ESSENTIALS OF INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
containment - ANSWER-A policy adopted by President Truman, designed by historian
George Kennan and published as "The Long Telegram" in Foreign Affairs. States that if
the Soviet dictatorship justifies its existence with the need to fight capitalists at home
and abroad, then it must EXPAND to justify its legitimacy. Therefore, containment.
deterrence - ANSWER-A state of mind brought about by the existence of a credible
threat of unacceptable counteraction. Deals with both countering an enemy and
avoiding war; an enemy will not strike if it knows the defender can defeat the attack or
can inflict unacceptable damage in retaliation. Implicit deterrence with the Russian
Federation only aggravates political friction between the US and R today.
perestroika - ANSWER-A policy initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev that involved
restructuring of the social and economic status quo in communist Russia towards a
market based economy and society
glasnost - ANSWER-"Openness; called for increased transparency in government
institutions and activities within the USSR; Mikhail Gorbachev. Usually paired with
"Perestroika"
multipolarity - ANSWER-the distribution of global power into three or more great power
centers, with most other states allied with one of the rivals; regarded by many as a
factor in the onset and expansion of WWII.
bipolarity - ANSWER-A bipolar system is one in which there are two major states that
hold the majority of military, economic and cultural power within the world system. The
world system could be characterized as bipolar during the Cold War when the United
States and the Soviet Union were the two largest powers.This is regarded as a stable
condition of the international system.
levels of analysis - ANSWER-A perspective on IR based on a set of similar actors or
processes that suggest possible explanations to "why" questions. 1) The Individual
Level (e.g.: President Bush and Saddam Hussein); 2) The domestic level (Dick Cheney
and the oil industry); 3) The International Level ( WMD and threat to the int'l community)
realism - ANSWER-Labels the individual as primarily fearful, selfish, and power-
seeking. The regime type (domestic level of analysis) is also irrelevant. The only
important level is the international level of analysis. Anarchy and the structure of the
international system constrains state behavior. Universal moral principles cannot be
, applied. Classical realism: human nature explains world politics: survivalist, greedy,
power-mongers.
Thucydides Characteristics of the State - ANSWER-1) The state is the principal actor in
war and in politics in war and in politics in general; 2) the state is assumed to be the
unitary actor, there are no subnational actors; 3) decision makers acting in the name of
the state are assumed to be rational actors. Individuals are essentially rational beings.
4) Security issues--the state's need to protect itself from enemies both foreign and
domestic. A state augments its security by increasing its domestic capacities, building
up economic prowess, and forming alliances. "The strong do what they can and the
weak suffer what they must."
Hans Morgenthau - ANSWER-scholar who argued that international politics is governed
by objective, universal laws based on national laws defined in terms of power (not
psychological motives of decision makers). 1) the flawed individual in the state of nature
struggles for self-preservation; 2) zthe autonomous and unitary state is constantly
involved in power struggles, balancing power with power and reacting to preserve what
is in the nat'l interest; 3) because the int'l system is anarchic, the struggle is continuous.
Morality is judged by the political consequences of a policy.
Neorealism - ANSWER-Neorealism--delineated by Kenneth Waltz--holds that the
international structure is defined by its ordering principle, which is anarchy, and by the
distribution of capabilities, measured by the number of great powers within the
international system. The anarchic ordering principle of the international structure is
decentralized, having no formal central authority, and is composed of formally equal
sovereign states. These states act according to the logic of self-help—states seek their
own interest and will not subordinate their interest to another's.
Liberalism - ANSWER-holds that human nature is basically good and that people can
improve their moral and material conditions, making societal progress possible. Bad or
evil human behavior, such as injustice and war, is the product of inadequate or corrupt
social institutions and of misunderstandings among leaders. The expansion of human
freedom is best achieved in democracies and through market capitalism.
Immanuel Kant - ANSWER-(1724-1804) German philosopher who thought that the mind
comes into the world with certain inborn assumptions or predilections with which it
molds experience. Posited that international anarchy could be overcome by some kind
of collective action--a federation of states in which sovereignties would remain intact.
Ideally states are some form of republic; when citizens have a voice they are less likely
to vote for war.
Neoliberal institutionalism - ANSWER-A reinterpretation of liberalism that posits that
even in an anarchic international system, states will cooperate because of their
continuous interactions with each other and because it is in their self-interest to do so;
institutions provide the framework for cooperative interactions.
RELATIONS EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
containment - ANSWER-A policy adopted by President Truman, designed by historian
George Kennan and published as "The Long Telegram" in Foreign Affairs. States that if
the Soviet dictatorship justifies its existence with the need to fight capitalists at home
and abroad, then it must EXPAND to justify its legitimacy. Therefore, containment.
deterrence - ANSWER-A state of mind brought about by the existence of a credible
threat of unacceptable counteraction. Deals with both countering an enemy and
avoiding war; an enemy will not strike if it knows the defender can defeat the attack or
can inflict unacceptable damage in retaliation. Implicit deterrence with the Russian
Federation only aggravates political friction between the US and R today.
perestroika - ANSWER-A policy initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev that involved
restructuring of the social and economic status quo in communist Russia towards a
market based economy and society
glasnost - ANSWER-"Openness; called for increased transparency in government
institutions and activities within the USSR; Mikhail Gorbachev. Usually paired with
"Perestroika"
multipolarity - ANSWER-the distribution of global power into three or more great power
centers, with most other states allied with one of the rivals; regarded by many as a
factor in the onset and expansion of WWII.
bipolarity - ANSWER-A bipolar system is one in which there are two major states that
hold the majority of military, economic and cultural power within the world system. The
world system could be characterized as bipolar during the Cold War when the United
States and the Soviet Union were the two largest powers.This is regarded as a stable
condition of the international system.
levels of analysis - ANSWER-A perspective on IR based on a set of similar actors or
processes that suggest possible explanations to "why" questions. 1) The Individual
Level (e.g.: President Bush and Saddam Hussein); 2) The domestic level (Dick Cheney
and the oil industry); 3) The International Level ( WMD and threat to the int'l community)
realism - ANSWER-Labels the individual as primarily fearful, selfish, and power-
seeking. The regime type (domestic level of analysis) is also irrelevant. The only
important level is the international level of analysis. Anarchy and the structure of the
international system constrains state behavior. Universal moral principles cannot be
, applied. Classical realism: human nature explains world politics: survivalist, greedy,
power-mongers.
Thucydides Characteristics of the State - ANSWER-1) The state is the principal actor in
war and in politics in war and in politics in general; 2) the state is assumed to be the
unitary actor, there are no subnational actors; 3) decision makers acting in the name of
the state are assumed to be rational actors. Individuals are essentially rational beings.
4) Security issues--the state's need to protect itself from enemies both foreign and
domestic. A state augments its security by increasing its domestic capacities, building
up economic prowess, and forming alliances. "The strong do what they can and the
weak suffer what they must."
Hans Morgenthau - ANSWER-scholar who argued that international politics is governed
by objective, universal laws based on national laws defined in terms of power (not
psychological motives of decision makers). 1) the flawed individual in the state of nature
struggles for self-preservation; 2) zthe autonomous and unitary state is constantly
involved in power struggles, balancing power with power and reacting to preserve what
is in the nat'l interest; 3) because the int'l system is anarchic, the struggle is continuous.
Morality is judged by the political consequences of a policy.
Neorealism - ANSWER-Neorealism--delineated by Kenneth Waltz--holds that the
international structure is defined by its ordering principle, which is anarchy, and by the
distribution of capabilities, measured by the number of great powers within the
international system. The anarchic ordering principle of the international structure is
decentralized, having no formal central authority, and is composed of formally equal
sovereign states. These states act according to the logic of self-help—states seek their
own interest and will not subordinate their interest to another's.
Liberalism - ANSWER-holds that human nature is basically good and that people can
improve their moral and material conditions, making societal progress possible. Bad or
evil human behavior, such as injustice and war, is the product of inadequate or corrupt
social institutions and of misunderstandings among leaders. The expansion of human
freedom is best achieved in democracies and through market capitalism.
Immanuel Kant - ANSWER-(1724-1804) German philosopher who thought that the mind
comes into the world with certain inborn assumptions or predilections with which it
molds experience. Posited that international anarchy could be overcome by some kind
of collective action--a federation of states in which sovereignties would remain intact.
Ideally states are some form of republic; when citizens have a voice they are less likely
to vote for war.
Neoliberal institutionalism - ANSWER-A reinterpretation of liberalism that posits that
even in an anarchic international system, states will cooperate because of their
continuous interactions with each other and because it is in their self-interest to do so;
institutions provide the framework for cooperative interactions.
