War and Peace Exam #1

What areas of the world currently experience the highest rates of violence?

South Asia The Middle East / North Africa (MENA)

According to neorealist arguments, why are states forced to embrace power politics?

"States are self interested and there is no government to stop war from happening, this along with the presence of anarchy creates a self help system which causes concern with balance of power"

Thanatos (Freud)

"the death instinct" EX) people participate in extreme sports, an instinct for risking your life Unbalance in subconscious The problem is that Freud says Thanatos leads to war, which would mean everyone is adept to violent outbursts

Eros (Freud)

"the life instinct" EX) running away from a tiger in the wild Subconscious

How does Hobbes characterize life in the state of nature?

"the life of man is solitary (don't trust anyone), poor (we can't trust people, so we do all the work ourselves), nasty, brutish, and short"

What are the levels of analysis framework developed by Cashman and Robinson? What separates the different levels of analysis?

(don't memorize) Individual Sub-state Nation-state Dyadic (bilateral) International The amount of people separates each

How does Rousseau characterize life in the state of nature?

- Man is a noble savage - Abundant resources - Man is at his best and there is no sense of competition - War formed with states

How does Goldstein describe the history of war?

- Violence used to be the number one option to resolve problems - Dramatic drop in violence after the cold war, predictions toward world peace - Nuclear war scared nations from war and that it is not worth it

How is war distinct from everyday violence (conflict)?

- War is distinct from everyday violence based on scale -Conflict is very broad between two entities and happens every day among everyone, and war is a specialized version of the conflict that is always violent

What is war?

- at least 1,000 battle-related deaths recorded in a calendar year - War is organized and planned out objectives with militaries - The state is involved, the objective is not always profit

How have patterns in inter-state (different regions) and intra-state (same regions) conflict changed over time?

A massive DECREASE in Interstate wars over time, but intrastate wars have INCREASED

If war is a social artifact, what does this mean for the prospect of peace?

A social artifact is a collective understanding that a society has (a social construct) EX) language We have the ability to abolish warfare through social convention just as we did gender (still in process though as some people still believe in 2 genders)

According To Fry, why was war an unlikely outcome for much of early human history?

Abundant resources and no environmental pressure Low population densities

According to Fry, when did war become a common feature of human experience?

Clear evidence of war beginning 10,000 years ago Steady increases in war and the evidence of war from then on out Further than 10,000 years ago there is little to no evidence of war Rousseau's noble savage

Which IR theory most closely parallels such sociological and anthropological arguments?

Constructivism

What is the difference between conventional warfare and asymmetric warfare?

Conventional warfare is when the belligerents have similar tactics and about the same resources Asymmetric/irregular warfare is when the belligerents (non-state or state) differ dramatically in force structure, resources, tactics, and other features (the US vs Taliban)

What does the term inter-subjective mean?

Defined as the goldilocks between subjective and objective in that is it intangible materials that exist outside of human beings EX) Articles, tweets, actions between humans

What is socialization? How does this process work?

Defined as the meaning that we attach to objects, including ourselves, as created through social interaction We are taught things and we accept it, we don't bother to challenge it EX) Subconsciously, narratives make us predisposed to that black people are more of a threat than white people EX) saying bless you to someone sneezing EX) Muslims are a perceived threat that came about because of 9/11

According to Goldstein, what are some of the major trends in the contemporary use of violence?

Despite all this violence throughout history (100 k deaths a year in the 90s, 50k deaths a year in 00s)... Smaller in scales and fewer people dying every year

What are the differences and similarities between classical and structural realism?

Differences: Classical believes humans and states are fundamentally self-interested and power-hungry, while structural does not and only focuses on environmental/structural Similarities: Both look at environmental features

How do liberals explain the causes of war?

Failure of lack of effective institutions (I. E. monitoring services) that help manage conflicts of interest in nonviolent ways "Conflict is inevitable, but war is not"

What insight does examining chimpanzee behavior provide us regarding human nature?

Have very similar fight or flight responses that we have Smart enough to know there is an equal number of destruction when confronting a group their size Resolve peacefully Display power instead of using it Only have biological explanations for violence in certain instances

How does Lorenz explain the causes of war?

Humans are naturally likely to separate into groups and use violence and aggression to protect who they perceive to be their group

What do constructivists mean when they refer to the immaterial world of ideational content?

Humans give material objects meaning Garden Rake vs AK47, which is more threatening? Cavemen think rake is more threatening at first glance b/c they do not know what guns are If humans disappeared, guns and rakes would have no meaning Meaning is a social contract based on one's own perspective

What do Hobbes and Rousseau mean when they refer to the "state of nature"?

Hypothetical experiment to see what humans would be like if they were dropped into hunter-gatherer societies

What is the difference between inter and intra-state warfare?

Inter is between 2 regions/state governments (the US vs Japan) while intra occurs in the same region/state government (civil war)

According to Lorenz, what if any, is the difference between the logic of inter and intra-species violence?

Intra-species (human to human) violence is an adaptive trait (something that helps survive) that ensures that the strongest genes are passed on Inter-species is between humans and other species, such as killing cows and pigs for food

Human observer bias

Man interprets experience based on preexisting knowledge, value, social constructs, and beliefs

According to Fry, why is it that we overestimate the naturalness of war?

News sources inform us about all of the terrible things that happen around the world and overlook the peaceful news We fixate on news of conflict and overlook peaceful and boring news

What is natural law?

Natural Law is an idea that all men and women, by virtue of their shared humanity are vested with certain inalienable rights, such as those to life, liberty, and property

How does evidence of bonobo behavior complicate the evidence from chimpanzee studies?

No aggressive displays of power However, they are endangered Peace as a maladaptive Humans are more similar to chimps than bonobo

What do realists mean when they refer to international anarchy?

No government in the international system, allows states to do as they please

What factors operate at the individual level which are relevant for explaining periods of war and peace?

Perceptions (misperceptions and bias) Personalities Beliefs and culture (worldviews) EX) Clinton did not go to war after Al-Qaeda attacked four times while George Bush went to war after 9-11

How do classical realists explain the causes of war?

Power and self-interest States look after their own citizens first Man is imperfect and war focused

What evidence does Pinker offer regarding human nature?

There was violence but humans did not go out to seek it by nature

What is Militant Enthusiasm?

To have an emotional response to the prospect of defending one's group, an adaptive trait left over from our ancestors An emotional state "my family has been attacked, I can't help it, I want vengeance, I am moved to behave in a certain way" EX) 9-11, Rick's group

How does Freud explain the causes of violence and war?

War is a product of instincts that drive man to be aggressive and destructive behavior.

Naturalization of war (test question on why we do)

We are given this message that war is normal and that we should be prideful and celebrate it

What is Fry's basic argument?

We bias our assessment of the historical record. We systematically discount or ignore instances of peace (non-events) and fixate on war, which is a relatively rare event.

What is the causal logic behind Hobbes' argument about human nature and war?

When there are low resources and low trust, things are going to be naturally violent in human nature which causes war

What is the democratic peace theory? How does it explain conflict or the lack thereof?

a theory that posits that democracies are hesitant to engage in armed conflict with other identified democracies. Among proponents of the democratic peace theory, several factors are held as motivating peace between democratic states

Subjective

is anything that exists fundamentally inside you as an individual What you are thinking, Your opinions, Mind and Heart

Objective

is things/beings that exists independent of man Facts, External, Observable EX) a water bottle, would exist if man disappeared

How do neo or structural realists explain the causes of war?

systematic/structural (environmental) features of the international system, such as anarchy, states having to be ready to defend themselves, and arms races due to insecurity of states when another acquires more power (nukes)