Deck 11: Politics Across Borders

Question 1

Which of the following would have the least relevance from a geopolitical perspective?

A) Population density
B) A state's natural boundaries
C) A country's ethnic composition
D) The importance of offshore waters to navigation
E) Neighboring countries

Answer 1

A country's ethnic composition

Question 2

The most widespread mechanism for coordinating the interactions between states is

A) treaties and alliances.
B) diplomacy.
C) low-intensity conflict.
D) the United Nations.
E) collective security agreements.

Answer 2

diplomacy.

Question 3

The purpose of the Helsinki Agreement is to

A) adjudicate geographic boundaries between states.
B) regulate states' use of environmental resources.
C) define unacceptable behavior by combatants during war.
D) prevent violence between states.
E) regulate international trade.

Answer 3

define unacceptable behavior by combatants during war.

Question 4

During the past 50 years the United Nations has

A) been generally irrelevant to improvements in the global political climate.
B) generally improved the global political climate.
C) prevented most threatened wars.
D) actually caused an increase in the frequency of wars.
E) sent peacekeeping forces into more than 100 countries.

Question 5

The classical notion of balance of power

A) describes an approach for maintaining stability in the relations among states.
B) explains that peace can be assured only by a balancing of contending states.
C) holds that there will be periodic episodes of political violence and war.
D) A, B, and C
E) A and B but not C

Question 6

Which colonial style involves an attempt to transform a colonial state into an external extension of the dominant state?

A) Segregationist colonialism
B) Neoliberalism
C) Indirect rule
D) Neocolonialism
E) Assimilationist colonialism

Question 7

Which colonial style is characterized by an official withdrawal of the dominant state, but with domination maintained, usually by economic leverage?

A) Segregationist colonialism
B) Neoliberalism
C) Indirect rule
D) Neocolonialism
E) Assimilationist colonialism

Question 8

Which of the following trends seems most likely in the current globalized system?

A) The international system will become bipolar.
B) Military force will become a minor factor in the relations between the states.
C) Economic competition will become more intense, turning former allies into enemies.
D) Transnational entities will become less important.
E) The United Nations will become extremely powerful.

Question 9

The increasing international integration of markets and technologies is termed

A) neocolonialism.
B) modernization.
C) multilateralism.
D) free trade.
E) globalization.

Question 10

The main problem with the International Court of Justice is that

A) international laws are too ambiguous.
B) the Court is not impartial.
C) one or both disputing countries often do not accept the Court's jurisdiction.
D) there is no agreement on the qualifications of judges.
E) the Court's personnel cannot manage the workload.

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a mechanism that might enable a state to cooperate with other states?

A) Altruism.
B) Neocolonialism.
C) Treaties.
D) Neutrality.
E) Accommodation.

Question 12

The example of Cuba and Taiwan in the Compare in 11 is meant to illustrate

A) geopolitical analysis.
B) colonialism.
C) balance of power theory.
D) alliance formation.
E) globalization.

Question 13

A major global group of key industrial and emerging-market countries that meets periodically is called

A) the EU.
B) the G-20
C) the ICC.
D) the G-8.
E) the ICJ.

Question 14

The formal attempt to institutionalize and constrain the interactions among states is

A) international law.
B) diplomacy.
C) international regimes.
D) coercion.
E) collective security.

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a key assumption of political realism?

A) People behave selfishly.
B) States are in constant competition for power.
C) People desire a strong leader.
D) States sometimes act unethically.
E) All are key assumptions of political realism.

Question 16

Which of the following is a key assumption of political idealism?

A) A state's security depends on its power resources.
B) Political institutions can promote cooperative relations among states.
C) Military power is usually decisive in the relations among states.
D) Corrupt leaders are the cause of most wars.
E) States are in constant competition for power.

Question 17

The international organization that tries individuals for crimes against humanity is

A) the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
B) the International Criminal Court (ICC).
C) the War Crimes Tribunal.
D) the Geneva Convention (GC).
E) the EU Court of Appeals.

Question 18

The United Nations is an example of

A) an IOP.
B) an NGO.
C) an MNC.
D) an MIC.
E) an IGO.

Question 19

Which has NOT been a key problem for Congo in the last few decades?

A) Corruption
B) Neocolonialism
C) Scarcity of natural resources
D) Political decay
E) Poverty

Question 20

When a group of states cooperates to withhold valued resources from a state in order to pressure that state to comply without using violence, the strategy is called

A) alliance politics.
B) sanctions.
C) diplomacy.
D) gunboat diplomacy.
E) collaborative exchange.

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT a major organ of the United Nations?

A) The Security Council
B) The Secretariat
C) The International Monetary Fund
D) The International Court of Justice
E) The Economic and Social Council

Question 22

Select a state and specify its key geopolitical features. Predict the state's foreign policy on the basis of those features.

Question 23

Explain the key arguments for and against the proposition that globalization is generally beneficial to most countries and most people. Be sure to define globalization fully.

Question 24

Explain which of the major modes of cooperation among actors in the international system seems to offer the most promise for reducing conflict across borders. Which is least promising? Why?

Question 25

Assess whether the main forms of competition and conflict among states seem to have changed in the post-cold war worl.