CHAPTER 1: Introduction: Problems and Questions in International Politics

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CHAPTER 1: Introduction: Problems and Questions in International Politics

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. The two main themes of this book are

a. war and peace.
b. justice and injustice.
c. power and purpose.
d. morality and immorality.
4. The concept that implies the goals of political action is

a. purpose.
b. power.
c. statecraft.
d. cooperation.
5. In order to achieve their purposes, actors must have

a. power.
b. moral guidance.
c. conflict.
d. competing goals.
6. Which of the following does not constitute power?

a. Military might
b. Majority of votes
c. Unanticipated attack
d. Capitalism
7. 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.
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d. Most puzzles in international politics today have little consequence for us.
8. International politics can be thought of as

a. puzzles.
b. stories.
c. games.
d. cases.
9. The ability to compel others is known as _____ power.

a. coercive
b. hard
c. military
d. structural
10. 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
11. Which of the following is NOT one of the meanings of power?

a. coercive power
b. attentive power
c. soft power
d. structural power
12. 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
13. 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.
14. Every argument about politics and policies is based upon

a. factual evidence gleaned from history.
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b. an identifiable series of assumptions.
c. one of four theoretical perspectives.
d. experiences of humans in different cultural contexts.
15. In international politics, hypotheses are

a. random guesses about political events.
b. inappropriate political questions.
c. potential answers.
d. irrelevant to reality.
16. The model of political science presented in the book begins with _____.
a. a question
b. an example
c. an answer
d. an experiment
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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

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21. 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?
22. 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
23. 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?
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. 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
27. Besides the individual, state, and system levels of analysis, this text will also explore which other level of analysis?
a. Sub-atomic
b. Analytical

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c. Substate
d. Supra-systemic
28. 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.
29. 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
30. 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.
31. Why does the author think that international politics is especially interesting? Why do you think this topic is of interest
to you?
32. 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?
33. 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?
34. 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.
35. 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?
36. What is a theory in international politics? How does a theory help us to understand the realities of international
politics?
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37. 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.
38. Define both explanatory and normative theory and then compare and contrast the uses of both.
39. As discussed in the text, what are the steps in the political science model? What are the processes involved in this
model?
40. Why is it important for students of international politics to understand history?

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