Chapter.1 Exam Questions Introducing International Relations

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCING INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Test Questions

Multiple-Choice Questions

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

1. The primary goal of international relations scholars is to

1. Gather information about current world affairs and related domestic policies.
2. Describe the history of foreign policy in different regions.
3. Advise diplomats and policy makers, and also provide key information to the public.
4. Explain why certain events take place and why they are important.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

2. International relations is LEAST involved with the following:

1. The study of nongovernment activities in foreign countries.
2. U.S. government aid to help homeowners pay their mortgages.
3. The effects of a drought in the United States for global crop prices.
4. The impact of migration flows on countries’ labor market and welfare system.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

3. International political economy BEST refers to

1. An international association of economic scholars and businessmen.
2. A homogeneous field.
3. The study of complex interactions of economic and political factors.
4. A research area with focus on international economics.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

4. International law is about ____ concerning interactions among states, institutions, and organizations involved in international relations.

1. Disputes and conflicts.
2. Interpretations and applications.
3. Rules and regulations.
4. Behaviors and codes.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

5. Which field is NOT likely to be included in international relations?

1. Geography.
2. History.
3. Government.
4. Physics.

Question type: applied

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

6. Which of the following is NOT considered a constitutive element of a state?

1. A governing entity.
2. A settled population.
3. Defined state borders.
4. A national currency.

Question type: applied

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

7. According to the text, which of the following is true about state sovereignty?

1. The allegiance of the people living on a territory is not important.
2. No higher authority can tell a sovereign state what to do within its territory.
3. A sovereign state should not make its decisions independently.
4. Sovereignty does not refer to a territory, but rather to a shared identity.

Question type: factual

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

8. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

1. Has been recognized by the United Nations.
2. Has been recognized by several Middle East countries.
3. Declared itself a state in 2013.
4. Was abolished in the 1930s

Question type: factual

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

9. In what year did Europe formally agree that individual states could determine religious matter within their borders?

1. 1789.
2. 1492.
3. 1914.
4. 1648.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

10. Which of the following statements BEST applies to states?

1. They do not have a sovereign territory.
2. Their populations are exclusively within clearly defined borders.
3. States cannot give up their sovereignty.
4. They remain important actors in international relations today.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

11. The territories of Alsace-Lorraine and Quebec are BEST described as

1. Homogeneous areas within a country’s boundaries.
2. Territories with heterogeneous populations and a source of conflict.
3. Small but independent countries surrounded by larger countries.
4. Former French colonies lost in nineteenth-century wars.

Question type: applied

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

12. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

1. Sovereignty allows the state to claim that everything taking place inside its borders is its own business.
2. International treaties and economic and military capacities support state sovereignty.
3. The term nation has several meanings.
4. Nations cannot be “invented” or constructed if they have not acquired physical space.

Question type: factual

Section 1.1: Key Concepts in International Relations

13. ______ refers to the growing irrelevance of state borders, the importance of international exchanges of good and ideas, and increased openness to innovation.

1. Glocalization.
2. Antiglobalization.
3. Globalization.
4. Globalism.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.2 Key Actors in International Relations

14. Diplomacy is the practice of _________ international relations by means of _________.

1. Managing . . . negotiation.
2. Analyzing . . . research methods.
3. Evaluating . . . reports and briefs.
4. Avoiding . . . force.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.2 Key Actors in International Relations

15. Foreign policy actions are NOT likely to include

1. Official decisions and communications.
2. State governments, NGOs, and corporations.
3. Municipal town hall meetings.
4. International organizations.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.2 Key Actors in International Relations

16. Which branch of the government includes a ministry or department of foreign affairs?

1. The legislative.
2. The executive.
3. The judiciary.
4. Foreign policy is conducted separately from these branches.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.2 Key Actors in International Relations

17. The judicial branch of a state may also be involved in foreign policy. Which of the following statement is FALSE?

1. Courts can make assessments of and about the applicability of certain international laws.
2. Courts decide on claims submitted by foreign countries.
3. Court decisions apply globally.
4. Courts can evaluate the effect of agreements on the territory of a state.

Question type: applied

Section 1.2 Key Actors in International Relations

18. IGOs increase global _______ of individual states and, to some degree, limit their ______.

1. Accountability . . . power.
2. Accountability . . . sovereignty.
3. Interdependence . . . dependence.
4. Transparency . . . interdependence.

Question type: factual

Section 1.2 Key Actors in International Relations

19. The acronym NATO stands for

1. North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
2. North American Trade Organization.
3. North Arctic Treaty Organization.
4. North American Treaty Observatory.

Question type: factual

Section 1.2 Key Actors in International Relations

20. OPEC’s main goal is to

1. Promote efficient and cost-effective international shipping.
2. Avoid the creation of cartels in the automobile industry.
3. Set standards for member states’ oil production and sales.
4. Oversee the global trade of alternative energy sources.

Question type: applied

Section 1.2 Key Actors in International Relations

21. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the growth of NGOs in recent decades?

1. NGOs have benefitted from global tax breaks for their legal status.
2. NGOs have benefitted from the global spread of democratic forms of government.
3. NGOs have benefitted from globalization and the growing complexity of international problems.
4. NGOs have benefitted from new communication and information technology.

Question type: factual

Section 1.3 Facing Global Challenges

22. The United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945, devastating the cities of ____.

1. Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
2. Hiroshima and Tokyo.
3. Tokyo and Fukushima.
4. Nagasaki and Fukushima.

Question type: applied

Section 1.3 Facing Global Challenges

23. All of the following countries openly possess nuclear weapons, EXCEPT

1. The United States.
2. France.
3. India.
4. Israel.

Question type: factual

Section 1.3 Facing Global Challenges

24. Of the following countries, which have/has used nuclear weapons?

1. The Soviet Union and the United States.
2. The Soviet Union only.
3. The United States only.
4. The Soviet Union and North Korea.

Question type: factual

Section 1.3 Facing Global Challenges

25. Which of the following is NOT a type of WMD?

1. Nuclear weapons.
2. Conventional battlefield weapons.
3. Chemical weapons.
4. Biological weapons.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.3 Facing Global Challenges

26. There are two broad categories of environmental problems:

1. Local and international.
2. Atmospheric and terrestrial.
3. Proliferation and invasion.
4. Contamination and depletion.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.3 Facing Global Challenges

27. What did Malthus say about the future of global stability?

1. Food supplies would not keep up with a growing population.
2. Future international conflicts would primarily be about scarce water resources.
3. Environmental pollution will cause a global economic collapse.
4. We are doomed to a nuclear holocaust unless we curb the spread of nuclear weapons.

Question type: factual

Section 1.3 Facing Global Challenges

28. According to the United Nations, about 800 million people today live on ____ per day.

1. More than $10.
2. Less than $1.90.
3. More than $100.
4. No statistics exist as of today.

Question type: factual

Section 1.3 Facing Global Challenges

29. The number of people in the world who do NOT have access to justice, lawyers, and transparent courts is in the

1. Hundreds of thousands.
2. Tens of millions.
3. Hundreds of millions.
4. Billions.

Question type: applied

Section 1.3 Facing Global Challenges

30. Many governments conceal violations of human rights behind which arguments?

1. Culture, traditions, and values.
2. Race, social status, and education.
3. Criminal background, immigration status, and origins.
4. Governments do not hide human rights violations.

Question type: factual

Section 1.3 Facing Global Challenges

31. Which of the following countries peacefully split into two countries in the 1990s?

1. Ukraine.
2. Poland.
3. Czechoslovakia.
4. South Africa.

Question type: factual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

32. One of the tasks of the U.S. Federal Reserve is to

1. Print money for foreign debtors on their demand.
2. Peg the dollar to the Chinese yuan.
3. Submit reports to Congress about U.S. economic growth.
4. Monitor and sanction inside trading on European financial markets.

Question type: factual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

33. The quality of NGO reports does NOT depend on which of the following?

1. Self-interest of the organization.
2. Competition from other sources of information.
3. Professional prestige of the institution providing the report.
4. Self-interest of the government.

Question type: factual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

34. What did eyewitness reports help disclose in Bosnia in the early 1990s?

1. A massive corruption scandal.
2. The breakup of Yugoslavia.
3. Ethnic cleansing and human rights violations.
4. Extensive human trafficking practices.

Question type: applied

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

35. A former policy maker writing a memoir is most likely to

1. Provide an objective and fact-oriented narrative of past events.
2. Lie about his career and politics.
3. Show off his achievement.
4. Explain how her childhood led to her career choices.

Question type: applied

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

36. Content analysis systematically organizes and summarizes both _______content.

1. Pro and con.
2. Manifest and latent.
3. Classified and unclassified.
4. Factual and counterfactual.

Question type: factual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

37. What did Winston Churchill do in 1946 in Fulton, Missouri?

1. He gave a talk urging collaboration with Stalin’s regime.
2. He delivered a speech criticizing the Soviet Union.
3. He met with members of the Alliance to discuss the fate of Germany.
4. He visited a World War II internment camp.

Question type: applied

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

38. The ____ ideologically driven a U.S. president’s speech is, the ____ sophisticated are the explanations of foreign policy.

1. More . . . less.
2. More . . . more.
3. Less . . . less.
4. Less . . . more.

Question type: applied

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

39. Secrecy is _____ in diplomatic communications.

1. Usually forbidden.
2. Exclusive.
3. Seldom used.
4. Often essential.

Question type: factual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

40. Which of the following is true about the Katyn Massacre?

1. Stalin’s government accused the Nazis of committing the murders.
2. The Nazis killed more than 22,000 Polish officers.
3. The German Reich and the Soviet Union concomitantly executed Polish civilians.
4. The Russian government still denies the atrocities today.

Question type: applied

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

41. To become intelligence, information needs to be

1. Trusted and accepted by political leaders.
2. Approved by national intelligence services.
3. Provided by third-party agents in a foreign country.
4. Sealed in an envelope bearing a “classified” label.

Question type: applied

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

42. Many intelligence failures are the failures of the leadership to _____ foreign threats.

1. Fight.
2. Forecast.
3. Recognize.
4. Calculate.

Question type: applied

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

43. Which of the following is NOT true about the Freedom in the World survey?

1. Ratings determine the degree of freedom in countries around the world.
2. One category in the survey is “practically free.”
3. The index might not be bias-free because of participants’ perception.
4. The evaluations are published annually.

Question type: applied

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

44. In experiments, international relations scholars put participants in ________, as in a game.

1. Variable conditions.
2. Timed settings.
3. Random settings.
4. Controlled conditions.

Question type: applied

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

45. In foreign policy settings, groupthink is the tendency of groups to

1. Work together in extreme situations.
2. Compete within its members to achieve best results in negotiations.
3. Make rushed or illogical decisions because of a false sense of unity.
4. Apply theoretical models to real-world problems.

Question type: applied

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

46. In 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell presented photographs of Iraqi installations that he said were facilities that produced weapons of mass destruction. This assertion points out

1. The difference between fact and opinion.
2. That American intelligence analysis is rarely wrong.
3. That the Bush administration did not feel it needed support for its decision to invade Iraq.
4. That theory rarely has any application in the real world.

Question type: factual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

47. Which group has accused Turkey of committing genocide against its people in 1915?

1. Syrians.
2. Greeks.
3. Armenians.
4. Kurds.

Question type: applied

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

48. Most scholars believe that the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union was caused by

1. Economic crisis within the Soviet Union.
2. The refusal of the European Union to trade with the Soviet Union.
3. President Reagan’s military and economic pressures.
4. Several significant and intertwined factors.

Question type: factual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

49. Parochialism refers to

1. A patriarchal worldview from the early twentieth century.
2. A jingoist perspective that led to World War I.
3. A worldview limited to the small piece of land on which we live.
4. A globalist perspective on international relations.

Question type: factual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

50. In 1950 this country launched an invasion of a neighboring state:

1. Vietnam.
2. Germany.
3. Iran.
4. North Korea.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

51. What are the three levels of analysis?

1. Individual, regional, and global.
2. Personal, national, and international.
3. Individual, state, and global.
4. Group, transnational, global.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

52. Looking at a president’s political ideology in an attempt to explain foreign policy decisions is focusing on the

1. Individual decisions context.
2. State policies context.
3. Global context.
4. International context.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

53. Looking at the impact of domestic lobbying groups in an attempt to explain foreign policy decisions is focusing on the

1. Individual decisions context.
2. State policies context.
3. Global context.
4. International context.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

54. Looking at international constraints in an attempt to explain foreign policy decisions is focusing on the

1. Individual decisions context.
2. State policies context.
3. Global context.
4. Psychological context.

Question type: conceptual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

55. Which of the following is NOT a factor in the success/failure of exporting democracy?

1. Many opposing groups within the country.
2. International legitimacy of occupation.
3. International support.
4. Positive international economic context.

Question type: factual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

56. In which countries was the United States successful in exporting democracy?

1. Japan and Afghanistan.
2. Afghanistan and Iraq.
3. Iraq and Germany.
4. Germany and Japan.

Question type: factual

Section 1.4 Studying International Relations

57. In which countries was the United States NOT successful in exporting democracy?

1. Japan and Afghanistan.
2. Afghanistan and Iraq.
3. Iraq and Germany.
4. Germany and Japan.

Short-Answer Questions

1. What are three principal issues international relations studies focuses on?

2. Define the concept of state sovereignty.

3. Describe the key characteristics of one country to which the United States has successfully exported democracy.

4. Name different definitions of a nation.

5. What is antiglobalization?

6. Define diplomacy and illustrate it with an example of your choice.

7. Which branches of state government participate in foreign policy and how?

8. Describe intergovernmental organizations and name examples.

9. Name and describe the impact of three global issues.

10. Name five nuclear powers.

11. Explain the two major types of environmental problems.

12. What are two poverty-related problems? Explain why they are problems.

13. Explain one basic human right using a case study of your choice.

14. Name three factors to judge the accuracy of official reports on foreign affairs.

15. What are some of the problems with eyewitness sources in foreign policy?

16. What is content analysis?

17. What kind of information constitutes intelligence? Why?

18. Why are experimental methods useful? What are some limitations?

19. Define the term “theory” and give an example.

20. What is globalization?

Essay Questions

1. Compare and contrast the three contexts used to help explain foreign and military decisions of states.

2. Explain the pros and cons of territorial sovereignty in a globalized world.

3. Choose a case study illustrating how a state limits its sovereignty in international politics.

4. Can democracy be successfully exported? If so, under what conditions?

5. Discuss the role of international organizations after the end of the Cold War.

6. Analyze the role of nongovernment organizations in the twenty-first century, including different theoretical perspectives.

7. Using a case study of your choice, discuss the impact of violent conflict on trade relations.

8. Why is a nuclear-free world wishful thinking? Discuss.

9. Discuss various theories to fight poverty and argue in favor of one you would support. Explain why.

10. Discuss different reasons why certain human rights have been more successful than others in world politics after 1945. Use case-specific examples.