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What trend has been observed in warfare over the long term?
What type of conflicts characterized most of today's warfare?
Which factor contributed to the reduced scale of warfare in recent decades?
What was the estimated level of casualties in early 21st-century conflicts compared to earlier wars?
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What major event in 2022 significantly impacted the trend towards smaller conflicts?
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Which of the following regions ended its lingering conflict after the Cold War?
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What is the primary reason why democracies are less likely to fight against one another?
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Which concept argues that states should intervene in failed states to restore order?
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What did Kant believe would help prevent war in democracies?
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According to the concept of democratic peace, which of the following is true?
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Which three states are noted as the most war-prone in the last two centuries?
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What does the concept of collective security aim to address in failing states like Somalia?
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What has been empirically substantiated regarding democracies and warfare?
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How do realist views perceive the rationale behind war?
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What is a key argument of neoliberal institutionalism regarding international cooperation?
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Which principle supports cooperation in international relations even without a central authority?
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What outcome does the Prisoner's Dilemma illustrate in the context of international relations?
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How do neoliberal scholars differ from neorealists regarding cooperation among states?
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Which concept emphasizes that norms and rules facilitate compliance among states?
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What role do international regimes play in the context of state interactions?
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Which of the following describes a downside of reciprocity in state relations?
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What does the neoliberal approach suggest about the purpose of international institutions?
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In the context of arms control agreements, what does reciprocity aim to achieve?
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What can exacerbate negative interactions between states according to the reciprocity principle?
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What characterizes neoliberal views on the effectiveness of institutions in international relations?
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Why might achieving desirable outcomes in international conflicts be challenging?
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What kind of actions can the World Trade Organization (WTO) enforce as part of its reciprocity principle?
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What role do regimes play in international cooperation according to the framework described?
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What factor is crucial for the initial establishment of regimes?
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How do international institutions contribute to the stability of regimes?
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Which of the following statements accurately describes the concept of collective security?
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What was a significant flaw of the League of Nations in promoting collective security?
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What is one of the key requirements for collective security to function effectively?
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What was a key factor in the successful collective security action taken during the Gulf War?
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What is a disadvantage of the current UN Security Council regarding collective security?
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Which historical event highlighted the weaknesses of the UN's collective security system?
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What role did public opinion play in the decision-making process regarding the military action in Iraq in 2002-2003?
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Why might powerful states choose not to confront an aggressor in a collective security system?
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What major factor has contributed to a decrease in war-related deaths over the past 70 years?
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What is one reason regimes may become self-sustaining over time?
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Which of the following best represents Kant's second explanation for peace?
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What is the principle of reciprocity in the context of international relations?
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Which aspect is more stable according to the discussion of regimes and institutions?
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What was a key lesson from the Iraq War regarding collective security?
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Which conflict is known to have claimed approximately 200,000 lives over a duration of 12 years?
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What aspect of trade does Kant believe can promote peace among states?
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What is the term for a political and economic situation in which states are mutually dependent on each other for products?
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What is one major criticism realists have against liberal theories regarding trade and peace?
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Which organization is often cited as a modern example of Kant’s idea of international cooperation?
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What was the outcome of military actions from 2015 to 2017 against Islamic militants in Iraq?
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Which model of analysis emphasizes domestic and individual levels in explaining state behavior?
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What effect did the ongoing conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia, have between 2020 and 2022?
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What is the main belief held by realists in terms of power politics?
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Which proxy war resulted in over 10,000 deaths?
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What is an international regime and how does it improve the collective goods problem?
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- A) What is neoliberal institutionalism
B) How does it address the assumptions of realism?
C) How does it overcome the challenge of anarchy?
D) What is a liberal view of the Prisoners Dilemma?
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List three major objections to Neoliberalism
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Compare the two explanations for the trend toward less warfare in the last century
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Study Notes
War Trends
- Despite frequent images of violence on television and phones, the current period is less warlike compared to past periods.
- The trend in warfare has shifted significantly over the long term.
- In the first half of the 20th century, world wars killed tens of millions and devastated continents.
- During the Cold War, proxy wars killed millions, and there was a constant fear of nuclear annihilation.
- In the early 21st century, conflicts like those in Ukraine and Syria result in tens or hundreds of thousands of deaths.
- The world has gradually moved from tens of millions killed, to millions, to hundreds of thousands.
Recent Wars
- The late 1990s and early 21st century saw the end of lingering Cold War-era conflicts in places like Angola, Northern Ireland, Guatemala, and southern Sudan.
- Wars that erupted after the Cold War, such as those in Bosnia, Kosovo, Algeria, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda, have also concluded.
- Liberia and Ivory Coast established power-sharing governments and brought in international peacekeepers, like Sierra Leone.
- In 2005, the Irish Republican Army dismantled its weaponry, and in 2015, Colombia reached a peace deal with its largest rebel group, which was approved by parliament in 2017.
Current Conflicts
- Most of today’s conflicts involve skirmishes rather than large-scale battles.
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine resembles early 20th-century wars with large troop movements, aerial bombardment, high civilian casualties, and great power involvement.
- Russia initially invaded Crimea in 2014 and supported pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.
- In February 2022, Russia launched a larger invasion but faced strong Ukrainian resistance.
- NATO countries provided significant military and economic aid to Ukraine.
- By late 2022, Ukraine had halted the Russian invasion and recaptured some lost territory.
- Civilians in Ukraine have suffered greatly during the conflict with eight million refugees fleeing to neighboring countries and infrastructure targeted.
- The Syrian war, the world’s second most destructive conflict, has claimed 200,000 lives over 12 years.
- The conflict spread to Iraq, where Islamic militants captured and then lost significant territory to government and Kurdish forces.
- In Yemen, over 10,000 people have been killed in a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
- Afghanistan’s long war continues without international troops, with ongoing fighting between the Taliban and rebel groups.
- Ethiopia’s conflict from 2020 to 2022 led to a humanitarian crisis in Tigray due to a blockade.
- Nigerian troops are combating Islamist militants in the north.
Liberal Theories of International Relations
- Liberal theories focus on reciprocity and identity principles, offering an alternative to realism.
- Liberal theories are more optimistic about the prospects for peace compared to realism.
- Liberal theorists believe that international relations rules evolve gradually, becoming more peaceful over time, driven by international organizations, mutual cooperation, and changes in norms.
Kant and Peace
- Immanuel Kant proposed three explanations for how peace and cooperation are achievable.
- Kant’s first explanation, based on the reciprocity principle, suggested that states could create organizations and rules to facilitate cooperation, such as a world federation like today’s United Nations (UN).
- Kant’s second explanation for peace focuses on the internal character of governments, arguing that republics are more peaceful than autocracies.
- Kant’s third explanation suggests that international trade promotes peace by increasing the wealth and prosperity of states, as trade makes interstate conflict less likely because conflicts can disrupt trade.
Liberal Institutionalism
- Kant’s first answer to how peace can evolve focuses on states developing and following mutually advantageous rules, with international institutions to monitor and enforce them.
- The principle of reciprocity is central to this approach, as international institutions rely on reciprocal contributions and concessions among equal members.
- Institutions like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the European Union (EU) require consensus among all members, ensuring equal governance.
- Neoliberal scholars argue that even in a world of unitary rational states, neorealists’ pessimistic view on international cooperation is not valid.
- Neoliberals believe that states can establish mutual rules, expectations, and institutions to foster behavior that promotes cooperation.
Reciprocity
- Reciprocity in international relations facilitates cooperation even without a central authority.
- It enforces norms and rules through mutual exchange rather than a world government.
- It is straightforward to interpret, often not requiring explicit statements.
- Neoliberals use the Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD) game to argue that cooperation is possible as mutual cooperation benefits both actors, whereas mutual defection results in losses for both.
International Regimes
- An international regime consists of rules, norms, and procedures that align the expectations of actors in specific issue areas.
- Regimes can address collective goods problems by increasing transparency making cheating riskier.
- The revolution in information technologies enhances transparency in many regimes.
- States create frameworks to coordinate actions with others when necessary to realize self-interest in collective goods dilemmas.
Collective Security
- The concept of collective security, rooted in liberal institutionalism, involves forming a broad alliance of major international actors to jointly oppose aggression by any actor.
- After World War I, the League of Nations was formed to promote collective security but was flawed due to incomplete membership and members’ unwillingness to oppose aggression.
- After World War II, the United Nations was created as its successor to promote collective security.
- The success of collective security relies on members honoring their alliance commitments and not free riding on others’ efforts.
- Powerful states may find it costly and not in their immediate interest to confront a determined aggressor attacking a weaker state.
War on Iraq and Collective Security
- The invasion of Iraq based on the notion of weapons of mass destruction was unsuccessful.
- This led to a prolonged and unpopular counterinsurgency war, highlighting the dangers of bypassing international security systems, despite their flaws.
- The concept of collective security now includes failed states, which lack control over their territory and can become havens for illegal activities.
- Somalia serves as an example, with a weak government unable to control large areas, leading to the presence of terrorist organizations and pirates.
- Some argue for international intervention in failed states to restore law and order.
The Democratic Peace
- Kant proposed that lasting peace relies on republics with legislatures to check the power of rulers, preventing wars.
- He believed that checks and balances in democracies would restrain the use of military force compared to authoritarian governments where a single individual or small group could make war without public input.
- Democracies are not inherently more peaceful, as they engage in as many wars as authoritarian states.
- While democracies rarely fight each other, they do fight authoritarian states, known as the "democratic peace."
- This phenomenon has historical evidence and is attributed to factors like economic interdependence between democracies and citizen sympathy.
- The democratic peace contradicts the realist perspective that international system dynamics are the primary driver of conflict, emphasizing domestic factors.
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Description
Explore the evolution of warfare from the catastrophic world wars of the 20th century to the more recent conflicts of the 21st century. This quiz examines how war trends have changed, highlighting the scale of casualties and the nature of conflicts across different eras, including the impact of the Cold War and contemporary issues. Test your knowledge on this critical aspect of history.
