POLSCI 160 Study Guide - Final Guide: Cuban Missile Crisis, Organisational Routines, Tied Aid
19 Dec 2016
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1. What 3 reasons do developed states have for
providing economic aid to less developed
states? (chpt 18)
1. humanitarian or development aid
2. help domestic industries: tied aid
3. curry favor/side payment
2. Why does foreign aid rarely lead to economic
growth? (chpt 18)
1. donor may not care about growth in the recipient.
2. the ability of the recipient to extract aid regardless of outcome (if the donor cannot
make the aid contingent)
3. the leader of the recipient may not wish to produce economic growth in her
country.
4. aid as way for donor to ensure the survival of a friendly leader in the recipient
country
3. economic sanctions are effective only about 20-
30% of the time in producing compliance with
demands. Give 2 reasons why sanctions are
rarely effective. (chpt 18)
1. states use sanctions on issues when they are unwilling to bear the cost of military
action. (the actor wants to alter the actions of the other side, but it signals that actor
is irresolute because it's not willing to use military to get what they want)
2. sanctions signal relative lack of resolve by the
sanctioning state (can the target wait out sanctions?)
4. how does the regime of the target of the threat
of economic sanctions affect its willingness to
make concessions before sanctions are put into
effect? If sanctions are applied, how does the
regime of the target affect whether they will
succeed in changing the policies of the target
state? (chpt 18)
The target's regime influences its leader's vulnerability to economic pressure.
Leaders with large winning coalitions care about economic performance, and so are
susceptible to sanctions. Leaders with small winning coalitions stay in power through
rewards to supporters (sanctions can increase their hold on power).
5. explain why rivalries are difficult to end
through diplomacy. what type of leaders can
credibly make the concessions needed to end a
rivalry? (chpt 18)
The perception of hostile threat is hard to break in a rivalry. Persuading the other
side you are no longer hostile requires separation of type; take an action that only a
type seeking to end the rivalry would do. Thus, tough types can make those signals
more credibly because:
1. Other side knows they cannot take advantage of tough type.
2. Tough types reassure domestic audiences.
6. What is an SOP, and what are its consequences
for action in crisis? (chpt 12)
An SOP is a standard operating procedure. SOPs allow the personnel of an
organization to work together to achieve what it sets out to do. SOPs give
organizations capabilities beyond those of its people acting individually. The
downside of SOPs is that they limit what an organization can do (problems are to fit
solutions, instead of the other way around). SOPs also make it difficult to coordinate
different organization because each has its own procedures and rules for action,
which may not match those of another organization.
7. What affect did SOPs have on how the Cuban
Missile Crisis transpired? (chpt 12)
1. Soviet Union military followed SOP for building a military base: the one in Cuba was
almost identical to the one the US had found the in the USSR earlier. This made it
very easy for US officials to figure out that the site was for nuclear missiles, not
something else.
2. Kennedy Administration used SOPs in the conduct of the blockade; fear that
misunderstanding could lead to a shooting (following SOP) which could then lead to
an escalation of the crisis
8. Explain the difference in actors and their role
in the formation of policy between the 2 sides
of bureaucratic politics theory: organizational
and governmental politics. (chpt 12)
1. Organizational: Organizations have limited power and responsibilities and parochial
views (ex. state vs. DoD vs. CIA in US government); Standard Operating Procedures
(SOPs); Problems are fit to solutions; Difficulty in coordinating organizations;
Incremental change in organizational routines; Budget as the measure of
organizational success
2. Governmental: Policy is the outcome of a political struggle; The constant stream of
decisions; Political appointees vs. career government officials; Action channels,
access and power; the President's plate; "Where you stand depends on where you
sit."
Polsci 160 Final Exam
Study online at quizlet.com/_2u32co
9. how do SOPs shape leaders' choices and
information in a crisis? give 2 examples of how an
SOP affected the Cuban Missile Crisis. (chpt 12)
National leaders sit atop organizations that process the
information they receive and limit the options they can take. SOPs limit a
leader's options (problems to fit solutions).
examples in the Cuban Missile Crisis:
1. Soviet Union military followed SOP for building a military base: the one in
Cuba was almost identical to the one the US had found the in the USSR earlier.
This made it very easy for US officials to figure out that the site was for nuclear
missiles, not something else.
2. Kennedy Administration used SOPs in the conduct of the blockade; fear that
misunderstanding could lead to a shooting (following SOP) which could then lead
to an escalation of the crisis
10. Define the concept of legitimacy (of a state). (chpt
19)
the legitimacy of a government is the degree to which its rule is accepted as
binding, correct, and proper by people and groups. Actors believe they must
comply with legitimate institutions.
11. Explain why legitimacy is always an issue in civil
war. (chpt 19)
the monopoly on the legitimate use of force within its borders is a key
characteristic of the state as an institution. The state is allowed to use force
within its borders against those who violate its laws, while citizens are not
allowed to use force against their government. Civil war attacks this idea by
encouraging people to take up arms to resist their government and break its
monopoly on the legitimate use of force.
12. Do interstate wars last longer on average than civil
wars? Give a reason for the difference in the
duration of the two types of wars. (chpt 19)
Civil wars last longer on average than interstate wars; Accumulation of long-
running civil wars over time, Civil wars are difficult to end once they begin
13. Explain the commitment problem in reaching a
peace settlement to end a civil war. (chpt 19)
Leaders of both sides may see themselves better off fighting than accepting a
settlement because:
1. Mistrust between the two sides from the fighting: perceptions of ill-will
2. Reducing two armies to one; disarmed side loses bargaining power.
3. Difficulty of matching political power in a postwar government to military power
on the battlefield
14. Give 4 ways that peacekeeping can help resolve
the commitment problem. (chpt 19)
Peacekeeping as one way
to create commitment:
1. Monitor violations
2. Enforce a settlement
3. Monitor decommissioning
4. Provide capabilities to weak governments
15. Identify 3 strategies open to non-state groups with
grievances against the government or the
international order, and explain what factors
influence a group's decision to use each of them.
(chpt 20)
1. Non-violent activities: protest, political organization
2. Irregular or guerrilla warfare/general civil war
3. terrorism
The size of the group needed decreases with increasing violence of activity
16. Passive measures (pros and cons). (chpt 20) make it difficult to carry out terrorist attacks; problem: terrorists shift to another
type of attack
17. Active measures (pros and cons). (chpt 20) go get the terrorists before they attack again; problem: government likely to hurt
innocents, leading to greater support for terrorists
18. Two commitment problems complicate the
resolution of issues that generate terrorist
movements. What type of reneging does the
government fear after a negotiated settlement?
What does a former terrorist group fear if it turns
into an open political party? (chpt 20)
1. Will terrorists accept peaceful ways? Dispersed nature of terrorist movements
makes it hard to find and eliminate the extremists who reject the settlement.
2. Will the government allow the terrorists to operate openly as a political party?
Reneging by the government after the extremists are disarmed
19. How has OPEC been able to enforce agreements to
limit production among its member? (chpt 21)
OPEC has been able to enforce its oil quotas because:
1. Regular meetings to set quotas
2. Saudi dominance makes reciprocal responses possible
3. Willingness to overlook small violations
Document Summary
30% of the time in producing compliance with demands. The target"s regime influences its leader"s vulnerability to economic pressure. Leaders with large winning coalitions care about economic performance, and so are susceptible to sanctions. Leaders with small winning coalitions stay in power through rewards to supporters (sanctions can increase their hold on power). The perception of hostile threat is hard to break in a rivalry. Persuading the other side you are no longer hostile requires separation of type; take an action that only a type seeking to end the rivalry would do. Thus, tough types can make those signals more credibly because: other side knows they cannot take advantage of tough type, tough types reassure domestic audiences. Sops allow the personnel of an organization to work together to achieve what it sets out to do. Sops give organizations capabilities beyond those of its people acting individually.
