International Relations Quiz + Midterm Chapter 2
Adam Smith argued that individuals should be allowed to pursue their economic interests with limited state regulation.
true
After the Treaties of Westphalia, states in the West underwent an economic revival under the aegis of capitalism, while states in the East reverted toward feudal practices.
true
During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union supported opposing groups in wars in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
true
In addition to Germany, Japan and Italy also played a major role in the breakdown of interstate order in the 1930s.
true
In the early 1900s, Britain joined an alliance with Japan (a non-European power) against Russia (a European power).
true
What did Jean Bodin, the philosopher credited with much of the development of the notion of sovereignty, mean when he argued that sovereignty was perpetual?
a. Because power was vested in the state, not an individual, the state would remain sovereign even if a particular leader died or was removed from power.
What political consequences did industrialization have?
a. It gave new power to the European middle classes.
Why is 1648, marked by the creation of the Treaties of Westphalia, a seminal year for scholars of international relations?
a. It marked a decrease of religious authority in Europe, and the rise of secular authority in the form of sovereign states
The 1990s can be characterized as ...
a. a decade marked by U.S. primacy paralleled by civil and ethnic strife in places like Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
During the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact were ...
a. blocs of states that represented U.S. and Soviet interests, respectively
In order to keep the balance of power in Europe following German unification, the European great powers ...
a. divided up Africa, giving Germany a sphere of influence on the continent to appease its great power aspirations.
One of the significant outcomes of World War I was the ...
a. increased nationalism and new states following the demise of three major European empires.
In 2014, the Russian Federation ...
a. invaded Ukraine and annexed a Ukrainian province.
Following the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Europe's five major powers ...
a. ushered in a period of relative peace in the international political system
Perestroika and glasnost, two domestic processes initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev and other Soviet reformers,
a. were intended to save the Soviet system but ultimately contributed to its demise.
What is one reason that students of international relations should study history?
b. Core concepts in the field, such as sovereignty, were developed and shaped by historical events.
An important consequence of the combination of European imperialism in Africa and Asia and a balance of power in Europe in the 1800s was that ...
b. European state rivalries played out in Africa and Asia.
Which non-European power defeated Russia, a European power, in a war in the early 1900s?
b. Japan
What did the "domino effect" concern?
b. U.S. fears about the spread of communism from country to country in Asia
In order to stop the rise of fascism in Germany, Italy, and Japan, which alliance formed prior to and during World War II?
b. an alliance between communists and liberal democracies
Two principles that rose out of the American and French Revolutions and provided the foundation for politics in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are ...
b. legitimacy from the consent of the governed and nationalism.
The Second Anglo-Boer War, fought from 1899 to 1902,
b. showed that colonists could now more effectively resist European powers.
The authority of a state to govern matters within its own borders free from external interference is known as ...
b. sovereignty
United States involvement in the Vietnam War ...
b. strained the United States' relationship with its allies such as Canada.
In the Cuban Missile Crisis ...
b. the United States objected to the Soviet Union placing missiles in Cuba.
The most important outcome of World War II was ...
b. the emergence of two superpowers and the decline of Europe as the epicenter of world politics.
The idea of the "invisible hand" discussed by Scottish economist Adam Smith is that ...
b. when individuals pursue their rational self-interest, the market operates effortlessly and efficiently.
Following the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, in which state did the United States launch a war to oust the Taliban regime?
c. Afghanistan
Why, following World War II, did the Soviet Union use its newfound superpower status to solidify control over Eastern European states like Poland and Czechoslovakia?
c. It feared another invasion from the West and wanted a buffer zone of friendly nations to protect it.
________ is a group's identification with their common history, language, customs, and practices.
c. Nationalism
The ultimate failure of the League of Nations to accomplish its mandate can be attributed to which of the following factors?
c. The League lacked the needed political weight, legal instruments, and legitimacy.
What happened to the colonial system after World War II?
c. The colonial system met its demise due to Germany's and Japan's defeat, the weak economic position of other former colonizers, and the United Nations' endorsement of national self-determination.
Which of the following statements is true of U.S. and Soviet involvement in the Middle East during the Cold War?
c. The region was a scene of proxy confrontations between U.S.-supported Israel and Soviet-backed Arab states.
After the Treaties of Westphalia, why did European monarchs begin to collect more taxes?
c. They needed money to build armies that they could use to strengthen their power and capture more territory.
As part of the nineteenth-century balance-of-power system in Europe,
c. alliances were formed to counteract potentially more powerful factions.
The League of Nations was an international organization that was ...
c. not joined by the United States and Russia.
During the Cold War, ________ was the strategic idea to push the Soviet Union out of Eastern Europe and back to its own borders, and ________ was the strategic idea to protect the status quo from further Soviet expansion.
c. rollback; containment
Which of the following was an important factor contributing to the period of peace following the defeat of Napoleon in 1815?
c. the fact that Europe's political elites were united in their fear of revolution among the masses.
The concept of legitimacy, which emerged in the aftermath of the American and French revolutions, implies that political power ultimately rests with
c. the people
Among the factors leading to an end to Europe's balance-of-power system was ...
c. the solidification of previously flexible alliances between the European powers.
Which of the following political changes occurred in the years following the Napoleonic Wars?
d. Germany unified
Napoleon's army was defeated when it invaded ...
d. Russia
One major motive for colonialism was ...
d. a desire for economic gains
In the balance of power in Europe following the Napoleonic Wars, Russia played the role of ________ while Britain played the role of ________.
d. builder of alliances; balancer
Which of the following strategic policies did the United States adopt vis-à-vis the Soviet Union during the Cold War?
d. containment
The lessening of tensions between the United States and Soviet Union beginning in the late 1960s is called
d. détente.
The Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I ...
d. fueled German dissatisfaction by making the country pay the economic cost of the war.
The "Arab Spring" was sparked by ...
d. protests against cruelty and corruption in Tunisia.
What similarities were there between Germany and Korea during the Cold War?
e. Each country was ultimately divided between a communist and a noncommunist half.
In the 1990s, which of the following states experienced severe ethnic conflict and human rights abuses that were largely ignored by the international community?
e. Rwanda and Burundi
The Islamic State controls large swaths of territory in ...
e. Syria and Iraq.
Which factor contributed to Napoleonic France's military victories?
e. The French army was united by passionate nationalism.
Which of the following is true of the Treaties of Westphalia?
e. They codified the rights of states to determine their own domestic policies after the Thirty Years' War.
The idea that states will hesitate to start a war with an adversary whose power to fight and win wars is similar to their own underpins the concept of ...
e. balance of power.
Although the Cold War did not involve direct military conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, it can be characterized as a period during which ...
e. differences between the two were played out indirectly using proxies on third-party stages.
The annexation of distant territory and its inhabitants to an empire is known as ...
e. imperialism
Scottish economist Adam Smith posits that the wealth of states and of the international system is increased when ...
e. individuals are allowed to pursue their rational self-interests, unfettered by state regulation
In Europe following the 1648 Treaties of Westphalia, in states in the west, such as England and France, ________, while in states in the east, such as Prussia and Russia, ________.
e. private enterprise was encouraged; serfs remained on the land
During World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union fought against the United States and Great Britain.
false
The Soviet Union (and later Russia) vetoed a UN Security Council Resolution to send a mission to force Iraq out of Kuwait in the early 1990s, so the United States sent a mission on its own.
false
The peacefulness witnessed during the Concert of Europe was unsurprising given that there were few major economic, technological, or political changes in Europe during this period.
false
Unlike European states, the United States was not an imperial power and had no colonies.
false
World War II ended in May 1945 when Germany surrendered unconditionally.
false