Midterm Exam

Question 1

realism

Answer 1

pessimistic view of human nature, conviction that IR is conflictual and high regard for national security and survival

Question 2

classical realism

Answer 2

focus on human nature (morality versus no need for morality)

Question 3

Thucydides

Answer 3

political fate, necessity and security, political survival, safety

Question 4

Machiavelli

Answer 4

political agility, opportunity and security, political survival, civic virtue

Question 5

Hobbes

Answer 5

political will, security dilemma, political survival, peace and felicity

Question 6

Morgenthau

Answer 6

human lust for power dictates a search for relative advantage and a secure political space; brings people into conflict and creates the condition of power

Question 7

Strategic realism

Answer 7

(Schelling): non-normative analysis of world politics b/c its deemed to be subjective and thus unscientific; focuses centrally on foreign policy decision making when state leaders confront diplomatic issues they’re obliged to think strategically

Question 8

game theory

Answer 8

mathematical analysis of strategic interaction b/t rational decision makers

Question 9

zero sum game

Answer 9

related to relative gains; states that wealth cannot be expanded and the only way a state can become richer is to take wealth from another state; one person’s gains result in losses for the other participants

Question 10

relative gains

Answer 10

actions of states only in respect to power balances and without regard of other factors like economics; one must lose in order for another to gain

Question 11

security dilemma

Answer 11

(hobbes) the achievement of personal security and domestic security through he creation of a state is necessarily accompanied by the conditions of int’l insecurity rooted in anarchy

Question 12

balance of power

Answer 12

desirable institution and a good thing to strive for b/c it prevents hegemonic world domination by any one great power

Question 13

bandwagoning

Answer 13

a strategy in which states join forces with the stronger side in a conflict

Question 14

neorealism

Answer 14

focus upon the structure of the anarchic state system

Question 15

defensive realism

Answer 15

(waltz) anarchy compels states to compete for power; recognizing that states must and do seek power in order to be secure and to survive but who believe that excessive power provoke hostility

Question 16

offensive realism

Answer 16

great powers are always searching for opportunities to gain power over their rivals w/hegemony as their final goal

Question 17

neoclassical realism

Answer 17

believe that anarchy/conflict among actors pursuing power is a result of a combination of both classical and neorealist ideas

Question 18

liberalism

Answer 18

positive view of human nature, conviction that IR can be cooperative rather than conflictual and a belief in progress

Question 19

absolute gains

Answer 19

int’l actors’ interests not only include power but also encompass economic/cultural effects of an action

Question 20

prisoner’s dilemma

Answer 20

better to be cooperative so that all actors can get the best possible outcome (absolute gains)

Question 21

sociological liberalism

Answer 21

not only about state-state relations but also transnational relation b/t peoples, groups and organizations

Question 22

pluralism

Answer 22

view that politics and decision making are located mostly in the framework of govt but that many non-govt groups use their resources to exert influence

Question 23

interdependence liberalism

Answer 23

mutual dependence; people and govts are effected by what happens elsewhere by the actions of their counterparts in other countries (diminishes conflict)

Question 24

institutional liberalism

Answer 24

int’l institutions are actors in IR and can promote cooperation b/t states

Question 25

what’s an example of an int’l institutions built to promote cooperation?

Answer 25

NATO or the UN

Question 26

social constructivism

Answer 26

focus on human awareness/consciousness and its place in the int’l system; thoughts and ideas create and alter the system

Question 27

marxism

Answer 27

the int’l system is capitalist and is defined by an exploitative relationship b/t core and periphery states

Question 28

world systems theory

Answer 28

the inter-regional and transnational division of labour which divides the world into core, semi-periphery and periphery states

Question 29

mercantilism

Answer 29

a system by which imperial govts used military power to enrich themselves and their supported then use these riches to enhance their military power

Question 30

treaty of westphalia

Answer 30

the settlement that ended the Thirty Years’ War in 1648; often said to have created the modern state system b/c it included a general recognition of the principles of sovereignty and non-intervention

Question 31

sovereignty

Answer 31

the expectation that staes have legal and political supremacy - or ultimate authority - over their own territory

Question 32

colonialism

Answer 32

the search by european states for regions rich enough to be exploited and weak enough to be conquered

Question 33

hegemony

Answer 33

the predominance of one nation-state over others

Question 34

Pax Britannica

Answer 34

during the 100Years’ Peace; “british peace”; Britain provided stability and maintained spheres of influence due to a lack of challengers b/c of its high degree of power

Question 35

Hundred Years’ Peace

Answer 35

1815-1914; relations among europeans were calmer while powerful nations certainly continued to care about their security interest, their relations became much more stable and cooperative (re: because of Pax Britannica)

Question 36

the gold standard

Answer 36

the monetary system that prevailed b/t 1870-1914 in which countries tied their currencies to gold at a legally fixed price

Question 37

when a country went “on gold” what did that promise?

Answer 37

it promised to exchange its currency for gold at a pre established rate so the country’s currency became equivalent to gold

Question 38

true or false: the establishment of the gold standard led to the world’s first era of globalization?

Answer 38

true

Question 39

treaty of versailles

Answer 39

peace treaty b/t the Allies and Germany formally ending WWI

Question 40

what were one of the provisions of WWI that created resentment?

Answer 40

Germany was to accept responsibility of causing war and had to pay for all war damage; it left no one content

Question 41

true or false: the treaty of versailles, although creating resentment from Germany left many of the issues prior to, resolved

Answer 41

false: not much was resolved plus the provision for German responsibility just led to WWII

Question 42

League of Nations

Answer 42

a collective organization funded after WWI; it was the first int’l organization whose principle missions was to maintain world peace

Question 43

NATO

Answer 43

an alliance formed after WWII; in response to the threat of the USSR and requires its members to considers an attack on one as an attack on all

Question 44

who is a part of NATO?

Answer 44

US, Canada, and most of western europe

Question 45

Bretton woods system

Answer 45

economic order negotiated among allied nations; led to a series of cooperative arrangements involving a commitment to relatively low barriers to int’l trade and investment

Question 46

what was the planned outcome of the bretton woods system ?

Answer 46

freer movement of goods and capital globally

Question 47

IMF

Answer 47

supervised a restored but reformed gold-dollar in which the US was tied to gold and all other currencies were tied to the dollar

Question 48

warsaw pact

Answer 48

military alliance formed to bring together the USSR and its cold war allies in eastern europe and elsewhere

Question 49

what were the two bloc consolidations during the cold war?

Answer 49

NATO and the Warsaw Pact

Question 50

decolonization

Answer 50

the process of shedding colonial possessions, especially during the rapid end of the european empires in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean

Question 51

how does the era of decolonization and the cold war relate?

Answer 51

when nations were forming after decolonization they were windows of opportunities for the US and the USSR to establish their constitutions (democracy v. communism) in these new states. It was an ideological race.

Question 52

war

Answer 52

an event involving the organized use of military force by at least two parties that reaches a minimum threshold of severity