GOV 312L -Spring- UT Austin Exam 1
Moser/McDonald Questions and
Answers.
Beliefs - Answer -organizing ideas that foreign actors have about the government and the
people of the US
-shape their expectations about future American actions, and consequently they shape the
foreign policy actions of these governments
Capabilities - Answer -shape the power of the foreign actors
-often thought of in military terms
-shape the bargaining power that foreign actors have in terms of the US
What is foreign policy? - Answer -the actions and statements of the US government that are
directed towards some foreign audience
-the responsibility for these decisions resides in the government
-states, in this course, are referred to as a political entity
-foreign policy is purposeful - designed to shape the beliefs, capabilities, interests, and actions
of their targets
Actions - Answer -deployment of a military force in war
-signing of a nuclear agreement
-decision to shift budgetary focus
-other governments will adjust their behavior based on their expectations of US actions
Consequently, - Answer -states of American intent, or interest, delivered at the right time,
can shape other foreign leaders' beliefs or what they do. ie. Trump's victory ring call to Taiwan,
as a symbolic message to China, a country previously assumed to be a focus of hatred
-potential shift towards diplomatic agreements between the two, but China quickly put that
down
Audience - Answer -generally, in this class, we will be talking about American actions relative
to other governments
-however, no reason to restrict these actions to countries - often impact international
alliances/organizations
-even banks/multi-national corporations
, Beliefs 2 - Answer -the organizing ideas that foreign actors have about the content of
American interests and their expectations about future American actions
-individuals, on a daily basis, adjust their behavior based on how we expect others to react to
our actions - ie. Moser's expectations for his jokes to be funny
-will we keep laughing at his jokes or hate them?
-US Foreign Policy is often designed to display political intent - ie. Cold War actions - American
leaders worried that if soviet leaders didn't believe that they had the nuclear power to halt the
Soviet invasion of France, that the Soviet Union would invade France
-peace rests on the stability of the beliefs about deterrent threats
Getting in your car to get to a destination - Answer -your decision to do this rests
fundamentally on your belief that the thousands of drivers share your desire to survive, and as a
consequence will drive on the right side of the road
-similarly, US FP leaders will attempt to influence the actions of others in a rational, intelligent
manner
-beliefs are absolutely central to the coordination of social behavior
Capabilities 2 - Answer -as the relative balance of military power between two political
organizations
-the bargaining power that some states possess
-for example, the US can utilize its military power to extract certain decisions
-in addition, the US will design foreign policy to limit military abilities of its adversaries
-ex. prevention of Iranian ownership of nuclear weapons
-currently, the US is in a heated battle in this field with ISIS
-US is limited to precision military strikes to preserve humanitarian goals, in order to undermine
the military abilities of the Taliban/ISIS
Target Interests - Answer -shape the complementarity of another state's political goals
relative to the US
-if two states possess the same foreign policy goals, they lack the possibility for conflict between
one another
-interests as what states want (territory, wealth, nuclear weapons, more democracies around
the world)
-target interests shape scope of political conflict with US - are they congruent? Conflictual?
-US FP directed at changing interests of other state (or people within it)
-Ex. Economic incentives to provide a material incentive for other countries to pursue foreign
policy interests that are congruent with US foreign policy interests
Actions 2 - Answer -foreign policy as device to alter behavior of other states
Moser/McDonald Questions and
Answers.
Beliefs - Answer -organizing ideas that foreign actors have about the government and the
people of the US
-shape their expectations about future American actions, and consequently they shape the
foreign policy actions of these governments
Capabilities - Answer -shape the power of the foreign actors
-often thought of in military terms
-shape the bargaining power that foreign actors have in terms of the US
What is foreign policy? - Answer -the actions and statements of the US government that are
directed towards some foreign audience
-the responsibility for these decisions resides in the government
-states, in this course, are referred to as a political entity
-foreign policy is purposeful - designed to shape the beliefs, capabilities, interests, and actions
of their targets
Actions - Answer -deployment of a military force in war
-signing of a nuclear agreement
-decision to shift budgetary focus
-other governments will adjust their behavior based on their expectations of US actions
Consequently, - Answer -states of American intent, or interest, delivered at the right time,
can shape other foreign leaders' beliefs or what they do. ie. Trump's victory ring call to Taiwan,
as a symbolic message to China, a country previously assumed to be a focus of hatred
-potential shift towards diplomatic agreements between the two, but China quickly put that
down
Audience - Answer -generally, in this class, we will be talking about American actions relative
to other governments
-however, no reason to restrict these actions to countries - often impact international
alliances/organizations
-even banks/multi-national corporations
, Beliefs 2 - Answer -the organizing ideas that foreign actors have about the content of
American interests and their expectations about future American actions
-individuals, on a daily basis, adjust their behavior based on how we expect others to react to
our actions - ie. Moser's expectations for his jokes to be funny
-will we keep laughing at his jokes or hate them?
-US Foreign Policy is often designed to display political intent - ie. Cold War actions - American
leaders worried that if soviet leaders didn't believe that they had the nuclear power to halt the
Soviet invasion of France, that the Soviet Union would invade France
-peace rests on the stability of the beliefs about deterrent threats
Getting in your car to get to a destination - Answer -your decision to do this rests
fundamentally on your belief that the thousands of drivers share your desire to survive, and as a
consequence will drive on the right side of the road
-similarly, US FP leaders will attempt to influence the actions of others in a rational, intelligent
manner
-beliefs are absolutely central to the coordination of social behavior
Capabilities 2 - Answer -as the relative balance of military power between two political
organizations
-the bargaining power that some states possess
-for example, the US can utilize its military power to extract certain decisions
-in addition, the US will design foreign policy to limit military abilities of its adversaries
-ex. prevention of Iranian ownership of nuclear weapons
-currently, the US is in a heated battle in this field with ISIS
-US is limited to precision military strikes to preserve humanitarian goals, in order to undermine
the military abilities of the Taliban/ISIS
Target Interests - Answer -shape the complementarity of another state's political goals
relative to the US
-if two states possess the same foreign policy goals, they lack the possibility for conflict between
one another
-interests as what states want (territory, wealth, nuclear weapons, more democracies around
the world)
-target interests shape scope of political conflict with US - are they congruent? Conflictual?
-US FP directed at changing interests of other state (or people within it)
-Ex. Economic incentives to provide a material incentive for other countries to pursue foreign
policy interests that are congruent with US foreign policy interests
Actions 2 - Answer -foreign policy as device to alter behavior of other states
