Author Question: Libyan revolutionaries initially struggled to overthrow authoritarian leader Muammar Gaddafi until ... (Read 133 times)

sjones · **on:** Sep 10, 2018

Libyan revolutionaries initially struggled to overthrow authoritarian leader Muammar Gaddafi until these rebels received military support from the U.S. and NATO.

How might soft power and hard power have been utilized alternatively in the revolutionaries' struggle against the Libyan regime? How might each of these two types of power be said to have contributed to the success in defeating that regime?
What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Realism is a theory of international relations with long and widespread intellectual roots. While underlying assumptions have remained essentially the same, scholars and practitioners have refined the principles and rules of behavior for centuries.

Trace this development, specifying who the primary contributors to realism have been and what the particular contribution of each has been.
What will be an ideal response?

vboyd24 · **Reply #1 on:** Sep 10, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Ideal Answer: The ideal answer should include:
1. Describe the aspects of soft and hard power, and briefly profile the opposing sides of the Libyan civil war.
2. Explain why the revolutionaries struggled to overthrow Gaddafi and how military support from the U.S. and NATO made a critical difference in their struggle.
3. Evaluate the role of diplomacy, strategic communications, foreign assistance, civic action and economic reconstruction and development (as soft power) in the Libyan revolutionaries' struggle, and the role of military and aggressive economic influence (as hard power) in that same struggle.
4. Assesses how key elements of each type of power might have aided in the defeat of the Gaddafi regime.
5. Offer a concise summary and effective conclusion.

Answer to Question 2

Ideal Answer: The ideal answer should include:
1. Outline what realist theory is.
2. Compare and contrast those foundational principles of realism as they have changed or fallen out of favor over time, in the context of those which have remained constant. Such principles may relate to power, human nature, international order, and potential for peace.
3. If possible, students should cite examples such as World War I and the Vietnam War from the text to illustrate the development of realism in international relations.
4. Outline the primary contributors to realism, such as Sun Tzu, Hobbes, Machiavelli, Morgenthau, etc., and their particular contributions.
5. Perhaps conclude with an evaluation of the value of the contribution of each figure.