©THEBRIGHT EXAM STUDY SOLUTIONS 8/22/2024 12:54 PM
PSCI 2223 - Final Exam Terms Study Guide.
Theory - answer✔✔an intellectual tool that provides a way of organizing the complexity of the
world and helps to show how phenomena are interrelated
Evidence - answer✔✔empirical information collected in order to support an argument or to test a
hypothesis
Hypothesis - answer✔✔a statement that relates a theory to possible observations about the world
Probabilistic Explanations - answer✔✔an explanation that is contingent, holding only under
certain conditions
Assumptions - answer✔✔a statement that is not evaluated empirically, because it is
straightforward or because examining its accuracy must be deferred until later
Level of Analysis - answer✔✔a framework for organizing explanations in world politics in
terms of the size and complexity of the actors, behavior, and outcomes invovled
Misperception - answer✔✔a mental process in which information is ignored, incorrectly
interpreted, or changed to fit existing images
Cognitive Consistency - answer✔✔when the mental images held by individuals do not clash
with or contradict each other; the opposite of cognitive dissonance
Defense Mechanisms - answer✔✔a mental process protecting an individual from realizations
that would otherwise make the individual uncomfortable and anxious
Belief System - answer✔✔an integrated set of images and values making up the relevant
universe for an individual, encompassing the past, the present, and expectations of the future
Operational Code - answer✔✔a mental construct that helps to organize knowledge about other
actors or situations
Nation - answer✔✔a people who feel themselves part of some large identity group
Nationalism - answer✔✔the set of psychological, cultural, and social forces that drive the
formation of a nation and sustain national identity
State - answer✔✔a legal entity consisting of a government that manages the affairs of a
population in a given territory
, ©THEBRIGHT EXAM STUDY SOLUTIONS 8/22/2024 12:54 PM
Nation-States - answer✔✔synonymous with "state" or "country," but with the added implication
that the subject population identifies itself as a nation
Modern State System - answer✔✔Often dated from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, the system
consisting mainly of nation-states, each with sovereign authority over its internal affairs
Peace of Westphalia - answer✔✔settlement ending the Thirty Years' War in 1648, which
reinforced the sovereignty of monarchs and is commonly considered the dawn of the modern
state system; each prince would have the right to determine the religion of his own state; why is
that important: the agreement that defined the rights of sovereign states
Sovereignty - answer✔✔external = independence from any authority outside one's territory
internal = supreme authority over all other entities within one's territory
Anarchy - answer✔✔an arrangement that lacks a higher authority, and a central feature of the
modern international system
Intergovernmental Organization (IGOs) - answer✔✔an international organization composed of
states, in which delegates represent the interests and policies of their home governments (UN,
NATO, IMF, WTO)
Supranational Authorities - answer✔✔institutional arrangement whereby authoritative decisions
are made by representatives of an international organization and are binding on member states
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) - answer✔✔a transnational organization composed of
private actors, whether individuals or groups (Amnesty International, Greenpeace)
Multinational Corporations (MNCs) - answer✔✔an economic enterprise with subsidiaries in one
or more countries
Global Civil Society - answer✔✔complex of nongovernmental entities, including individuals,
groups, and institutions, who interact across state boundaries
Power - answer✔✔the ability to influence the behavior of others, the social agenda, or the
preferences and values that others adopt as their own
Compellence - answer✔✔a policy aimed at influencing another state or nonstate actor to stop an
action it is already pursuing; also called "coercive diplomacy"
Deterrence - answer✔✔a policy aimed at influencing another state or nonstate actor to not do
something it otherwise would do
Soft Power - answer✔✔the ability to exercise influence through attraction, as opposed to
coercion
PSCI 2223 - Final Exam Terms Study Guide.
Theory - answer✔✔an intellectual tool that provides a way of organizing the complexity of the
world and helps to show how phenomena are interrelated
Evidence - answer✔✔empirical information collected in order to support an argument or to test a
hypothesis
Hypothesis - answer✔✔a statement that relates a theory to possible observations about the world
Probabilistic Explanations - answer✔✔an explanation that is contingent, holding only under
certain conditions
Assumptions - answer✔✔a statement that is not evaluated empirically, because it is
straightforward or because examining its accuracy must be deferred until later
Level of Analysis - answer✔✔a framework for organizing explanations in world politics in
terms of the size and complexity of the actors, behavior, and outcomes invovled
Misperception - answer✔✔a mental process in which information is ignored, incorrectly
interpreted, or changed to fit existing images
Cognitive Consistency - answer✔✔when the mental images held by individuals do not clash
with or contradict each other; the opposite of cognitive dissonance
Defense Mechanisms - answer✔✔a mental process protecting an individual from realizations
that would otherwise make the individual uncomfortable and anxious
Belief System - answer✔✔an integrated set of images and values making up the relevant
universe for an individual, encompassing the past, the present, and expectations of the future
Operational Code - answer✔✔a mental construct that helps to organize knowledge about other
actors or situations
Nation - answer✔✔a people who feel themselves part of some large identity group
Nationalism - answer✔✔the set of psychological, cultural, and social forces that drive the
formation of a nation and sustain national identity
State - answer✔✔a legal entity consisting of a government that manages the affairs of a
population in a given territory
, ©THEBRIGHT EXAM STUDY SOLUTIONS 8/22/2024 12:54 PM
Nation-States - answer✔✔synonymous with "state" or "country," but with the added implication
that the subject population identifies itself as a nation
Modern State System - answer✔✔Often dated from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, the system
consisting mainly of nation-states, each with sovereign authority over its internal affairs
Peace of Westphalia - answer✔✔settlement ending the Thirty Years' War in 1648, which
reinforced the sovereignty of monarchs and is commonly considered the dawn of the modern
state system; each prince would have the right to determine the religion of his own state; why is
that important: the agreement that defined the rights of sovereign states
Sovereignty - answer✔✔external = independence from any authority outside one's territory
internal = supreme authority over all other entities within one's territory
Anarchy - answer✔✔an arrangement that lacks a higher authority, and a central feature of the
modern international system
Intergovernmental Organization (IGOs) - answer✔✔an international organization composed of
states, in which delegates represent the interests and policies of their home governments (UN,
NATO, IMF, WTO)
Supranational Authorities - answer✔✔institutional arrangement whereby authoritative decisions
are made by representatives of an international organization and are binding on member states
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) - answer✔✔a transnational organization composed of
private actors, whether individuals or groups (Amnesty International, Greenpeace)
Multinational Corporations (MNCs) - answer✔✔an economic enterprise with subsidiaries in one
or more countries
Global Civil Society - answer✔✔complex of nongovernmental entities, including individuals,
groups, and institutions, who interact across state boundaries
Power - answer✔✔the ability to influence the behavior of others, the social agenda, or the
preferences and values that others adopt as their own
Compellence - answer✔✔a policy aimed at influencing another state or nonstate actor to stop an
action it is already pursuing; also called "coercive diplomacy"
Deterrence - answer✔✔a policy aimed at influencing another state or nonstate actor to not do
something it otherwise would do
Soft Power - answer✔✔the ability to exercise influence through attraction, as opposed to
coercion
