The theory of military deterrence was based on a simple psychological truth, that fear of retaliation makes a would b...

Annie March 10, 2020

Hi @Dalaal,

While you do not have to diagram for this question, it is possible. Often (though not always), when the question stem asks you to "infer" something that is a hint that you may want to try diagramming. In this case, I actually am not positive that diagramming makes the question much clearer.

Here, the argument diagrams to:

Fear of retaliation - -> deter attack
Deter attack - -> fear of retaliation

Answer Choices:
(A) is incorrect because it discusses "certain knowledge" while the passage only talks about beliefs.

(B) is incorrect because it is backwards. There is nothing to suggest that a nation will not attack if it believes it is stronger than the other nation.

(C) is incorrect because it is too strong. It tells us that we can conclusively know that a nation doesn't attack another nation because it believes it could not withstand retaliation. While this may be one reason it doesn't attack, there may be many others.

(D) is correct because it tells us how to make other nations fear retaliation, and therefore deter attack (see fear of retaliation - -> deter attack above). By letting other nations know that they have unsurpassed power, nations can create a higher fear of retaliation and therefore better deterrence.

(E) is incorrect because it is about a nations actual military power versus how that military power is perceived. The stimulus is about nations' beliefs regarding other nations military power, not the actual power.

kassidee April 5, 2020

I chose d but the system said e? which is right?

Gabbyxthomas July 22, 2020

I am not sure what makes C not conclusive ?

shunhe July 23, 2020

Hi @kassidee and @Gabbyxthomas,

Thanks for the question! So first, as to your question @kassidee, the correct answer choice is (D). If the system says (E), feel free to contact our support staff by tapping "support" from the left menu or by calling 855.483.7862 ext. 2 Monday-Friday 9am-6pm PT. Sorry about that!

Now as for why (C) is wrong, @Gabbyxthomas, it tells us that one nation’s failing to attack another means that the nation that doesn’t attack believes that it couldn’t withstand a retaliatory attack from the other nation. Basically, it’s saying that if a nation doesn’t attack another nation, it’s always because it thinks it can’t defend itself against retaliation from that nation. But is that supported by the stimulus? No, there could be other reasons nations don’t attack each other. Two nations could be allies, for examples, and not attack each other for that reason. Or two nations could be super far away from each other, and not attack each other for that reason. Or a nation could just not be super into attacking other nations. All of these are possible reasons for nations to not attack each other under the stimulus, and so (C) can’t be properly inferred from the stimulus and is wrong.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.