Deck 1: Introduction: Problems and Questions in International Politics

Question 1

In order to achieve their purposes, actors must have

A) power.
B) moral guidance.
C) conflict.
D) competing goals.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In political science, theories are

A) general explanations of how politics works.
B) hypothetical assumptions.
C) so abstract that they have little connection to the real world.
D) not particularly useful in understanding international politics.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to the author, international politics matters

A) only to foreign policy elites.
B) only to national politicians.
C) to everyone.
D) little to most people.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the problem that confronts scholars in the study of international politics?

A) Most questions in international politics have no answer.
B) We are unable to answer some questions in international politics with certainty.
C) For most important questions we have two or more good answers.
D) Most puzzles in international politics today have little consequence for us.

Question 5

According to the author, international politics has been defined by all except

A) ambiguity.
B) surprise.
C) predictability.
D) debate.

Question 6

Political scientists who study international relations are attempting to

A) seek genuine "laws of nature" about politics, which have no exceptions.
B) perform laboratory experiments in order to control the variables they are studying.
C) establish cogent formulas for understanding political events and phenomena.
D) discern generalizable tendencies in the patterns of international affairs.

Question 7

Which of the following does not constitute power?

A) Military might
B) Majority of votes
C) Unanticipated attack
D) Capitalism

Question 8

The two main themes of this book are

A) war and peace.
B) justice and injustice.
C) power and purpose.
D) morality and immorality.

Question 9

Every argument about politics and policies is based upon

A) factual evidence gleaned from history.
B) an identifiable series of assumptions.
C) one of four theoretical perspectives.
D) experiences of humans in different cultural contexts.

Question 10

The goals of this textbook include all of the following except

A) to tell the reader what to believe.
B) to have a better understanding of international politics.
C) to make informed evaluations about how the world works.
D) to engage in intelligent debate about global politics.

Question 11

The power, through a single spectacular act, to gain the attention of the entire world is referred to in the text as

A) diplomacy.
B) terrorism.
C) economic sanctions.
D) war.

Question 12

International politics is an area in which vital decisions are made based on

A) understandings of cause and effect.
B) fear and misunderstanding.
C) political will.
D) moral guidance.

Question 13

In international politics, hypotheses are

A) random guesses about political events.
B) inappropriate political questions.
C) potential answers.
D) irrelevant to reality.

Question 14

Why does the author believe that the 2001 attacks represent a significant shift in international politics?

A) The attacks showed how dangerous state-sponsored terrorism could be to the United States.
B) The attacks showed that the United States was no longer the hegemon.
C) The attacks showed that now the main threat to states may not be from other states; instead, the main threat may be from transnational terrorist groups.
D) The attacks showed that the main threat to the United States may now come from multinational corporations.

Question 15

Knowledge of history is important in studying contemporary politics because

A) history is replete with many lessons upon which we can draw.
B) history is a source of data that political scientists can use.
C) those who don't understand history are condemned to repeat it.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 16

International politics can be thought of as

A) puzzles.
B) stories.
C) games.
D) cases.

Question 17

The textbook discussion of the 2008 economic crisis declares that two states came out of the crisis and have continued to grow. Those states were

A) China and Brazil.
B) Japan and the United States.
C) Germany and Greece.
D) Italy and Spain.

Question 18

The concept that implies the goals of political action is

A) purpose.
B) power.
C) statecraft.
D) cooperation.

Question 19

Which act was not justified by the belief that if countries become democratic, war will become less likely?

A) U.S. support for a civil nuclear agreement with India
B) The provision of economic aid to Russia
C) Intervention in the former Yugoslavia
D) The invasion of Iraq

Question 20

The author argues that international politics should be considered as a

A) set of puzzles.
B) world stage for political intrigue.
C) level of analysis game.
D) rational self-interest set.

Question 21

What is a theory in international politics? How does a theory help us to understand the realities of international politics?

Question 22

Why is it important for students of international politics to understand history?

Question 23

Why does the author think that international politics is especially interesting? Why do you think this topic is of interest to you?

Question 24

Define both explanatory and normative theory and then compare and contrast the uses of both.

Question 25

In terms of explaining the causes of war, Waltz proposes a system level of analysis that focuses on

A) how individuals come together to start a conflict.
B) the distribution of power in the international system.
C) the nature of states themselves.
D) the interaction of state bureaucracies.

Question 26

Besides the individual, state, and system levels of analysis, this text will also explore which other level of analysis?

A) Sub-atomic
B) Analytical
C) Substate
D) Supra-systemic

Question 27

Power and purpose are the main themes in this textbook. What is meant by those two terms? In what way are they connected to each other?

Question 28

What are the four levels of analysis that will be examined throughout this text? Why might it be important for those studying international politics to consider more than one in order to explain global events? Give examples.

Question 29

What is the question posed by explanatory theory?

A) What are the underlying ethical concerns of a given action?
B) How will this action improve security?
C) How can the U.S. defeat terrorism?
D) How does the world work?

Question 30

According to the text, the main schools of thought tend to seek explanations at which level of analysis?

A) System level
B) Analytical level
C) Individual level
D) State level

Question 31

In political science, theories have three purposes. Which of the following is not a purpose of theory?

A) Explanation
B) Experiment
C) Prescription
D) Prediction

Question 32

What is one way to categorize theories?

A) According to their levels of analysis
B) According to their quality
C) According to their detail
D) According to their degree of predictability

Question 33

What is the essential question stemming from normative theory?

A) How does the world work?
B) What is the reality of international politics?
C) What goals should we pursue?
D) How can we describe a particular war?

Question 34

As discussed in the text, what are the steps in the political science model? What are the processes involved in this model?

Question 35

Evaluate how international politics may impact your life today and in the future? Compare and contrast your answer with how your grandparents might have answered this question at a similar period in their lives.

Question 36

Which of the following was not a major motivation for the development of the European Union?

A) The belief that free trade leads to greater prosperity
B) Containment of aggressive communist expansion into western Europe
C) The idea that greater economic interdependence would help Europe from another major war
D) Greater economic interchange among member states would create the conditions for a more robust economy

Question 37

The European Union now has

A) 20 members.
B) 22 members
C) 23 members
D) 27 members

Question 38

The text raises several important questions about international politics. These questions focus on terrorism, democracy, poverty, and globalization. Why do you think the text addresses these particular questions? In what way are they most pertinent to our lives today?

Question 39

One could assume that "political science" is a science in the same way as physics or chemistry. Obviously, it is not, but there are some ways in which we can examine international politics from a "scientific" perspective. What are some of these ways?