Deck 12: National Security and Insecurity

Question 1

States pursue only two strategies to achieve security: defense and deterrence.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

International and internal conflicts began to decline following the end of the Cold War.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Changes in military technology necessitate changes in how a country secures itself.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

A deterrent capability can never lead to a war.

Question 5

Detente diplomacy is successful when common interests are far less than conflictual interests.

Question 6

Hegemony and bandwagoning are contradictory approaches to security.

Question 7

Technology can solve all security problems.

Question 8

If you fundamentally believed that disarmament could prevent war, then you would believe that war is a learned, rather than natural, behavior.

Question 9

When more states started acquiring nuclear weapons, it triggered proliferation.

Question 10

Defense is the most viable security strategy for dealing with terrorist threats.

Question 11

Defense and detente can never be compatible.

Question 12

According to the text, which of the following is NOT a basic strategy for national security?

A) defense
B) preemption
C) deterrence
D) détente diplomacy
E) disarmament

Question 13

In the pursuit of security, states increase their power by ________.

A) decreasing their number of weapons and improving weapons technology
B) improving their intelligence community, reducing their number and quality of weapons, and making alliances
C) decreasing their number of weapons and increasing their power by making alliances
D) increasing their number of weapons, improving weapons technology, and pursuing go-it-alone strategies rather than alliances
E) increasing their number of weapons, improving weapons technology, and making alliances

Question 14

Which attempt to ban weapons provides the least support for the potential of disarmament?

A) 1970 Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons
B) 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention
C) 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Force Treaty
D) 1972 Biological Weapons Convention
E) 1817 Rush-Bagot Treaty

Question 15

Machiavelli claimed a prince's first responsibility is ________.

A) to maintain his power
B) to attack another country
C) to be a morally good ruler
D) to protect himself
E) to have good a relationship with neighboring countries

Question 16

The bystanding approach to security requires a state to ________.

A) stay neutral in every war
B) stay neutral if you have an aggressive neighbor
C) stay neutral when under attack
D) join a stronger country and allow it to lead
E) work through international organizations to prevent conflict

Question 17

A state that is utilizing the bandwagoning approach to security would ________.

A) be a strong state allying with other strong states
B) be a weak state allying with other weak states to defeat a strong state
C) be any state joining a security community to ensure its safety
D) be a weak state allying with a strong state and following its lead to achieve security
E) be a weak state allying with a strong state and jointly developing a plan for security

Question 18

________ refers to blocking an enemy's attack.

A) Security
B) Deterrence
C) Diplomacy
D) Disarmament
E) Defense

Question 19

Which of the following concepts closely relates to deterrence?

A) credibility
B) competition
C) disarmament
D) retaliation
E) dilemma

Question 20

Which of the following is one of the tendencies that has spurred the use of détente diplomacy?

A) the decreasing participation of countries in world trade
B) nuclear weapons and their rapid delivery systems
C) conventional weapons and their expensive testing systems
D) nuclear weapons and their sluggish delivery systems
E) ease of hiding agreement violations

Question 21

Which combination of security strategies makes the costs of aggression too high?

A) defense and deterrence
B) deterrence and disarmament
C) defense and disarmament
D) defense and détente diplomacy
E) deterrence and détente diplomacy

Question 22

Which of the following weapons represented a major shift in military technology in early modern Europe, allowing large kingdoms to absorb small principalities?

A) gun
B) longbow
C) revolver
D) cannon
E) automatic firearm

Question 23

Proponents of national missile defense argue that ________.

A) states like North Korea with missiles and nuclear warheads will soon be a threat
B) states with missiles and nuclear warheads can bring about peace among nations
C) all nuclear warheads should be destroyed
D) states should proliferate arms so that enemies are deterred
E) all nations should possess nuclear weapons

Question 24

Which of the following is associated with asymmetrical warfare?

A) nuclear warfare
B) high-tech weapon systems
C) terror tactics
D) national missile defense
E) conventional deterrence

Question 25

Which of the following is chiefly credited with creating and confirming the end of Cold War?

A) détente diplomacy
B) disarmament
C) defense
D) deterrence
E) asymmetrical warfare

Question 26

Which security strategy or strategies is/are heavily dependent on the assumption that all governments will act rationally and as a result of a cost-benefit calculation?

A) defense
B) defense and deterrence
C) détente diplomacy
D) détente diplomacy and arms reduction
E) deterrence

Question 27

Nuclear deterrence is most effective when states have a/an ________.

A) unresolved credibility
B) differing second-strike capability
C) security dilemma
D) mutual second-strike capability
E) arsenal of conventional weapons

Question 28

According to Carl von Clausewitz, escalation is ________.

A) a tendency built into the nature of war
B) the point of extreme bloodshed
C) another term for a cold war
D) a temporary state of peace between two warring countries
E) a treaty of peace signed by two countries

Question 29

From the perspective of a major world leader, what would increase the probability of frequently relying on détente diplomacy?

A) the spread of democracy
B) the spread of democracy and increased world trade
C) the threat of nuclear weapons and increased world trade
D) the spread of democracy and intelligence technology
E) the threat of nuclear weapons and the existence of the United Nations

Question 30

Neoliberals argue that, more than protection against violent, external threats, ________ assures the protection of a nation's economy and environment.

A) interdependence among countries
B) deterrence
C) negotiations
D) disarmament
E) defense

Question 31

Which of the following is the most accepted element of security?

A) environmental
B) economic
C) ecological
D) political
E) military

Question 32

Discuss the relationship between military technology and national security. Is it possible to secure a state without responding to changing technology? Use at least three examples to support your answer.

Question 33

What are the four ways that states ensure their security? Describe each and provide examples. Must all of these strategies be utilized simultaneously or are they sufficient on their own or in different combinations?

Question 34

Which method of achieving national security do you find the most effective? Does this hold true for all times and situations or just in the majority of them?

Question 35

How is the United States currently pursuing national security? Which of the four strategies, or what combination of the four, are currently the center of American foreign policy? Has there been a shift from the Bush 43 administration to the Obama administration? Make sure that you reference at least four interactions with at least three different countries when formulating your answer.

Question 36

What is the difference between defense and deterrence? Are they related? Are they always distinguishable? Provide examples of each. Is one more effective than the other?

Question 37

Can deterrence work in the post-Cold War world? Specifically, is deterrence an effective security strategy when dealing with rogue states? What about terrorists? Why or why not? What evidence exists to support your claims?

Question 38

How is technology related to national security? Discuss how a state's success at employing the four strategies relates to the type and level of military technology at its disposal.

Question 39

Can any of the strategies work alone? How do they work better in combination? Discuss some possible combinations of these strategies with suitable examples.