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Question 1

Why do Constructivists object to the Realist conception of 'interest'?

a) Realists only focus on economic interests

b) Realists argue that interests are open to interpretation

c) Realists treat interests as objective and predetermined

d) Realists neglect the related concept of power

Question 2

How does Critical Social Constructivism differ from realism?

a) Critical Social Constructivism understands interests as constituted in relation to identity through interpretation

b) Critical Social Constructivism understands interests as constituted in relation to material power

c) Critical Social Constructivism understands interests in terms of relative gains

d) Critical Social Constructivism understands interests in terms of class struggle

Question 3

Why does identity matter in relation to US foreign policy according to Constructivists

a) It doesn't

b) It gives the US reasons to go to war

c) Identity becomes a rhetorical device for the US

d) US interests and actions are defined according to US identity

Question 4

What are discourses?

a) Systems of meaning production

b) Languages

c) Political rhetoric

d) Types of propaganda

Question 5

In what sense did gender matter in the US response to 9/11?

a) More women were given positions in the George W. Bush administration

b) US identity was defined in relation to both the hypermasculinity of the Taliban and the need to 'save' Afghan women

c) Greater numbers of female soldiers were used in combat in Afghanistan

d) US identity was defined in terms of the feminisation of US politics

Question 6

In what sense is Critical Social Constructivism 'critical' in regard to US foreign policy?

a) It criticizes everything

b) It illustrates that US foreign policy identities are forms of 'false consciousness'

c) It illustrates the extent to which current US foreign policy identity falls short of an ideal type

d) Its seeks to denaturalize dominant constructions of US identity in its foreign policy

Question 7

Why is popular culture a valid point of analysis in the study of US foreign policy according to Constructivists?

a) Because the US government controls the media

b) Because popular culture can both inform and represent US foreign policy identity

c) Popular culture is implicated in the manufacture of consent for US foreign policy

d) Both b and c

Question 8

What is the significance of referring back to World War II as a parallel for subsequent events in US foreign policy?

a) It guards against the revival of fascism

b) It helps to legitimate subsequent US foreign policy initiatives

c) It placates veterans of World War II

d) It reminds Russia of the possibility of cooperation with the US

Question 9

Which of these is not a predicate commonly associated with the US in its foreign policy?

a) Leadership

b) Strength

c) Freedom

d) Aggression

Question 10

Why do Critical Social Constructivists argue that we should challenge dominant constructions of US identity?

a) They obscure and marginalize other interpretations

b) They inhibit the US perceptions of its real interests

c) They restrict US freedom of action

d) They serve to draw attention away from the class struggle

Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 10.

Chapter 10

Instructions