116 exam-style questions on Core: Understanding power and global politics with answers and explanations. Six real samples below — the full set is free with an account.
Which term describes power exercised through military threats or economic sanctions to coerce an actor?
Answer: Hard power
Hard power uses coercion (military force, economic pressure). Joseph Nye contrasts it with soft power's attraction.
Joseph Nye's concept of combining coercion and attraction into an effective strategy is called what?
Answer: Smart power
Smart power blends hard and soft power resources into a coherent strategy, a term popularised by Joseph Nye.
The 1648 settlement often credited with establishing the modern system of sovereign states was the Peace of what?
Answer: Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (1648) is associated with the principle of territorial sovereignty and non-interference.
Which IR theory argues that class conflict and the global capitalist economy drive relations between states?
Answer: Marxism
Marxist approaches (e.g. world-systems) focus on economic structures, exploitation and core-periphery inequality.
Which theory claims that state interests and identities are socially constructed through ideas, norms and shared understandings?
Answer: Constructivism
Constructivism (Alexander Wendt: 'anarchy is what states make of it') stresses ideas and norms over fixed material interests.
Which IR perspective analyses how gender shapes power and highlights the marginalisation of women in global politics?
Answer: Feminism
Feminist IR (e.g. Cynthia Enloe: 'the personal is international') exposes gendered assumptions in security and the state.
That was 6 of 116 Core: Understanding power and global politics questions.
Practise all 116 freeDistinguishAO2 · 3–8 marks
Make the difference clear for BOTH terms — a definition of one of them is only half an answer.
DefineAO1 · 1–3 marks
Give the precise meaning — one sentence, the key terms in it, no example needed unless asked.
StateAO1 · 1–3 marks
One word or one short sentence. No explanation, no working: the mark is for the fact itself.
116 Core: Understanding power and global politics questions — free with an account. Spaced repetition, streaks and full exam simulations included.
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