Contemporary World Issues
Exam Bank
Course Introduction
Contemporary World Issues examines the major challenges and developments shaping our global society today. The course explores topics such as globalization, environmental sustainability, human rights, poverty, international conflicts, global health, and migration. Students analyze the root causes and consequences of these issues, evaluate responses from governments, organizations, and communities, and develop informed perspectives on solutions and future trends. Through case studies and critical discussions, learners gain a comprehensive understanding of the complexities and interconnectedness of modern world affairs.
Recommended Textbook
World Politics 4th Edition by Jeffry A. Frieden
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17 Chapters
1269 Verified Questions
1269 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: What Shaped Our World
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Sample Questions
Q1) How did the Great Depression help lead to the outbreak of World War II?
A)It caused France to invade Germany after the Germans failed to pay back their war reparations.
B)It led to the rise of extreme right-wing,nationalistic governments in several key European nations.
C)It caused many countries to stop funding the League of Nations,crippling the organization tasked with keeping the peace.
D)It prevented nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom from investing in more troops.
Answer: B
Q2) Why did some countries after World War II form what would become the European Union?
A)To fend off intervention by the United States in Europe
B)To increase tariffs on goods entering Europe
C)To increase trade and improve economic cooperation within Europe
D)To increase trade between European countries and their former colonies
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: Understanding Interests, interactions, and Institutions
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Sample Questions
Q1) ________ interactions are the simplest kind of cooperation between actors.
A)Zero-sum
B)Coordination
C)Positive-sum
D)Collaborative
Answer: B
Q2) One means with which a country can coerce other countries is:
A)walking away from negotiations.
B)setting the agenda for negotiations.
C)threatening or using military force against the other countries.
D)having an international organization mediate the dispute.
Answer: C
Q3) Which of the following is an example of a solution to a coordination problem?
A)A driver sets flares on the road to mark an accident.
B)Airline pilots go on strike to raise wages.
C)Peacekeepers separate two armies in a civil war to stop the conflict.
D)Cybersecurity experts set a universal standard format for malware reporting so that all firms can share.
Answer: D
4
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Chapter 3: Why Are There Wars
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Q1) A state covets a piece of territory that is valued at $100 million,yet it costs the state
$40 million to attain it through war.How much must its adversary need to offer to make a peaceful settlement preferable to war?
A)At least $60 million
B)More than $100 million
C)At least $40 million
D)Exactly $100 million
Answer: A
Q2) What is a first-strike advantage?
A)The benefits a state gains by being the first to attack
B)A state's ability to repel a surprise attack by another state
C)The tendency of smaller states to attack larger states first
D)The incentives offered to states that wait for other states to initiate wars
Answer: A
Q3) Why might states decide not to go to war over a disputed good?
A)The opposing side also has a legitimate claim.
B)The costs of war are higher than the expected benefits from war.
C)States always prefer to strike a deal rather than fight wars.
D)To be unpredictable.
Answer: B
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Chapter 4: Domestic Politics and War
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Q1) Why did Argentina attack the Falkland Islands/Malvinas?
A)The Argentine government expected that taking control of the islands would improve its ability to stay in power.
B)The Argentine public pressured the government to retake the islands.
C)Argentine business groups pushed for the government to safeguard their economic interests in the islands.
D)The Argentine government felt it had to launch a preemptive war.
Q2) Why might losing a war be more costly for nondemocratic leaders than for democratic leaders?
A)Nondemocratic leaders are more likely to overestimate the capabilities of their own military and experience much worse losses than wars begun by democratically elected leaders.
B)Spending money on waging a war but not getting any resources in return means that an undemocratic leader will have less money than democratically elected leaders,who usually have a steady salary.
C)Wars are generally financed personally by nondemocratic leaders.
D)Nondemocratic leaders are more likely to be jailed,exiled,or killed if they cause a war that their country loses.
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Chapter 5: International Institutions and War
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Q1) How does the presence of an alliance alter the bargaining model of war?
Q2) How does an alliance affect the bargaining model of war?
A)An alliance is superfluous to the bargaining model.
B)An alliance moves the bargaining range closer to the nonallied states' ideal point.
C)An alliance moves the bargaining range closer to the allied states' ideal points.
D)An alliance expands the range of possible bargains.
Q3) Why has NATO survived after the end of the Cold War?
Q4) What is the trade-off between the credibility of alliances and keeping control of alliance partners?
A)The more control an ally has in forcing compliance,the less credible the alliance is.
B)The more discretion an ally has in honoring the alliance,the less credibility the alliance has.
C)The greater the integrity of the alliance partners,the less control the alliance has over those allies.
D)The more standing the alliance has internationally,the more control the alliance has.
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Violence by Nonstate Actors: Civil War and Terrorism
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Q1) How can different types of rebel demands (e.g. ,separatism,revolution,and irredentism)change the nature of a conflict,and how do the strategies that states use to respond to rebel groups change based on the nature of the demands?
Q2) Committing a terrorist attack in an effort to derail a peace negotiation is an example of which terrorist tactic?
A)Coercion
B)Spoiling
C)Outbidding
D)Propagandizing
Q3) What is the essential credible commitment problem for rebel groups to lay down their arms for peace?
A)Rebels are rising in power so they have no reason to lay down arms.
B)The state is ceding power and will be weaker than the rebels,so it isn't a committed deal.
C)Rebels will no longer have the reputation of being willing to do violence.
D)Once they disarm they have no way to be sure that the government will keep the deal.
Q4) How does counterinsurgency work?
Q5) Can states effectively prevent or deter terrorism? Why or why not?
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Chapter 7: International Trade
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Q1) Which of the following is an example of absolute advantage?
A)Germany makes cars more efficiently than the United States but less efficiently than Japan
B)The United States is likely to win in a trade war against either Germany or Japan.
C)Japan makes cars more efficiently than any other country.
D)All countries are equally efficient at making software.
Q2) What is most-favored-nation trading status?
A)When countries give each other the same trade concessions they give to all other countries
B)When a country gives special trade privileges to a close ally
C)When a country spares no expense to increase trade with another country
D)When a country promotes trade with military allies
Q3) How do the Stolper-Samuelson theorem and Ricardo-Viner model differ in their predictions of who will support protection and who will support free trade?
Q4) How do compensation programs create a Pareto improvement in trade policy? Why might they create more support for trade?
Q5) Explain how trade bargaining problems can resemble a Prisoner's Dilemma.
Q6) What factors explain why countries trade what they do and who they trade with?
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Chapter 8: International Financial Relations
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Q1) How do international financial institutions contribute to global cooperation between investors and borrowers?
Q2) Why is lending capital to foreign countries controversial in the lending countries?
A)Citizens resent banks making a profit on international loans.
B)The profits from the loans are spread widely throughout the economy,which is opposed by the investors.
C)Often when banks make bad loans,their governments bail out the banks with the taxpayers' money.
D)The repayment of the loans requires austerity policies.
Q3) Why is international migration controversial? Who tends to support it and who opposes it?
Q4) Which of the following is an example of sovereign lending?
A)Citicorp lending money to the Brazilian government
B)The emperor of Japan lending money to the poor
C)The British Parliament lending money to the British queen
D)The CEO of Citicorp borrowing money from Citicorp
Q5) How do international finance and international immigration behave in similar ways? How do they differ?
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Chapter 9: International Monetary Relations
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Sample Questions
Q1) A national monetary system represents a public good because:
A)it is easy to exclude people from using a currency.
B)it only has benefits for a minority of people who buy and sell goods internationally.
C)there are no downsides to providing a national currency.
D)people cannot be excluded from the monetary system or charged for using it.
Q2) Why does currency manipulation lead to conflictual interactions?
A)An artificially weak currency puts pressure on producers in other countries.
B)Unstable currencies cause risks to everyone involved in international exchange.
C)An artificially weak currency reduces the purchasing power of consumers in other countries.
D)The sudden withdraw of investments from a country can lead to a currency crisis.
Q3) The Bretton Woods Monetary System can best be described as which of the following?
A)A good standard system
B)A flexible exchange rate system
C)An adjustable peg system
D)A central bank system
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Chapter 10: Development: Causes of the Wealth and Poverty of Nations
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Q1) Which of the following countries adopted export-oriented industrialization policies?
A)Mexico
B)Zambia
C)Singapore
D)Philippines
Q2) Why is Zambia an example of failed potential for economic development?
A)Although Zambia experienced substantial economic development after independence,its economic growth did not keep pace with that of countries like South Korea.
B)Although Zambia had substantial natural resources and a respected national leader,its economy worsened instead of improved after independence.
C)Although Zambia's economy grew steadily,much higher economic growth was expected because of the country's substantial natural resources.
D)Zambia's economy worsened after independence because of severe ethnic conflict.
Q3) What did development prospects look like in Zambia and South Korea in 1964? What explains the divergence in their development stories?
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12
Chapter 11: International Law and Norms
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Q1) How do TANs help monitor compliance with international agreements?
Q2) What are the three categories of norms? Give an example of each type of norm.
Q3) What role do domestic courts play in enforcing international law?
A)Once ratified,treaties are enforced by domestic courts in the same way as domestic laws.
B)Strong domestic courts give domestic laws precedence,meaning international law may not be enforced by some domestic courts.
C)Domestic courts can overturn international treaty ratification.
D)Domestic courts have little ability to enforce international law because they cannot appeal to international law in legal interpretations.
Q4) Which of the following is an example of low delegation in international law?
A)The European Court of Justice enforcing the law of the European Union
B)The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade dispute settlement body permitting national vetoes of decisions
C)The International Criminal Court prosecuting an individual for crimes against humanity
D)The International Court of Justice enforcing a ruling on a territorial dispute
Q5) How do transnational advocacy networks (TANs)enforce compliance with norms?
Q6) How do TANs act as endorsers of international agreements?
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Human Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain why states commit human rights abuses against their own citizens,even though their actions violate international human rights law.
Q2) Which of the following is an example of a rights violation due to a national security threat from domestic groups?
A)The Mexican government failing to provide safe and healthy working conditions for Mexican factory workers
B)United States placing approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the start of World War II
C)Bolivia failing to provide free primary education to everyone based on a lack of resources
D)United States troops abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq in 2003
Q3) Has human rights law been effective? What has helped it be effective and what has prevented it from being more effective?
Q4) How did transnational advocacy networks (TANs)affect the campaign against apartheid in South Africa?
Q5) What does it mean that "although all rights are equal,some rights are more equal than others"?
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Page 14
Chapter 13: The Global Environment
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Sample Questions
Q1) How are polluting industries similar to protectionist industries?
A)Both are large groups that are less motivated because the costs of unfavorable policies will be spread across a large number of members.
B)Both usually support their governments' involvement in international agreements.
C)Both are small in number and can get concentrated benefits from government policies,while the costs of those policies are spread across many individuals.
D)Both are large groups that can use their numbers to get favorable government policies passed.
Q2) Why are complete bans often more effective that numerical restrictions on pollution?
Q3) Which of the following is an example of a common-pool resource?
A)Restoration of the ozone layer
B)The Grand Banks fishery off the coast of North America
C)A beehive that pollinates plants located on other properties
D)Acid rain created by coal plants in the United States falling in Canada
Q4) Why is cooperation to improve the environment sometimes like a Prisoner's Dilemma?
Q5) Discuss a collective action problem that you have personally encountered?
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Chapter 14: The Future of International Politics
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Q1) What is a strategy for the United States to contain China's rise?
A)Insist that China abide by WTO trade rules
B)Use American foreign direct investment to penetrate the Chinese market
C)Work to increase Chinese importation of U.S.goods to lower the trade deficit
D)Create alliances with Southeast Asian and East Asian countries
Q2) Which of the following is a reason that states violate the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?
A)The NPT has no formal mechanism for monitoring compliance.
B)Security Council rules make enforcement through sanctions less likely.
C)Violators have the support of strong allies who will protect them with their own nuclear deterrents.
D)NPT standards of what constitutes a violation are unclear.
Q3) What does it mean to possess a survivable second-strike force?
A)A country can hold soldiers and weapons in reserve for a second assault.
B)A country can wage two wars at one time.
C)A country can protect its citizens from major harm during an attack.
D)A country can inflict unacceptable damage on an enemy after being attacked.
Q4) What role does information play in the populist backlash against globalization,and how does this affect the politics of economic policy?
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Chapter 15: Introduction
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Q1) Which international relations theory would most agree with the idea that the goals of actors are determined by their culture and identities?
A)Realism
B)Liberalism
C)Constructivism
D)Bargaining
Q2) Which of the following examples employs realist logic?
A)The United States invaded Iraq to remove the threat of weapons of mass destruction,which were a security risk.
B)The United States invaded Iraq because it was afraid that the United Nations would stop the war from happening.
C)The United States invaded Iraq because multinational corporations wanted access to Iraq's oil.
D)The United States invaded Iraq because Saddam Hussein did not find the threats of the United States to be credible.
Q3) Take a recent example of an international situation you have read about in the news.Explain the events using the framework of interests,interactions,and institutions.
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17
Chapter 16: Foundations, War, and Peace
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Q1) Why might a state engage in a diversionary conflict?
A)To gain more support domestically
B)To prevent further scrutiny from an international organization
C)To prevent a trading partner from realizing that it is losing out on the terms of trade
D)To hide the real war that a leader wants to start
Q2) Game theory is:
A)an approach to understanding human behavior derived from studies of gambling.
B)an approach to studying international relations that assumes actors do not take negotiations seriously.
C)the use of role-playing to understand the actions of world leaders.
D)a tool for analyzing strategic interactions.
Q3) Explain how there is a credibility problem in states representing their interests,capabilities,and resolve in international relations.
Q4) Discuss the role of information in the incidence of interstate conflict.Assuming all information about states could be made public and available,would wars still happen?
Q5) What is the distinction between alliances and collective security organizations? Give two examples of each.
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Page 18
Chapter 17: International Political Economy, Transnational
Politics, and Looking Ahead
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Q1) Which of the following is the best example of an international norm?
A)A state adopting a democratic form of government
B)The Kyoto Protocol
C)Avoiding civilian casualties during war
D)A state going to war
Q2) What is a transnational advocacy network (TAN)? How can TANs cause change in government policies in spite of their lack of material resources? In the area of human rights,provide an example of an effective TAN and discuss how it achieved its results.
Q3) The Heckscher-Ohlin theory accounts for which of the following in explaining what countries trade?
A)Cross-border transactions within individual firms
B)The impact of political risk on trade flows
C)Simultaneous import and export of similar goods
D)Factor endowments of states and their trading partners
Q4) Why do states engage in human rights violations? Under what conditions might they be stopped?
Q5) What is the primary function of a transnational advocacy network in encouraging the adoption or change of international law?
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