The absence of a central authority above sovereign states
Explanation
Anarchy describes an international system without a central authority above sovereign states. It does not mean chaos, which refers to disorder.
Sovereignty
Explanation
Sovereignty is a state's authority to govern its territory and make its own political decisions without formal subordination to another state. The international system describes the broader structure of actors and their relationships, not this authority of an individual state.
Interactions among states and other international actors
Explanation
International Relations studies interactions among states as well as actors such as international organizations, corporations, NGOs, and individuals. Domestic institutions alone are a narrower subject than this field.
The structure formed by international actors and their relationships
Explanation
The international system is the structure formed by states and other actors and the relationships between them. A global authority is not part of its definition; international relations lack a central authority above sovereign states.
Realism
Explanation
Realism emphasizes states, power, survival, national interest, and security in an anarchic international system. Liberalism is the most plausible alternative, but it places greater emphasis on cooperation and institutions.
Liberalism
Explanation
Liberalism holds that states and other actors can cooperate through institutions, trade, diplomacy, and international rules. Realism instead gives greater priority to power and security.
Smart power, combining soft and hard power strategically
Explanation
Smart power strategically combines hard power, such as economic pressure, with soft power, such as cultural diplomacy. Soft power alone relies on attraction rather than the coercive economic measure in this example.
To maintain stability through great-power consultation, diplomacy, and balance of power
Explanation
The Concert of Europe was a system of great-power consultation established after Napoleon's defeat to maintain stability through diplomacy and balance of power. It relied on consultation among great powers rather than a central government governing them.
It created a powerful industrial and military state in central Europe
Explanation
German unification in 1871 created a powerful industrial and military state in central Europe. The Concert of Europe had been established after Napoleon's defeat, well before German unification.
Competition over Ottoman territories and influence as the empire declined, especially in southeastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean
Explanation
The Eastern Question concerned competition over Ottoman lands and influence as the empire weakened. Rivalry in Central Asia was a related imperial contest, but it does not define the Eastern Question.
Gavrilo Princip's assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914
Explanation
Princip's assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo was the immediate trigger of the crisis. The declaration of war on Serbia came later, while nationalism and alliance tensions were underlying causes rather than the triggering event.
Germany gave Austria-Hungary a blank cheque; Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia; Russia mobilized; Germany declared war on Russia and France and invaded Belgium; Britain entered
Explanation
Germany backed Austria-Hungary, whose declaration of war on Serbia was followed by Russian mobilization, German declarations of war, the invasion of Belgium, and British entry. The sequence beginning with Russia giving Serbia a blank cheque reverses the key diplomatic steps.
Alliance commitments, mobilization fears, nationalism, mistrust, miscalculation, and the security dilemma made compromise difficult
Explanation
Several interacting pressures—including alliances, fears about mobilization, nationalism, mistrust, and miscalculation—undermined diplomacy. A binding international court did not compel states to resolve the crisis through war.
To create a stable postwar order, particularly through the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, and prevent another major war
Explanation
The Paris Peace System was the postwar settlement, especially the Treaty of Versailles, intended to establish stability and prevent another major war. It did not create a unified European government or armed force.
The United States remained outside the League of Nations
Explanation
The Senate's refusal to ratify the treaty left the United States outside the League of Nations. The United States did not join the League while merely withholding funds.
It had no permanent army of its own
Explanation
The League had no permanent army, so enforcement depended on member states. It did issue decisions, but lacked its own standing military force to carry them out.
It failed to stop Japan's occupation of Manchuria, Italy's conquest of Ethiopia, and German rearmament and expansion
Explanation
The League failed to stop Japanese occupation in Manchuria, Italy's conquest of Ethiopia, and German rearmament and expansion. It did not successfully halt the Manchurian occupation while failing only in the other cases.
It began in 1929 and developed into a worldwide economic crisis
Explanation
The Great Depression began in 1929 and became a worldwide economic crisis. The year 1931 marks Japan's invasion of Manchuria, not the beginning of the Depression.
It encouraged protectionism, political instability, extremist movements, economic nationalism, and weaker collective security
Explanation
The Depression fostered protectionism, political instability, extremist movements, and economic nationalism while weakening collective security. It did not strengthen collective security through increased trade.
It did not independently cause the war, but weakened the international system and helped create conditions for aggressive expansion
Explanation
The Depression was not an independent cause of the war, but it weakened the international system and contributed to conditions that enabled aggressive powers to expand. Treating it as the sole cause ignores the broader political and international factors involved.
To maintain international peace and security and promote cooperation
Explanation
The UN was established after World War II to maintain international peace and security and promote cooperation. Its creation was not intended to establish a global government or restore colonial rule.
Chapter VII
Explanation
Chapter VII empowers the Security Council to authorize sanctions and other enforcement measures. The General Assembly and International Court of Justice have distinct roles and do not provide this Chapter VII authority.
The United States became a UN founding member but was absent from the League of Nations.
Explanation
The United States became a founding member of the United Nations, unlike its absence from the League of Nations. It was not a founding member of both organizations.
Ideological differences, security fears, power competition, and mutual mistrust
Explanation
The Cold War combined ideological differences between the United States and Soviet Union with security fears, power competition, and mutual mistrust. Explaining it through territorial disputes alone leaves out these other central causes.
Each side's ability to retaliate devastatingly makes a nuclear attack extremely dangerous.
Explanation
Mutually Assured Destruction describes how both sides could inflict devastating retaliation after a nuclear attack, making full-scale nuclear war extremely dangerous. A first strike that removes the opponent's capacity to retaliate is not the defining condition.
He imposed a naval quarantine around Cuba.
Explanation
Kennedy responded to the Soviet missile deployment with a naval quarantine. A ground invasion was not the response identified for this stage of the crisis.
The Soviet Union removed its missiles, the United States pledged not to invade Cuba, and it secretly agreed to withdraw Jupiter missiles from Turkey.
Explanation
The settlement included Soviet missile removal, a US pledge not to invade Cuba, and a secret US agreement to withdraw Jupiter missiles from Turkey. The crisis did not end with the Soviet missiles remaining in Cuba.
They used proxy wars, ideological competition, strategic interests, and efforts to influence newly independent states.
Explanation
The superpowers competed indirectly through proxy wars, ideological rivalry, strategic interests, and attempts to influence newly independent states. Their competition did not take the form of a unified administration.
Third World governments and movements pursued their own political, economic, and strategic objectives.
Explanation
Third World governments and movements were not merely passive pawns; they pursued their own political, economic, and strategic objectives. Superpower pressure did not mean that these states lacked independent aims.
Its effects could extend beyond the country where the pollution originated.
Explanation
Pollution crossing national borders can cause damage that no single state can contain, creating a need for cooperation. This does not make regulations identical; states may still differ in their policies and priorities.
They differ over costs, historical responsibility, and the balance between development and protection.
Explanation
Countries can disagree about the costs of action, responsibility for past emissions, and the trade-off between development and environmental protection. The disagreement is not evidence that environmental damage stays within national borders.
Fixed but adjustable exchange rates centered on the dollar, convertible into gold at $35 per ounce.
Explanation
Bretton Woods organized fixed but adjustable exchange rates around the US dollar, which foreign monetary authorities could convert into gold at $35 per ounce. Floating rates, by contrast, move primarily with market forces.
They increased international dollar holdings and raised doubts about US gold convertibility.
Explanation
Growing US external liabilities put more dollars into international circulation and raised doubts that the United States could maintain gold convertibility. The increase in dollar holdings did not strengthen confidence in the system's gold backing.
He suspended dollar-gold convertibility for foreign monetary authorities.
Explanation
Nixon suspended the ability of foreign monetary authorities to convert dollars into gold on 15 August 1971. Major currencies moved toward floating rates later, in 1973, rather than as part of that specific action.
Major currencies moved toward rates shaped primarily by market forces.
Explanation
In 1973, major currencies moved toward floating exchange rates, which depend primarily on market forces, effectively ending Bretton Woods. Returning to defined parities would have meant fixed rather than floating rates.
Define the concept, answer directly, support arguments with historical examples, add nuance, and conclude with broader significance.
Explanation
A strong answer defines its key concept, responds directly, supports its reasoning with historical examples, adds nuance, and concludes with broader significance. Merely listing dates does not explain or substantiate an argument.
It shows how events produce consequences, such as the Manchurian crisis weakening collective security and encouraging further aggression.
Explanation
Causal reasoning connects the League's failure in Manchuria to weakened collective security, further aggression, and dependence on major-power cooperation. Treating the failure as a strengthening of collective security reverses the causal relationship.
Lock in the answers with 92 flashcards on International Relations Midterm.
What does International Relations study?
Interactions among states and other international actors.
Which organizations are among the actors studied in International Relations?
International organizations.
What authority does sovereignty give a state?
Authority to govern its territory and make its own political decisions without formal subordination to another state.
Go over the full study guide for International Relations Midterm.
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