Poli sci final

Question 1

When are revolutions likely to occur?

Answer 1

revolutions are born when the social climate in a country changes and the political system doesn’t react accordingly

Question 2

What was John Locke’s ideas and why were they incorporated into the declaration of independence

Answer 2

He said that people should have the right to overthrow or challenge a tyrannical government, but their rebellion does not guarantee a happy result. He also said that people should have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of property. If they were being deprived of this, they should be allowed to rebel.

Question 3

what was the reign of terror and who was involved?

Answer 3

Maximillian Robespierre and his committee of public affairs were in charge. It was an era in France when people were executed for opposing the revolution and daring to dissent. Robespierre was a utopian thinker who wanted to make perfect French citizens.

Question 4

what was Edmund Burke’s position on the French Revolution

Answer 4

He said that the revolution oversimplified politics and romanticized radical change.

Question 5

What was Thomas Paine’s position on war, independence, and monarchies?

Answer 5

He was a big supporter of revolutions and tried to glorify and justify the need for revolution by citing instances of British corruption and injustice. He said that monarchies thrive on ignorance and are wrong in principle.

Question 6

What is the difference between a revolt and a a revolution?

Answer 6

any mass action that does not result in fundamental change can be called a revolt. They are often accompanied by social upheaval and violence. Just because there is violence does not mean there will be a revolution, and not all revolutions are violent.

Question 7

Every colony wrote their own constitution. Why were they different than most European governments?

Answer 7

the way that each colony wrote its own constitution and then those constitutions were incorporated into the US constitution is an early form of majority rule when Europe was still heavily dominated by monarchies and autocracies.

Question 8

What is the book’s definition of war?

Answer 8

The central problem of world politics. It is a continuation of politics by other means

Question 9

Understand the philosophers we talked about regarding war. What were the positions and ideas of Hobbes, Morgenthau, Rousseau, Lenin/ Marx, and Plato

Answer 9

Hobbes said that the only way we could understand what people are really like is by looking at how they would behave outside of civil society. He believed life outside of society would be wrought by fear. This natural human fear of things like death results in aggression and violent behaviors that lead to war. There are three causes of war, fear, dissidence, and glory

Morgenthau believed humans were deeply flawed too. He thought they were motivated by self interest, which predisposes humans to an eternal struggle for power.

Rousseau thought that it was flaws in society and the creation of private property that were to blame for war.

Lenin said that capitalism was to blame for war. Capitalistic nations would pursue war to gain power in a comparative market system.

Plato said that war was at least in part caused by human’s passion for worldly possessions and comforts.

Question 10

How are civil wars different than interstate wars?

Answer 10

an interstate war is a war that is happening between two or more nations. A civil war is a war that is happening within a single nation.

Question 11

why is Saint Augustine important in war?

Answer 11

he taught that war is a product of our corrupt nature. He has had a big influence on Western political thought.

Question 12

What is zionism?

Answer 12

the movement that wants to create a Jewish nationalist state in Israel (the creation of Palestine)

Question 13

what is the Iran Contra?

Answer 13

the US arms dealing to a right wing rebel group in Iran during the second term of Reagan’s presidency.

Question 14

Why were the Camp David Accords important?

Answer 14

it was a peace treaty signed by Israel and Egypt facilitated by Jimmy Carter. It is very hard to negotiate peace in the middle east, so this treaty was very significant.

Question 15

what are the goals of terrorists?

Answer 15

It is intended to intimidate or coerce a government, people, or group of peoples to modify their behavior or politics.

Question 16

what type of terrorism was the Oklahoma city bombing or the Tokyo subway attacks?

Answer 16

both are domestic terrorism

Question 17

Name and explain the different types of terrorism

Answer 17

state terrorism is directed by the state against its own people with no foreign government involvement

international terrorism is linked to a state, but the effects are felt outside of the state’s borders

state-sponsored terrorism is when one government harbors international terrorists

transnational terrorism is when terrorist groups in different countries cooperate or when a groups actions cross national boundaries

domestic terrorism is terrorism practiced in a single country by terrorists with no ties to any government

Question 18

what is an accidental war?

Answer 18

the unintentional launching of a nuclear attack due to a mistake or a miscalculation. This can happen due to bad communication or misinterpretations.

Question 19

What is counterterrorism and its goal

Answer 19

it is opposing terrorism. The goal is to stop terrorism using almost any means possible, including invading another country or starting a war.

Question 20

understand the difference between guerrilla fighters and terrorists

Answer 20

guerrilla fighters are freedom fighters. They mostly focus their acts violence against government or security forces rather than against civilians and noncombatants, who are the main target of terrorists.

Question 21

who are the members of today’s nuclear club?

Answer 21

US, Russia, China, France, and the UK are declared nuclear powers. Israel and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons. North Korea is testing weapons, and Iran has the capacity to create weapons even though they have not yet.

Question 22

Why did the Soviet Union and the US not attack each other during the cold war?

Answer 22

Mutual Assured Destruction.

Question 23

Why is Machiavelli important in his view of rulers?

Answer 23

Machiavelli said that the wise ruler must always play to win. He would recognize what must be done to preserve and enlarge his dominion and would not allow moral qualms to cloud his judgement. Rulers should keep their promises only when it suits them to do so. He taught REALISM. We should not worry about what we should or ought to do, instead we should focus on what nations will actually do and why they act the way they do.

Question 24

what is the reailst view of power?

Answer 24

realism says that power is the key variable in all political relationships, and it should be used prudently and pragmatically to advance the national interest. Policies are judged good or bad based on their effects on the national interests and not on their level of morality.

Question 25

what are balances of power? who tends to align with each other?

Answer 25

balances of power system is a multipower system where all the nations with equal strength want to maintain the status quo by preventing any one state from becoming too powerful. Usually states with common interests or a similar level of power will align.

Question 26

what was the cold war what are the differences in the power balance in a post cold war system?

Answer 26

the cold war was the ideological war between the soviet union and the US. Before the cold war and WWI, the world was multipolar. Then it became bipolar during the cold war with US and the Soviet Union as the two superpowers. Now it is unipolar.

Question 27

understand the different kind of multinational organizations (MNCs), (IGOs), (INGOs)

Answer 27

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are businesses with subsidiaries that extend the production and marketing outside of one country.
International nongovernment organizations (INGOs) are private groups that pursue the common good

International government organizations (IGOs) are based on treaties, have formal structures, and meet at regular intervals.

Question 28

why is OPEC so powerful?

Answer 28

the organization of petroleum exporting countries controls over 80% of the world’s crude oil reserves and supply the world with over 40% of its oil.

Question 29

what are military alliances and their goals?

Answer 29

military alliances are a type of international government organization. Their purpose is to deter or fight enemies- potential or immediate

Question 30

Why is NATO important? Why was it established?

Answer 30

NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was created after WWI to counter the perceived soviet threat to Western Europe. It is a collective security group focused in Europe.

Question 31

What is the UN? Why was it established?

Answer 31

the UN is the first international government organization to have worldwide acceptance and membership. It was created after WWII to replace the league of nations, which had failed because it was not validated by the US and it did not have near universal membership.

Question 32

Why were the Nuremberg trials important? What did they introduce.

Answer 32

The Nuremberg trials were where Nazi leaders were charged with crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. This was the most famous attempt to apply moral standards to wartime conduct. It created crimes against humanity to deal specifically with the genocide of the holocaust.

Question 33

What was the treaty of Westphalia?

Answer 33

it started the classic balance of power system in Europe that lasted until WWI.

Question 34

Why was the Marshall plan important?

Answer 34

the Marshall plan was the plan that gave US aid to Western Europe to help it recover after WWII and during the cold war. It was important because it supported the development of stable democratic governments in Western Europe and prevented them from becoming communist.

Question 35

Name the important presidential doctrines

Answer 35

the Monroe doctrine, the Truman doctrine, The Nixon doctrine, the Carter doctrine, the Reagan doctrine, the Bush doctrine, the Obama doctrine, the Trump doctrine, the McNamara doctrine, and the Powell doctrine.

Question 36

what was the Monroe doctrine?

Answer 36

It was president Washington’s doctrine. It was a policy of isolationism that lasted until the world wars. The US did not ratify the league of nations because they didn’t want to be involved in other countries’ affairs.

Question 37

what was the Truman doctrine?

Answer 37

it was a policy of containment. President Truman wanted to contain communism after WWII. This led to the marshall plan and forming NATO.

Question 38

What was the Nixon doctrine?

Answer 38

an era of confrontation and detente. Nixon was trying to ease tensions between the US and the Soviet Union by creating strategic arms limitations treaties. He also wanted to improve relations with countries like China.

Question 39

What was the carter doctrine?

Answer 39

focusing on human rights and returning to a policy of containment. He helped negotiate the Camp David accords between Egypt and Israel.

Question 40

What was the Reagan Doctrine?

Answer 40

Reagan wanted to diminish Soviet influence. Strategic defense initiative (star wars) and economic and political reforms (perestroika) as well as a policy of openness and transparency (glasnost).

Question 41

what was the Bush doctrine?

Answer 41

a policy of preemption and the war on terror. This is the time during 9/11.

Question 42

What was the Obama doctrine?

Answer 42

a policy of conciliation or making nice with everyone.

Question 43

What was the trump doctrine?

Answer 43

principled realism. America first and renegotiating treaties to serve our interests

Question 44

what was the McNamara doctrine?

Answer 44

a flexible response strategy that created the ability to control a conventional war. It also created the ability to control a proportionality of military response if diplomacy fails.

Question 45

what was the Powell doctrine?

Answer 45

the doctrine of exhausting all political, economic, and diplomatic means before a nation uses military force. When the US is being fought against, the US should use every resource to achieve decisive force against the enemy and minimize US casualties and end the conflict quickly.