International Relations: Final!

In the final analysis, diplomatic engagement and multilateral cooperation are essential for addressing global challenges effectively.

Absolute advantage: one country can produce more of one resource easier and cheaper than others despite effort/materials. Affirms that trade protection is harmful to the economy as a whole. Focus and emphasis on productivity.

Alliances and War: States form alliances for either security reasons, shared ideological interests, strategic advantages, or to have balancing (ally to counter the strong) bandwagoning purposes (ally for benefits). There are: defensive, offensive, non-aggressive and entetes alliances. All of them are as they sound. According to realists, they’re made to boost national security. According to liberals, it’s to boost independence. According to constructivists, they’re made based on shared ideologies. There are concerns when it comes to free-riding, and in addition there is the abandonment vs. entrapment dilemma.

Which of the following best describes the concept of bandwagoning in international relations?

A) A weaker state joins a stronger state to avoid being targeted.
B) A group of states forms a coalition to balance against a powerful rival.
C) States align based on shared cultural or ideological ties.
D) A state avoids all alliances to maintain neutrality.

What is the main concern of a state facing the entrapment risk in an alliance?

A) Being left without support during a conflict.
B) Being drawn into an unwanted war due to an ally’s actions.
C) Losing autonomy over its military decisions.
D) Having to contribute too many resources to a collective defense.

Audience costs: bad consequences that occur because leader(s) didn’t follow through with their promises. Could be a leader's own audience or it could be an international push back. 

What are audience costs in the context of international relations?

A) The costs a leader pays for failing to act on international threats, as judged by their domestic audience.
B) The economic burden placed on citizens due to prolonged military engagements.
C) The financial expenses of broadcasting war-related news to the public.
D) The costs incurred by a state due to international sanctions.

According to the theory of audience costs, which type of political system is more likely to make credible threats in international crises?

A) Autocracies, because leaders face fewer constraints.
B) Democracies, because leaders risk losing public support if they back down.
C) Military regimes, because of their strong coercive capacity.
D) Theocracies, due to moral legitimacy.

Balance of Power: when two countries are roughly equal in military power. E.G. Soviet Power caused the US to align with the Western European powers. 

What is the primary goal of a balance of power system?

A) To ensure economic equality among nations.
B) To prevent any one state from becoming too powerful and dominating others.
C) To promote universal disarmament.
D) To create a single global government.

In balance of power theory, what is balancing behavior?

A) When a state avoids all alliances to stay neutral.
B) When weaker states align with a stronger power for protection.
C) When states form alliances to counter the rise of a stronger power.
D) When states divide power equally among domestic institutions.

Bargaining model of war : Uncertainty about outcome and war costs influences the model. 

Collective security organizations: organizations that promote peace and security, such as the United Nations. 

    Commitment problems have the same causes and effects: civil war, collective security organizations, terrorism and war.

What is the primary purpose of a collective security organization like the United Nations?

A) To create military alliances for offensive action
B) To maintain international peace by deterring aggression against any member
C) To promote global economic integration
D) To enforce the foreign policy goals of powerful states

Which of the following is a major challenge faced by collective security organizations?

A) Lack of member states
B) Inability to define sovereignty
C) Free riding and selective enforcement by powerful states
D) Excessive use of nuclear weapons by members

Comparative advantage: The ability to produce one good easier than another in a country. Comparison of efficiency compared to other economic ventures, not to a comparison between countries. Nations gain the most by sticking to their specialties. 

    What do I give up divided by what I get? Whatever you’re calculating for should go LAST.

Democratic Peace: observation that there are few clear cases of war between MATURE democratic states. Democratic political systems are more transparent than nondemocratic systems. Better able to send credible signals in times of crisis. Etc. 

What does the Democratic Peace Theory primarily assert?

A) Democracies are more likely to initiate wars than autocracies.
B) Democracies do not go to war with each other.
C) Democracies are inherently pacifist and avoid all wars.
D) Democracies are more likely to ally with autocracies.

Which of the following is a common explanation for why democracies rarely fight each other?

A) They lack the military power to engage in war.
B) Democratic leaders are more influenced by international organizations.
C) Democratic institutions promote transparency and accountability, reducing miscalculation.
D) Democracies are all economically dependent on authoritarian regimes.

Humanitarian Interventions: interventions to stop large scale human rights abuse (e.g. genocide). Sometimes this is through accountability, other times not. It depends on the situation, severity, actors, etc.