Midterm 1 Study Guide

Question 1

Strategy of distancing oneself from other states’ affairs. Best describes American foreign policy throughout most of its history. Adopted primarily out of principle and pragmatism at first.

Answer 1

Isolationism

Question 2

Named after President James Monroe. Implored an end to European interference in the Americas. In return, America pledged not to interfere in European affairs.

Answer 2

Monroe Doctrine

Question 3

Concerns the distribution of power between states. A critical component of realist foreign policy. States ought to ensure one state cannot leverage its power to dominate all others.

Answer 3

Balance of Power

Question 4

Signed into law before America entered WWII. Allowed the country to lend or lease resources to countries considered vital to national defense. The Soviets received most of this aid.

Answer 4

Lend-Lease Act

Question 5

Former Secretary of State. Served under President Truman. Helped shape the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.

Answer 5

Dean G. Acheson

Question 6

Introduced after WWII. Named after Secretary of State George Marshall. Objective was to rebuild the economies of primarily western European states battered by the war.

Answer 6

Marshall Plan

Question 7

Political and military alliance. Short for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Consists primarily of Western states in North America and Europe.

Answer 7

NATO

Question 8

Named after President Harry Truman. Sought to contain the spread of communism. Justified plans to aid countries after WWII to build goodwill.

Answer 8

Truman Doctrine

Question 9

A report created by the U.S. National Security Council. Outlined fundamental differences between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Among other things, recommended a massive weapons buildup to counter Soviet military might.

Answer 9

NSC-68

Question 10

Bipartisan agreements on American foreign policy goals. Favored a liberal internationalist world order. Sought to contain the spread of communism.

Answer 10

Cold War “Consensus”

Question 11

Foreign policy strategy where parties push conflicts to the brink of conflict. Seek to gain leverage in negotiations. Championed by the Eisenhower administration.

Answer 11

Brinksmanship

Question 12

Former Secretary of State. Served under President Eisenhower. Championed brinksmanship.

Answer 12

John Foster Dulles

Question 13

Created by the Soviet Union. Launched in October 1957. Evoked American anxiety of Soviety military superiority, sparking the Space Race.

Answer 13

Sputnik

Question 14

Championed by the Eisenhower administration. Concerned escalation of conflict, from covert operations to thermonuclear weapons. Little in the middle due in part to fiscal conservatism.

Answer 14

New Look

Question 15

Championed by the Kennedy administration. Concerned escalation of conflict. Had far more rungs than Eisenhower’s New Look due in part to fiscal liberalism.

Answer 15

Flexible Response

Question 16

Former Secretary of Defense. Served under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Instrumental in developing the strategy of flexible response.

Answer 16

Robert S. McNamara

Question 17

Attempted invasion of Cuba and ouster of Castro. U.S. offered to support Cuban nationals as they engaged Castro’s forces. Ultimately failed and served to embarass Kennedy.

Answer 17

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Question 18

Passed by Congress in August 1964. Followed North Vietnamese attacks on American destroyers. Authorized President Johnson to send further troops to Vietnam.

Answer 18

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Question 19

Former Secretary of Defense and later State. Served under President Nixon. Championed realist foreign policy linkage.

Answer 19

Henry A. Kissinger

Question 20

Short for Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. Held between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Included military (ex: Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty) and nonmilitary agreements (i.e., cultural arrangements)

Answer 20

SALT I

Question 21

Former Secretary of State. Served under President Nixon. Largely overshadowed and later replaced by Kissinger.

Answer 21

William P. Rogers

Question 22

Agreed to by various eastern and western European countries, the U.S., and Canada. Sought to reduce military tension, expand economic cooperation, and foster closer social interactions. Served more so as a statement than a binding treaty.

Answer 22

Helsinki Accords

Question 23

Agreed to by the U.S. and China. Result of Nixon’s 1972 visit to Shanghai. Reflected differing worldviews and identified areas for global cooperation.

Answer 23

Shanghai Communique

Question 24

Conflict between Israel and the Arab states. Israel won due in no small part to American aid. Following the war, Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy led to disengagement in the region.

Answer 24

Yom Kippur War

Question 25

Agreement between Egypt and Israel. Negotiations occured on American soil at Camp David. Proposed a framework for peace in the Middle East.

Answer 25

Camp David Accords

Question 26

Relaxation of tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Began primarily after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Viewed as morally bankrupt by conservatives.

Answer 26

Detente

Question 27

A key component of the Nixon-Kissinger system. Behavior in one foreign policy arena influenced behavior in another. Did not concern domestic politics, however.

Answer 27

Linkage

Question 28

Freedoms entitled to all, regardless of their differences. Championed by the Carter administration. Curtailed by the Bush (43) administration in the aftermath of 9/11 for “national security.”

Answer 28

Human Rights

Question 29

Championed by President Carter. Warned against outside interference in the Persian Gulf. Considered an assault on vital American interests.

Answer 29

Carter Doctrine

Question 30

One of the Four Pillars of Reagan’s foreign policy. If the Soviets treat us well, we’ll treat them well, and vice versa. Inspired by but less sophisticated than Kissinger’s linkage.

Answer 30

Reciprocity

Question 31

Former Secretary of State. Served under President Reagan. Argued linkage must be more flexible.

Answer 31

George P. Shultz

Question 32

A controversy that occurred during the Reagan presidency. The administration sold weapons to Iran. It then used the profits of those sales to fund the Nicaraguan Contras.

Answer 32

Iran-Contra Affair

Question 33

A component of Reagan’s foreign policy. Practiced with regard to South Africa. Revolved around inspiring confidence in American support then influencing apartheid policy changes.

Answer 33

Constructive Engagement

Question 34

Former president of the Soviet Union. Championed glasnost and perestroika. Oversaw the Soviet Union’s dissolution in the early nineties.

Answer 34

Mikhail Gorbachev

Question 35

A component of Soviet domestic and foreign policy. Championed by Gorbachev. Reflected a movement toward greater democratization.

Answer 35

Glasnost

Question 36

A component of Soviet domestic and foreign policy. Championed by Gorbachev. Reflected efforts to improve the Soviet economy.

Answer 36

Perestroika

Question 37

Former Secretary of State. Served under President Bush (41). Visited former Soviet states to normalize relations following the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Answer 37

James Baker

Question 38

A U.S. military operation in Panama. Aimed to remove Gen. Manuel Noriega from power. Resulted in Noriega’s arrest on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

Answer 38

Operation Just Cause

Question 39

Panamaian military general. De-facto ruler of Panama throughout the eighties. Removed from power and arrested by the U.S.

Answer 39

Manuel Noriega

Question 40

A massacre perpetuated by the Chinese government. Targeted pro-democracy demonstrators. Publicly condemned by the U.S.

Answer 40

Tiananmen Square

Question 41

An African country. Suffered from mass starvation. Received humanitarian assistance from a UN mission led by the U.S.

Answer 41

Somalia