PSC International Relations 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'deterrence' as a strategy in international security?
- Preventing war by making the costs of aggression outweigh any potential gains (Correct answer)
- Using military force preemptively to eliminate a threat
- Isolating a hostile state through economic sanctions
- Negotiating arms reduction treaties with potential adversaries
Correct answer: Preventing war by making the costs of aggression outweigh any potential gains
Deterrence aims to prevent adversaries from taking hostile action by convincing them that the costs (e.g., nuclear retaliation) would far exceed any benefits they might gain.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes a 'non-governmental organization' (NGO) in international politics?
- A corporation with operations in multiple countries
- A private, nonprofit organization that operates internationally outside of government control (Correct answer)
- A United Nations specialized agency
- An intergovernmental body like the World Trade Organization
Correct answer: A private, nonprofit organization that operates internationally outside of government control
NGOs are private, nonprofit organizations that operate across national borders on issues like human rights, environment, or humanitarian aid, independent of state control.
Question 3: The concept of 'humanitarian intervention' in international relations refers to:
- Providing foreign aid to developing nations
- Military intervention in a state to stop severe human rights abuses, even without that state's consent (Correct answer)
- Sending diplomats to mediate ethnic conflicts
- Imposing sanctions to pressure authoritarian governments
Correct answer: Military intervention in a state to stop severe human rights abuses, even without that state's consent
Humanitarian intervention involves the use of military force by outside actors to halt gross human rights violations (such as genocide), raising tensions between sovereignty and human rights norms.
Question 4: What is 'economic globalization' in the context of international relations?
- The spread of democratic governments worldwide
- The increasing integration and interdependence of national economies through trade, investment, and finance (Correct answer)
- The military dominance of the United States in global markets
- The standardization of international currency under a single authority
Correct answer: The increasing integration and interdependence of national economies through trade, investment, and finance
Economic globalization refers to the deepening integration of national economies through expanding flows of trade, capital, technology, and labor across national borders.
Question 5: In the context of international relations, what is a 'hegemon'?
- A country that refuses to participate in international organizations
- A state so dominant in military and economic power that it shapes the rules of the international system (Correct answer)
- An alliance of smaller states formed to resist a dominant power
- A neutral mediator in international disputes
Correct answer: A state so dominant in military and economic power that it shapes the rules of the international system
A hegemon is a state with such overwhelming preponderance of power that it can set the rules and norms of the international order, as the United States did following World War II.
Question 6: The 'democratic peace theory' in international relations argues that:
- Democracies are more peaceful domestically but aggressive internationally
- Established democracies rarely go to war with each other (Correct answer)
- Only democratic states can participate in international organizations
- Democracy spreads peace through military intervention
Correct answer: Established democracies rarely go to war with each other
Democratic peace theory holds that liberal democracies almost never wage war against each other, even if they fight non-democratic states, due to shared norms and institutional constraints.
PSC International Relations 2
What is 'deterrence' as a strategy in international security?