What are some strategic advantages that the United States enjoys?Why might you believe that the United States should “lean forward,” i.e., increase its international engagement? What are the best supporting arguments?
American Foreign Policy
Political Science 2300
Autumn 2016
Exam 2 Study Guide
Review Hook readings, other reading assignments, the slides, your notes, and the discussion boards. The questions below can support your studying (although other questions from the second half of the course could appear on the exam). I encourage you to write out your responses to the questions to develop your thoughts thoroughly.
According to Hook, what is grand strategy (briefly stated)?
What are the primary national security challenges that Posen emphasized?
What are some strategic advantages that the United States enjoys?
What is “soft balancing” (see, e.g., Posen)?
Why might you believe that the United States should “lean forward,” i.e., increase its international engagement? What are the best supporting arguments?
Why might you believe that the United States should “pull back,” i.e., decrease its international engagement? What are the best supporting arguments? (Be able to argue both sides compellingly!)
What is the Powell Doctrine? Explain its key parts and why it is important. Discuss its relevance in the context of the United States’ warfighting since 1991.
What does “MENA” stand for? Why is that acronym meaningful?
What countries does Iraq border? What countries does Syria border?
What do IS, ISIS, and ISIL stand for? Why are these acronyms helpful in explaining the goal of the group? What is the alternative name, used more often in European presses? Why would these media prefer this name?
What was the Sykes-Picot Agreement, and why was/is it important?
Which countries are majority Shia? (Note: maps may not help because we’re talking about population size, not territory in which they reside.)
How many large-scale interstate wars has Israel fought since its creation in 1948?
What predominantly Muslim nations are members of NATO?
What is the apparent outcome of the Arab Spring? How successful was the democratization movement?
Why is China so important for U.S. foreign policy? How does their population compare to that of the United States’? Economy? Military?
Why is Taiwan important for China?
Where is Taiwan located?
Discuss reasons why conflict might become deadly between China and the United States.
On what continent is Russia located (somewhat-trick question!)? Where is the majority of Russia’s population located (what part of the country)?
What former Soviet countries are now parts of NATO (what does NATO stand for)?
What historical foreign invasions into Russia represented existential threats?
Where has Russia recently engaged in military conflict (i.e., within the last 10 years)?
How successful has democracy and capitalism been in Russia? Why?
How is social identity defined, per Larson and Shevchenko? Why is social identity important for the study of international relations?
What are the three methods for attaining a positively distinctive identity, per social identity theory? What approaches are currently being employed and have been used in the past by China and Russia?
In what ways does economic strength contribute to national power?
What three general models of international political economy does Hook discuss? Briefly describe each.
What’s the Washington Consensus? The Beijing Consensus?
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