Deck 1: Approaches to International Relations

Question 1

Radical theory argues that individual actions are largely determined by

A) history.
B) political parties.
C) economic class.
D) ideas.
E) power.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Today's key issues can be easily understood without any reference to history.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Important questions of international relations today can be answered with exclusive reliance on the behavioralist approach.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Which of the following actors do not participate in international politics?

A) states
B) international organizations
C) individuals
D) locally focused business associations
E) nongovernmental organizations

Question 5

The theory most focused on the ideas that human nature is good is

A) realism.
B) liberalism.
C) radicalism.
D) constructivism.
E) historicism.

Question 6

Behavioralists have proven all of their hypotheses on the causes of war.

Question 7

Radical theory is rooted in economics.

Question 8

Realism posits that ________ determines the structure of the international system.

A) the distribution of power among states
B) the distribution of interdependence among states
C) the distribution of identities among states
D) the concept of sovereignty
E) economic class

Question 9

Understanding behavior between states is the sole focus of the study of international relations.

Question 10

One reason political scientists develop theories is to

A) understand the causes of events.
B) give direct advice to the government on policies to follow.
C) justify specific government policies.
D) influence citizens to support government policies.
E) predict what year the next world war will begin.

Question 11

If only we had looked at the analogy to the Vietnam War, we would have been able to have the "correct" policy prescription to know how to act in the 2003 Iraq War because these wars shared all the exact same characteristics.

Question 12

At least two key theories in international relations have origins embedded in the work of philosophers.

Question 13

The theory most focused on the idea that states define their interests in terms of power is

A) realism.
B) liberalism.
C) radicalism.
D) constructivism.
E) historicism.

Question 14

The postmodern approach to international relations calls for an inclusion of traditionally "voiceless" actors such as the women of the Greenham Common Peace Camp.

Question 15

Which of the following is True of the international system today?

A) The number of wars (both interstate and civil wars) has declined since the Cold War.
B) The number of interstate wars has increased, but the number of civil wars has declined since the Cold War.
C) The number of civil wars has increased, but the number of interstate wars has declined since the Cold War.
D) The number of wars (both interstate and civil wars) has increased since the Cold War.
E) The number of wars (both interstate and civil wars) has not changed since the Cold War.

Question 16

Several of the more prominent theoretical approaches used to study international relations are

A) statism, liberalism, and environmentalism.
B) realism, radical theory, and environmentalism.
C) constructivism, radical theory, and statism.
D) liberalism, realism, and radical theory.
E) realism, environmentalism, and constructivism.

Question 17

International relations

A) is not an interdisciplinary field.
B) is the study of the behavior and interaction of actors.
C) only uses concepts from political science.
D) does not use concepts from history or anthropology.

Question 18

All of the following actors affect international relations in important ways: heads of state, central governments, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, and individuals.

Question 19

Realist and liberal theories argue that the key structures in the international system are material.

Question 20

Which theory posits that states generally cooperate?

A) realism
B) liberalism
C) constructivism
D) behavioralism
E) radical theory

Question 21

Saying that the international system is characterized by "anarchy" means

A) it is impossible for states to cooperate.
B) there is chaos in the system.
C) there is no international authority.
D) it is not states that govern the system.
E) states are forced by the system to cooperate.

Question 22

What is a problem that stems from using history to study contemporary state interactions?

A) It does not allow us to test generalizations.
B) It does not provide detailed knowledge of specific events.
C) One's theoretical orientation may determine one's interpretation of history.
D) It does not help highlight patterns.
E) It limits our ability to draw on other disciplines to answer key questions.

Question 23

Which theory argues that the interests of states are not fixed?

A) realism
B) liberalism
C) constructivism
D) behavioralism
E) radical theory

Question 24

What was different between the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq that made a comparison between the two not a perfect application of history?

A) Unlike Vietnam, the conflict in Iraq was a short war.
B) Unlike in Vietnam, the United States engaged in state-building in Iraq.
C) Unlike Vietnam, American domestic support never waned in the Iraq War.
D) Unlike Vietnam, the conflict in Iraq involves competing ethnic groups' self-interest.
E) Unlike Vietnam, the Iraq War is not considered a quagmire.

Question 25

Posing foundational questions and seeking normative answers are characteristic of a ________ approach to the study of international relations.

A) behavioral
B) postmodern
C) philosophical
D) empirical
E) constructivist

Question 26

The absence of international authority in international relations is known as

A) self-preservation.
B) the "general will."
C) behavioralism.
D) a leviathan.
E) anarchy.

Question 27

What does Rousseau's story of the stag and the hare illustrate?

A) that the "general will" governs states' behavior
B) that anarchy does not govern the international system
C) the benefits of anarchy
D) that states act based on their long-term interests
E) that states follow their short-term self-interests

Question 28

Philosophers help us understand international relations by

A) providing one comprehensive theory for understanding international relations.
B) helping us make and implement policy.
C) not focusing on the relationships between individuals, but instead focusing only on the relationship between societies.
D) highlighting relationships between individuals and society.
E) setting aside the need to think about the normative elements in political life.

Question 29

Which of the following methods are used in the philosophical approach to international relations?

A) the study of individual cases
B) the analysis of core texts
C) the use of empirical methods
D) the deconstruction of major concepts
E) the use of simulations

Question 30

Dialectical reasoning

A) is not a method used by philosophy in the study of international relations.
B) highlights contradictions in political reality.
C) is rejected by Marxists as a tool for analysis.
D) does not involve a dialogue or discussion.
E) is used by realists as a key tool for analysis.

Question 31

As an approach to the study of international relations, historical analysis

A) is an outdated approach.
B) focuses primarily on the interactions of multinational corporations.
C) provides useful background to many contemporary issues.
D) is always a good guide for today's foreign policies.
E) is very similar to behavioralism.

Question 32

The theory that addresses the ethical content of international affairs and explores what "should be" is known as ________ theory.

A) behavioral
B) diplomatic
C) anarchic
D) normative
E) historical

Question 33

Philosopher Thomas Hobbes described what he calls the "state of nature." What does this concept illustrate?

A) anarchy
B) natural law
C) the "general will"
D) perpetual peace
E) environmentalism

Question 34

Using the comparative method, Aristotle concluded that states rise and fall because of

A) anarchy.
B) the "state of nature."
C) economics.
D) natural law.
E) internal factors.

Question 35

The behavioral revolution in American social sciences was spawned primarily by scholars'

A) belief that there are no underlying patterns in international relations.
B) desire to philosophically support their views of human nature.
C) goal of explaining the state of nature.
D) rejection of the scientific method as a tool for the study of international relations.
E) belief that more scientific study of international relations would find underlying patterns of behavior.

Question 36

Theories are developed to help us

A) describe interactions only.
B) explain interactions only.
C) predict interactions only.
D) both describe and explain interactions, but not predict.
E) describe, explain, and predict interactions.

Question 37

Thucydides concluded that the underlying cause of the Peloponnesian War was

A) the clash between Athens's democratic society and Sparta's authoritarian government.
B) that Sparta was a sea power seeking new ports.
C) a changing distribution of power between Athens and Sparta.
D) Athenian leaders were pacifists and did not build their army.
E) Spartan culture led to constant war against more civilized city-states.

Question 38

Thucydides used diplomatic history to

A) launch the behavioral revolution.
B) examine the causes of war.
C) formulate a new philosophy of international relations.
D) describe the "state of nature."
E) illustrate the value of constructivism.

Question 39

What is a drawback to the historical approach to international relations?

A) It ignores the normative element in political life.
B) The lessons of history may be misapplied.
C) Focusing on empirical methods may obscure some of the fundamental questions of international relations.
D) It can explain only older events.
E) There are no patterns of events over time.

Question 40

Which of the following is True of behavioralism?

A) It proposes that individuals, but not groups, act in patterned ways.
B) It proposes that groups, but not individuals, act in patterned ways.
C) It proposes that neither groups nor individuals act in patterned ways.
D) It involves generating hypotheses and testing them.
E) It is not related to the scientific method.

Question 41

How valuable are large behavioral studies such as the Correlates of War project? Explain your answer. Do you think this is the best way to study international relations? Why or why not?

Question 42

Understanding history can help us better understand contemporary international events. Yet a perfect comparison can sometimes lead us astray. Choose a contemporary international event and connect it to a historical (it could be a recent historical) event. Discuss: (1) how the historical event could help us better understand the contemporary event, as well as (2) why doing so might lead to problems in understanding and dealing with the new event.

Question 43

Which of the methodological approaches (historicism, philosophy, behavioralism, alternative approaches) discussed in the text do you find can help us best understand contemporary international relations and why? What makes the other approaches less appealing?

Question 44

The objective of behavioralists is to gather data on human behavior patterns and then to

A) develop theories that cannot be disproved by alternative theorists.
B) launch projects that will prove the existence of multiple realities.
C) develop and test hypotheses based on these patterns.
D) describe the historical context.
E) cast normative judgments on world leaders.

Question 45

Choose a contemporary international event and show how understanding history might be used to help us better understand this event. You do not have to provide all the historical details, but draw at least three important connections between your contemporary and historical events of choice, and show how we can learn about the contemporary one from the other.

Question 46

Theorists who use alternative methods to study international relations contend that

A) it is important to study social and cultural factors.
B) properly conducted research can produce a single unified theory of international relations.
C) Thucydides's study of the Peloponnesian War provides the best example of their approach.
D) social forces with clearly fixed meanings inform all political processes.
E) state behavior can be measured if one uses the right statistical methods.

Question 47

Which of the following methods are used in the behavioral approach to international relations?

A) the study of individual cases
B) the analysis of core texts
C) the use of empirical methods
D) the deconstruction of major concepts
E) discourse analysis

Question 48

Which of the following is True regarding the approaches to the study of international relations?

A) Works in the historical and philosophical tradition come up with the same results as the behavioral approach in the study of human rights.
B) Using a multi-method approach can help us answer key questions in international relations.
C) The key concepts in the study of international relations are all easy to measure.
D) All studies now focus on behavioralism.
E) All studies reject the use of behavioralism.

Question 49

Behavioralism, one approach used in the study of international relations, posits that

A) democratic states often behave in a warlike manner toward each other.
B) individuals, both alone and in groups, act in predictable ways.
C) rival states dominate each other through territorial conquest.
D) individuals and political institutions are innately good.
E) human behavior is random and unpredictable.

Question 50

Some "alternative approach" scholars are dissatisfied with using history, philosophy, and behavioral tools to understand international relations. Weigh the benefits of each of these three approaches against the problems that are highlighted by the alternative approaches and discuss which approach you think is best.

Question 51

In the twenty-first century, what accurately describes the methods used by scholars of international relations?

A) Scholars focus only on a combination of the historical and philosophical approaches.
B) Since the end of communism in the Soviet Union, scholars no longer have any use for radical theory.
C) Scholars agree that the behavioral approach will be the key method used in the future of international relations.
D) All scholars agree the postmodern approach is most useful.
E) Scholars use a mixed-methods approach.

Question 52

The idea that basic concepts need to be deconstructed to find the hidden meanings underneath the surface in order to understand international relations is a characteristic of ________.

A) behavioralism
B) postmodernism
C) realism
D) liberalism
E) radical theory

Question 53

Discuss the pros and cons of using the historical, philosophical, and behavioral approaches to the study of international relations, illustrating your points with specific examples from your own original insights. Argue what you think is the best approach, then explain the reasoning of your assertion- both by highlighting the benefits of the one you have chosen and the limitations of the others.

Question 54

Which of the following is True of constructivists?

A) They use discourse analysis to answer foundational questions in the study of international relations.
B) They are satisfied with using history, philosophy, or behavioral tools.
C) They argue that identities are fixed and can be studied as such.
D) They do not focus on cultural or social factors to explain international phenomenon.
E) They do not think ideas shape identities.

Question 55

Individuals in the Correlates of War project collected data on a number of different wars and generated and tested hypotheses with those data. Which of the following best describes this project?

A) It can say a lot about one "big" war, as Thucydides did.
B) It shows that no patterns exist regarding the outbreak of war.
C) It is an example of using historical analysis to study war.
D) It is an example of using the scientific method in a behaviorist way to study war.
E) It has proven what causes war.

Question 56

Postmodernists seek to find the voices of "the others" in international relations. Which of the following is an example of such voices?

A) the voices of political leaders
B) the voices of corporate executives
C) the voices of the military
D) the voices of the disenfranchised and marginalized
E) the voices of international organizations

Question 57

Which of the following studies is an example of the behavioral approach to the study of international relations?

A) the Correlates of War project
B) the study of the Greenham Common Peace Camp
C) the Republic
D) History of the Peloponnesian War
E) the Communist Manifesto

Question 58

When studying international relations, constructivists

A) criticize the use of discourse analysis and multiple sets of data.
B) trace the impact of ideas and cultural factors on shaping identities.
C) exclude the influence of social and cultural factors.
D) use computer models and simulations.
E) seek permanent definitions of key terms.

Question 59

Which of the following arguments might a postmodern theorist make about sovereignty?

A) Sovereignty has multiple meanings conditioned by time, place, and historical circumstance.
B) Only strong states are truly sovereign.
C) Sovereignty is a powerful force in behavioral studies of international relations.
D) We can easily measure the concept of sovereignty.
E) We know the True meaning of sovereignty.

Question 60

Critiques of the behavioral approach argue that

A) behavioralism focuses too much on the foundational questions of international relations.
B) behavioralism focuses too much on data, and different data may lead to different conclusions.
C) behavioralism focuses too much attention on the nature of humanity and society.
D) human and state behavior are completely unpredictable.
E) behavioralists have already found answers to all the important research questions.