Quiz: International Relations and World Order — 20 questions

1. What does International Relations primarily examine?

A. Economic activity conducted only by private firms within national borders

B. The internal organization of one state without external influences

C. Interactions among states and other actors and their consequences for domestic populations

D. Political decisions made entirely within a single governmental jurisdiction

Answer: (C)

Explanation

International Relations studies interactions among states and other actors, including their historical, political, and socioeconomic effects on domestic populations. Domestic politics, by contrast, remains within a single governmental jurisdiction.

2. What creates the international state system?

A. Agreements among private corporations alone

B. The institutions operating within a single state

C. Domestic elections held by national governments

D. Interactions among all states in the world

Answer: (D)

Explanation

The international state system is created by interactions among all states, and the consequences of those interactions can affect domestic populations. A single state is a participant in the system rather than the system itself.

3. Which issue falls within the scope of international relations beyond a narrow focus on interstate conflict?

A. Global warming and unequal wealth

B. The management of a household budget

C. The design of a single city's transport network

D. The scheduling of local elections

Answer: (A)

Explanation

International relations addresses a broad range of issues, including environmental problems such as global warming and socioeconomic issues such as unequal wealth and poverty. A security-only view would exclude these concerns.

4. How do moral disagreements differ from theoretical disagreements in international relations?

A. Moral disagreements concern institutions, while theoretical disagreements concern domestic legal procedures

B. Moral disagreements are settled by evidence, while theoretical disagreements cannot be assessed empirically

C. Moral disagreements concern historical dates, while theoretical disagreements concern personal preferences

D. Moral disagreements concern what policies ought to do, while theoretical disagreements concern explanatory claims that can be tested against facts

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Moral disagreements address what policies ought to do and cannot be resolved by factual evidence alone. Theoretical disagreements concern explanations and can ultimately be assessed against empirical facts.

5. What event is often presented as the formation of International Relations as an academic discipline after the First World War?

A. The establishment of the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth in 1919

B. The creation of the European Union after the Second World War

C. The first publication of the Journal of Race Development in 1910

D. The publication of Foreign Affairs in 1945

Answer: (A)

Explanation

In 1919, the Department of International Politics was established at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. This event is often presented as the postwar formation of the academic discipline of International Relations.

6. What purpose does the foundation-myth account attribute to the creation of International Relations after the First World War?

A. Replacing the study of race and empire with environmental politics

B. Expanding commercial trade between multinational corporations

C. Managing colonial administration through racial hierarchy

D. Identifying the causes of war and helping politicians prevent future wars

Answer: (D)

Explanation

The foundation-myth account portrays International Relations as a peace project created after the First World War to understand the causes of war and help prevent future conflicts. The imperial account instead emphasizes colonial administration and racial hierarchy.

7. What best defines an international order?

A. A single market without political relationships

B. A military alliance formed by democratic states

C. Regularized practices of exchange between political units

D. A worldwide government governing all political units

Answer: (C)

Explanation

An international order consists of regularized practices of exchange between political units. These practices may vary in intensity, hierarchy, and formality.

8. Which event is often treated as the foundational date of the modern international order in International Relations?

A. The creation of the United Nations in 1945

B. The establishment of the League of Nations in 1919

C. The Congress of Vienna in 1815

D. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648

Answer: (D)

Explanation

The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 is often considered the conventional foundational date of the modern international order, although newer scholarship emphasizes longer processes of global integration.

9. Which statement captures the central debate about globalization and state power?

A. Globalization may erode state power, while states may still remain central in an interdependent order.

B. Globalization concerns economics but has no effect on international politics.

C. Globalization has eliminated states as meaningful political actors.

D. Globalization has made international relations entirely hierarchical and formal.

Answer: (A)

Explanation

The debate contrasts the view that globalization erodes state power with the view that states remain central actors within an interdependent international order.

10. Which combination most accurately characterizes the nineteenth-century transformation of international relations?

A. States withdrew from global commerce and abandoned permanent institutions.

B. Political revolutions ended imperial expansion and prevented further global integration.

C. International relations became entirely egalitarian through the decline of empire.

D. Global interdependence expanded alongside imperial hierarchy and new forms of coordination.

Answer: (D)

Explanation

The nineteenth century brought expanding interdependence through communication, institutions, corporations, and standardized time, but it also involved imperial expansion and hierarchy.

11. What did the establishment of the International Telecommunications Union in 1865 symbolize?

A. The beginning of permanent institutions of global governance

B. The end of transnational communication networks

C. The formal abolition of imperial rule

D. The creation of the first universal democratic parliament

Answer: (A)

Explanation

The International Telecommunications Union became the first standing intergovernmental organization in 1865, symbolizing the rise of permanent institutions of global governance.

12. Why is the First World War described as the first modern industrialized total war?

A. Belligerents mobilized populations, economies, and armies on a broad scale.

B. It avoided the involvement of societies outside Europe.

C. It was fought mainly through diplomatic pressure rather than military force.

D. It remained confined to a small number of professional armies.

Answer: (A)

Explanation

The First World War became total because belligerents mobilized entire populations, economies, and armies. Although it began among European states, it also spread globally.

13. How did the Second World War compare with the First World War in its overall character?

A. It was more global and more total and fundamentally changed world politics.

B. It preserved the prewar structure of world politics with few major changes.

C. It was less global and less total in its effects.

D. It was primarily a limited conflict among neighboring European states.

Answer: (A)

Explanation

The Second World War was more total in nature and broader in global scope than the First World War, producing fundamental changes in world politics.

14. Which sequence accurately describes the development of the Treaty of Versailles?

A. An armistice stopped fighting, a peace conference negotiated terms, and the treaty formalized them

B. The treaty stopped fighting, an armistice imposed reparations, and a conference approved disarmament

C. The League stopped fighting, the treaty negotiated terms, and an armistice established peace

D. A peace conference stopped fighting, an armistice negotiated terms, and the treaty created the League

Answer: (A)

Explanation

The armistice of 11 November 1918 ended the fighting, the Paris Peace Conference negotiated the settlement, and the Treaty of Versailles formalized the peace terms. Confusing these stages reverses their functions.

15. Which combination best summarizes the main penalties imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles?

A. Political independence, economic assistance, and reduced responsibility for the war

B. Territorial losses, military disarmament, and financial and economic punishment

C. Territorial expansion, naval enlargement, and unrestricted trade privileges

D. Colonial expansion, military rearmament, and debt cancellation

Answer: (B)

Explanation

The treaty removed territory, restricted Germany’s armed forces, assigned responsibility for the war, and imposed financial and economic penalties, including reparations eventually set at £6600 million.

16. Which proposal was included in Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points?

A. Expanding armaments to deter future conflicts

B. Rejecting self-determination in favor of imperial rule

C. Maintaining secret diplomacy to protect national interests

D. Creating a League of Nations to support international cooperation

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Wilson’s Fourteen Points promoted open diplomacy, free trade, reduced armaments, self-determination, territorial adjustments, and the creation of a League of Nations.

17. A League member facing an international dispute would be acting consistently with League principles by doing what?

A. Using force immediately when diplomatic discussions become difficult

B. Respecting other states’ sovereignty and rejecting military force as a solution

C. Threatening military action to secure a favorable settlement

D. Ignoring another state’s territorial integrity during negotiations

Answer: (B)

Explanation

League members were expected to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of other nation-states and reject the use or threat of military force in international conflicts.

18. Which description best defines the Great Depression?

A. A diplomatic crisis caused mainly by disputes over European borders

B. A brief national recession caused by a temporary shortage of consumer goods

C. A period of global industrial expansion accompanied by rising employment and liquidity

D. A severe global downturn involving unemployment, falling production and trade, and widespread business failures

Answer: (D)

Explanation

The Great Depression was a global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939 marked by unemployment, poverty, reduced liquidity, declining industrial production and trade, and many bank and business failures.

19. How did the Great Depression affect United States foreign-policy tendencies after the First World War?

A. It caused the United States to abandon economic recovery in favor of European rearmament

B. It led the United States to prioritize overseas intervention over unemployment relief

C. It pushed the United States further toward isolationism while leaders prioritized domestic recovery

D. It encouraged the United States to join every international security commitment available

Answer: (C)

Explanation

The Depression strengthened postwar isolationist tendencies in the United States. Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt focused chiefly on economic recovery, unemployment, and domestic social dislocation.

20. Which sequence correctly describes the major events surrounding appeasement and the outbreak of the Second World War?

A. Germany gained the Sudetenland on 30 September 1938, seized all Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939, and invaded Poland on 1 September 1939

B. Germany gained the Sudetenland on 15 March 1939, invaded Poland on 30 September 1938, and seized Czechoslovakia on 1 September 1939

C. Germany seized all Czechoslovakia on 30 September 1938, invaded Poland on 15 March 1939, and gained the Sudetenland on 1 September 1939

D. Germany invaded Poland on 30 September 1938, gained the Sudetenland on 15 March 1939, and seized Czechoslovakia on 1 September 1939

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Britain and France accepted Germany’s demand concerning the Sudetenland on 30 September 1938. German forces then seized all of Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939 and invaded Poland on 1 September 1939.