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MASARYK UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND EUROPEAN
STUDIES
Fall 2009
Final Exam Review Sheet for United States National Security Policy
Date of Exam: Tuesday, January 5th
, 2010, 8-9:30 am
Please bring blank sheets of paper for your essays
Directions for Essays: Several of the essay questions below will appear on the Final
Exam. You will be asked to answer TWO OR THREE of them in a longer essay of
several pages. Be sure to address each aspect of the question.
1. Explain how the end of the Cold War and the uneven nature of conflict over the postCold
War period affected US National Security Policy. What is the significance of the
End of Cold War for US National Security? How has the nature of today's threats
changed and how have these changes affected the US approach to security policy? What
challenges now exist for the US Security Environment? How are these challenges to be
met?
2. Assess the grand vision of the Cold War as projected by NSC-68. As part of your
assessment, consider the following questions ­ First, in what sense was NSC-68 very
much a product of the historical situation and foreign policy context of 1950? Second,
how does NSC-68 compare to previous classics in American foreign policy such as
Washington's Farewell Address, the Monroe Doctrine, and the vision put forth by
Wilson's Fourteen Points? Third, how did events that occurred during the Cold War
(nuclear crises, uprisings in Central & Eastern Europe, etc.) require revisions and changes
to the perspective offered by NSC-68? How well did US security policy adapt to such
developments?
3. The Cold War was witness to a sharp debate over US Grand Strategy to protect US
national security. Central to the protection of our security interests included the use of
containment and deterrence strategies. What was the role of nuclear weapons in these
strategy formulations? And what strategies in retrospect seem wisest to serve US
national interests? Did the US choose wisely or are there different strategic choices that
would have produced `better' results? Offer an assessment of US national security
strategy during the Cold War period leading up to the events of 1989 based on your
knowledge of the course materials and readings.
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4. According to the RAND Corporation report, "A New Division of Labor" (2007), the
goal to "end tyranny" in the world, set by former US President Bush, presents some very
real challenges for the US Defense establishment. What are these challenges? Explain
how this broad goal affects the capabilities and priorities of the US to deliver results. Is
the Defense establishment the best mechanism with which to deliver on such a goal?
What challenges exist for the current alignment of US forces? What actions can be taken
to alter and change the existing alignment of forces to deliver on such a broad goal?
Finally, what are the implications for these changes for US National Security Policy-
making?
5. According to Richard Nere ("Democracy Promotion and the U.S. National Security
Strategy: U.S. National Interest, U.S. Primacy, and Coercion," Strategic Insights, August
2009), US policy-making has always been wrapped up balancing democracy promotion
abroad while seeking to promote stability and security in an anarchical world. His
defense of Bush Administration policies ­ supporting democracy promotion which also
helps to lessen anarchy ­ creates a harmonizing goal where the merits of democracy
promotion outweigh the risks. What do you think of this argument? Summarize Nere's
central points and critique his arguments. What are the implications of his argument for
US policy moving forward after Iraq? How would we apply Nere's arguments to the
situation in Afghanistan? In Pakistan? Are his arguments applicable to the next steps in
the "Long War against Radical Islamist Movements?" Will democracy promotion efforts
lessen insecurity around the world? How so? If not, why not?