Deck 3: Theories of International Decision Making

Question 1

The majority of political scientists consider global conditions to be the most significant of the three categories of influence.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

A decision-making atmosphere characterized by uncertainty, incomplete information, and short deadlines often forces leaders to select the choice that meets minimally acceptable standards, also known as

A) prioritizing.
B) maximizing.
C) rationalizing.
D) satisficing.
E) setting the policy agenda.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The concept that decision makers need to make decisions that will meet both domestic and foreign goals is called

A) game theory.
B) rational decision making.
C) satisficing.
D) two-level game.
E) None of the above is true.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

According to constructivist theory, a leader's objective realities are interpreted through his/her ideas and expectations.

Question 5

Which of the following is not one of the steps of the decision-making process under rational choice?

A) Identification of alternatives
B) Problem recognition and definition
C) Choice
D) Goal selection
E) All of the above are steps in the decision-making process.

Question 6

A description of policymaking that sees foreign policy choices based on bargaining and compromises among competing government agencies is called the bureaucratic politics model.

Question 7

The history-making individual's model analyzes foreign policy at the state level.

Question 8

National leaders often describe their foreign policy-making process as neat, orderly, and rational.

Question 9

Complete information regarding the nature of the problem, possible solutions, and projected goals is an essential component of rational decision making.

Question 10

One of the key factors in deciding the direction of global politics has been the rise in "bureaucratic politics."

Question 11

The concept referring to the growing need for national policy makers to make decisions that will meet both domestic and foreign goals is called

A) game theory.
B) two-level games.
C) bounded rationality.
D) externalities.
E) constructivism.

Question 12

Game theory is the use of hypothetical situations to help determine standard operating procedures.

Question 13

Political efficacy refers to a person's belief in his or her own ability to make effective rational choices.

Question 14

A national crisis is a potent circumstance that increases a leader's control over foreign policymaking.

Question 15

The degree with which nations cluster around the powerful nations is known as polarization.

Question 16

The bureaucratic decision-making process produces an optimal outcome because it increases efficiency and rationality by assigning responsibility for different tasks to different people.

Question 17

Rational decision making can be impeded by which of the following?

A) Short deadlines
B) Ambiguity of international situations
C) The group context in which national decision making typically occurs
D) Ambiguities in defining national interests
E) All of the above are true.

Question 18

The idea that changes in its domestic opinion do not influence its foreign policy as much as do the decisions that actor's leaders make to cope with changes in its global environment. is known as

A) unitary actor.
B) rational choice.
C) globalization.
D) sovereignty.
E) global conditions.

Question 19

The more economically developed a state is, the more likely it is to remain an isolationist and to seek to avoid getting involved in disputes outside of its borders.

Question 20

Robert Putnam's analogy of a two-level game states that policymakers must consider both the domestic factors in formulating foreign policy and the impact of foreign policy on domestic constituencies.

Question 21

When you think of rational choice in decision making, you think of

A) the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
B) the decision to introduce combat troops to Vietnam in 1965.
C) the decision to attempt the rescue of hostages in Iran in 1980.
D) the decision to invade Afghanistan in 2001.
E) the decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

Question 22

The idea that people are "risk adverse"- that is, they are more concerned with potential loss than gain is associated with

A) game theory.
B) prospect theory.
C) two-level game theory.
D) bureaucratic politics model.
E) None of the above is true.

Question 23

Which of the following impacts a leader's ability to shape foreign policy?

A) Whether a leader is early or late in their tenure.
B) When a dramatic event precedes his/her election.
C) A leader's belief in his/her own ability to effectively make rational choices.
D) A national crisis.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 24

A state's attributes refers to

A) the state's characteristics that shape foreign policy behavior such as size, wealth, and type of government.
B) the relationship that states have with neighboring states.
C) how involved the state is with international organizations.
D) its nuclear capabilities.
E) whether the state is a unitary or federal type of government.

Question 25

The propensity for members of a group to accept and agree with the group's prevailing attitudes is called ______________.

A) the history-making individuals model
B) part of the rational actor model
C) groupthink
D) part of the liberal actor model
E) Carter Doctrine

Question 26

Differing opinions between key advisors

A) can be beneficial because it forces a more thorough examination of reasons and alternatives.
B) rarely occurs.
C) may lead to paralysis and rash decisions.
D) Both A and C above.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 27

Variables that affect foreign policy choices include:

A) geostrategic location.
B) military might.
C) economic prowess.
D) system of government.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 28

Economists explain externalities as ______________.

A) the changing list of problems to which governments pay special attention to at any given moment.
B) the tendency of decision makers to choose the satisfactory option rather than searching for a better alternative.
C) the bad, unintended consequences of decisions.
D) blocking out dissonant or inconsistent information.
E) multiple-actor decision making

Question 29

Which of the following was a mediating factor when it came to leaders' such as Qaddafi and Saddam Hussein's national security decisions?

A) Military capabilities
B) Number of diplomats
C) Geopolitics
D) European response
E) Response of the United States

Question 30

An example of a split among key advisors over important foreign policy choices would be_______.

A) Cyrus Vance's disagreements with Zbigniew Brzezinski
B) Henry Kissinger's disagreements with Donald Rumsfeld
C) Caspar Weinburger's disagreements with George Schultz
D) Henry Kissinger's disagreements with James Schlesinger
E) All of the above are examples of a split among key advisors over important foreign policy choices.

Question 31

President Bush's refusal to admit mistakes in the decision-making process in Iraq and President Johnson's similar refusal to admit mistakes in Vietnam are examples of

A) rational decision making.
B) bounded rationality.
C) prospect theory.
D) satisficing.
E) unintended consequences.

Question 32

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) help make bureaucracies more efficient by

A) facilitating groupthink.
B) providing methods to be followed in carrying out tasks once a decision is made.
C) preventing rivalries among bureaucratic agencies.
D) Both A and C above.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 33

A policy maker's belief in his or her own ability to control political events is known as

A) satisficing.
B) pluralism.
C) chauvinism.
D) political efficacy.
E) individual level of analysis.

Question 34

One of the criticisms of the Bureaucratic Politics Model (BPM) is that

A) bureaucracies tend to suggest policies that reflect their own interests.
B) too many bureaucracies lack the expertise necessary to carry out policies once a decision is made.
C) the cacophony of differing opinions creates an atmosphere of confusion.
D) bureaucrats are not elected and not accountable to the citizenry.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 35

According to the concept zeitgeist,

A) men and women are genetically different.
B) great men are the sole determinants of foreign policy events.
C) the spirit of the times or the dominant cultural norms influence behavior.
D) Gorbachev engineered the revolutionary, system transforming changes in the USSR.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 36

The habit of attaching leaders' names to foreign policies, such as the Nixon Doctrine, Reagan Doctrine, or the Bush Doctrine is an example of the ________ model of policy decision making.

A) bureaucratic politics
B) history-making individuals
C) realist
D) unitary actor
E) elite theory

Question 37

Bureaucracies are beneficial because they

A) increase efficiency.
B) define rules on how tasks are to be performed.
C) define standard operating procedures.
D) divide authority to reduce duplication.
E) All of the above are reasons that bureaucracies are beneficial.

Question 38

Former assistant secretary of state Abramowitz explained the 9/11 attack as a product of

A) massive information overload.
B) internal warfare.
C) the short term driving out the long term.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 39

The concept that more rational decisions are reached in a group that allows differing opinions to be heard and rival options to receive critical evaluation is known as

A) groupthink.
B) multiple advocacy.
C) game theory.
D) rationality.
E) elite theory.

Question 40

The Cuban Missile Crisis is an example of

A) how organizational choice can compromise rational choice.
B) bureaucratic politics.
C) the formation of temporary alliances called policy networks.
D) the formation of caucuses that include groups and individuals who unite to promote their common interests.
E) all of the above.

Question 41

____________________ is the concept that better and more rational choices are made when decisions are reached in a group context, which allows advocates of differing alternatives to be heard so that the feasibility of rival options receive critical evaluation.

Question 42

The type of government a country possesses is often thought to influence foreign policy. According to those who subscribe to this view, whether a country is democratic or autocratic will have a bearing on how policy is made and, in turn, on the kind of policy that results. What are the consequences of different types of government for the formulation and conduct of foreign policy?

Question 43

The impact of individual leaders is often tempered by ____________________, or the dominant cultural norms assumed to influence the behavior of people living in particular periods.

Question 44

Which of the following is not true of democratic societies and foreign policy decision making?

A) Public opinion and interest groups matter.
B) They are slow to move on foreign policy issues.
C) They overreact to perceived threats once they are recognized.
D) They make decisions rapidly when considering foreign policy options.
E) Bureaucracies may propose solutions that reflect their own interest but not be the most optimal solution.

Question 45

What are some of the causal variables that influence foreign policy?

Question 46

The hypothesis that leaders sometimes initiate conflicts abroad as a way of increasing domestic support and to divert attention away from domestic problems is known as ______________________________.

Question 47

According to de Tocqueville, "…two things that a democratic people will always find difficult," are _____________ and ________.

A) planning proper military strategy; having enough military capability
B) predicting global response to acts of aggression; planning for a post-war period
C) concentration of power; suppression of public opposition
D) to start a war; to end it.
E) making the right policy choices at the right time; pervasive fear of questioning authority

Question 48

Which of the following is a state attribute that can shape its foreign policy?

A) Size of its army
B) Gross national product
C) Location and physical terrain
D) Both A and B.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 49

A ____________________ actor in world politics is assumed to be internally united, so that changes in its internal circumstances do not influence its foreign policy as much as do the decisions that actor's leaders make to cope with changes in its global environment.

Question 50

____________________ is a system of government where unlimited power is concentrated in the hands of a single person.

Question 51

Explain game theory.

Question 52

What is the difference between polarity and polarization?

Question 53

A description of decision making that sees foreign policy choices as based on bargaining and compromising among competing government agencies is known as the _____________________.

Question 54

What is the explanation given for the surprise terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001?

Question 55

Define the history-making individual's model of decision making and give examples.

Question 56

Democracies are prone to inertia in foreign affairs because _________________________.

Question 57

The one idea which never emerged from Germany's six twentieth-century foreign policies was____________________.

Question 58

The extent to which a policymaker believes in his or her ability to control events politically is called ____________________.

Question 59

Year after year, the media informs us of serious foreign policy miscalculations. When they hear of fiascoes, most people simply remind themselves that, after all, "to err is human." But platitudes about human nature do not help us understand why national leaders, who rely on large bureaucratic organizations for information and advice, make avoidable miscalculations. Write an in which you describe the bureaucratic politics model and discuss how it can help us understand some of the sources of foreign policy fiascoes.

Question 60

The close relationship between the United States and Western Europe since World War II reflects which of the following?

A) Balance of power
B) Post-modern theory
C) Polarization
D) Liberalism
E) Globalization

Question 61

Explain how the decision was made by the Bush administration to go to war against Iraq in 2003, given the rational choice model. Were there any obstacles to the implementation of this model?

Question 62

The factors that shape states' foreign policies can be categorized at three basic levels. At the global level are those features of the international system that condition the kinds of choices a leader is likely to make. At the state level are internal or domestic influences. At the individual level are the characteristics of the leader in power. All three levels of influence simultaneously affect decisions, but their relative influence usually depends on the situation at the time of decision. Write an in which you compare the relative influence of factors at each level in crisis versus non-crisis situations.

Question 63

Describe the pros and cons of the bureaucratic politics model. Be sure to include discussions of standard operating procedures and multiple advocacy.

Question 64

How did Richard Nixon handle criticism of his foreign policy choices with the public compared to John F. Kennedy? What factor did the zeitgeist or the larger forces of the period have in their decision making?

Question 65

The text gives two views of how democracies handle foreign policy. One says that democracies are deficient because they are slow to react; yet when they do finally react, they overreact. The other view says that governments accountable to their citizens through the ballot box are restrained by those citizens from extreme choices such as initiating conflict. Examine the United States' response to terrorism, both before and after September 11th, in light of both viewpoints.

Question 66

Describe the goals of bureaucracies and how elements such as multiple advocacy, the bureaucratic politics model, and policy networks influence how bureaucracies operate in foreign policy decision making.

Question 67

There are numerous constraints on the foreign policy making process. What are they? Which are the most important? Give an example of when they adversely affected foreign policy.

Question 68

Explain groupthink and its effect on creativity in foreign policy making.