Deck 1: Introduction: Why We Disagree about International Relations

Question 1

Which of the following contributed to the rise of ISIS from the liberal perspective?

A) a struggle for power between the weak and the strong
B) the removal of Saddam Hussein and Yasser Arafat from power
C) democratic reforms in Arab governments that made them less adversarial toward Israel
D) unresolved diplomatic disputes, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The ______ perspective hypothesizes that a struggle for power is the primary cause of what happens in international affairs.

A) realist
B) liberal
C) identity
D) critical theory

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Social scientists using rationalist methods hypothesize that sovereignty was caused by ______.

A) an independent and preceding event-the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648
B) a change in the basic structure of property rights as a result of a newly interdependent international society
C) population pressures, diminishing returns on land, and a widening of trade
D) accelerated growth of international social relationships

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The ______ level of analysis links domestic politics and international relations.

A) systemic
B) individual
C) foreign policy
D) domestic

Question 5

An example of an interactive force that is driving the outcomes of the conflict with ISIS is ______.

A) weak trade relations
B) religious beliefs
C) competition for control over resources
D) power struggles

Question 6

The critical theory perspective ______.

A) emphasizes a struggle for power as the primary cause of events in international affairs
B) asserts that ideas are more important than power or institutions in shaping political outcomes
C) argues that interactions, interdependence, and institutions exert the primary influence on world events
D) seeks to expose the deep roots of injustice in past political life and sometimes encourages radical, revolutionary solutions to problems

Question 7

What concept tells us which level of analysis and perspective drives other perspectives and levels of analysis?

A) theoretical directions
B) external or systemic analysis
C) hypotheses
D) causal arrows

Question 8

What are endogenous variables?

A) autonomous factors that come from outside a theoretical model or system
B) causal variables that are included in a theoretical model or framework
C) variables that are all highly correlated with one another
D) causal variables that are not included in a theoretical model and cannot be explained by the model

Question 9

What is a perspective?

A) a hypothesis that explains the primary cause of an event
B) a proven theory about which facts cause other facts
C) an estimation about which facts cause other facts
D) a level of analysis of the primary cause of an event

Question 10

What are methods?

A) theories that explain forces that affect outcomes in the international system
B) situations in which one fact occurs in the same context as another fact
C) explanations of events in terms of one another
D) formal rules of reason or appropriateness for testing perspectives against facts

Question 11

The individual level of analysis emphasizes ______.

A) the way countries are positioned and interact with respect to one another
B) the internal characteristics of a country as a whole
C) the leaders and decision-making institutions within a country
D) links between domestic politics and international relations

Question 12

What is the difference between rationalist methods and constructivist methods?

A) Rationalist methods see causation as mutual, while constructivist methods see causation as sequential.
B) Rationalist methods apply labels to facts, while constructivist methods do not.
C) Rationalist methods see causation as sequential, while constructivist methods see causation as mutual.
D) Rationalist methods posit that events are caused by external factors, while constructivist methods assert that events are caused by both external and internal factors.

Question 13

According to the critical theory perspective, what is the cause of much of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East?

A) divergent identities generating conflict and converging identities generating cooperation
B) ineffective domestic governments impeding international negotiations
C) pervasive and deep-seated violence in the international system
D) exclusion of weak or aggrieved actors

Question 14

An example of a domestic-level force that caused the conflict with ISIS to start is ______.

A) religious crusades
B) the actions of Saddam Hussein in Iraq
C) the Sunni-Shiite conflict
D) Western colonialism

Question 15

According to the identity perspective, who are included as important actors underlying the rise of ISIS at the domestic level of analysis?

A) religious conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims
B) individual terrorists plotting against the United States
C) Muslim countries opposing U.S. oppression in the region
D) specific leaders opposing international negotiations

Question 16

The argument that the rise of ISIS was the outcome of problems in communication and negotiation among actors is an example of the ______ perspective.

A) realist
B) liberal
C) identity
D) critical theory

Question 17

Why are perspectives and levels of analysis referred to as ideal types?

A) They help us organize facts and ideas into theories.
B) They emphasize utopian versions of reality.
C) They only present facts that are favorable to us.
D) They present simplified characterizations of reality that help us see important relationships among facts.

Question 18

The ______ method disaggregates and explains events sequentially as one event preceding and causing a second event.

A) rationalist
B) scientific
C) constructivist
D) causal

Question 19

The level of analysis tells us ______.

A) the primary cause of an event, such as conflicts and wars
B) the direction the primary cause of an event comes from
C) who is responsible for a primary cause of an event
D) how an event influences different actors involved

Question 20

The ______ level of analysis emphasizes the way countries are positioned and interact with respect to one another.

A) systemic
B) transnational
C) foreign policy
D) domestic

Question 21

Which perspective (or perspectives) generally uses rationalist methods?

A) the realist perspective
B) the liberal perspective
C) both; the realist and liberal perspectives
D) the identity perspective

Question 22

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following do scholarly theories attempt to do?

A) Describe events
B) Explain events
C) Predict events
D) Prevent events

Question 23

Relativism is a position that holds that truth and morality ______.

A) cannot be adjusted to specific circumstances
B) are relative to each individual and culture
C) do not impact international relations
D) are universal

Question 24

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following is a fundamental component to understanding process tracing?

A) correlation
B) perspectives
C) variables
D) causation

Question 25

For which of the following reasons is judgment important for examining international relations?

A) Analysts must draw conclusions in the absence of perfect, complete information.
B) Analysts are often not smart enough to come to proper conclusions.
C) Analysts are often too busy to come to proper conclusions.
D) Analysts need some standard for deciding who is right and who is wrong.

Question 26

Which perspective (or perspectives) uses both rationalist and constructivist methods?

A) the identity perspective
B) the realist perspective
C) the liberal perspective
D) both; the identity and liberal perspectives

Question 27

The ______ perspective may be more useful in finding better ways to cooperate.

A) liberal
B) realist
C) critical theory
D) identity

Question 28

Asking if World War I would have occurred if Archduke Franz Ferdinand had not been assassinated is an example of which of the following elements of analysis?

A) judgment
B) the constructivist method
C) relativist ethics
D) counterfactual reasoning

Question 29

What are ethics and morality?

A) standards of good conduct for human behavior
B) broad assessments of what makes sense after one accumulates as many facts as possible
C) the process of determining right from wrong
D) an explanation of truth as relative to individuals and cultures

Question 30

Which term describes a method that connects events in sequence to identify cause and effect?

A) correlation
B) causation
C) process tracing
D) multicollinearity

Question 31

Which view of ethics and morality holds that truth and morality cannot be adjusted to specific circumstances?

A) pragmatism
B) rationalism
C) relativism
D) universalism

Question 32

A causal arrow is useful in identifying the direction or level from which the primary cause of an event is coming.

Question 33

The United Nations' standard of humanitarian intervention, based on the obligation to defend human rights even when doing so intervenes in the domestic affairs of a state, is an example of which type of ethics?

A) pragmatism
B) relativism
C) universalism
D) rationalism

Question 34

Why would we use counterfactual reasoning?

A) to determine the level of correlation between facts
B) to understand facts that occur in the same context but may not be necessarily linked
C) to connect events in sequence to identify cause and effect
D) to test claims for causality by asking what might have happened if one event had not occurred

Question 35

The ______ methods assume that we cannot separate variables in sequence or time and that we have to substantiate all facts through a thick description of the repetitive practices and interactions through which they emerge.

A) rationalist
B) constructivist
C) realist
D) liberal

Question 36

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following constitute the main levels of analysis?

A) domestic
B) structural
C) individual
D) intergovernmental

Question 37

We can understand levels of analysis as operating at the systemic, domestic, or individual level.

Question 38

In international affairs, which of the following are the three broad views about ethics and morality?

A) relativism, universalism, and individualism
B) relativism, universalism, and pragmatism
C) relativism, universalism, and rationalism
D) relativism, universalism, and practicality

Question 39

Which of the following statements would a pragmatist support?

A) Everyone is entitled to his or her own view of moral truth.
B) Absolute moral truth exists, but they should not always be obeyed.
C) Absolute moral truth exists and applies to everyone.
D) Absolute moral truth does not exist.

Question 40

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following is considered a research method in international relations?

A) rationalist methods
B) scientific methods
C) constructivist methods
D) casual methods

Question 41

A realist interpretation of the causes of the September 11 attacks emphasizes the ideas that define actors and guide their use of power and institutions.

Question 42

The critical theory perspective adopts a holistic interpretation of reality that cannot be broken down into separate causes and effects or tested by rationalist methods against alternative hypotheses.

Question 43

Process tracing is a method by which scholars test causality by asking, "If event A had not happened, would event B have happened?"

Question 44

Relativism argues that some absolute moral principles apply to all people in all countries at all times.

Question 45

The foreign policy level of analysis involves the interactions of nongovernmental groups across national boundaries that operate to a significant extent independent of relations among governments.

Question 46

A ______ level of analysis is characterized by forces or facts that come from outside a region and the countries or individuals involved in an event.

Question 47

The social sciences differ from the natural sciences in that the natural sciences depend on theories to explain phenomena while the social sciences do not.

Question 48

______ help us determine what underlies or constitutes forces that drive outcomes.

Question 49

The realist perspective argues that interactions, interdependence, and institutions exert the primary influence on world events.

Question 50

The ______ level of analysis involves the interactions of non-governmental groups across national boundaries.

Question 51

Constructivist methods rely on the logic of consequence while rationalist methods rely on the logic of appropriateness.

Question 52

Ethics and morality, or the standards of right conduct and behavior, are not useful concepts in international relations because they go beyond facts and perspectives.

Question 53

Constructivist methods see causation as sequential.

Question 54

Correlation explains events in terms of one another rather than just describing them.

Question 55

Marxism is an example of critical theory, which emphasizes deep-seated causes of human events that unfold within historical processes and obscure vast inequalities that marginalize weak and minority peoples.

Question 56

The three kinds of substantive forces causing outcomes include power, ideologies, and ______.

Question 57

That wars seldom occur among democracies is an example of correlation.

Question 58

The liberal perspective claims that a struggle for power is the primary cause of what happens in international affairs.

Question 59

The individual level of analysis is sometimes known as the decision-making level since it emphasizes leaders and decision-making institutions within a country.

Question 60

The conflict between Sunnis and Shiites is an example of when ideology is a main driver behind an outcome.

Question 61

While ______ does not abandon a notion of universal morality, it opposes the application of a single morality at all times in all places.

Question 62

______ describes the broader assessment of what makes sense after one accumulates as many facts and tests as possible.

Question 63

How does the critical theory perspective differ from the three mainstream perspectives?

Question 64

The logic of ______ prevails when two facts fit together within a given context, rather than one fact causing another.

Question 65

What is the main emphasis of the realist perspective?

Question 66

There are two general types of methods: rationalist and ______.

Question 67

______ deal with standards of right conduct and behavior-what we ought to do, not what we need, can, or prefer to do.

Question 68

______ finds causal relationships between events by connecting them in sequence.

Question 69

______ are autonomous factors that come from outside a theoretical model or system and that cannot be explained by the system.

Question 70

What are the main differences between the rationalist and constructivist methods?

Question 71

The rationalist method follows the logic of ______.

Question 72

______ holds that there is no absolute moral truth and that we should "live and let live."

Question 73

The ______ sees the world largely in terms of a struggle for relative power in which strong actors seek to dominate and weak actors seek to resist.

Question 74

What is the main emphasis of the identity perspective?

Question 75

What is the main emphasis of the liberal perspective?

Question 76

The ______ perspective questions the basic Western, rationalist assumption that we can break up reality, separate causes and effects from historical circumstances, and use this knowledge of the past to engineer the future.

Question 77

______ provide rules for testing theories against facts.