Deck 1: Introduction: Problems and Questions in International Politics

Question 1

Which of the following refers to the goals that actors pursue?

A)Power
B)Purpose
C)Statecraft
D)Contingency plans

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Military might and a strong economy are both elements of which of the following?

A)Capitalism
B)Politics
C)Socialism
D)Power

Answer 2

D

Question 3

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)Politicians require scholars to give concrete solutions to the questions they pose
C)For most important questions, we have two or more good answers
D)Most puzzles in international politics today have little consequence for us

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is true about methodology in political science?

A)There is clear agreement among political scientists about which methodological approaches are best.
B)Methodology is not one of the branches of political science.
C)There is profound disagreement among political scientists about which methodological approaches are best.
D)There is clear agreement among politicians about which methodological approaches are best.

Question 5

The ability to compel others is known as what type of power?

A)Coercive
B)Heroic
C)Military
D)Structural

Question 6

Prestige and the ability to persuade are both key elements of which type of power?

A)Coercion
B)Institutional power
C)Collaborative power
D)Soft power

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of what both natural scientists and political scientists who study international politics do in their studies?

A)Perform experiments isolating and controlling the variables they are studying
B)Run trials
C)Use 'laws of nature' that have no exceptions
D)Collect and observe data

Question 8

Which of the following best describes theories in political science?

A)General explanations of how politics works
B)Hypothetical assumptions
C)So, abstract that political scientists believe that they have little connection to the real world
D)Not particularly useful in understanding international politics

Question 9

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 10

In order to achieve their purposes, what must actors have?

A)Power
B)Moral guidance
C)Conflict
D)Competing goals

Question 11

International politics can be thought of as which of the following?

A)A set of puzzles
B)A game of chicken
C)A play
D)A rational self-interest set

Question 12

Structural power is best described as which of the following?

A)Power based on coercion
B)Power based in rules
C)The ability to persuade
D)Unquestioned 'rules of the game' that benefit certain actors

Question 13

Every argument about politics and policies includes which of the following?

A)Random guesses about political events
B)Some hypothesis about cause and effect
C)One of four theoretical perspectives
D)A well-researched timeline of events

Question 14

Deciding whether to accept or reject an assertion made about international politics is considered to be which of the following?

A)The goal of analysis in international politics
B)The first step to formulating a hypothesis
C)The first step required to carry out an experiment
D)The goal of historians

Question 15

To whom does international politics matter?

A)Only to foreign policy elites
B)Only to national politicians
C)To everyone
D)To intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)

Question 16

Which of the following are themes that scholars in the field of international relations seek to understand?

A)War and peace
B)Justice and injustice
C)Power and purpose
D)Morality and immorality

Question 17

Which of the following is a main goal of this textbook?

A)To help readers evaluate arguments in international politics by connecting them to scholarly research
B)To tell readers what to think
C)To help readers remember the history of world so that they can better understand world politics
D)To assert which solutions to international crises should be adopted

Question 18

Institutional power is best described as which of the following?

A)Prestige and the ability to use it persuasively
B)Values and norms that shape behavior
C)The rules of organizations that convey power
D)Having one's interests accepted uncritically as natural

Question 19

Whereas policymakers and journalists concentrate on specific problems and look for specific answers, what type of questions do political scientists ask?

A)Specific questions about specific problems, with no real interest in looking for specific solutions
B)Abstract questions that can be used to write dissertations
C)General questions about how international politics work
D)Questions that help politicians being elected.

Question 20

Political scientists who study international relations are attempting to do which of the following?

A)Seek genuine "laws of nature" about politics, which have no exception
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 21

In political science, theories have three purposes. Explain these purposes. Which purpose do you think is most important and why?

Question 22

What do you believe are some of the biggest puzzles in international politics today? When addressing these issues, which level of analysis (systemic, state, individual, substate, etc.)might be most important? Why?

Question 23

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 24

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

Question 25

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 26

Which famous political scientist argued that one can explain war at any of the three levels of analysis?

A)Walter Cronkite
B)Kenneth Waltz
C)Paul D'Anieri
D)Anthony Downs

Question 27

What are the steps in the political science model? What are the processes involved in this model?

Question 28

Analyses that examine the bureaucracies and small groups that make foreign policy, such as interest groups, are focusing on what level of analysis?

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

Question 29

In terms of explaining the causes of war, Waltz prefers a system level of analysis, which focuses on which of the following?

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

Question 30

Besides the individual, state, and system levels of analysis, what other level of analysis do researchers study?

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

Question 31

If a political scientist finds a war in which there was not an imbalance of power, should that political scientist rejects the balance of power hypothesis?

A)Yes, automatically reject the hypothesis.
B)Only if in a dispute with the author of the hypothesis
C)Not if it fits with the data better than any other hypothesis
D)No, we never reject hypotheses

Question 32

Which of the following best defines the "domino theory?"

A)The idea that policymakers recognize their generalizations can be called "theories"
B)The notion that acquiring new generalizations leads to additional ones
C)The idea that one state cannot democratize if it has autocratic neighbors
D)The idea that if one state in a region becomes communist, others will follow

Question 33

In the context of international relations, what are power and purpose? In what way are they connected to each other?

Question 34

What is the right number of levels when categorizing theories by their level of analysis?

A)Three
B)Four
C)Five
D)The "right" number of levels is up for debate

Question 35

What does it mean that a theory is generalized?

A)That it seeks to explain a single event
B)That it seeks to label any conjecture about an event
C)That it seeks to explain a series of comparable events
D)That it seeks to make a guess about the way the world works

Question 36

What are the four levels of analysis that are looked at by researchers of international politics? Why might it be important for those studying international politics to consider more than one in order to explain global events? Give examples.

Question 37

Define both explanatory and normative theory. Compare and contrast the uses of both.

Question 38

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 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?

Question 40

Discuss how international politics impact your life today. Compare this with how you think international politics will impact your life 10 years from now.