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Question 1

Although many of Karl Marx's critics claim that his work is no longer relevant, it is difficult for anyone seriously to dispute its value as a tool to help explain what?

a) The much-improved living standards of workers throughout the world.

b) The survival of the United Nations.

c) The process of 'globalization'.

d) The collapse of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe.

Question 2

Recent Marxist-inspired theorists have argued what?

a) Many developing countries are still living with the legacy of Western imperialism.

b) The capitalist world economy transcends individual nation states.

c) Eurocentric explanations of international political economy are open to serious objections.

d) All of the above.

Question 3

Critical theory is...

a) often closely related to Marxist ideas.

b) a reaction against Marxism.

c) based on a restatement of traditional liberal views.

d) a 'realist' acceptance of global exploitation.

Question 4

Constructivists argue that...

a) scientific enquiry can uncover absolute truths.

b) material forces are much more important than ideas.

c) individuals are powerless to shape the world as they find it.

d) the 'truth' is always socially constructed.

Question 5

Feminist theories of international relations...

a) are essentially all variants of liberalism.

b) are solely concerned with the role of women in international relations.

c) bring a range of perspectives to bear on the problem of 'patriarchy'.

d) argue that war is a natural activity for males.

Question 6

In international relations, postmodernism is characterized by which of the following?

a) An attempt to present an all-embracing explanation of international politics.

b) A range of challenges to the assumptions of 'modernity'.

c) An attempt to persuade policy-makers to adopt a more rational view of the world.

d) A programme of constructive reforms to make the world a much happier place.

Question 7

Which of the following is a common criticism of postmodernism?

a) It over-simplifies highly complex phenomena.

b) It tends towards relativism and nihilism.

c) It is too heavily influenced by liberal presuppositions.

d) It overlooks the relationship between knowledge and power.

Question 8

What did Edward Said's Orientalism argue?

a) Europeans have tended to define themselves in opposition to the 'oriental' other.

b) Leyton Orient is the world's finest football team.

c) European culture is superior to Eastern culture

d) Over the centuries European commentators and politicians have tried too hard to appease militant Islam.

Question 9

Why can postcolonial critiques of traditional international relations themselves be questioned?

a) They are too nostalgic about the British Empire.

b) They are unthinkingly hostile towards Islam.

c) They can romanticize non-Western perspectives.

d) They overlook the differences between Western and non-Western cultures.

Question 10

Students of international relations should...

a) endorse liberal perspectives, because these reflect the dominant ideology of the West.

b) endorse postmodernism because this will make them look trendy.

c) examine closely the full range of approaches before deciding if one of them is more persuasive than the others.

d) reject realism because it is immoral.

Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 16.

Chapter 16

Instructions