SocSci GRII

For FAS/PoliSci majors

What is mercantilism?  How did Adam Smith critique it, and what did he propose instead?:

• Mercantilism (Realism)- Economic activity is a tool of state power; states prioritize relative gains and national security. 

• Smith opposed protectionism

• Smith proposed free markets “invisible hand”

What does Ruggi mean by embedded liberalism?  Has the US turned away from Adam Smith and embedded liberalism today?:

A compromise between free trade and domestic economic stability—accepted state intervention to manage markets, protect employment, and ensure social welfare.

How does Marx’s concept of historical materialism explain changes in modes of production throughout history? Provide two examples to illustrate your explanation:

• Marx proposed that the fundamental human activity is labor and production, which is always a social experience and thus always creates a class hierarchy. As technology changes, the mode of production changes, and the class system changes. 

• Example 1- In ancient civilization, the main products were farm products, the technology was hand-driven, and there was a master/slave class structure because humans were used as the “engines” of machines. 

• Example 2- Under capitalism, the main product is capital (the surplus value of labor enabled by industry), the technology is industrialization, and the class system is a capitalist/laborer structure.

Explain why Marx thought there was a built-in exploitation of labor that is hidden in the capitalist system.  Was he right?:

• Capitalists accumulate capital, which is the surplus value of labor. Instead of this labor value being rewarded to the laborer, it is taken “off the top” for the capitalist. This labor is veiled by the fact that we use money as a middle man to exchange value. If there were no middle man, laborers would just trade goods and services with each other, essentially communism. 

• Was he right? Personal opinion

What was the outcome of globalization according to Milberg, Liess, and Tedesco?  Is this what classic economic theory suggested would happen?  What political outcomes resulted from this?:

• Milberg believes globalization has undergone different phases: embedded liberalism (post-WWII to 70s), neoliberal globalization (70s-2008), and deglobalization (2008-now). The shift is driven by inequality, deindustrialization, political backlash, and geopolitical tensions.

• Hyperglobalization created such excess (CEO salaries, worker abuse, wealth inequality) that it has led to democratic backsliding and deglobalization

• Classic economic theory assumed that everyone would have free trade and perfect competition for their specialized products, leading to cheaper products and higher wages for everyone. However, not every country can have its own unique product, private companies are often international monopolies, and the wage gap between the global South and North did not start off on equal footing and has only gotten worse.

 

Roberts and Zaum describe two models for reforming the Security Council proposed in 2005. Briefly explain the key features of these models and discuss the underlying assumption that the Council’s problems are primarily due to its composition and the veto. Do you think this assumption is justified?:

• Composition- currently 5 permanent seats and 10 seats that change yearly. Propose adding more permanent seats and/or more rotating seats to reflect today’s power balance, where there are more “middle/rising” actors and where Britain and France have become less powerful. 

• Veto- the scope of a country’s veto power should not be absolute. It should be dependent on context. Further, the number of votes needed to pass resolutions should also be dependent on context.

Summarize and critique Samuel Huntington's argument in “Clash of Civilizations.”:

• After the Cold War, global conflict will no longer be primarily ideological or economic but cultural. The major actors remain nation-states, but the most important conflicts will occur between civilizations.

• Examples- East vs West. Russia makes this argument when justifying its invasion of Ukraine as a historical/cultural/heritage-based occupation. China makes this argument when discussing Taiwan or when creating anti-US propaganda.

Summarize and critique the democratic peace theory:

• Democratic states have less conflict with each other

• The US has had conflict with democratic states due to economic differences (1960s South American leaders/Greenland).

Hoffman argues that there is no single, universally accepted definition of terrorism. What factors contribute to this definitional ambiguity, and how does this complexity impact academic and policy debates?:

• Terrorism is politically and emotionally loaded—reflects moral judgement

• Terrorists label themselves freedom fighters to legitimize their actions

• Definition depends on political context/bias

• Less likely to operate as armed units, engage military targets, or hold territory/control populations

• Mixed up with guerrillas, insurgents, and other criminals.

Walter notes that many rebel groups in the "'new' new civil wars" pursue radical Islamist ideologies with global goals. What drives this, and how do these ideological shifts and transnational aims affect the dynamics of the conflict compared to traditional, nationally oriented civil wars?:

• These radical, global Islamist groups came to be because there was a power vacuum in post-colonial north African states, no peacekeeping operations, and unstable regimes due to external influence. 

• They can spread more quickly and become less centralized due to the internet. They have a “contagion effect” on other unstable countries.

Assess the overall record of US-induced regime change since the end of WWII and provide four examples.  Why is it difficult to achieve our goals through regime change?:

• Foreign-imposed regime change rarely works- leads to civil war, political instability, anti-US backlash

• Examples - Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan

Summarize Gilpin’s central argument regarding hegemonic war and illustrate it with reference to the Peloponnesian War. What conditions does he argue lead a declining hegemon to engage in conflict with rising challengers?:

• Relative power drives international relations. Stable systems have power hierarchies, where individual states’ interests remain unthreatened. 

• Hegemonic systems are unstable and collapse when the hegemon’s interests are threatened by broad changes to politics, strategy, or economy. A rising state clashes with the current hegemon, which leads to a new world order - in which the leader does not have to be one of the original instigators. 

• Peloponnesian War- Athens was the regional hegemon and Sparta was seen as a rising power. Due to Sparta’s superior infantry (change in strategy) they were able to topple Athens, which had spread itself too thin and relied too much on its navy.

How can Gilpin’s theory regarding hegemonic war help us understand current global power dynamics? Provide a brief analysis and example of how changes in international power distribution might signal the potential for future hegemonic conflict:

• Can be framed from an economic/political power lens- hegemon creates and maintains international order, providing security and economic stability

• Hegemonic power erodes due to rising costs of maintaining order, other states grow economically>instability in the system

• Power shapes economic rules

• Gilpin’s theory combines Realism with economic analysis.

According to Walt and Mearsheimer, what is offshore balancing? How would such a policy affect American policy toward various regions of the world, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy for the United States?:

• Stay militarily offshore unless absolutely necessary- focus on major strategic regions while maintaining US dominance and preventing regional hegemons.

• A policy like this would slow US interventionism in foreign nations

• Advantages- Lower military cost, fewer US casualties, reduces anti-US resentment (less terrorism), allies not “free-riding” preserves long-term US power

• Disadvantages- Might weaken global stability/US influence

According to Fagergren, what type of world order does Russia want, and how is Ukraine tied to this vision?  How has the war affected Russian interests and world order?:

• Russia wants to reestablish the Cold War world order, where it had control of all its satellite states in the Soviet Union, including Ukraine. It has used a historical and cultural narrative to justify this. 

• The Russian NSS has increasingly focused on an explicitly anti-Western and aggressive sentiment. Putin is also increasingly concerned with color revolutions that he claimed

How do we evaluate Wyne's assertion that policymakers should seek a balance between complacency and consternation when responding to Russia and China? Is such a balance achievable?:

• Completely subjective

• He argues that we are too far on the side of “consternation,” where we focus on military reaction first and foremost. Instead, given our complex economic relationship with both countries, we should acknowledge that it would be unrealistic to go to war with China or Russia. We should focus on diplomacy and economic cooperation, while strengthening alliances with other countries.

Brands and Gaddis suggest the U.S. and China are entering a new "cold war," but not the Cold War. Critically evaluate this distinction—does it help clarify the nature of today’s U.S.-China rivalry, or does it obscure more than it reveals?:

Framing it from the perspective of the Cold War outlines the differences between the US’s conflict with the USSR and the CCP. China’s BRI could be an attempt at expansion. China’s government is a similarly centralized authoritarian top-down regime. Primary point of contention is Taiwan.

Is fear of China really forging a new world order?  Argument for:

• Fear drives international order: common enemy

• Ex- Peace of Westphalia weakened Church/Holy Roman Empire

• Ex- Germany/Japan/Italy WWII

• Ex- USSR Cold War

• Chinese aggression in South China Sea/Taiwan Strait>conflict with neighbouring states

• Economic coercion (BRI)

• Digital authoritarianism- AI monitoring, facial recognition

• New Order- Economic bloc reducing dependence from China, military containment with China’s neighbours (Japan, Vietnam, Philippines), ideological shift (democracy vs autocracy).

Is fear of China really forging a new world order?  Argument against:

• Economic size alone is not enough to become superpower

• Massive technological gap (US leads innovation, intellectual property, advanced science engineering)

• China relies heavily on foreign technology

• GDP is misleading—understates US strength in “inclusive wealth” (human, natural, industrial assets)

• Military power is harder to build today

• US controls air, sea, space

• China lacks experience in military

• US has close allies—China has few meaningful allies (DPRK)

• Fear of China is overreaction

What drives the alignment between China and Iran?  Are these factors sufficient for sustaining a long-term strategic partnership?  Explain:

• China wants- Belt and Road Initiative, develop Middle Eastern economy and trade, Iran to spread anti-American values in the Middle East and balance against Israel/Kuwait/other American allies

• Iran wants- nuclear deal, support for its economy devastated by western sanctions, ability to establish its Navy in the Indian Ocean, build BRI, use China as a role model for conservative govt/liberal economy

• Environmental factors- power vacuum in region, expansion of “periphery states,” both oppose US hegemony 

• Subjective answer

What have been the successes and problems with NATO from an American perspective?  What does a sound American policy toward NATO going forward look like?:

• Successes- The US and the rest of NATO must agree by consensus, ensuring a common enemy and making it easy to build connections between governments and militaries. Europe is important to the US for economic stability, as a staging ground for West Eurasia, Africa, and the Middle East, and as a democratic stronghold. Post-WWII, NATO ensured the “Long Peace in Europe,” essentially that the Cold War didn’t become hot. It supported Berlin through the Berlin Airlift. Its success in Iraq post-9/11 is also claimed by the US. 

• Problems- Europe does not have capacity for self-armament, logistics, nuclear arsenal, or troop deployment.

What are the unique features of space to consider when developing a security strategy that takes space seriously?  According to Sokolski, how would a "war in space" look very different from what we see projected in popular culture?  What are the lessons obtained from the war game in space that Sokolski ran?:

• Not very regulated, but research-oriented means that “battle” will look like satellite-on-satellite violence

• Very hard to do direct attacks because everything happens so slowly. Therefore must rely on deception such as dual-use weaponry

Explain the cybersecurity dilemma and its dangers.  How does the offense-defense problem make cooperation especially difficult in the cybersecurity realm?:

• Like the security dilemma, any one state’s attempt to strengthen its security will alarm other states and prompt them to heighten their own security, which the first state also sees as a threat, starting a positive feedback loop. 

• The offense-defense problem refers to the idea that defensive cyber capabilities often have an offensive component. To gain information on what your neighbor country is doing (defensive) you must gain access to their systems (offensive). Even though your intent was defensive, it can be easily misinterpreted. 

• Additionally, it is very hard to keep information secret, especially when certain offensive capabilities require you to negate your own defenses to use them. Deception is difficult, risky, and common.

From a realist perspective, how does the NotPetya attack illustrate cyber capabilities as a form of power projection by states? In what ways does this alter traditional understandings of military strength and deterrence? From a liberal perspective, economic interdependence is thought to decrease conflict incentives. How does the global economic disruption caused by NotPetya challenge or reinforce this liberal assumption?:

• Cyber capabilities are unbalanced and hard to control/discriminate. 

• Since cyber attacks are hard to control/limit in scope, and since our economies are interdependent, often cyber attacks will also affect bystanders or non-involved entities. However, this consideration does not often deter bad actors from starting cyber attacks - in fact, it is sometimes seen as a benefit.

How does Talmadge define the emerging nuclear era and behavior in this era?  How might constructivist theories of identity and perception help explain how different states interpret nuclear signaling and threat?:

• Two-tiered nuclear triad of powers

• US, Russia, China (first tier) & India, Pakistan, NK (second tier)

• Marginally strengthens deterrence

• Intensified arms race

• Complex crisis dynamic with third parties and more countries/variables

• Diminishing prospects for arms control

• Constructivist view- Nations think that nuclear arms control will be harder if more people have nukes, so nuclear arms control is harder.

According to Schelling, what would a world without nuclear weapons look like?  Should we pursue such a world?:

• Schelling believes a world without nuclear weapons is much more dangerous than a world with nuclear weapons.

• Nations who have the knowledge and expertise to build such weapons would quickly build them up and first strike other nations to prevent other nations from amassing similar weapons, causing an even worse arms race.