chapter 8 political geography
1) Conflicting claims to the Arctic are mostly due to A) the potential for energy resources. B) old Cold War grudges. C) colonial expansion. D) shifting sea ice formations. E) the proximity of South American and African countries.
A
12) The first states in ancient Mesopotamia were A) city-states, which incorporated cities as well as their countryside. B) colonies, which incorporated cities as well as their countryside. C) empires, which incorporated dozens of unified colonies. D) nation-states, which incorporated city-states, colonies, and empires. E) patron-states ruled by sheiks.
A
15) Among the world's largest multinational states are A) Russia and the United States. B) Australia and New Zealand. C) Japan and Denmark. D) Mexico and Russia. E) Mexico and Japan.
A
18) Examples of major nation-states are A) Germany and Denmark. B) Australia and New Zealand. C) Russia and the United States. D) Mexico and Russia. E) Mexico and Germany.
A
2) The most populous country that is not a member of the United Nations is A) Taiwan. B) South Korea. C) Antarctica. D) Vatican City. E) Monaco.
A
20) The attempt by one country to impose political control over another territory is A) colonialism. B) constitutionality. C) self-determination. D) sovereignty. E) suffrage.
A
22) The most populous remaining colony is ruled by A) the United States. B) the United Kingdom. C) France. D) China. E) the Netherlands
A
23) The Commonwealth is primarily A) an economic and cultural alliance of states once part of the British Empire. B) an organization of culturally homogenous nations that opposed the Warsaw Pact. C) organized to increase availability of mineral resources in perforated states that are NATO allies. D) a religious entity that sends missionaries to Africa from the United Kingdom. E) an association of countries that were once members of COMECON and the Warsaw Pact.
A
25) The only large land mass not part of a sovereign state is A) Antarctica. B) the Arctic. C) Greenland. D) Siberia. E) Borneo.
A
3) The historically neutral country that recently joined the United Nations is A) Switzerland. B) Australia. C) France. D) Canada. E) Monaco.
A
32) The eastern part of the border between the United States and Mexico is delineated by A) the Rio Grande. B) the Gulf of Mexico. C) the Mojave desert. D) the Mississippi River. E) the Rocky Mountains.
A
41) An example of a perforated state is A) South Africa. B) Sudan. C) Slovenia. D) Malaysia. E) Germany
A
44) Which shape most easily fosters the establishment of effective internal communications for a smaller state? A) compact B) elongated C) fragmented D) prorupted E) prolonged
A
48) An increasing number of states have adopted a federal form of government primarily to A) grant different ethnicities or nationalities more effective representation. B) encourage the breakup of the superpower alliances. C) govern compact states more effectively. D) deploy scarce resources efficiently. E) accommodate rightwing political parties and their demands for more representation in national elections
A
49) The process of redrawing legislative boundaries to benefit the party in power is called A) gerrymandering. B) stacking votes. C) hanging chads. D) redlining E) blockbusting
A
50) When gerrymandering takes place, the kind of redistricting so that the opposition is spread across many districts as a minority is termed a(n) ________ strategy. A) wasted vote B) rightwing C) stacked vote D) districting E) excess vote
A
51) When gerrymandering takes place, the kind of redistricting that concentrates opposition voters into a small number of districts, allowing the party in power to gain control of numerous other districts, is termed a(n) ________ strategy. A) excess vote B) red-state rigged C) stacked vote D) wasted vote E) inexcess vote
A
52) The two Germanys A) existed separately from 1949 to 1990. B) are the newest UN member states in Europe. C) were divided by proto-Germanic languages. D) are on opposite banks of the Rhine River. E) were divided by economic and cultural boundaries until 1871.
A
53) In the geopolitical sphere, a balance of power is A) a condition of roughly equal strength between opposing sides, as if they were two equally matched camps. B) always bipolar but reinforced by satellite states. C) a condition of unequal strength between opposing sides, as if they were two powerful allies, supported by a range of satellite states. D) exemplified by a League of Nations or, in the postWorld War II era, the United Nations. E) the type of power shared by the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
A
55) As a result of a 1979 Soviet invasion, fundamentalist Muslims began a major rebellion in ________, supported in part by weapons supplied by the United States. A) Afghanistan B) Ethiopia C) Iran D) Vietnam E) Yugoslavia
A
56) As a result of a 1979 Soviet invasion, Osama bin Laden left Saudi Arabia to join the rebellion of fundamentalist Muslims calling themselves A) mujahedeen, or "holy warriors." B) kamchatkadeen, or "Kamcha warriors." C) iraqideen, or "Southwest Asian warriors." D) jalomadeen, or "peace warriors." E) Islamic Brotherhood "holy warriors."
A
57) ________ entered Afghanistan in the ________ to help fight a jihad against the Soviet Union, and years later he opposed the stationing of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia. A) Osama bin Laden; 1980s B) Osama bin Laden; 1990s C) Osama bin Laden; 1970s D) Muhammad bin Laden; 1980s E) Ladenbil al Reilly; 1980s
A
58) In ________ in 1979, when the U.S.-supported leader of the country was ousted from power, supporters of the ayatollah seized the U.S. embassy and held 62 Americans hostage until January 20, 1981. A) Iran B) Iraq C) Afghanistan D) Egypt E) Israel
A
59) The boundary between the two Germanys was determined by A) Cold War alliances and rivalries after World War II. B) membership in the United Nations, along with nationalistic issues. C) the growth of fascism in Europe. D) the changing physical boundaries of Europe's major rivers and coastlines. E) cultural issues involving shifting language patterns in Europe
A
6) The United Nations is primarily what kind of cooperative effort? A) political B) military C) economic D) cultural E) environmental
A
63) In the 1980s, the United States sent bombers to attack ________ in a failed attempt to kill Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi, in retribution for his country's support of terrorism. A) Libya B) Iraq C) Iran D) Egypt E) Israel
A
10) The best example of a nation among the following is A) an island with a long history of self-rule and a homogeneous ethnic identity, although the island has been under the control of a colonial power for the last 30 years. B) a group of islands inhabited by a homogeneous ethnicity, although the westernmost islands pertain to the territory of one country whereas the easternmost islands pertain to another country. C) a mountainous region inhabited by heterogeneous ethnicities and divided up administratively among various independent countries. D) a mountainous region inhabited by heterogeneous ethnicities which share responsibility for maintaining an independent government and a standing army. E) a mountainous region inhabited by a mixture of peoples but recently colonized by a European nationstate.
B
17) The Kurds are A) a multinational state. B) divided among more than one state. C) a religious minority in the Middle East. D) trying to unite with Turkey. E) the majority population of Iraq.
B
26) A frontier, in contrast to a boundary, A) separates two states. B) is an area rather than a line. C) has become a more common means to separate states. D) is a region of ethnic conflict. E) is the westernmost part of a state.
B
27) A feature of the physical environment commonly used to separate states includes all but which of the following? A) deserts B) geometry C) mountains D) lakes E) rivers
B
64) Which of the following is not true of al-Qaeda? A) Al-Qaeda has been implicated in several bombings since the attack on the United States in 2001. B) Al-Qaeda is a single unified organization. C) Most al-Qaeda cell members have lived in ordinary society, supporting themselves with jobs or crime. D) Finance, media, legal-religious policy and military committees report to a council called Majiis al shura. E) Al-Qaeda grew out of the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
B
13) Political unity in the ancient Mediterranean world reached its height in A) the Fertile Crescent. B) Egypt. C) the Roman Empire. D) Western Europe. E) the Alexandrian Empire.
C
14) The first widespread use of the nation-state concept came in A) Mesopotamia. B) the Roman Empire. C) Western Europe. D) the United States. E) Southeast Asia.
C
16) Korea is a good example of a(n) A) sovereign state. B) nation-state existing in a unified condition. C) ethnicity divided between more than one state. D) colony divided between more than one ethnicity. E) patron-state.
C
21) The motives of European states in establishing colonies can be summarized as all but which of the following? A) God B) glory C) guilt D) gold E) power
C
31) The boundary between Argentina and Chile is an example of a A) prorupted boundary. B) geometric boundary. C) physical boundary. D) cultural frontier. E) perforated frontier
C
33) Extremely small island-states in the world, many of which are former European colonies, are called A) island nations. B) macrostates. C) microstates. D) small nation-states. E) island-colonies.
C
40) Elongated states may suffer from poor internal communication and difficulty defending borders. Which of the following is not an elongated state? A) Malawi B) Gambia C) Namibia D) Chile E) Italy
C
46) After the fall of communism, Poland A) adopted a unitary form of government. B) became a nation-state. C) delegated more authority to local governments. D) gave most of its federal power to its ethnic minorities. E) annexed land from Germany
C
47) The European Union has A) replaced COMECON as the main organization for regional cooperation in Eastern Europe. B) protected Western Europe from a Soviet invasion and improved Europe's environmental protections. C) promoted economic growth and integration in Western Europe. D) closed NATO military bases around the Mediterranean Sea in order to save money since the end of the Cold War. E) protected Southwestern Asia and North Africa from Muslim incursions.
C
5) The world's largest state is A) China. B) Canada. C) Russia. D) Alaska. E) India.
C
54) What was a distinctive feature of the world's superpowers between the 1940s and 1980s compared to other eras? A) The United States and the Soviet Union were superpowers for the first time. B) The two superpowers were never involved in wars. C) The number of superpowers was much lower than in the past. D) The superpowers had satellites. E) The superpowers used religion to settle conflicts.
C
62) Terrorism differs from assassinations and other acts of political violence because A) attacks are never well coordinated. B) attacks are aimed at military targets or political leaders. C) attacks are aimed at ordinary people. D) attacks use only personal and improvised weapons. E) attacks are typically made without regard for political goals.
C
19) A territory tied to a state rather than being completely independent is a A) nation. B) state. C) nation-state. D) colony. E) patron-state.
D
24) According to the map of present-day colonial possessions, the British colony east of Argentina is A) Gibraltar. B) Saint Helena. C) the British Virgin Islands. D) the Falkland Islands. E) Anguila.
D
30) The conflict over the Aozou Strip involves A) centripetal forces acting in the absence of any centrifugal forces. B) a disputed border and Egypt's claims of sovereignty over the zone. C) a disagreement regarding suffrage and a disputed border. D) a disputed border and Libya's claims of sovereignty over the zone. E) Aozou attempts to join the United Nations as a sovereign nation-state.
D
35) As shown on this map, an African country with an elongated shape is A) Libya. B) Central African Republic. C) Algeria. D) Malawi. E) Sudan.
D
36) A Southeast Asian country with a partly elongated or prorupted shape is A) Pakistan. B) China. C) Cambodia. D) Thailand. E) Indonesia.
D
37) A South American country with an elongated shape is A) Bolivia. B) Colombia. C) Brazil. D) Chile. E) Ecuador
D
38) Swaziland makes ________ into a perforated state. A) Madagascar B) the United Kingdom C) Italy D) South Africa E) Zimbabwe
D
39) The most fragmented Southeast Asian state is A) Brunei. B) Malaysia. C) East Timor. D) Indonesia. E) Thailand.
D
4) Over the past half century, the number of sovereign states in the world A) has remained approximately the same. B) has increased by a couple of dozen. C) has decreased by a couple of dozen. D) has increased by more than a hundred. E) has increased by more than a thousand.
D
42) A state with control over its internal affairs has A) centripetal forces. B) nationality. C) suffrage. D) sovereignty. E) ethnicity.
D
43) The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves is known as A) centripetal determination. B) nationalism. C) universal suffrage. D) self determination. E) sovereignty
D
45) A state which places most power in the hands of a central government is a(n) A) federal state. B) anocratic state. C) fragmented state. D) unitary state. E) compact state.
D
61) Since the end of the Cold War, A) Russia has become a nation-state, with the expulsion of minorities from regions such as the Caucasus. B) military alliances have become more important in Europe. C) nationalities have been discouraged from expressing their cultural identities, particularly in the Caucasus region and Siberia. D) Russia has undergone political and economic turmoil, including rebellion in the Caucasus region. E) COMECON has reemerged as a major economic entity in Eastern Europe, and has cooperated with the European Union and NATO on environmental issues and regional trade.
D
7) The map concerning United Nations membership indicates that most African countries A) left the UN in the 1990s but joined again in the early 2000s. B) have not yet joined the United Nations as independent states. C) became UN members in the 1940s and 1950s. D) became UN members in the 1960s and 1970s. E) joined the UN in the 1950s but left the UN in the 1980s
D
8) An area organized into an independent political unit is a A) colony. B) nationality. C) nation. D) state. E) territory
D
9) The best example of a state among the following is A) an island with a long history of self-rule and a homogeneous ethnic identity, although the island has been under the control of a colonial power for the last 30 years. B) a group of islands inhabited by a homogeneous ethnicity, although the westernmost islands pertain to the territory of one country whereas the easternmost islands pertain to another country. C) a mountainous region inhabited by heterogeneous ethnicities and divided up administratively among various independent countries. D) a mountainous region inhabited by heterogeneous ethnicities which share responsibility for maintaining an independent government and a standing army. E) a mountainous region inhabited by a mixture of peoples but recently colonized by a European nationstate.
D
11) The Fertile Crescent A) followed the Nile and Euphrates rivers. B) was the key to the Roman Empire in classical times. C) was the location of the first city-states in the Middle East and the first large-scale agricultural projects of SubSaharan Africa. D) is sometimes considered to have extended from the Nile Valley to the Atlas Mountains. E) extended from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea and was the location of the first city-states in the Middle East.
E
28) The boundary between the United States and Canada is best described by which of the following? A) geometric only B) linguistic and religious C) water and linguistic D) mountain and water E) water and geometric
E
29) Cultural boundaries include all but which of the following? A) ethnic B) geometric C) religious D) linguistic E) geomorphic
E
34) The Germans established the ________ known as the Caprivi Strip in present-day Namibia to access resources in central Africa, including the Zambezi River. A) causeway B) disruption zone C) railroad D) protraction E) proruption
E
60) Which of the following is true about both China and Taiwan? A) Neither one is a member of the United Nations. B) Both consider Taiwan to be the sovereign property of the communist government in Beijing. C) Both now hold seats in the United Nations. D) Neither was once ruled by the Nationalists, although both have official relationships with the United States. E) Both were once ruled by the Nationalists, and both have official relationships with the United States.
E
65) Key challenges to establishing a representative government in Iraq after Saddam Hussein are A) geometric boundaries established by British and French treaties. B) tribal and ethnic differences between provinces. C) sectarian conflict between the Shiite and Sunni Muslims. D) Al-Qaeda insurgents opposed to a secular state with U.S. ties. E) All of these answers are correct.
E
