Deck 1: Introduction Problems and Questions in International Politics

Question 1

Which of the following does not constitute power?

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

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The ability to compel others is known as _____ power.

A) ​coercive
B) ​hard
C) ​military
D) ​structural

Answer 2

A

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In international politics, hypotheses are

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

Question 5

​The model of political science presented in the book begins with _____.

A) ​a question
B) ​an example
C) ​an answer
D) ​an experiment

Question 6

​Institutional power is best described as _____.

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 7

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.

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT a reason why knowledge of history is important in studying contemporary politics?

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) history is unusable in testing theories of international politics.

Question 9

​Which of the following is NOT one of the meanings of power?

A) ​coercive power
B) attentive power
C) ​soft power
D) ​structural power

Question 10

The concept that implies the goals of political action is

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

Question 11

In order to achieve their purposes, actors must have

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

Question 12

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 13

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 14

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 15

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.

Question 16

International politics can be thought of as

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

Question 17

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 18

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 19

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 20

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 21

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 22

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

Question 23

​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 24

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 25

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 26

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 27

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 28

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 29

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 30

​A theory seeks to _____.

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

Question 31

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 32

​According to the textbook, if we find a war in which there was not an imbalance of power, should we reject 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 33

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 34

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

Question 35

​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 36

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

Question 37

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 38

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

Question 39

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

Question 40

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.