Deck 7: Patterns of Armed Conflict

Question 1

One trend in contemporary warfare is the growing number of armed conflicts among states in the Global North, who have much more of a stake in winning.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Some analysts believe that the link between civil strife and interstate war is the need for leaders to create a crisis abroad to divert attention from their domestic failures.This is known as the diversionary theory of war.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

When it comes to predicting interstate war, there is universal agreement among scholars that multipolar systems are more likely to go to war.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Civil wars have become more internationalized in recent years involving troops from outside the country of conflict.

Question 5

Strong nationalist sentiments keep states from engaging in war out of a fear of diminishing the state's resources through a lengthy conflict.

Question 6

Established democracies are unlikely to go to war against each other.

Question 7

Most scholars agree that the first half of the twentieth century was one of the most violent in modern history.

Question 8

Terrorism is senseless, premeditated violence.

Question 9

Compared to emerging democracies, established democracies are more prone to fight wars.

Question 10

The most common type of wars has been civil war.

Question 11

The communist theory of imperialism argues that war is a result of capitalism's need for new markets to generate capital.

Question 12

Scholarly evidence supports the liberal belief that high levels of trade and investment significantly reduce war between states.

Question 13

According to the power transition theory, war is most likely when there is an even distribution of power among several strong states.

Question 14

The most impoverished nations have been the least likely to start wars with their neighbors.

Question 15

Civil wars pose a lower risk than interstate wars of relapsing into violence after being terminated.

Question 16

The second generation of land warfare extended from the Thirty Years' War to the American Civil War.

Question 17

War is best explained by multiple factors operating at a single level of analysis.

Question 18

There is little evidence that human behavior is a direct cause of war.

Question 19

The Prisoner's Dilemma game highlights some of the difficulties in reaching mutually beneficial agreements among self-interested actors who distrust each other.

Question 20

Population size and density are not usually associated with the onset of war.

Question 21

Which of the following is the IR scholar who first developed the Clash of Civilizations theory?

A)Karl Marx
B)Immanuel Wallerstein
C)Francis Fukuyama
D)Samuel Huntington
E)Karl von Clausewitz

Question 22

Terrorism is an example of

A)First Generation War.
B)Second Generation War.
C)Third Generation War.
D)Fourth Generation War.
E)Fifth Generation War.

Question 23

Those who believe that aggression is an instinctive part of human nature point to the fact that

A)humankind is one of the few species that practices intraspecific aggression.
B)humankind is one of the few species that practices interspecific aggression.
C)evolution illustrates that life is a struggle for survival of the fittest.
D)Both options a and c are true.
E)None of the above is true.

Question 24

Realists believe that the anarchic character of the global system makes war more likely because

A)actors in an anarchic system will follow their own short-term interests, which will lead them to seek security at the expense of other states.
B)actors in an anarchic system are more likely to join international organizations.
C)the condition of anarchy makes cooperation more likely than conflict.
D)alliances, which result from the security dilemma, make war more likely.
E)it allows for integration efforts such as the European Union, which are threatening to its neighbors.

Question 25

Researchers have found that

A)communist states rarely go to war against other communist states.
B)democratic systems of government increase the likelihood of war through exporting capitalism.
C)democratic governments rarely make war on other democracies.
D)autocratic governments are less likely to go to war against other autocrats.
E)Established democracies are more likely to go to war compared to new democracies.

Question 26

System-level explanations of war suggest that the following conditions increase the probability of militarized conflict.

A)Polarized alliances
B)An unstable hierarchy of states
C)Widespread democracy among states
D)Both options a and c are true.
E)Both options a and b are true.

Question 27

Which of the following is not an internal characteristic that influences a state to go to war?

A)Geographic location
B)Demographic stress
C)Cultural values
D)Religious differences
E)Political institution

Question 28

In his famous dictum, Karl von Clausewitz noted that war

A)is becoming a less likely way to settle disputes.
B)is an extension of diplomacy by other means.
C)should be the first resort for state leaders.
D)is immoral and should be made illegal.
E)is never fought between democracies.

Question 29

Which of the following is true about poverty and the propensity of nations to engage in war?

A)Countries that experience a high degree of poverty are more likely to go to war.
B)Poor countries are more concerned with economic development than with conflict.
C)The most impoverished countries are the least likely to start interstate wars.
D)Both options a and c are true.
E)Both options b and c are true.

Question 30

Liberal theory believes that free market systems promote peace as opposed to war because

A)war interferes with trade.
B)war consumes scarce resources.
C)war causes inflation.
D)war leads to government control over the economy.
E)All of the above are true.

Question 31

The diversionary theory of war refers to

A)leaders who face an internal crisis so they provoke an international crisis to divert domestic rebellion.
B)when leaders who are losing one war start another to divert attention away from the losing conflict.
C)international organizations who try to divert both sides in a conflict to diplomatic solutions rather than violence.
D)insurgent groups who launch a diversionary strike to draw government forces away from their true target.
E)None of the above is true.

Question 32

The power transition theory maintains that

A)weak states are more likely to initiate aggression than strong states are.
B)war is most likely when a dominant great power is threatened by the rapid growth of a rival's capabilities.
C)the prospects for international peace increase when power is evenly distributed among the major states in the system.
D)Both options a and b are true.
E)All of the above are true.

Question 33

At the state level of analysis, the probability of war between states is increased by

A)hypernationalism.
B)xenophobia.
C)territorial disputes among contiguous countries.
D)population size and density.
E)All of the above are true.

Question 34

Asymmetrical war refers to

A)pre-World War I fighting tactics.
B)the use of firepower and speed as opposed to attrition.
C)armed conflict between large and small states.
D)conflict between state and irregular forces of nonstate actors.
E)conflict between two non-state actors.

Question 35

Failing states are those states that

A)have recently lost a war.
B)suffer economic problems due to trade imbalances.
C)lack control over territory and cannot provide basic services.
D)have not yet been recognized by the international community.
E)are engaged in lengthy civil wars.

Question 36

Failing states are enticing to criminal gangs because

A)they offer refuge where members can train for future operations.
B)poor economic conditions provide recruits.
C)governments lack control over security.
D)governments are more likely to cooperate with them to receive payoffs.
E)All of the above are true.

Question 37

Which is true of South Sudan, the new African country formed in 2011?
A)It is an oil rich state.

A)It is majority Muslim.
B)It is majority Christian.
C)It is not recognized by the UN.
D)Both a and c are true.

Question 38

When analyzing the origins of war at the level of human nature, most social scientists

A)agree that humans fight wars because of innate genetic drives.
B)agree that humans do not fight wars because of innate genetic drives.
C)believe that war can be avoided if rational leaders are in power.
D)agree that men are more aggressive than women.
E)agree that humans are evolving away from aggressive behavior.

Question 39

The characteristics of contemporary warfare include all but which of the following?

A)Wars between great powers have become less frequent.
B)The proportion of countries engaged in warfare has declined.
C)Conquest of foreign territory is no longer a motive.
D)Peacekeeping troops of the UN are almost always involved.
E)Most wars now occur in the Global South.

Question 40

Which of the following is an example of asymmetric war?

A)The Napoleonic Wars
B)The American Civil War
C)World War I
D)World War II
E)None of the above is true.

Question 41

Economic conditions have historically been a cause of war, both interstate and civil, and a cause of peace.What are economic factors that lead to war? What are economic factors that facilitate peace?

Question 42

Terrorism is often characterized as a hybrid between crime and warfare.Explain the criminal and military aspects of terrorist organizations.Is this definition relative, depending on whether one is a victim or supporter of terrorist attacks?

Question 43

Discuss how xenophobia, extreme nationalism, and a glorification of male martial virtues can lead to inter-state war.Discuss a case study in which at least two of these factors have led to the outbreak of war.

Question 44

Discuss three types of relationships that failed states often make with terrorist or criminal organizations.Explain how the international system will be impacted if the number of failed states increases and their relations with these organizations intensify.Do you believe this is the future in much of the Global South?

Question 45

Liberal theorists believe the spread of democracy is one of the best means of reducing conflict because democracies do not fight one another.Is it possible to create world peace by creating a global democratic community? Is this too idealistic? If this is not possible, discuss two other means of preventing future war.

Question 46

Discuss how poverty, ethnic hatred and demographic pressures can lead to civil war.Discuss a case study in which at least two of these factors have led to civil war.

Question 47

Liberal international relations theory maintains that the spread of free markets reduces interstate conflict.Marxists disagree.Present both sides of this argument.Which theoretical school has the stronger case?

Question 48

How has terrorism changed over time? Describe some of the difficulties in fighting terrorism while maintaining civil liberties.Discuss at least two proposals for combating terrorism and analyze which, in your opinion, would be more effective.

Question 49

War is often said to be rooted in multiple sources located at various levels of analysis.Select two levels of analysis (individual, state, or global) and compare the contributions that theories at each level have made to our understanding of the causes of war.

Question 50

Scholars identify four generations of warfare.Describe how the tactics and strategies changed for each generation.Then give an example of a specific war for each generation and show how those tactics and strategies were employed.