Deck 4: Great Power Relations and Rivalries

Question 1

Scholars agree that it is military capacity that predicts the rise and fall of the leading global power in the international system.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Linkage strategy is the idea that leaders should take a country's overall behavior into account when reaching agreements so as to link cooperation with rewards.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

In his book Mein Kampf , Hitler urged Germany to recover territories taken by the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

There was a single cause of World War I:  the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Question 5

Nationalism, which is defined as a mind-set glorifying a particular state and the nationality group living in it, may have been an underlying cause of World War I.

Question 6

One of the consequences of the end of the Cold War was the emergence of a multipolar distribution of power.

Question 7

Analyzing the outbreak of World War I from the individual level focuses on the preference of German elites for a war to consolidate German power.

Question 8

One cause of World War II was appeasement of Adolf Hitler by Britain and France.

Question 9

One factor that contributed to the emergence of the Cold War was that the Soviet Union sought to expand its sphere of influence while the United States retreated into isolationism.

Question 10

During the Cold War, President Harry Truman vowed to support all peoples who would ally against the United States against communism.

Question 11

Structuralism emerged as the dominant theory of global analysis in the nineteenth century when Russia was the dominant power in world politics.

Question 12

As opposed to Woodrow Wilsons' desire for a peace based on liberal principles, The Treaty of Versailles reflected a peace built on punishment and retribution.

Question 13

One factor that likely contributed to the end of the Cold War was the toll that the expensive arms race took on the Soviet economy.

Question 14

Long-cycle theory focuses on the rise and fall of the leading global powers in the modern world system.

Question 15

The status of the United States as the world hegemon is unlikely to change in the future; there aren't any countries on the path to compete with the United States economically, industrially, or militarily.

Question 16

One of the criticisms of long-cycle theory is that it does not allow for the actions of policy makers.

Question 17

A cooperative agreement among great powers to manage the global system jointly is known as a concert.

Question 18

An example of a hegemon would be Spain in the sixteenth century or the United States in modern times.

Question 19

Arnold J. Toynbee's theory that wars occur in cycles when one dominant power evokes a response from an opposing coalition is a liberal theory view of world politics.

Question 20

An example of a multilateral approach to ensure collective global security is the League of Nations.

Question 21

A hegemon must

A) bear no costs to maintain worldwide political order.
B) not be concerned about upholding its position.
C) realize it has unrivaled power and can reshape the global system.
D) never worry about overextending itself.

Question 22

What event led to the demise of détente?

A) When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979
B) The Soviet blockade of West Berlin in 1948
C) The communist coup d'état in Czechoslovakia in 1948
D) The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962

Question 23

Which Cold War Soviet leader pursued a doctrine of peaceful coexistence, in which competition between communism and capitalism could be free of conflict?

A) Nikita Krushchev
B) Joseph Stalin
C) Mikhail Gorbachev
D) Vladimir Putin

Question 24

Criticisms of long-cycle theory include which of the following?

A) There is no agreement on which factors-economic, military, or domestic-produce these cycles.
B) Theorists disagree on the time frame necessary between cycles.
C) The theory is too deterministic.
D) Both statements A and C are true.

Question 25

The relaxation of tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States is a policy known as

A) détente.
B) extended deterrence.
C) the Reagan Doctrine.
D) containment.

Question 26

The Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 was a multilateral treaty that outlawed

A) the use of weapons of mass destruction.
B) war as a method for settling interstate conflicts.
C) the use of trade barriers to promote the wealth of one state at the expense of another.
D) torture and other forms of abuse against prisoners of war.

Question 27

The idea that nationalism contributed to the cause of World War I focuses on which level of analysis?

A) Individual
B) State
C) International
D) Global

Question 28

Stability often occurs when there is a single ______ that dominates the conduct of international politics and economic relations.

A) hegemon
B) war
C) cycle
D) international organization

Question 29

Which of the following best describes a structuralist explanation of the causes of World War I?

A) The great powers did not share values, identities, and norms, which made an outbreak of war inevitable.
B) World leaders made deliberate choices in a quest for power that led to the outbreak of the war.
C) The changing global distribution of power and the way the great powers were aligned against each other created an environment conducive to armed conflict.
D) The absence of powerful international institutions made diplomacy difficult and cooperation impossible as states sought their own self-interest.

Question 30

The leaders of what three states met at the Yalta Conference to design a new world order?

A) Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union
B) The Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy
C) Great Britain, the United States, and France
D) Germany, Italy, and Japan

Question 31

Fascism refers to

A) a far-left ideology that promotes extreme democracy and voting rights for all.
B) an attempt to recover lost territory to re-unite separated ethnic nationalities.
C) the intersection of politics and economics in international relations.
D) a far-right ideology that promotes extreme nationalism and the establishment of an authoritarian society.

Question 32

Of the Treaty of Versailles, the exiled German Kaiser is said to have declared

A) "the buck stops here."
B) "to the victor goes the spoils."
C) "the war to end all wars has resulted in a peace to end peace."
D) "the victors get to write the history."

Question 33

The rationalist view of the cause of World War I states that

A) the state's interest, or a nationality within the state's interests, is supreme.
B) the changing distribution of power within the anarchical global system is the primary factor determining a state's behavior.
C) Great Britain caused World War I.
D) World War I is a result of the "iron law of history."

Question 34

How did British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and other world leaders use appeasement in their strategy of dealing with Hitler and Nazi Germany?

A) They sent French troops into Germany to occupy the industrial Ruhr district.
B) They insisted that Hitler return his troops to Germany and discontinue his expansionary plans.
C) They agreed to allow Hitler to invade and control Poland.
D) They ignored Hitler's annexation of Austria and agreed to allow Germany to control a region of Czechoslovakia called Sudetenland.

Question 35

From World War II to the Cold War, the distribution of power in the global system shifted from _____ to _____.

A) multipolarity; bipolarity
B) hegemony; multipolarity
C) bipolarity; hegemony
D) bipolarity; multipolarity

Question 36

Many scholars believe that the Treaty of Versailles

A) ended World War II.
B) was too punitive.
C) was fair and equitable.
D) was irrelevant in its impact on Germany.

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT considered a consequence of World War II?

A) Germany was divided into occupation zones.
B) Korea was divided into Soviet and U.S. occupation zones.
C) The League of Nations was replaced by the United Nations.
D) A shift from a bipolar to a multipolar distribution of power

Question 38

Underlying causes of World War II included all but which of the following?

A) German and Japanese imperialism abroad
B) The failure of the United States to exercise leadership over the global economy
C) The reemergence of a bipolar global power distribution
D) The failure of the League of Nations to protect its members against invasion by stronger states

Question 39

The policy of détente is associated with

A) George Kennan.
B) Richard Nixon.
C) John F. Kennedy.
D) Ronald Reagan.

Question 40

In his book Mein Kampf, Adolph Hitler urged Germans to

A) let the Allies keep all territories taken under the Treaty of Versailles.
B) colonize Eastern Europe and recover territories taken under the Treaty of Versailles.
C) not absorb Germans living in neighboring lands.
D) totally comply with the Treaty of Versailles.

Question 41

It is easy for a hegemon to engage in unilateralism, or an approach to foreign policy that relies on independent, self-help strategies in foreign policy.  What might be the downside to pursuing unilateralism as a foreign policy strategy?

A) The hegemon might be viewed as an international bully who seeks to run the world.
B) It can lead to international sentiment against the hegemon.
C) It can be difficult to get international support and cooperation on global issues, such as terrorism.
D) All of these are potential downsides to this strategy.

Question 42

Great-power war is not unique to the twentieth century. Long-cycle theorists assert that a rhythmic pattern of war and world leadership change has existed for the past five hundred years. Long-cycle theory is disarmingly simple, and for this reason it is not without its critics. Write an essay in which you critically evaluate long-cycle theory as a tool for understanding world politics.

Question 43

Describe the contending interpretations of the causes of the Cold War's end using the realist and liberal perspectives.  Be sure to identify which level of analysis you are suing in your answer.  
(a) Which interpretation would fit best with the realist theory of world politics?
(b) Which would align with liberalism?
(c) Which interpretation do you think is more accurate? Why?

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT an example of multilateralism?

A) The Bush Doctrine
B) The League of Nations
C) The World Trade Organization
D) The global coalition against terrorism

Question 45

Compare the system-level causes of World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Are there consistencies? Given these historical examples, which type of balance of power do you feel is most stable? What is the likely future direction of the international balance of power, and how stable is it likely to be?

Question 46

Imperial overstretch is best defined as

A) when a country becomes geographically too big to rule.
B) when a country strikes a balance between being isolationist and highly interventionist.
C) an approach that relies on self-help and independent strategies in foreign policy.
D) the historic tendency for superpowers to overspend militarily and weaken their economies leaving them vulnerable to rivals.

Question 47

President Carter's suspension of grain exports to the Soviet Union and boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics was in response to

A) terrorist threats at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
B) threats to U.S. oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.
C) the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
D) the capture of American hostages in Iran.

Question 48

Which event is commonly accepted as signifying the end of the Cold War?

A) The resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis
B) The election of Ronald Reagan
C) The achievement of détente and rapprochement
D) The fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union

Question 49

Describe the Treaty of Versailles.  Why do many scholars believe it failed in its goal of achieving peace?  How did the Treaty of Versailles lead to conflict and, eventually, to World War II?  What lessons can be learned from the failure of this treaty about setting foreign policy in post-war periods?

Question 50

Evaluate the idea that a world hegemon creates stability in the global system. What are the pros and cons of this theory? If, as some political scientists predict, U.S. hegemony is coming to an end what does this mean for the global community as a whole? What system might take its place? In your opinion, will the world be better or worse off? Will the United States be better or worse off?