IR Prelims

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Preliminary Exam Spring 2010 Answer one General Question and one from each of two other categories, for a total of three questions. Note: The exam is designed to test your ability to think and write analytically about problems that are central to the study of international politics. In drafting your answer, make sure that you state your thesis clearly and support it with a well-structured argument. General 1. Much of the American political science literature about international politics has been influenced by the claim made by Realist writers (starting with John Herz) that international politics takes place in an environment characterized by anarchy. Kenneth Waltz is credited with the idea that the alternative to anarchy is what he called hierarchy, which he claimed is the main structural property of domestic politics. Recently, David Lake has written a book that argues that hierarchy is to be found in the international system as well. Discuss and evaluate the distinction between anarchy and hierarchy. Is the distinction important? If so, what is its significance for Realism? 2. In recent years some scholars have celebrated the blurring of boundaries between the fields of International Relations and Comparative Politics. What, if any, contributions to theory have been generated by work that combines IR and Comparative? Has this blurring of the boundary lines come at the expense of theoretical coherence and levels of analysis within IR? Explain. Conflict 1. There is disagreement about what effect the possession of nuclear weapons by the government of Iran might have on international politics in the Middle East. Does the literature on international conflict have anything to say about the answer to this question? If so, what? 2. The emergence of cross-border terrorism in recent years seems to have taken academic students of international politics in the US completely by surprise. Does the literature on international politics have anything useful to say on the subject? Is there any other literature in the social sciences that is relevant to understanding it and evaluating its implications? Foreign Policy 1. Realist and Liberal theories of foreign policy-making make different assumptions about the factors that shape and determine foreign policy choice. Identify and discuss

three key differences. 2. Many Realists argue that as a state’s power increases, so will its international ambitions. However, states frequently underreach: their ambitions do not keep pace with their power. How have Realists sought to account for the anomaly of “strategic underextension”? Have their efforts strengthened or weakened Realism’s explanatory power? Explain. Political Economy 1. How (if at all) have globalized capital markets altered the political autonomy of states, and as a consequence, relations between states? 2. What are the most important political factors in generating and sustaining an open and global trading system? International Law and Organization 1. Realists often claim that international institutions and norms are of little importance in explaining the behavior of states. Do you agree? In your answer make sure to explain what you mean by international institutions and/or norms and provide specific examples to support your argument. 2. Some scholars argue that the likelihood of international cooperation is conditioned by domestic politics. What domestic factors or variables do these analysts emphasize, and how do these factors structure and constrain the possibilities for international cooperation? Explain. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Preliminary Exam Spring 2009 Answer one General Question and one from each of two other categories, for a total of three questions. Note: The exam is designed to test your ability to think and write analytically about problems that are central to the study of international politics. In drafting your answer, make sure that you state your thesis clearly and support it with a well-structured argument. General 1. According to a recent, highly publicized study by the National Intelligence Council, the structure of international politics is undergoing fundamental change and by 2025, the international system will be multipolar. Does IR theory give us any reason to think

that a multipolar order will be less stable than the bipolar or unipolar orders that have shaped world politics since World War II? Explain. 2. The recent death of Samuel Huntington has stimulated renewed interest in his thesis that the Cold War would be followed by a clash of civilizations, and some have argued that the so-called "war on terror" is evidence of his prescience. Do you agree? Assess Huntington's thesis in light of the development of international conflict since the end of the Cold War. Conflict 1. Calls for the US, Europe, or the UN to do something to bring the violent conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza to an end are just the latest examples of the common belief that the key to ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is held by some third party or other. Does the academic literature on the causes of war provide any support for this view? 2. The war in Iraq has provoked a great deal of commentary. Assess the controversy about this war in light of the academic literature about war and international politics. Does the academic literature provide any insights that have been overlooked by participants in this controversy? Have participants in the controversy produced any insights that have been overlooked in the academic literature? Foreign Policy 1. During George W. Bush’s presidency, US relations with India improved significantly. How might Realist and Liberal theories of foreign policy making explain this Indo- American rapproachment? Explain. In your answer, be sure to compare and contrast these competing approaches to foreign policy, identifying key assumptions that each approach makes about foreign policy-making. 2. Barack Obama has promised to end the domestic rancor and polarization over foreign policy in Washington. Does the academic literature on foreign policy-making give us any reason to think that President Obama will be more successful than his predecessor in fostering domestic consensus over foreign policy matters? Explain. Political Economy 1. Many scholars believe that the world economy is in the grips of the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression. What, if anything, can the field of international political economy tell us about the causes and consequences of the current global financial crisis? In your answer, be sure to discuss the relevance, or irrelevance, of extant theories (e.g. hegemonic stability) for understanding the current crisis. 2. Have international organizations increased the flow of international trade since World

War II? How? International Law and Organization 1. The literature on the Kantian peace suggests that international organizations have considerable pacific benefits. Yet recent research suggests that states sometimes use international organizations for coercion and in at least two instances – the UN Security Council resolutions prior to the Korean War and the 1991 Persian Gulf War – the actions of the UN seemed to facilitate war. How can IR scholars reconcile this apparent contradiction? 2. Since World War II there has been a proliferation of international courts or quasijudicial institutions – the European Court of Justice, the WTO Dispute Resolution Mechanism, the International Criminal Court, and arbitration institutions for territorial disputes. How can we reconcile this development with Realist views that afford little independent influence to international institutions? Is there any reason to think that these institutions make states behave differently than they would otherwise? Explain.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Preliminary Exam

Fall 2008

Answer one General Question and one from each of two other categories, for a total of three questions.

Note: The exam is designed to test your ability to think and write analytically about problems that are central to the study of international politics. In drafting your answer, make sure that you state your thesis clearly and support it with a well-structured argument.

General

1. At the end of the Cold War, some IR scholars predicted that the world would enter into an era of geopolitical convergence, marked by the spread of liberal democracies and the withering away of ambitious nationalisms. What analytic assumptions were those predictions based upon? How accurate do they appear in retrospect? Should we expect world politics to be more pacific or more conflictual in the decade to come? Explain.

2. Theories of international relations usually take the structure of the international system and the nature of its main actors as given. Does this make sense, given that the structure and actors that make-up the system change over time? Should international relations theory be held accountable for explaining fundamental changes in the hierarchy of international politics and the emergence of new actors? Why or why not?

Conflict

1. Until the end of the cold war, students of international politics mainly studied wars between or among states. Since the end of the cold war, however, the focus of attention has shifted to civil wars, and acts of terrorism perpetrated by non-state actors. To what extent are ideas that are relevant to understanding interstate wars applicable to these other types of violent conflict?

2. Some people have argued that the proliferation of nuclear weapons would inhibit violent conflicts among states, and therefore should not necessarily be opposed. Is it possible to say anything about the effect of the spread of nuclear weapons on the likelihood of war? If so, what effect is it likely to have?

Foreign Policy

1. In recent years a growing number of Realists have sought to incorporate theories of domestic politics into their models of foreign policy making. Why have Realists felt compelled to do this? How successful would you judge their efforts? Explain.

2. What theories of foreign policy-making would appear to be most useful in explaining the Bush administration’s decision to go to war in Iraq? Explain. In your answer, compare and contrast at least two different theories or approaches to explaining foreign policy-making.

Political Economy

1. The general orientation of American trade policy changed significantly after 1945. What explains this shift in U.S. trade policy? Why didn’t U.S. trade policy change earlier? What does your answer tell us about the sources of foreign economic policy more generally? Begin your answer by briefly summarizing how U.S. trade policy changed in the 1940s.

2. International relations scholars often draw a distinction between the “high politics” of international

security and the “low politics” of international political economy. How useful is this analytic distinction? Explain. Be sure that your answer defines the terms "high politics" and "low politics" and includes multiple examples of research that affirms and/or challenges this distinction.

International Law and Organization

1. How important is domestic politics in understanding the likelihood of international cooperation? Are certain types of regimes and/or domestic coalitions more amenable to international cooperation? Explain.

2. International agreements enjoy high rates of compliance. What explains states’ willingness to comply with international agreements? What does your answer tell us about Realist views about the problem of international cooperation? INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Preliminary Exam Spring 2008 Answer one General Question and one from each of two other categories, for a total of three questions. Note: The exam is designed to test your ability to think and write analytically about problems that are central to the study of international politics. In drafting your answer, make sure that you state your thesis clearly and support it with a well-structured argument. General 1. One of the central ideas in the literature on international politics is what John Herz called the security dilemma, which is often said to be one of the fundamental causes of war. What is a security dilemma? Is it a cause of war? Is there any reason to believe it is confined to international politics? 2. Some analysts argue that China’s rise as a great power will necessarily destabilize the international order. How consistent is this expectation with international relations theory? Is there any reason to think that China’s rise might be peaceful? Conflict 1. Is there a good theoretical justification for the claim that democratic states do not fight democratic states? If so, what is it? If not, what is wrong with the attempts that have been made to provide one? 2. Some analysts argue that nuclear weapons provide ultimate deterrence and, by virtue

of this, security for states that posses them. This argument is largely based on US-Soviet relations during the Cold War. Is this sufficient evidence for a general theory of nuclear deterrence? Why or why not? Foreign Policy 1. Compare and contrast “realist” and “liberal” (domestic politics) approaches to foreign policy making. Providing examples of each, identify the strengths and weaknesses of these two approaches to theorizing about foreign policy-making. 2. Is there any reason to think that the next president can restore bipartisanship to America’s foreign policy? Even if he or she could, is bipartisanship in foreign affairs preferable to partisanship? Explain. Political Economy 1. Evaluate the significance of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act (RTAA) for the United States, and especially for America’s foreign economic policy, during the twentieth century. 2. What factors have shaped how governments have responded to the competitive pressures created by open global capital markets and flows in the post-Bretton Woods era? International Law and Organization 1. Scholars in the democratic peace tradition have written about how domestic politics shapes the dynamics of interstate competition. But does domestic politics also influence how states view international cooperation? Are democracies more reliable partners in international agreements? 2. What does the literature on international regimes tell us about the prospects for multilateral cooperation in the twenty-first century? Is there reason to expect more (or less) reliance on international institutions and multilateral problem solving?


Preliminary Exam

Fall 2007


Note: The exam is designed to test your ability to think and write analytically about problems that are central to the study of international politics. In drafting your answer, make sure that you state your thesis clearly and support it with a well-defined argument.

General

1. During the Cold War Americans wrote most of what was written about international politics. The world we now live in is quite different from the world then. How many of the ideas about international politics advanced during the Cold War are applicable to current international politics? What limitations to our understanding of international politics have been exposed by developments since its end?

2. Critics often argue that the study of world politics typically follows, rather than anticipates, important international events. Can we claim as IR scholars that we possess generalizable and predictive knowledge about how world politics works and unfolds? In answering this question, choose one or two subfields in IR to develop your argument.

Conflict

1. Debates about military intervention to end civil wars or promote state-building or democracy are now at the center of discussions of US foreign policy, yet study of the development of the modern state in Europe, or the rise and decline of European colonial empires, has played little role in the training of most foreign policy analysts or students of international politics. What might study of those subjects tell us about these contemporary debates about US foreign policy?

2. One of the goals of US foreign policy since the end of the Cold War has been to prevent the further proliferation of nuclear weapons. It is easy to see how this could be done if one can prevent potential proliferators from having access to the requisite technology, or if one can use military force to destroy the sites where nuclear weapons are being developed. If neither of these options is available, however, is the prevention of nuclear proliferation a feasible goal? If so, how can it be accomplished?

Foreign Policy

1. It has been argued that Europeans are multilateralists and prefer collaborative approaches to foreign policy while American statesmen are realists. If this is true, what is the likely basis of such a divergence – culture, relative power, or something else? Whether you agree or disagree with the above distinction, craft an argument that uses international theory and examples to answer the question.

2. It is often claimed that American presidents are especially prone to "oversell" – exaggerating foreign threats to the nation's security. Do you agree? To the extent that US presidents do engage in oversell, what explains it?

Political Economy

1. The evolution of the trade policy literature in international political economy has drawn much from the American experience. What are some of the explanations for why the United States pursued open global markets after 1945? Which is most convincing? Which provides the best understanding of the evolution of American foreign economic policy since then?

2. What role do domestic institutions play in the choices states make with respect to monetary institutions?


1. What role have regional economic arrangements played in the global economy during the twentieth century? What are some of the costs and benefits of these organizations? Why do states join these organizations? Be sure to illustrate your claims with examples.

2. Many scholars argue that norms play a powerful role in shaping the behavior of states. What exactly are norms? How do we identify and trace their effects? Do powerful and weak states respond to norms to the same extent? Explain.


Preliminary Exam

Spring 2007



General

1. The realist research program in international relations never seems to be at a shortage for variants, particularly since the end of the Cold War. Some of these variants include offensive realism, defensive realism, neorealism, developmental realism, classical realism, neoclassical realism, ethical realism, and even the “realistic Wilsonianism” now offered by Francis Fukuyama. Describe what you see as the core of realist theory that unites these variations and then discuss some of the distinctions among these (or other) versions of realism. What have we learned from this proliferation of realisms? What, if anything, do these debates say about the utility of paradigms in international relations theory?

2. Evaluate the empirical contributions of constructivist scholarship to international relations. Begin your answer by defining what you consider constructivism to be.

Conflict

1. Some of the recent debate about the ongoing US military involvement in Iraq concerns whether the situation there should be described as a "civil war," or is about to become one. Some people apparently assume that the existence of a civil war in Iraq would imply that continued US military involvement there was hopeless, and US forces should therefore be withdrawn. But civil wars in other places have occasioned calls for outside military intervention to end them, sometimes by some of the same people who are now critical of US military involvement in Iraq. Does the term "civil war" have a precise meaning, and can anything be said about the role that outside intervenors might play in ending one?

2. A state can perhaps prevent or delay another state's acquisition of nuclear weapons by using force against it, or denying it access to the requisite materials or technology. But currently the US, along with other states, is trying to persuade the governments of Iran and North Korea not to acquire nuclear weapons, even though having such weapons would probably increase their bargaining power with the US and its allies. Is it possible for one state to persuade another not to increase its bargaining power, without threatening a preventive attack to prevent it from doing so? If so, how?

Foreign Policy

1. What does the bureaucratic politics approach imply about the role and importance of presidents in making US foreign policy? How does this view of presidents differ from those advanced by realist and interest group approaches to the study of US foreign policy-making? Which view of presidential power and decision-making do you find most compelling?

2. How important is regime type in explaining foreign policy? Are states with different types of regimes (e.g. democratic versus authoritarian) likely to behave differently in the international realm? Summarize and evaluate this literature. What, if anything, does it tell us about how states choose their foreign policies that realist approaches to foreign policy do not?

Political Economy

1. Evaluate the threat posed by globalization to the state and its capacity to regulate its political relations with other states. Is globalization altering the internal political structure of states and/or the distribution of political authority in the international system? If so, how? If not, why?

2. The evolution of the trade policy literature in international political economy has drawn much from the American experience. What are some of the explanations for why the United States pursued open global markets after 1945? Which is most convincing? Which provides the best understanding of the evolution of American foreign economic policy since then?


1. Which international relations theories are best equipped to understand the processes associated with international cooperation? Explain.

2. In recent years some students of international politics who have called themselves "Constructivists" have claimed that the characterization of the "anarchic" nature of international politics by so-called structural Realists ignores the way in which social norms and culture shape the behavior of states. Culture and social norms, they have claimed, could provide the basis for a peaceful, though anarchic, international order. If so, one might think, then perhaps culture and social norms could be sufficient to make states unnecessary for preventing violent conflicts even within the territories they now control. But it is not just "structural Realists" who think that states are necessary to prevent violent domestic conflicts. Can one say anything about the relative importance of states and culture in causing or preventing violent conflicts?


Preliminary Exam

Fall 2006



General

1. The last fifteen years in international relations have seen a dramatic shift toward focusing on domestic sources of state behavior. Provide some examples of this shift. What provides a better “first cut” at understanding global politics and international relations today—forces inside the state or outside?

2. One of the central ideas in the literature on international politics is what John Herz, in an influential article written shortly after the end of World War II, called the security dilemma. What did Herz mean by that term, and what has been its importance for the theory of international politics? Summarize and evaluate the various attempts that have been made to give a precise definition of Herz's idea, and then evaluate its significance for understanding both international and domestic politics.

Conflict

1. Early in the recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Secretary of State Rice said that a quick

ceasefire agreement would likely only be temporary, while a longer conflict could lay the foundations for a lasting peace. Is it possible to say anything about what makes some peace agreements last longer than others? What does your answer imply about possible agreements to end the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah?

2. While the major approaches in IR contend with one another to explain war, peace, and cooperation among states, they say very little about how the state system came about to begin with. After all, it is only in relatively recent history that we can talk about sovereign states with national armies going to war or cooperating with one another. Imagine that you have to choose one of the major –isms in IR (realism, constructivism, neo-liberalism) to explain the origins of the modern state system. Which approach would you choose and why?

Foreign Policy

1. George Bush has argued that the spread of democracy in the Middle East will make the region more stable and peaceful. Given what we know about the relationship between regime type and foreign policy, is there any reason to believe that a more democratic Middle East would in fact be a more stable and peaceful one?

2. Interest group approaches to explaining foreign policy have a long pedigree. As the recent article on the Israel “lobby” by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt indicates, so-called Realists sometimes draw on the “interest group approach” as well. How useful is this general approach to understanding how leaders define and pursue the nation’s interests abroad? What are its strengths and limitations?

Political Economy

1. What role have regional economic arrangements played in the global economy during the twentieth century? What are some of the costs and benefits of these organizations? Why do states join these organizations? Be sure to illustrate your claims with examples.

2. Critics deride the WTO as an instrument of American power. Yet, as the latest setback of the Doha Round indicates, Washington appears increasingly unable to broker multilateral agreements in its interests. What scholarly arguments bear upon this apparent gap between American capabilities and outcomes in international economic relations?


1. Imagine that you were going to write a dissertation examining the role of international institutions in global politics. A dissertation proposal would first identify a series of mechanisms by which institutions influence the global order. What are these mechanisms? What tests would you design and then conduct to assess the relative explanatory power of these roles that institutions play?

2. “Realists” often claim that international institutions and norms are of little importance in explaining the behavior of states. Do you agree? In your answer make sure to explain what you mean by international institutions and/or norms and provide specific examples to support your argument.


Preliminary Exam

Spring 2006



General

1. Which recent historical event poses a greater challenge to international relations theory: the end of the Cold War or September 11? Explain.

2. Shortly after the end of the Cold War, John Mearsheimer wrote a famous article called "Back to the

Future." In it he claimed that after the end of the Cold War international politics among the states of Europe would resemble international politics in Europe prior to World War II. To what extent has Mearsheimer's prediction been borne out? If there are discrepancies between what Mearsheimer predicted and what has happened, how would you explain them?

Conflict

1. Some peace settlements have lasted longer than others. Is there any reason to believe that the terms of a peace settlement can affect its longevity? If so, how?

2. Which is more dangerous to global international security: a nuclear North Korea, or a nuclear Iran? Is it possible that the world will actually be safer if one or both of these states attain a substantial stockpile of nuclear weapons? Explain.

Foreign Policy

1. George Kennan once made an unflattering comparison between America’s approach to the world and the behavior of a dinosaur with a huge body and pin-sized brain: the beast is slow to rouse, but when it finally recognizes threats to its interests, it flails about indiscriminately, wrecking its native habitat while attempting destroy its adversary. How apt a characterization of recent US foreign policy do you think this is? Explain.

2. As a nation’s economic wealth expands so do its geopolitical ambitions – so argue some Realists. How useful is this theory for predicting how a country like China or India will behave internationally ten or twenty years from now? Can you imagine states that do not behave as these Realists predict? Explain.

Political Economy

1. The economist Paul Samuelson once noted that the benefits of trade based on comparative advantage is one of the few findings in economics that is at once true and non-trivial. Then why is trade politics so contentious?

2. How useful is the intellectual or academic boundary between the study of international political economy and international security? What do you think of claims that the field of international security

explores "high" politics while international political economy examines "low" politics? What research programs suggest that these two fields should be further integrated? Or, alternatively, kept distinct?


1. Genocide is again in the news because of the ongoing trial of Milosevic and the situation in Darfur. How has international law been used in attempts to deal with cases of genocide? How has the academic study of international law contributed to the understanding of international law as applied to genocide? What would be the most promising directions for further academic work on this subject? Why do you believe that these would be most promising?

2. The old debate between the "Realists" and the "Idealists" focused on the role that international institutions might play in preventing interstate wars. Now, however, many people expect international institutions to prevent civil wars as well. Is this expectation realistic, or utopian?


Preliminary Exam

Fall 2005



General

1. Some international relations scholars argue that China’s rise to power in world politics can be a peaceful one. Does international relations theory or the experience of other rising powers (e.g. Britain, Germany, the US) offer any reason to believe that China’s will be a “peaceful rise”? Explain.

2. In the 1980s and 1990s, one of the most widely discussed theories of international politics was hegemonic stability theory. Does hegemonic stability theory still possess any relevance for our

understanding international politics? Why or why not? What, if anything, does your answer tell us about the origins and development of international relations theory?

Conflict

1. Since the end of the Cold War there have been several occasions when violent conflicts within states have prompted calls for outside intervention to protect people who were in harm’s way. But a number of scholars have argued that the possibility of external intervention in such conflicts might actually encourage them. Is there any reason to believe this is true? What implications does your answer have for controversies about humanitarian intervention?

2. Three of the most protracted conflicts in international politics are those over Taiwan, Kashmir, and Palestine. How would you explain the fact that these conflicts have lasted as long as they have? What does your answer imply for the prospects of settling them?

Foreign Policy

1. In what ways has the American geopolitical experience differed from that of other nations? How has it been similar? To what extent should the American “case” be considered unique or exceptional, and with what consequences for theories of foreign policy?

2. Rank the following regions in terms of the priority American foreign policy makers should assign to each: (a) East Asia; (b) Africa; (c) Middle East; (d) Western Europe. Defend your ranking. Be explicit about the principles or criteria you employ in establishing this ranking. Would an alternative theory of international politics and state interests produce a different ranking?

Political Economy

1. Discuss the political and economic consequences of global capital mobility on national economic policy. Does it alter the distribution of income within economies? How about between economies? What explains variation in the ability of states to resist or shape the movements of the “electronic herd?”

2. International management journals extol the virtues (e.g. efficiency) of offshore outsourcing. From the perspective of international relations theory and/or “the national interest” what are the benefits and costs of outsourcing?


1. A number of scholars in recent years have argued that "Realist" writers about international politics have ignored the importance of global norms in regulating the behavior of states. What exactly is a norm, and how could a norm be expected to influence the behavior of a powerful state? What does your answer imply for the possible significance of norms at the global level?

2. Evaluate the role of material and ideational sources of order in the international system. Provide an example of each and lay out an argument as to which is a stronger constraint on state behavior in the post-9/11 world.

IR Prelims

Documents

Transcript of IR Prelims