Political Science 345 Winter 2020

Preparing for the First Midterm

The first midterm (Monday, 27 January) covers material from the first three weeks of the course. The exam will consist of 15 multiple choice questions and one essay question. Multiple choice questions are fairly specific—for example:

George Kennan articulated what would become known as the (a) policy of (b) Marshall Plan (c) New Look (d) policy of containment (e)

The essay question will ask you to discuss a more general issue concerning American foreign policy. It is about more than your opinion—you will need to review specific arguments (whether you agree with them or not) and examples to support the points you are making. Good answers might take different forms, depending on what arguments and examples are used in the discussion. For example, an essay question might look something like this:

American foreign policy can be said to exhibit a “national style.” What are the key elements of this national style? What are its historical origins? To what extent was this national style evident in the way the U.S. redefined its role in world affairs after World War II?

For this midterm exam, you should be comfortable with the following topics:

• American “national style” of foreign policy • events precipitating the onset of the • containment, in theory and practice • U.S. role in creating the postwar international order • evolution of U.S. nuclear policy • U.S.-Soviet competition in the developing world • Cuban Missile Crisis • Vietnam War • division of war powers • recent U.S.-Iran crisis

Political Science 345 Winter 2020

Preparing for the Second Midterm

The second midterm (Monday, 17 February) covers material from weeks 4-6 of the course. The format is exactly the same as that of the first midterm: 15 multiple choice questions and one essay question. You should be comfortable with these topics in American foreign policy:

• U.S.-Soviet détente and arms control • U.S. opening to • reorientation of foreign policy under Jimmy Carter • Ronald Reagan and the renewal of cold war competition • thaw in U.S.-Soviet relations with rise of Mikhail Gorbachev • 1989-1990 revolutions in Eastern Europe • collapse of the Soviet bloc and disintegration of • explanations for end of the cold war • Gulf War • U.S. primacy after the cold war • NATO expansion • U.S.-led intervention in the Balkans