. Which model do you find to be the most persuasive?

Question 69

Explain the democratic peace theory. What are the major findings in the search for evidence to prove the democratic peace theory?

Question 70

Describing immigration in terms of either law breaking or as an economic benefit to society is considered to be which of the following?

A)Triggering the mainstream effect
B)Framing the issue
C)Espousing journalistic integrity
D)Triggering public opinion bias

Question 71

Describe the rally-around-the-flag effect. What are some recent examples of this effect?

Question 72

Does social media matter in terms of public opinion and foreign policy? Please discuss the role of social media compared to traditional media. What impact do you believe social media will have on foreign policy in the long term?

Question 73

Although public opinion is an important consideration in policy decisions, what percentage of the public pays attention to foreign affairs?

A)5 to 10 percent
B)20 to 30 percent
C)50 to 60 percent
D)80 to 90 percent

Question 74

How does the news media play an important role in determining the agenda of public debate over foreign policy?

A)By providing objective information about an issue
B)By hiring special interest groups to report on policies
C)By expanding coverage of issues to the Internet
D)By deciding what issues to cover

Question 75

The concept of yellow journalism is linked with the start of which war?

A)World War I
B)Spanish-American War
C)Vietnam War
D)Iraq War

Question 76

Identify the three categories of critiques discussed in the text about the viability of the democratic peace theory. What do they entail? Do you agree or disagree with these critiques?

Question 77

Which of the following statements is not true?

A)Elected officials in the United States generally do not have much sway over public opinion.
B)Much of the content of public opinion seems to be determined by elite views.
C)Public opinion becomes more important in determining policy outcomes when leaders disagree over an issue area.
D)The vast majority of people have informed, correct opinions on political issues.

Question 78

Which former foreign dignitary, after leaving office as prime minister, actively supported an agreement with a Russian gas giant to build a pipeline linking Russia with Germany?

A)Angela Merkel
B)Vladimir Putin
C)Gerhard Schröder
D)Helmut Kohl

Question 79

What is latent public opinion?

A)Active though superficial public opinion
B)Inactive opinion that can become very active
C)The rising influence of public opinion in times of war
D)The economic implications of foreign policy on public opinion

Question 80

Who or what has the most sway over public opinion? Who or what does the public listen to and trust the most? Who or what would you say, personally, has the most sway among students of your age group?