Deck 6: Bureaucracies, Groups, and Individuals in the Foreign Policy Process

Question 1

In which U.S. president did public confidence decline irreparably as a result of a failed raid to free U.S. hostages in Iran in 1979?

A)Ronald Reagan
B)Bill Clinton
C)Gerald Ford
D)Jimmy Carter

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Why are foreign policy decisions generally less contentious in countries with a parliamentary form of government?

A)They are more democratic than countries with a presidential form of government.
B)The parliamentary majority chooses the prime minister, so the leader is from the majority party.
C)Parliaments have greater power than the prime minister and can decide unilaterally.
D)Presidential forms of government often are contentious by nature.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In the United Kingdom, the power to declare war officially lies with the monarch. Who has the power to declare war in practice?

A)The military
B)The United Police Officers' Union
C)The prime minister
D)The cabinet

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The influence of the legislature in foreign policy is most pronounced in which area?

A)Military decisions
B)Deployment issues
C)Judicial challenges
D)Budgetary power

Question 5

In deciding how to kill bin Laden, which of the following was not a benefit of using the U.S. Navy SEALs?

A)Bystander deaths would be minimized.
B)Vital intelligence might be collected.
C)There was the ability to verify bin Laden's identity and death.
D)There was no chance of unforeseen circumstances.

Question 6

When looking at the authority of a leader to declare war, in comparison to the U.S. president, which of the following is true of the German Chancellor?

A)The German Chancellor is much more powerful than the U.S. president and can declare war unilaterally.
B)The German Chancellor has about the same amount of power as the U.S. president, and while she can deploy troops, she has to wait for parliament to declare war.
C)The German Chancellor has less authority than the U.S. present and cannot even deploy troops without the approval of the parliament.
D)In Germany, the Chancellor controls the government coffers, while only the German monarch can declare war. In contrast, the U.S. has no monarch.

Question 7

Which level of analysis looks at actors within the state?

A)The state level of analysis
B)The systemic level of analysis
C)The international level of analysis
D)The substate level of analysis

Question 8

In direct response to which war did the U.S. Congress pass the War Powers Resolution?

A)The Persian Gulf conflict
B)The Korean War
C)The Vietnam Wat
D)The Russo-Afghan War

Question 9

After discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using U.S. Navy SEALs to capture or kill bin Laden, who voted in support of using this option among close advisors to the U.S. President?

A)Only a minority of advisors, including CIA director Leon Panetta, supported the SEAL team raid.
B)Roughly half of all presidential advisors supported the SEAL team's use.
C)Only Vice President Joe Biden supported the SEAL team raid.
D)It was a unanimous decision.

Question 10

Which of the following is not generally a problem with foreign policy decision making?

A)Groups of like-minded people always compromise on some suboptimal option.
B)People who make foreign policy decisions do so based on standard operating procedures.
C)Information is often at a premium and some things cannot be known in advance.
D)Chief executives often have only one course of action to choose from.

Question 11

After President Obama and his advisors learned of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, which two difficult choices did they have to make?

A)Should they tell the American public and, if so, before or after they got him?
B)When to tell the world about bin Laden's assassination and where they should bury the body
C)When to attack and how
D)Whether to limit casualties and whether to document the occasion for history

Question 12

According to the U.S. Constitution, the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces; however, however he cannot declare a war. What gives Congress the authority to declare war?

A)The Appropriations Bill
B)The War Powers Resolution
C)The Pentagon Papers
D)The Kyoto Agreement

Question 13

How many times has the U.S. Congress declared war since World War II?

A)Zero
B)One
C)Three
D)Five

Question 14

What part of the U.S. government has the authority to declare war?

A)The president
B)Congress
C)The secretary of state
D)The chief justice

Question 15

The analysis that attempts to understand states' behaviors in terms of states and actors at the domestic (state and substate)level is known as which of the following?

A)Domestic policy analysis
B)Foreign policy analysis
C)Interior actor analysis
D)Societal analysis

Question 16

Which branch of government generally carries out the conduct of diplomacy and the gathering of intelligence?

A)The executive branch
B)The legislative branch
C)The judicial branch
D)The media

Question 17

Which of the following does the study of foreign policy include?

A)A study of the psychological characteristics of leaders and the process of decision making
B)A study of bureaucratic behavior and the economic constraints of governments
C)A study of the economic constraints of governments and the process of decision making
D)A study of bureaucratic behavior and observation of global systemic changes

Question 18

What are two reasons that scholars of foreign policy generally focus on the executive branch of the government?

A)The only legitimate foreign policy authority is the executive, and foreign policy requires a single voice.
B)Many agree that foreign policy requires a single voice abroad, and the executive holds all the purse strings.
C)Many constitutions specify that the executive, as the head of government, should be responsible for all policy making and the executive holds all of the purse strings.
D)Many constitutions specify that the executive, as the head of government, should be responsible for all policy making, and many agree that a country needs to have a single voice abroad.

Question 19

What set the U.S. president's authority to act as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces?

A)The Supreme Court
B)A congressional resolution
C)The Constitution
D)A referendum of U.S. voters

Question 20

The phrase, "you, as commander-in-chief, can do what you wish with the military, but you cannot pay for it with public funds," refers to the congressional oversight known as which of the following?

A)The power of the purse
B)The balance of power
C)The Johnson Treatment
D)The War Powers Resolution

Question 21

Much is written about the struggle over policy between the U.S. State Department and the Department of Defense. The State Department tends to advocate diplomatic solutions. What does the Department of Defense emphasize?

A)Economic restraint
B)Collective bargaining
C)Contingency plans
D)Military solutions to problems

Question 22

Executive branch institutions tend to be roughly similar in most countries; which two ministries are the most important when it comes to foreign affairs?

A)The ministry of secrets and the ministry of scandal
B)The ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of defense
C)The ministry of treaties and the ministry of war
D)The ministry of funding and the ministry of conflict

Question 23

What did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in the case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2004))?

A)The court argued that Secretary of State Rumsfeld overstepped his powers by allowing the torture of this Syrian citizen.
B)The court rejected Hamdan's arguments that, as a U.S. citizen, he had legal rights that protected him from detention without trial.
C)The court agreed that Hamdan could sue the U.S. government for medical damages he obtained on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
D)The court supported Hamdan's view that, as a U.S. citizen, he had legal rights that needed to be protected.

Question 24

Who was the person who leaked a large trove of secret U.S. government information that was later published by Wikileaks?

A)Vice President Joe Biden
B)Director of the CIA Leon Panetta
C)U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch
D)Soldier Chelsea Manning

Question 25

What did the Supreme Court decide regarding President Donald Trump's "Travel Ban" in Trump v. Hawaii ?

A)The court ruled that the policy was unconstitutional.
B)The court declined to hear the case and upheld the lower court injunctions.
C)The court upheld the constitutionality of the ban.
D)The court could not reach a decision regarding the ban and thus the lower courts' injunctions remained in place.

Question 26

What are the two primary reasons that foreign policy bureaucracies pursue different policies?

A)Profit and reputation
B)Role and budget
C)Interests and benefits
D)Identity and purpose

Question 27

What is often the outcome when several bureaucratic agencies compete over a policy decision?

A)A policy that nobody intended
B)A policy that everyone now supports
C)A policy that only one side wanted
D)A very effective compromise

Question 28

What do researchers who focus on the role of bureaucracies in foreign policy agree on?

A)Bureaucracies operate in a manner that deviates from the rational model of decision making.
B)Bureaucracies have little influence on foreign policy decisions.
C)Bureaucracies work in a highly coordinated manner to implement foreign policy aims.
D)Bureaucracies are dominated by legislative and judicial foreign policy decision makers.

Question 29

Each bureaucratic agency promotes its own interests; what is the role of the State Department?

A)Dealing with economic crises
B)To declare war when the U.S. is under attack
C)To negotiate diplomatic resolutions to conflicts
D)To gather intelligence

Question 30

The phrase, "where you stand depends on where you sit," is associated with which foreign policy decision-making model?

A)The rational action model
B)The expected utility model
C)The organizational model
D)The bureaucratic politics model

Question 31

What event did Graham Allison use to demonstrate the bureaucratic politics model?

A)The Bay of Pigs Invasion
B)The Cuban Missile Crisis
C)The War in Iraq
D)The Korean War

Question 32

Why might the courts' role in foreign policy be growing?

A)As a result of the fact that U.S. military forces are involved in more judicial proceedings in the United States and abroad
B)As a result of the fact that the courts are taking on more issues of civil liberties and human rights
C)As a result of the fact that the legislative and executive branches are shying away from resolving many of the more difficult decisions
D)As a result of the fact that the Constitution is failing to add more powers to the judicial branch

Question 33

What does the rational action model assume about all foreign policy actors?

A)The model assumes that all foreign policy actors have a clear goal.
B)The model assumes that all foreign policy actors have a clear strategy.
C)The model assumes that all foreign policy actors have a clear conscience.
D)The model assumes that all foreign policy actors have a clear conviction.

Question 34

What were the Pentagon Papers?

A)A series of secret Defense Department reports on the origins of the Iraq War that raised serious questions about U.S. involvement in the war
B)A series of secret Defense Department reports on the origins of the Vietnam War that raised serious questions about U.S. involvement in the war
C)A series of secret Defense Department reports on the decreasing role of the Pentagon in foreign economic policy and the plan to increase that role
D)A series of secret Defense Department reports on the effect of Watergate on the Pentagon

Question 35

What has been the most far reaching consequence of the Pinochet case?

A)That prosecutors and judges have become increasingly willing to bring to trial former state leaders who have committed abuses and then travelled outside their own countries
B)That foreign leaders have refused to engage in foreign policy making
C)That the courts have gotten the power to declare war
D)That prosecutors and judges have been removed from office en masse when in violation of international law that prohibits domestic courts from arresting former state leaders

Question 36

Which two factors does expected utility theory highlight?

A)Payoff and probability
B)Cost and benefits
C)Input and output
D)Utility and gains

Question 37

Where did the crisis that occurred between the Soviet Union and the United States in 1962, and nearly precipitated a nuclear war between the two superpowers, take place?

A)Berlin, West Germany
B)Cuba
C)Afghanistan
D)North Korea

Question 38

Which of the following is true about the role that U.S. domestic courts have had in influencing foreign affairs?

A)The courts have been very active.
B)The courts have never been a factor.
C)The courts have played a minimal role.
D)While the courts have been active in the past, they are virtually irrelevant today.

Question 39

In the U.S., which organizations are responsible for collecting and analyzing intelligence?

A)The State Department and the Department of Defense
B)The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)and the National Security Agency (NSA)
C)The Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)and the Department of Defense
D)The Foreign Intelligence Service and the Ministry of State Security

Question 40

What does the 2018 "profanity-laced" shouting match between NSA Advisor John Bolton and Chief of Staff John Kelly highlight?

A)The extent to which conflict shapes the policy-making process
B)The intense distrust between Democrats and Republicans
C)The lack of compromise between the branches of government
D)The intense dislike between the members of the current and former administrations

Question 41

When does groupthink occur?

A)When members of a group interact with the members of another group
B)When a group quickly makes a decision without including the views of others
C)When a group reaches a decision through a thorough cost and benefit analysis of an issue
D)When members of a group reach consensus only after reviewing all options

Question 42

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made a major mistake when he followed a policy of appeasement toward Hitler. Why did Chamberlain follow the strategy of appeasement?

A)He believed that Great Britain could weaken Hitler by pretending to be his ally while undermining his power.
B)He believed that Great Britain could actually be an ally to Hitler's Germany.
C)He believed that offering concessions to Hitler would satisfy his appetite to take over Europe.
D)He believed that Hitler was weak and would not be able to control the territory he took in the long term.

Question 43

What was the ultimate goal of the Schlieffen Plan?

A)To disable Soviet ballistic missiles in Cuba before they became operational
B)To defeat France while Russia was still mobilizing its forces
C)To cut off funds for U.S. forces in Vietnam before significant new forces were mobilized
D)To call for a vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Valorum's leadership

Question 44

What did the Powell Doctrine, which was created during the Bush Administration, entail?

A)It established guidelines for the use of force that included clear goals and the use of overwhelming force.
B)It established guidelines for the use of force that included surgical bombing and limited goals.
C)It established guidelines for the use of force that included cooperation with NATO in minor military interventions.
D)It established guidelines for the use of force that included the use of peacekeeping troops along with diplomatic efforts.

Question 45

The bureaucratic politics model emphasizes interaction between agencies; what does the organizational process model focuses on?

A)The organizational process model focuses on the outcomes of decisions.
B)The organizational process model focuses on the costs and benefits of a decision.
C)The organizational process model focuses on the procedures by which bureaucracies make decisions.
D)The organizational process model focuses on the inputs that lead to policy decisions.

Question 46

Which of the following did not imperil the Schlieffen Plan?

A)Russia's winter was cold and they were unable to mount an attack.
B)Belgian troops delayed German forces longer than expected.
C)Allied forces were reinforced surprisingly quickly by British forces.
D)The Russian army was able to mount an attack on the eastern front quicker than expected.

Question 47

What does the organizational process model do?

A)The organizational process model focuses on organizations competing for power and budgets.
B)The organizational process model studies the results of the battles between bureaucracies.
C)The organizational process model assumes a rational model of decision making.
D)The organizational process model examines the problem-solving procedures adopted by organizations.

Question 48

When people look at actors they mistrust, they are likely to justify negative behavior to bad intensions; this concept is known as which of the following?

A)Diversification error
B)Imperfect rationality
C)Misperception error
D)Fundamental attribution bias

Question 49

What recent events shows the inability of bureaucracies to escape the control of the head of government?

A)Secretary of State Colin Powell's resignation
B)President Obama's firing of General McChrystal
C)President Kennedy's failure in the Bay of Pigs
D)Pinochet's trial in Spain

Question 50

When a leader makes a decision that is imperfectly rational, what is the concept called?

A)Historical experience
B)Intentional bias
C)Bounded rationality
D)Cognitive dissonance

Question 51

Where do many analysts believe that groupthink took place?

A)The decision-making process prior to WWII
B)The decision-making process prior to the intervention in Kosovo
C)The decision-making process prior to the intervention in Somalia
D)The decision-making process prior to the 2003 invasion in Iraq

Question 52

The groupthink process undermines one of the most important requirements of rational decision making; what is this requirement?

A)The reinforcement of the importance of teamwork
B)The fair and even-handed analysis of all options
C)The prioritization of the leader's ideas
D)The priority of speedy decision making

Question 53

What are standard operating procedures?

A)The ways agencies make decisions by adapting to a particular issue
B)How organizations always perform the same function in response to the same issue
C)The way leaders only discuss the decision within a small group of advisors
D)The committees that oversee foreign policy decision making

Question 54

There are three major factors that explain groupthink decision making. What is one of these factors?

A)Members are individuals whose unique backgrounds and perspectives are appreciated.
B)Reaching consensus is more important than any serious criticism of the decision.
C)Members of a group taking turns proposing options and providing for a give and take environment.
D)Members of a group have a cordial relationship with the leader and feel free to come up with unique solutions to the groups' problems.

Question 55

When is the organizational process model weakest?

A)When decisions are made about similar issues
B)When a similar problem must be addressed each time
C)When foreign policy issues take a long time to resolve
D)When these agencies must undertake tasks that are outside their normal set of rules and procedures

Question 56

What is one example during which the "lesson of Munich" has been used?

A)Chamberlain's strategy of appeasement toward Germany
B)President Truman's response to North Korea's invasion of South Korea
C)Napoleon's attempt to conquer Russia
D)Clinton's intervention in Kosovo

Question 57

When does unmotivated bias result?

A)Unmotivated bias occurs when the decision maker successfully weighs the costs and benefits of a decision.
B)Unmotivated bias occurs as a result of the simplifications inherent in the process of perceiving an ambiguous world.
C)Unmotivated bias occurs when someone is biased on an issue that they care very little about.
D)Unmotivated bias occurs when someone's psychological or emotional needs are not met.

Question 58

What does prospect theory assert?

A)Individuals seek to uncover all the costs and benefits associated with foreign policy options.
B)Individuals weigh options based on how the choices are framed.
C)Individuals misperceive the intentions of others, which biases their decisions.
D)Individuals are able to learn lessons from history and thereby improve their decision-making skills

Question 59

Which of the following is one of the biggest critiques of the bureaucratic politics model?

A)Foreign policy is always a battle and thus does not lead to optional policies.
B)There are many examples of bureaucracies advocating positions opposite to what this approach would have predicted.
C)Using standard operating procedures often leads to bolstering.
D)The bureaucratic model never leads to unintended consequences.

Question 60

What does attribution theory posit?

A)Leaders seek confirmation of their views in the view of others.
B)Decision makers are "naïve scientists," struggling to make sense of a complex world.
C)Decision makers attribute their decisions based on the context of reality.
D)Followers seek attribution from their leaders.

Question 61

How do the lessons of history influence decision making?

A)The lessons of history always lead to bad decisions.
B)Decision makers carefully review history to discover the relevant lessons and apply those lessons that are most pertinent, leading to optimal decision making.
C)Decision makers view their current problems in light of only a few historical events and are unable to conduct a broad, open-minded search for the historical lessons that apply best to any particular circumstance.
D)History does not influence decision making.

Question 62

What is confirmation bias? What impact does confirmation bias have on foreign policy making? Under which circumstances is confirmation bias most likely to occur?

Question 63

How can psychology help us to understand foreign policy decision making? How is the application of psychology to foreign policy decision making limited?

Question 64

The discomfort that results when a new piece of information does not fit with existing beliefs is known as which of the following?

A)Shirking
B)Positivity bias
C)Status quo bias
D)Cognitive dissonance

Question 65

In international relations, where does confirmation bias seem to be especially prominent?

A)Alliances
B)Antagonistic relationships
C)Intergovernmental organizations
D)The bureaucracy

Question 66

The concept in which leaders will take risks in order to protect what they have is known as which of the following?

A)Status quo bias
B)Unmotivated bias
C)Cognitive dissonance
D)Bolstering

Question 67

Why was Pakistan outraged at the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden?

A)Pakistan was an ally and staunch supporter of bin Laden.
B)Pakistan was disgusted with the large number of civilian deaths that accompanied the SEAL team raid.
C)The U.S. sought Pakistan's assistance in the raid and the U.S. was successful without them.
D)Pakistan was embarrassed that bin Laden was living in one of its cities and that the U.S. government did not trust Pakistan enough to share intelligence on the matter.

Question 68

Discuss the assumptions of the bureaucratic politics model of decision making. What are the model's main strengths and weaknesses? Are you convinced that it helps us to understand why foreign policy decisions are made?

Question 69

What does one important finding of prospect theory suggest about individuals?

A)Individuals are more willing to take risks to achieve a gain than to avoid a loss.
B)Individuals are unable to make a rational decision in a moment of crisis.
C)Individuals never waver from cost-benefit analysis.
D)Individuals are more willing to take risks to avoid a loss than to achieve a gain.

Question 70

What are the sources of misperception in foreign policy decision making? What are some strategies to avoid the pitfalls of making a decision based on misperceptions?

Question 71

Which of the following statements about the study of psychology holds true?

A)Psychology allows us to make clear predictions about foreign policy decision making.
B)Psychology adds little to our understanding of foreign policy decision making.
C)Psychology does not provide clear predictions in the real world of foreign policy.
D)Psychology has failed to explain why foreign policy makers often seem to deviate from rational decision making.

Question 72

Having friends or parents state early in the process of your college selection that a particular college is inappropriate might cause you to exclude that college without much thought. This is an example of what concept in action?

A)Bolstering
B)Groupthink
C)Utility theory
D)Cognitive dissonance theory

Question 73

Describe the influence of the three branches of U.S. government on U.S. foreign policy. Which one is most influential, and why?

Question 74

If President Obama obtained information that did not support his decision to continue negotiations with Iran over their alleged nuclear weapons program, and he dismissed that information as irrelevant, this would be an example of which concept?

A)Bolstering
B)Motivation
C)Unmotivated bias
D)Confirmation bias

Question 75

When does bolstering occur?

A)A decision maker attempts to convince themselves that they made the right choice after an agonizing decision.
B)The legislative branch shows strong support for a foreign policy decision.
C)A small group of decision makers looks to a group leader for a decision.
D)A decision maker knows they made the wrong decision but works to convince themselves that it was the right one.

Question 76

What motivated many of the leaks surrounding the raid on bin Laden's Pakistani compound?

A)The desire to stress President Obama's role in the successful raid
B)Chelsea Manning's role in the Wikileaks affair
C)The congressional investigation into the military operation
D)The need for transparency in secret operations

Question 77

What are the main assumptions of prospect theory and how well does it explain foreign policy decision making?

Question 78

Does groupthink always occur when there is a strong leader? Consider how Donald Trump makes foreign policy and discuss the possible implications when the opposite of groupthink occurs.

Question 79

Given the emphasis on the status quo by prospect theory, which of the following is most likely true?

A)In international trade, actors may find it easier to agree on how to share the losses than on how to distribute the gains from trade.
B)In international trade, actors may find it easier to come to a trade agreement in which both sides equally gain.
C)In international trade, actors may find it easier to agree on how to distribute the benefits from a trade agreement than on how to share the losses.
D)In international trade, actors may find it easier to walk away from a trade deal when it is clearly not in their favor.

Question 80

Since leaders seek to avoid psychological stress after making a decision, leaders hope to convince themselves that the decision actually was the correct one. What is this psychological concept called?

A)Appeasement
B)Rationalization
C)Contingency planning
D)Bolstering