In the aftermath of the Cold War, international relations between Cold

Question

In the aftermath of the Cold War, international relations between Cold War allies became more difficult. Leaders of previously allied nations were required to conduct tactful economic negotiations in order not to arouse tensions that had previously been overlooked.

The situation described above conforms most closely to which one of the following propositions?

(A) International economic competition is a greater cause of tension than is international military competition

(B) Bonds between allies are stronger when they derive from fear of a common enemy than when they derive from common economic goals

(C) When there is a military commitment between countries, fundamental agreement between them on economic matters is more easily reached

(D) Economic matters are considered unimportant during periods of actual or threatened war

(E) A common enemy contributes to a strengthened bond between nations, enabling them to ignore economic tensions that would otherwise be problematic

Source: LSAT

Arro44 · Answer

I would consider E to be the correct solution following below rational:

The statement describes that the economic tensions were overlooked, thus they had already existed but were of comparably minor importance due to the greater military threats.
Now that those military threats are no longer of importance the economic topics gain more attention and thus former allies in the military field might become opponents on the "economic battlefield".

RidhimaGmat · Answer

This is a tough one, IMO - E

Here is the analysis

(A) International economic competition is a greater cause of tension than is international military competition -  Can't say about greater cause of tension 
(B) Bonds between allies are stronger when they derive from fear of a common enemy than when they derive from common economic goals -  I kept it at 1st go 
(C) When there is a military commitment between countries, fundamental agreement between them on economic matters is more easily reached -  Opposite of the scenario 
(D) Economic matters are considered unimportant during periods of actual or threatened war -  Can't say Economic matters are unimportant during war 
(E) A common enemy contributes to a strengthened bond between nations, enabling them to ignore economic tensions that would otherwise be problematic -  I kept it at 1st go

Now between B and E, 
In option B, not sure of common economic goals, whereas E talks about great bonding and ignoring economic tension during war times and this economic tension may appear after that.
 Thus E appears to be more apt than B .

dave13 · Answer

i will go for E here is my reasoning

(A) International economic competition is a greater cause of tension than is international military competition it talks about econimic competition, but the main topic is about international relations and econmic tensions hence A is out (B) Bonds between allies are stronger when they derive from fear of a common enemy than when they derive from common economic goals we dont talk about fear of common enemy (we are concerned about tensions) hence B is out (C) When there is a military commitment between countries, fundamental agreement between them on economic matters is more easily reached is it mentioned somewhere millitary commotment ? its not about reachng agreement, but about conductiong tactful negotiations hence C is out (D) Economic matters are considered unimportant during periods of actual or threatened war this option contradcts the argument. Economic matters are considered important cause conducted negotions to avoid previous mistakes hence D option is out (E) A common enemy contributes to a strengthened bond between nations, enabling them to ignore economic tensions that would otherwise be problematic this one says that Cold War allies conduct negotiations to ignore economic tensions! exactly! hence i i vote for E

YAY!

viveknegi · Answer

Why B is not answer. Please explain?
Please tell the meaning of the question. Is this assumption question or strengthen question?
Confuse

Arro44 · Answer

I would say this as an assumption question, as you are asked to compare various statements to the original paragraph and identify the one which matches best concerning the meaning.

In my take on this question I eliminated choice B for two different reasons:

1. It talks about the fear of a common enemy, although this is something which might be true for cold war allies, it is not stated in the original passage itself.
2. The sentence mentions "common" economic goals, however we are not told that the economic goals of the fomer cold war allies are necessarily common.

Hope this helps clarify.

Best regards,
Chris

nightblade354 · Answer

Great job everyone! A very high percentage correct, and some excellent responses! Given the turnout, I do not believe an OE is needed. Indeed, the true difficulty questions is derived from one's ability to differentiate between (B), (D), and (E).

For those wondering why not (D), this is not the answer because we do not know the circumstances of the war. It is out of scope and is never discussed. Further, the question stem says "became more difficult", so the possibility of there being difficulty between nations, economically speaking, is a possibility. I for one had to think for a moment about (D), but in the end (E) is your clear winner!

UkrHurricane · Answer

I narrowed it down to B and E but eliminated E because it says "ignored,"  which is an intentional action, while the argument says "overlooked,"  which is an unintentional action.

Is my reasoning wrong?

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot:

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

This post was generated automatically.

In the aftermath of the Cold War, international relations between Cold

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

In the aftermath of the Cold War, international relations between Cold

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards