Deck 17: Foreign Policy

Question 1

American efforts to support democratization in other countries are often justified by ________, an observed tendency for democratic nations to abstain from military conflict against one another.

A) democratic peace
B) Pax Americana
C) New World Order
D) neorealism
E) democratization

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which is a philosophy of international politics based on the assumption that a country should simply stay out of international affairs?

A) conservatism
B) idealism
C) isolationism
D) unilateralism
E) realism

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following terms best describes a state seeking the cooperation and coalitional support of other countries in times of foreign policy crises?

A) unitarianism
B) unilateralism
C) multilateralism
D) isolationism
E) embargoism

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Multilateralism best fits into which philosophy of foreign policy?

A) idealism
B) realism
C) constructivism
D) isolationism
E) marginalism

Question 5

Belief in the importance of credible military threats for pursuing American national interests in the international community is consistent with ________.

A) conservatism
B) idealism
C) confrontationalism
D) isolationism
E) realism

Question 6

The United States, seeing that Latveria has the ability to develop biological weapons, sends a small team in to neutralize the Latverian government and help maintain world order. What philosophy of international politics best describes the American action here?

A) conservatism
B) idealism
C) internationalism
D) isolationism
E) realism

Question 7

Which is a philosophy of international politics based on the assumption that a country should be actively involved in international affairs and maintaining world order?

A) conservatism
B) idealism
C) internationalism
D) isolationism
E) realism

Question 8

The set of government actions that affect a country's relationships with other countries is called ________ policy.

A) foreign
B) social
C) external
D) exterior
E) projection

Question 9

Which American foreign policy action is consistent with isolationism?

A) leading mediation to end the Russo-Japanese War under President Theodore Roosevelt
B) rejection of membership in the League of Nations under President Woodrow Wilson
C) military involvement in Kuwait and Iraq under President George H. W. Bush
D) entry into the World Trade Organization under President Bill Clinton
E) invasion of Iraq to enforce United Nations Security Council resolutions under President George W. Bush

Question 10

The United States invades the nation of Qumar to stop the Qumari government from building weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. government does so without consulting other countries, with the purpose of pursuing American interests. What term best describes the actions of the American government?

A) unilateralism
B) unitarianism
C) multilateralism
D) isolationism
E) embargoism

Question 11

________ is a philosophy of international politics based on the assumption that countries have common interests and that they can cooperate effectively.

A) Conservatism
B) Idealism
C) Internationalism
D) Isolationism
E) Realism

Question 12

________ is a philosophy of international politics based on the assumption that countries primarily seek to increase their own power relative to other countries.

A) Conservatism
B) Idealism
C) Realism
D) Isolationism
E) Interventionism

Question 13

Efforts of several successive American presidents to negotiate a settlement in the conflict between Israel and various representatives of the Palestinian people are most consistent with which philosophy of international affairs?

A) idealism
B) liberalism
C) conservatism
D) isolationism
E) realism

Question 14

Belief in the United Nations as an effective venue for the resolution of international conflict is consistent with ________.

A) conservatism
B) internationalism
C) confrontationalism
D) isolationism
E) idealism

Question 15

Unilateralism best fits into which philosophy of foreign policy?

A) realism
B) idealism
C) internationalism
D) isolationism
E) multilateralism

Question 16

Which of the following terms best describes a state's desire to follow through with its foreign policy interests, regardless of the interests of other countries?

A) unitarianism
B) unilateralism
C) multilateralism
D) isolationism
E) embargoism

Question 17

The U.S. Senate's decision to reject American membership in the League of Nations in 1919 is most consistent with which philosophy of international affairs?

A) conservatism
B) idealism
C) conservatism
D) isolationism
E) realism

Question 18

To deal with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991, the United States sought out support from other countries to form a grand coalition before invading Iraq. What term best describes the United States' actions here?

A) unitarianism
B) unilateralism
C) multilateralism
D) isolationism
E) embargoism

Question 19

The United States' ongoing decision to maintain the single largest military in the world is most consistent with which philosophy of international affairs?

A) the Bush Doctrine
B) idealism
C) unilateralism
D) isolationism
E) realism

Question 20

The U.S. Constitution assigns authority to conduct foreign policy to the federal government in order to avoid ________ among the states.

A) coordination problems
B) unstable coalitions
C) principal-agent problems
D) collective action problems
E) prisoner's dilemmas

Question 21

The United States freezes the bank accounts of the country of Pottsylvania that are housed within U.S. borders in response to the country's recent refusal to sign onto international human rights treaties. What type of pressure is the United States using against Pottsylvania?

A) social
B) educational
C) verbal
D) economic
E) environmental

Question 22

The disjunction between countries' interests in protecting domestic industries through high tariffs and the international community's common interest in preserving a system of free trade among nations creates multiple ________.

A) unstable coalitions
B) prisoner's dilemmas
C) coordination problems
D) principal-agent problems
E) collective action problems

Question 23

Who is the central actor in foreign policy in the United States?

A) the president of the United States
B) the secretary of defense
C) the secretary of state
D) the vice president of the United States
E) the Speaker of the House of Representatives

Question 24

Which federal agency has primary responsibility for gathering intelligence on activities in foreign countries?

A) Federal Bureau of Investigation
B) National Security Agency
C) Central Intelligence Agency
D) Secret Service
E) Office of International Intelligence

Question 25

________ is the organized use of deadly force by a government.

A) Armed intervention
B) Economic sanction
C) Military action
D) Extreme diplomacy
E) Political pressure

Question 26

________ power is the use of nonmilitary pressure, such as economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure, or public shaming, against another country.

A) Soft
B) Simple
C) Social
D) Strategic
E) Sustainable

Question 27

Compared to other countries, the United States has spent ________ on military expenditures in recent years.

A) about the same
B) far less
C) twice as much
D) ten times as much
E) three times as much

Question 28

________ is an approach to foreign policy that advocates for a country to engage actively with other countries and to become involved in international organizations.

A) Internationalism
B) Postnationalism
C) Prenationalism
D) Exceptionalism
E) Provincialism

Question 29

________ pressure represents an intermediate level of action between diplomacy and military engagement.

A) Social
B) Educational
C) Verbal
D) Economic
E) Environmental

Question 30

Which refers to peaceful negotiations among countries?

A) bargaining
B) fiat
C) digression
D) diplomacy
E) sanctions

Question 31

Historically speaking, it is rare for democratic countries to fight wars against one another, according to which observation?

A) democratic peace
B) Pax Americana
C) New World Order
D) neorealism
E) democratization

Question 32

Which of the following best describes American use of military action since 1900?

A) Military action has been exclusively used to increase territory and land.
B) There has been a general shift from using military action to increase land to the use of military action for a wide variety of reasons, including preserving order and protecting American interests.
C) The U.S. Congress approved most military action.
D) The use of military action has decreased since 1900, with the United States engaging in limited military action.
E) The United States has rarely sought out multilateral cooperation for war in the post-World War II era.

Question 33

Which of the following types of foreign aid is clearly designed to promote the interests of the government who uses it?

A) humanitarian
B) military
C) disaster
D) program
E) No foreign aid is designed to explicitly promote the interests of a government.

Question 34

The French invasion of Mexico in 1862 is contrary to the ________.

A) Jay Treaty
B) Bush Doctrine
C) Polk Principle
D) Monroe Doctrine
E) Powell Doctrine

Question 35

The ________ is the United States' chief diplomat, second to the ________.

A) president; secretary of state
B) vice president; president
C) secretary of state; president
D) secretary of defense; president
E) ambassador to the United Nations; secretary of state

Question 36

The U.S. government negotiates a treaty with New Zealand involving the trading of sheep. Which government official would be most directly involved in the formulation and signing of this treaty?

A) secretary of state
B) secretary of defense
C) U.S. trade representative
D) secretary of commerce
E) ambassador to the United Nations

Question 37

Which principle of American foreign policy asserts that the Western Hemisphere is exclusively within the United States' sphere of influence?

A) Jay Treaty
B) Monroe Doctrine
C) Polk Principle
D) Bush Doctrine
E) Powell Doctrine

Question 38

Among recent wars, the ________ War claimed the most American lives.

A) Iraq
B) Afghanistan
C) Vietnam
D) Korean
E) Gulf

Question 39

Two roommates, Greg and Derek, are trying to divide up a nine-slice pizza. Greg, a baseball fan, agrees to let Derek have five slices of the pizza in return for their apartment's TV being tuned to the Pittsburgh Pirates game that evening. In what concept are Greg and Derek engaging?

A) unilateralism
B) bargaining
C) cherry-picking
D) idealism
E) fanaticism

Question 40

Groups like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization are bodies that are created to help stimulate what type of foreign policy tool?

A) multilateral diplomacy
B) bilateral diplomacy
C) intelligence gathering
D) armed conflict
E) foreign aid

Question 41

Armenian Americans' recent pressure on U.S. presidents to declare the 1918 massacres "genocide," which may hurt our relationship with Turkey, serves as an important example of ________.

A) the influence that domestic politics can have on foreign policy
B) the growing influence of Armenian Americans in the realm of foreign policy
C) the continuity of foreign policy between presidents
D) the importance of foreign policy in generating domestic policy
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 42

Which proposed principle of American foreign policy asserts that the United States should intervene in the domestic affairs of other countries to prevent the development of terrorist threats against the United States, its allies, or interests?

A) Jay Treaty
B) Monroe Doctrine
C) Polk Principle
D) Bush Doctrine
E) Powell Doctrine

Question 43

The War Powers Act requires the president to notify Congress within ________ of ordering military action.

A) forty-eight hours
B) seven days
C) fourteen days
D) thirty days
E) three months

Question 44

President Barack Obama's decision to order a covert military strike in Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden in 2011, rather than using diplomatic means to secure his arrest by Pakistani officials, is consistent with the ________.

A) Jay Treaty
B) Monroe Doctrine
C) Polk Principle
D) Bush Doctrine
E) Powell Doctrine

Question 45

Compare and contrast realism and idealism. What are the important principles of each philosophy of international affairs? Which philosophy is more supportive of U.S. involvement in international organizations like the United Nations? Give an example of a political leader and a policy choice associated with each philosophy.

Question 46

How do the president and Congress share authority over American foreign policy? How does the U.S. Constitution apportion responsibility between the executive and the legislature? How has the constitutional balance shifted over time in response to practical considerations? Which branch of government has the upper hand in foreign policy making? Why?

Question 47

The principles that organize and direct each president's foreign policy are usually referred to as his or her ________.

A) philosophy
B) mandate
C) doctrine
D) shtick
E) worldview

Question 48

Along with the Department of State, the Department of ________ is at the center of the permanent staff within the government devoted to foreign policy.

A) Commerce
B) Defense
C) Homeland Security
D) Treasury
E) the Interior

Question 49

What is the Bush Doctrine? What events and what major foreign policy choices in the George W. Bush administration motivated the Bush Doctrine? To what extent has the Obama administration diverged from the Bush Doctrine, and in what ways has it upheld the foreign policies of its predecessor?

Question 50

How do domestic politics shape U.S. foreign policy? What role does electoral pressure created by various interest groups and ethnic communities play in shaping the United States' policies toward specific countries? Give at least two examples of how domestic political dynamics influence foreign policy decision making.

Question 51

How does the United States convince other countries to make choices that are compatible with U.S. interests? What are the principal tools of U.S. foreign policy? Which tools are used during the normal course of international relations? Which tools are available during times of crisis?

Question 52

In suggesting military base closures by an independent board, the central purpose of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is to help Congress ________.

A) overcome collective action problems that arise from members of Congress being beholden to their own districts
B) overcome collection action problems that arise between Congress and the president
C) make efficient choices about the U.S. military
D) facilitate discussion on how to improve the efficiency of military bases
E) make difficult decisions about base closures by elected officials

Question 53

Though President Obama was more in line with a/an ________ philosophy, he has nonetheless continued with many provisions of the Bush Doctrine.

A) idealist
B) realist
C) unilateral
D) multilateral
E) liberal

Question 54

Historically speaking, from presidential administration to administration, foreign policy ________.

A) is less stable than social policy
B) is less stable than economic policy
C) is about as stable as economic and social policy
D) is more stable than economic and social policy
E) changes considerably over time