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Community · 11 Questions
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Cast your vote on the biggest questions in international relations. Results update as the community votes. One vote per question per session.
Which theory best explains the current US-China rivalry?
Offensive Realism — it's a structural power struggle
Classical Realism — competing national interests
Constructivism — an identity conflict as much as a power one
Liberal — institutions and trade can still manage it
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Is the United Nations still effective as a peacekeeping body?
Yes — imperfect but still the best mechanism we have
No — the Security Council veto makes it ineffective
It needs fundamental reform before it can work
It was never truly effective — just diplomatic theater
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Will the US-China rivalry lead to direct military conflict within 20 years?
Yes — great power competition historically ends in war
No — nuclear deterrence makes direct conflict too costly
Possibly — but only over Taiwan specifically
Unlikely — economic interdependence prevents it
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Is the post-Cold War liberal international order effectively dead?
Yes — great power rivalry has replaced rules-based order
No — it is weakened but still the dominant framework
It is transforming into a multipolar order, not dying
It only ever served Western interests anyway
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Is a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine still realistic?
Yes — it remains the only viable long-term framework
No — facts on the ground have made it impossible
Possibly, but only with major external pressure on both sides
A one-state solution is more realistic at this point
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Has US global leadership declined since 2016?
Yes — significantly and possibly irreversibly
Yes — but it remains the world's indispensable power
No — its fundamentals are still stronger than any rival
US leadership was always overstated — allies drove it too
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Should sanctions be used as a primary foreign policy tool?
Yes — they avoid military conflict while applying real pressure
No — they rarely change behavior and hurt civilians most
Only as part of a broader coercive diplomacy strategy
Targeted sanctions on individuals can work — broad ones cannot
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Is China's rise peaceful or destabilizing?
Destabilizing — its assertiveness is reshaping the regional order by force
Peaceful overall — its growth benefits global trade
Mixed — peaceful economically but destabilizing militarily
The question depends entirely on how the US responds
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Is nuclear deterrence still a reliable guarantor of great power peace?
Yes — mutually assured destruction still works
No — it relies on rational actors and we cannot assume that
It has worked so far but the risk of miscalculation is rising
It prevents great power war but enables proxy conflicts instead
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Should humanitarian intervention override state sovereignty?
Yes — human rights are universal and override borders
No — sovereignty is the foundation of international order
Only with UN Security Council authorization
Only in cases of genocide or crimes against humanity
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Which IR thinker is most relevant to understanding today's world?
John Mearsheimer — offensive realism explains everything
Joseph Nye — soft power and interdependence define the era
Alexander Wendt — identity and norms shape state behavior
Thucydides — nothing has changed since ancient Greece
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