These are examples of the types of questions you are going to have at
the exam. Some of the exam questions are simplified/modified
versions of these questions.
Make sure you are familiar with a couple of case studies. Question 8 is
a practice question; I will not ask you about a specific county/case of
conflict.
Keep in mind that you will have choices.
1. Discuss the origins of the following quote and analyse its
meaning. To what extent do you think there is validity to the
claim? Why? To what extent do you believe the claim is merely
wishful thinking?
“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is the minds of men that
the defences of peace must be constructed.”
2. Outline the major concepts and propositions of realism (peace
through strength). Identify its primary areas of vulnerability to
criticism. Select an alternative explanation (e.g. liberalism,
human rights) for understanding peace efforts and demonstrate
how it fills in the gaps of realism.
3. The United Nations serves as an important international
governmental organization in the international system. Compare
and contrast its strengths and weaknesses, using empirical
examples to support your claims.
4. International law is often criticized as ineffective because of the
difficulty associated with enforcement. Explain why do states
often decide to comply with international law.
5. International Relations theory traditionally focused on interstate
conflict, but since the end of the Cold War, it has devoted
increasing attention to intrastate conflict. To what extent does the
work on intrastate conflict reflect the work on interstate conflict
and should that be the case?
6. Rules in international system typically lack any form of
enforcement but area commonly obeyed by even the most
powerful states. Explain this apparent contradiction between
states' tendency to follow rules and the lack of coercive
enforcement agent. Link your argument to the debate between
Fearon and Koehane on international regimes.
7. Did the terrorist attacks of 9/11 render deterrence theory
irrelevant? How should the emergence—or salience—of
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terrorism influence our understanding of deterrence theory? Does
Fearon’s argument on commitment apply in the case of
transnational terrorism?
8. Take the case of Northern Ireland, analyse it using theories on
intrastate conflict. Which theory does provide the most
comprehensive explanation of the Irish conflict? Then do the
same by looking into methods of conflict management.
9. Apply bargaining theory in an ethnic conflict (e.g. Bosnia,
Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka). Some people have argued
that the cause of ethnic conflicts is commitment. Discuss this
point and provide a possible scenario under which the
commitment problem can be resolved.
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