Deck 15: Looking Ahead at Global Trends

Question 1

To preserve peace, one must prepare for peace.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Today the threat of being attacked by the military forces of another country has receded, particularly in the Global North. Instead, a _________ of warfare has emerged in which states are pitted against nonstate actors in hostilities that lack front lines and clear distinctions between soldiers and civilians.

A) third wave
B) third generation
C) fourth generation
D) fifth generation
E) second generation

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Transnational threats include

A) contagious diseases.
B) human and drug trafficking.
C) climate change.
D) energy and food scarcities.
E) All of the above is true.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Although the future of the nation-state is uncertain, states are still the main actors in global politics. However, their status is being challenged by forces from above, through international organizations, and by forces from below, through devolution. Will states reach a point at which they are no longer able to perform their basic functions? If so, will states be replaced by some other actor on the world stage?

Question 5

Millions of citizens are threatened by genocide and terrorism sponsored by their own governments.

Question 6

Both state and nonstate actors are turning to information technology and the Internet as unconventional weapons of war.

Question 7

Ronald Reagan argued making the world "safe for democracy" would make the world itself safe.

Question 8

The United Nations report, A More Secure World outlined six clusters of current and future threats: (1) economic and social threats; (2) interstate conflict; (3) internal conflict; (4) nuclear, radiological, chemical, and biological weapons.; (5) terrorism; and (6) transnational organized crime. Pick the top two threats in your opinion and analyze potential solutions to those threats. Make sure you analyze why these represent the top threats.

Question 9

Globalization captures the idea that everything on the planet is now more closely connected than ever before, but on an institutional foundation that is shaky and unprepared for managing the massive adjustments brought on by accelerating worldwide changes.

Question 10

Despite changes and chaos, behavior by transnational actors is not random.

Question 11

The moving words of ____________________ thus describe a posture we might well assume: "However close we sometimes seem to that dark and final abyss, let no man of peace and freedom despair. For he does not stand alone. . . . Together we shall save our planet or together we shall perish in its flames. Save it we can, and save it we must, and then shall we earn the eternal thanks of mankind."

Question 12

Across the globe, "military and intelligence organizations are preparing the cyber battlefield with things called 'logic bombs' and 'trapdoors,' placing virtual explosives in other countries in peacetime".

Question 13

Global interdependence makes it imperative for states to renounce their competition because they increasingly have a shared interest in cooperation and fewer and fewer incentives to fight.

Question 14

Who said: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

A) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
B) UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
C) Niccoló Machiavelli
D) President John F. Kennedy
E) Al Gore

Question 15

Human rights law in principle provides unprecedented protection for people everywhere to live in freedom without fear.

Question 16

A large percentage of humanity faces

A) famine.
B) poverty.
C) denial of basic human rights.
D) All of the above are true.
E) None of the above is true.

Question 17

Describe what the authors' call the race between knowledge and oblivion and the relationship between nations choosing to act cooperatively or choosing to fight one another in their assessment of the future of international relations.

Question 18

The UN's report, A More Secure World (2004) outlines clusters of threats as ________.

A) nuclear
B) radiological
C) chemical
D) biological weapons
E) all of the above

Question 19

There is no support within the international community for a global responsibility to protect those who suffer from mass abuse at the hands of their state governments.

Question 20

Based on the UN's report, A More Secure World (2004, p.2) outline the six clusters of threats with which the world much be concerned now and in the decades ahead.

Question 21

How has the definition of human security changed? What new issues are now widely considered to be part of national security? Is the world prepared to ensure human security, given this new definition? In what ways have we made progress, and in what ways is the world falling behind?

Question 22

Some analysts argue that the triumph of liberalism over other ideologies, such as communism, signifies the "end of history." Why? What threats still exist that may make proclaiming the "end of history" premature? What position do you find most persuasive?

Question 23

Is technology something to be feared, or does it provide great benefits to humankind? What future do you envision in terms of technology? What role should international actors, such as states, international organizations, and multinational corporations, play in regulating its use?

Question 24

In what ways has warfare evolved in the modern age? Why have the incidences of asymmetric warfare increased? What problems does terrorism pose for modern warfare? Do you believe this trend will continue in the future? If so, what might be the most effective ways to fight this type of war?

Question 25

How do (1) different responses to identical stimuli and (2) the role of happenstance or what the Greek philosopher Aristotle called accidental conjunctions challenge the authors' thesis that international relations is subject to recurring patterns and regularities?