Strategic Thought Questions and Answers

Q: Who among the following stated that "Geopolitics is a pseudo-science creating the factor of geography into an absolute ?

The statement is Hans J. Morgenthau's.In Politics Among Nations Morgenthau accepted geography as an element of national power but attacked German Geopolitik, calling it a pseudo-science that erects the factor of geography into an absolute, as if geography alone decided the power and fate of nations. The paper's 'creating' is its version of 'erecting'.Mackinder, Spykman and Haushofer were geopoliticians themselves: Mackinder with the Heartland theory, Spykman with the Rimland, and Haushofer as the chief exponent of German Geopolitik. It was their kind of thinking that Morgenthau was criticising.

Q: Who was a key proponent of strategic bombing in aerial warfare ?

The key proponent of strategic bombing was Giulio Douhet (printed 'Giulin Doh Douhet').Douhet, an Italian general, argued in The Command of the Air (1921) that air power would decide future wars: an air force that won command of the air could bomb the enemy's cities and industry, break civilian morale and win without a long land war. He is regarded as the founding theorist of strategic bombing.Basil Liddell Hart (printed 'Liddle Hart') is known for the indirect approach in land strategy, and Mao Zedong for the theory of protracted guerrilla warfare. With Douhet listed, 'None of the above' is wrong.

Q: Which one of the following books was written by Carl Von Clausewitz ?

Clausewitz wrote On War.Vom Kriege (On War), by the Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz, was published after his death in 1832. It is the source of the idea that war is the continuation of politics by other means, and of concepts such as friction, the fog of war and the centre of gravity.The Art of War is by the Chinese strategist Sun Tzu, The History of the Peloponnesian War is by the Greek historian Thucydides, and The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers (1987) is by the historian Paul Kennedy.

Q: Which of the following books is not written by Mr. Zbigniew Brzezinski ?

The book not written by Brzezinski is Frontiers, Security and International Organisation.The other three are Zbigniew Brzezinski's. The Permanent Purge: Politics in Soviet Totalitarianism (1956) was his early study of the Soviet system. Game Plan: A Geostrategic Framework for the Conduct of the U.S.-Soviet Contest (1986) set out his view of the Cold War rivalry, and The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives (1997) argued that Eurasia was the key to American primacy.Brzezinski, President Carter's National Security Adviser, wrote no book with the title in option D, so it is the odd one out.

Q: Who among the following opined the concept of "Geographical Pivot of History" ?

The 'Geographical Pivot of History' is Halford Mackinder's concept.In a paper of that title read to the Royal Geographical Society in 1904, Mackinder argued that the inner region of Eurasia, the pivot area he later called the Heartland, was the strategic centre of the world. In 1919 he summed it up: who rules East Europe commands the Heartland, who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island, and who rules the World-Island commands the world.Alexander de Seversky is known for air power, Karl Haushofer (written 'Hanshofe' in the paper) for German Geopolitik, and A. T. Mahan for sea power.

Q: Find the correct chronological sequence of the following thinkers :

The correct sequence is A.T. Mahan, Mackinder, Haushofer, S. B. John.Alfred Thayer Mahan: The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1890.Halford Mackinder: 'The Geographical Pivot of History', 1904.Karl Haushofer: German Geopolitik of the 1920s and 1930s.Stephen B. Jones (written 'S.B. John' in the paper): the 'unified field theory' of political geography, 1954.Every other option puts a later thinker first, for example Haushofer before Mahan, or ends with Mahan, the earliest of the four.

Q: (1) All cultures condition their members to think certain ways, while at the same time providing preset responses to given situation.(2) This culture bounds our perceptions and the range of options we have for responding to events.Codes :

Both statements are correct, so the answer is Both (1) and (2) are correct.The two statements describe the idea behind strategic culture. Every culture conditions its members to think in certain ways and supplies ready-made responses to familiar situations (1). Because of this, culture limits how people perceive events and narrows the range of options they consider when responding (2); decision-makers do not choose from every logically possible course, only from those their culture makes thinkable.The second statement follows from the first, so marking either one wrong, as the other options do, breaks the argument.

Q: Who wrote the book 'Armament and History' ?

Armament and History was written by J. F. C. Fuller, spelled 'Fullar' in the paper.Major-General John Frederick Charles Fuller, the British theorist of armoured warfare, published Armament and History in 1945. It traces how changes in weapons have shaped warfare and civilisation, from ancient times to the atomic bomb, in line with his belief that weapons, if only the right ones can be discovered, form ninety-nine per cent of victory.Mahan wrote on sea power, Liddell Hart (written 'Liddel Hart') on the indirect approach, and Palmer and Perkins wrote a textbook on international relations.

Q: Which of the following thinkers rejected the old condotlieri system and favoured the idea of national troops ?

The thinker is Niccolo Machiavelli.In The Prince and The Art of War, Machiavelli condemned the Italian city-states' reliance on condottieri (written 'condotlieri' in the paper), hired captains whose mercenary bands fought for pay, avoided risk and could turn on their employers. He argued that a state should rely on its own citizen soldiers, a national militia loyal to the state, and he organised such a militia for Florence.Douhet wrote on air power, Liddell Hart on the indirect approach, and Clausewitz on the nature of war, all long after the condottieri had vanished.

Q: (1) State behaviour is a function of specific institutional orientations.(2) The foundations of strategic culture are societal.Codes :

Both statements are right, so the answer is (1) and (2) are right.Writers on strategic culture argue that a state's strategic behaviour is not simply a rational response to its situation. It reflects the particular orientations of its institutions, such as its military establishment and decision-making bodies (1).Those orientations in turn rest on the wider society: history, geography, political traditions and shared beliefs about war and force, so the foundations of strategic culture are societal (2). Both statements describe parts of the same theory, so the options calling either one wrong are incorrect.

11.

Who among the following stated that "Geopolitics is a pseudo-science creating the factor of geography into an absolute ?

A.Mackinder
B.N.J. Spikman
C.Carl Haushofer
D.Hans J. Morgenthau

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: D

The statement is Hans J. Morgenthau's.

In Politics Among Nations Morgenthau accepted geography as an element of national power but attacked German Geopolitik, calling it a pseudo-science that erects the factor of geography into an absolute, as if geography alone decided the power and fate of nations. The paper's 'creating' is its version of 'erecting'.

Mackinder, Spykman and Haushofer were geopoliticians themselves: Mackinder with the Heartland theory, Spykman with the Rimland, and Haushofer as the chief exponent of German Geopolitik. It was their kind of thinking that Morgenthau was criticising.

Discuss in Forum

12.

Who was a key proponent of strategic bombing in aerial warfare ?

A.Giulin Doh Douhet
B.L.B.H. Liddle Hart
C.Mao Zedong
D.None of the above

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: A

The key proponent of strategic bombing was Giulio Douhet (printed 'Giulin Doh Douhet').

Douhet, an Italian general, argued in The Command of the Air (1921) that air power would decide future wars: an air force that won command of the air could bomb the enemy's cities and industry, break civilian morale and win without a long land war. He is regarded as the founding theorist of strategic bombing.

Basil Liddell Hart (printed 'Liddle Hart') is known for the indirect approach in land strategy, and Mao Zedong for the theory of protracted guerrilla warfare. With Douhet listed, 'None of the above' is wrong.

Discuss in Forum

13.

Which one of the following books was written by Carl Von Clausewitz ?

A.On War
B.The Art of War
C.The Peloponnesian War
D.Rise and Fall of Great Powers

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: A

Clausewitz wrote On War.

Vom Kriege (On War), by the Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz, was published after his death in 1832. It is the source of the idea that war is the continuation of politics by other means, and of concepts such as friction, the fog of war and the centre of gravity.

The Art of War is by the Chinese strategist Sun Tzu, The History of the Peloponnesian War is by the Greek historian Thucydides, and The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers (1987) is by the historian Paul Kennedy.

Discuss in Forum

14.

Which of the following books is not written by Mr. Zbigniew Brzezinski ?

A.The Permanent Purge : Politics in Soviet Totalitarianism
B.Game Plan : A Geostrategic Framework for the Conduct of the US-Soviet Contes
C.The Grand Chessboard : American Primacy and its Geostrategic Imperatives
D.Frontiers, Security and International Organisation

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: D

The book not written by Brzezinski is Frontiers, Security and International Organisation.

The other three are Zbigniew Brzezinski's. The Permanent Purge: Politics in Soviet Totalitarianism (1956) was his early study of the Soviet system. Game Plan: A Geostrategic Framework for the Conduct of the U.S.-Soviet Contest (1986) set out his view of the Cold War rivalry, and The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives (1997) argued that Eurasia was the key to American primacy.

Brzezinski, President Carter's National Security Adviser, wrote no book with the title in option D, so it is the odd one out.

Discuss in Forum

15.

Who among the following opined the concept of "Geographical Pivot of History" ?

A.Alexander De Seversky
B.Karl Hanshofe
C.Halford Mackinder
D.A. T. Mahan

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: C

The 'Geographical Pivot of History' is Halford Mackinder's concept.

In a paper of that title read to the Royal Geographical Society in 1904, Mackinder argued that the inner region of Eurasia, the pivot area he later called the Heartland, was the strategic centre of the world. In 1919 he summed it up: who rules East Europe commands the Heartland, who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island, and who rules the World-Island commands the world.

Alexander de Seversky is known for air power, Karl Haushofer (written 'Hanshofe' in the paper) for German Geopolitik, and A. T. Mahan for sea power.

Discuss in Forum

16.

Find the correct chronological sequence of the following thinkers :

A.Haushofer, Mahan, Mackinder, S.B. John
B.A.T. Mahan, Mackinder, Haushofer, S. B. John
C.S.B. John, Mackinder, Mahan, Haushofer
D.Mackinder, S.B. John, Haushofer, A.T. Mahan

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: B

The correct sequence is A.T. Mahan, Mackinder, Haushofer, S. B. John.

Alfred Thayer Mahan: The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1890.
Halford Mackinder: 'The Geographical Pivot of History', 1904.
Karl Haushofer: German Geopolitik of the 1920s and 1930s.
Stephen B. Jones (written 'S.B. John' in the paper): the 'unified field theory' of political geography, 1954.

Every other option puts a later thinker first, for example Haushofer before Mahan, or ends with Mahan, the earliest of the four.

Discuss in Forum

17.

(1) All cultures condition their members to think certain ways, while at the same time providing preset responses to given situation.
(2) This culture bounds our perceptions and the range of options we have for responding to events.

Codes :

A.Both (1) and (2) are correct
B.(1) is right and (2) is wrong
C.(1) is wrong and (2) is right
D.(1) and (2) are wrong

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: A

Both statements are correct, so the answer is Both (1) and (2) are correct.

The two statements describe the idea behind strategic culture. Every culture conditions its members to think in certain ways and supplies ready-made responses to familiar situations (1). Because of this, culture limits how people perceive events and narrows the range of options they consider when responding (2); decision-makers do not choose from every logically possible course, only from those their culture makes thinkable.

The second statement follows from the first, so marking either one wrong, as the other options do, breaks the argument.

Discuss in Forum

18.

Who wrote the book 'Armament and History' ?

A.A. T. Mahan
B.J. F. C. Fullar
C.Liddel Hart
D.Palmar and Perkins

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: B

Armament and History was written by J. F. C. Fuller, spelled 'Fullar' in the paper.

Major-General John Frederick Charles Fuller, the British theorist of armoured warfare, published Armament and History in 1945. It traces how changes in weapons have shaped warfare and civilisation, from ancient times to the atomic bomb, in line with his belief that weapons, if only the right ones can be discovered, form ninety-nine per cent of victory.

Mahan wrote on sea power, Liddell Hart (written 'Liddel Hart') on the indirect approach, and Palmer and Perkins wrote a textbook on international relations.

Discuss in Forum

19.

Which of the following thinkers rejected the old condotlieri system and favoured the idea of national troops ?

A.Giulio Douhet
B.Niccolo Machiavelli
C.Liddel Hart
D.Karl Von Clausewitz

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: B

The thinker is Niccolo Machiavelli.

In The Prince and The Art of War, Machiavelli condemned the Italian city-states' reliance on condottieri (written 'condotlieri' in the paper), hired captains whose mercenary bands fought for pay, avoided risk and could turn on their employers. He argued that a state should rely on its own citizen soldiers, a national militia loyal to the state, and he organised such a militia for Florence.

Douhet wrote on air power, Liddell Hart on the indirect approach, and Clausewitz on the nature of war, all long after the condottieri had vanished.

Discuss in Forum

20.

(1) State behaviour is a function of specific institutional orientations.
(2) The foundations of strategic culture are societal.

Codes :

A.(1) is correct and (2) is wrong
B.(1) is wrong and (2) is correct
C.(1) and (2) are wrong
D.(1) and (2) are right

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: D

Both statements are right, so the answer is (1) and (2) are right.

Writers on strategic culture argue that a state's strategic behaviour is not simply a rational response to its situation. It reflects the particular orientations of its institutions, such as its military establishment and decision-making bodies (1).

Those orientations in turn rest on the wider society: history, geography, political traditions and shared beliefs about war and force, so the foundations of strategic culture are societal (2). Both statements describe parts of the same theory, so the options calling either one wrong are incorrect.

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