12.Practice.Tests.for.the.SAT_2015-2016_1128p

Section 21
Practice Test Two
147
Questions I 0-15 are based on the following passage.
The passage below is excerpted from the introduction to a
new book about global conflict and peace.
My introduction into the field of social history
was fortuitous. I spent my early formative years
in Lebanon during that country's civil war. Living
Line through this turmoil inspired my quest to study
(5) and understand global conflict. Breaking away to
America in my preteen years cushioned the
blow, as did living in suburban Maryland. After
my entry to Stanford University, I found myself
reengaged by the factors that contributed to my
( 1 O) horrific childhood living conditions. I invested
myself in the study of international relations in
hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of war,
conflict, and peace. Yet, once again, I too quickly
lost my bearings, this time in the immersion of
(15) abstract theories of global security-theories that
justify, even advocate war as a policy tool. I
am still embarrassed by the fact that I went to
school in order to contribute to world peace but
found myself becoming a hawkish supporter of
(20) militarized solutions.
During graduate school, I met a professor who
urged me to refocus my studies from the global
system to the local one. He recommended that
I study the people of the various regions of the
(25) world rather than the regional power balance
among governments. I, of course, scoffed at the
suggestion, for that type of study was the job of
historians. International relations theorists do not
often examine people. I, like most others in my
(30) field, viewed the state as a black box. States and
their governments were the subjects of my studies;
populations were merely the objects of state
action. But I eventually reached a point that highlighted
the inadequacy of such analyses. Ironically,
(35) I had first sought to study international relations
in order to help people overcome conflict, but
in my focus on the politics of conflict, I had lost
sight of the people.
I eventually refocused my studies by examining
( 40) the history of the people in the regions I studied.
Primary source documents revealed common
struggles and aspirations. This examination
elucidated the politics of the regions and their
conflicts. By overlaying the two studies, I was
( 45) eventually able to see how political motivations,
calculations, and missteps affected groups and
individuals who then fell into conflict.
This examination of the human aspect of
international politics opened my eyes to the fact
(50) that conflicts are often not endemic. Traditional
views of the state and nation never addressed, for
instance, how governments and demagogues spur
previously coexisting populations into battle, or
why. Ironically, the examination of the human
(55) level cemented the notion that groups and populations
seldom harbor true hatred and conflict.
I learned that such conflicts originate from and
remain the tools of those in power. This circle
finally accorded me the comprehensive under-
( 60) standing I sought. My examination of social
history aided my understanding of international
politics by highlighting the states of affair within
the regions and countries I studied. They helped
me to investigate the true origins of the world's
( 65) past conflicts-and my own.
1 O. The primary purpose of the passage is to show how
the author
(A) discovered a more effective framework of
analysis for his studies
(B) became an international relations scholar to
help people in his homeland achieve social
justice
(C) improved his research abilities by taking a
new approach
(D) became more well-rounded thanks to the
tutelage of a graduate school professor
(E) came to view local populations as a worthy
subject for study
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