International and National Organizations Trivia

What is the purpose of the IMF (International Monetary Fund)?

The IMF was to oversee an international exchange rate system based on the U.S. dollar (then still tied to gold) and provide assistance to countries in economic crisis, among other duties.

What is the purpose of the World Bank?

The World Bank was to assist the reconstruction of countries affected by the war, and to support economic development more broadly.

In a 1942 statement, a group of countries first used the name that would later be used for which major postwar institution?

United Nations The term "United Nations" was first used at the suggestion of President Franklin Roosevelt in a statement issued on January 1, 1942, by twenty-six countries fighting the Axis powers in World War II. This "Declaration by United Nations" built on an earlier document, the Atlantic Charter. The United Nations declaration bound the signatories to work together in the war effort, which the United States had recently joined after the attack on Pearl Harbor. More than three years later, the term "United Nations" was adopted for the new international organization established with the aim of encouraging cooperation and preserving peace in the postwar era. The United Nations was effectively the successor to the League of Nations, an organization with similar aims established after World War I. The League of Nations proved largely ineffective as the United States, fueled by traditional isolationist sentiments, never joined.

Which of the following was not among the original members of NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance established roughly four years after World War II? -France -Portugal -Canada -West Germany

West Germany Countries that established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on April 4, 1949 were the United States, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and United Kingdom Greece and Turkey became the first additional members in 1952, followed by West Germany in 1955. NATO committed the United States to the defense of its European allies against the threat from the Soviet Union in the budding Cold War. It was the first-ever U.S. peacetime military alliance outside the Western Hemisphere, marking a significant departure from the longstanding U.S. tendency toward isolationism. NATO has endured as a linchpin of the Western order throughout the Cold War and since, expanding over time to include twenty-nine member states.

One of NATO's chief military missions in recent years was leading the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in which country?

Afghanistan Following the September 11 attacks, the United States invaded Afghanistan to pursue the leaders of al-Qaeda, which had perpetrated the attacks, and the Taliban, which had harbored them. Following the initial combat phase, NATO took charge of the ongoing military mission under the framework of ISAF. This mission aimed to help Afghanistan's government and security forces become more effective so the country would not again become a base for terrorism. ISAF forces also conducted their own military operations. ISAF concluded at the end of 2014, though NATO continues to operate a noncombat mission in Afghanistan called Resolute Support. At its peak, ISAF included some 130,000 personnel from fifty-one countries inside and outside NATO.

Approximately how much was the United States assessed for the United Nations' core budget in 2017?

**$611 million** The United Nations' regular budget is paid by contributions from member states, which are assessed in line with the size of their economies and other factors. The world's least developed countries might pay only 0.001 percent of the regular budget; the United States is assessed at 22 percent, the maximum rate. Peacekeeping and other activities are funded separately.

Approximately how many uniformed personnel are serving worldwide in United Nations peacekeeping operations?

**104,000** A total of over 104,000 personnel are serving in the United Nations' fourteen current peacekeeping missions: around 90,000 in uniform, 13,000 civilians, and 1,000 volunteers. The largest mission is MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has over 15,000 military personnel and around 3,000 civilians. More than 3,750 people have been killed while serving in peacekeeping operations since they began in 1948.

In 2013, where did the United States rank in the thirty-five-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in terms of the percentage of foreign-born people in its population?

**14th (at 13.1%)** Among members of the OECD, a group mainly comprising wealthy countries, thirteen countries—Luxembourg, Switzerland, Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Canada, Austria, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, and Spain—had higher proportions of foreign-born people in their populations than did the United States. Luxembourg had the highest at 43.7 percent—more than three times the United States' 13.1 percent.

The IMF and the World Bank each have the same number of member countries. What is it?

**189** Both the IMF and the World Bank have grown from forty-four original member states to 189 today. According to the World Bank's Articles of Agreement (essentially its constitution), countries wishing to join the bank must first be members of the IMF. Additionally, countries wishing to join other parts of the World Bank Group, a set of related institutions, must first be members of the bank itself.

How many member states make up the United Nations today?

**193** From fifty-one original members in 1945, the UN's membership grew to 193 by 2011, where it remains. The growth stems primarily from the independence of new countries through decolonization and other means.

The United Nations was officially established in which year?

**1945** The United Nations emerged from the United Nations Conference on International Organization, which took place in San Francisco from April to June 1945, near the end of World War II. The conference produced the UN charter, the organization's founding document, which was signed on June 26.

The World Bank Group, the entity of which the World Bank is a part, consists of how many organizations?

**5** The well-known World Bank—including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association—forms only one part of a broader organization called the World Bank Group. The group includes three additional agencies: the International Finance Corporation, which facilitates funding and other services for private businesses in developing countries; the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, which provides guarantees to encourage private investment in developing countries; and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, which facilitates the resolution of disputes between countries and foreign investors.

How did NATO's first secretary-general memorably describe NATO's mission?

to "keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down" NATO's first civilian leader, or secretary-general, was Lord Hastings Lionel Ismay of the United Kingdom, who took office in April 1952. His famous summation of NATO's purpose reflected the serious aims behind the organization's founding at the dawn of the Cold War. These were to deter an attack by the Soviet Union; to prevent the reemergence of violent nationalism, deployed so tragically by Nazi Germany; to encourage political integration in Europe; and to keep the United States committed to Europe's defense. These aims have evolved in the decades since, especially after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, but NATO's core mission as a military alliance remains.

How many official languages does the United Nations have?

**6** Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish are the official languages of the United Nations. Generally, documents produced by the organization are translated into all six. Some UN departments and agencies use a shorter list of working languages for day-to-day operations.

How is the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development primarily funded?

**Bonds issued in the capital markets** The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development finances its lending and other services to developing countries mainly by issuing bonds in the capital markets. Investors can buy these bonds just as they might buy bonds issued by corporations or the U.S. Treasury Department. The governments of the bank's member countries commit funds to back up the bonds, but the governments are not directly responsible for repaying them. All this contrasts with the International Development Association, which funds its work mainly through contributions from governments.

Where did the conference that established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank take place?

**Bretton Woods** The IMF and the World Bank emerged from the UN Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in July 1944. At the conference, delegates from forty-four countries met to establish international financial arrangements that could facilitate prosperity and stability in a post-World War II world. Leaders hoped these arrangements, led by the IMF and the World Bank, would promote economic cooperation and avoid the kinds of policies they believed had fueled the Great Depression and World War II.

at which location was the basis of the postwar international financial system created at a conference in 1944?

**Bretton Woods, New Hampshire** Delegates from forty-four countries gathered at the UN Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in July 1944. The conference aimed to create postwar institutions that could promote economic cooperation and avoid the trade and monetary policies that U.S. leaders believed had fueled the Great Depression and paved the way for World War II. Two institutions emerged from the conference: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (commonly referred to as the World Bank). Each institution's mission has evolved in the decades since, but both remain pillars of the international economic order.

Which of the following countries is not a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council? -France -China -Russia -Germany

**Germany** The UN Charter establishes the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom (often called the P5) as permanent members of the Security Council. These countries were the primary victors of World War II, and their permanent status often sparks criticism that the Security Council's power structure fails to reflect today's world. The UN General Assembly elects ten additional members to join the Security Council for two-year terms.

The United States has the largest share of votes in IMF decisions. Which country has the second-largest share?

**Japan** The same quotas that determine the IMF's financing also shape the amount of voting power possessed by each country in IMF decisions. The United States has the largest quota and thus the largest share—more than 16.5 percent—of votes in the IMF's governing forums. Japan is next at just over 6 percent, followed closely by China.

What is the title of the chief administrative officer of the United Nations?

**Secretary-General** Chapter XV of the UN charter names the secretary-general as the organization's "chief administrative officer." The role today includes a wide range of responsibilities, from management of personnel to advocacy for the organization's aims. Antonio Guterres of Portugal is the ninth and current secretary-general.

Which of the following main organs of the United Nations can impose binding obligations on the 193 member states to maintain peace?

**Security Council** Within the UN system, the main responsibility for maintaining peace and resolving disputes falls to the Security Council. This body, made up of five permanent members and ten rotating members, is the only UN organ with the power to make decisions that member states must follow, according to the UN Charter.

Which term refers informally to an aide who helps leaders prepare for summits, especially those involving the G7 or G20?

**Sherpa** The reference comes from the Sherpa people of Nepal and neighboring areas, who are renowned for their exceptional mountaineering skills. Many Sherpa people make their living as guides and porters for climbers seeking to reach the summits of Mount Everest and other Himalayan peaks. As such, Sherpa became the term for aides who help leaders prepare for events of the same name.

So far, every president of the World Bank has been a citizen of _____, while the IMF's managing director has always come from _____

**The United States, Europe** The United States and European countries have historically split the top leadership posts of the World Bank and the IMF. Under this informal arrangement, the United States designates the president of the World Bank, while the IMF's managing director comes from a European state. Five of the IMF's eleven managing directors have hailed from France, including the current managing director. This arrangement reflects the traditional economic dominance of the United States and Europe. However, it has come under criticism from China and other rising powers, which believe their growing economic heft should give them a greater say.

What is one of the privileges held by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council?

**The ability to veto Security Council resolutions** Any of the five permanent members can veto any Security Council resolution, other than those on procedural issues, which defeats the resolution even if it has the nine votes required. The Security Council presidency, meanwhile, rotates monthly among all members. Member states also contribute their own military and police personnel to UN missions, as the United Nations has no standing force of its own.

How is the International Monetary Fund (IMF) primarily funded?

**contributions by members countries according to defined quotas** Each member country of the IMF is assigned a quota calculated according to the size and other characteristics of its economy. Quotas generally determine how much the country must contribute to the IMF's finances, as well as how much it can borrow if needed. As of 2017, quotas ranged from around $3.5 million for the small island country of Tuvalu to some $118 billion for the world's largest economy, the United States.

Which of the following was the primary original purpose of the World Bank?

**helping to fund the reconstruction of European countries devastated by World War II** Upon its founding in 1944, the World Bank focused on giving loans to rebuild countries devastated by the war that was raging across Europe and beyond. Later, the bank's focus shifted to promoting development in a broader range of countries, including by funding infrastructure and other priorities. Today, one part of the World Bank, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, generally lends to developing countries with relatively strong economies; another part, the International Development Association, gives loans and grants to the lowest-income countries.

What are the primary activities of the IMF?

**monitoring countries' economic policies, offering assistance and training on economic policy to government officials, and offering loans to countries in economic distress** The IMF's best-known function is lending money to countries experiencing actual or potential economic crises. The goal is to give them "breathing room" as they make policy changes intended to resolve their distress. To further its mission, the IMF also monitors economic conditions and policies (what it calls "surveillance") and gives countries assistance and training (or "capacity development") on economic issues. Unlike the World Bank, the IMF does not loan funds for infrastructure or other development needs.

Which of the following additional economic arrangements emerged from the Bretton Woods conference? -International Trade Organization -World Trade Organization (WTO) -North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) -General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

**the GATT: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade** Along with the international monetary system and economic reconstruction, negotiators at Bretton Woods addressed the issue of international trade. However, they could not come to an immediate agreement on a new institution to promote cooperation in this area. In 1947, negotiators finally agreed on tariff cuts and other trading rules, codified in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The GATT served as the main arrangement governing international trade until the World Trade Organization was formed in 1995. They did draft a charter for a new International Trade Organization (ITO). However, U.S. congressional opposition prevented the ITO from coming into existence.

In 1971, what element of the original system created at Bretton Woods collapsed?

**the system of generally fixed currency exchange rates overseen by the IMF** The Bretton Woods conference established an international monetary system, overseen by the IMF, in which the value of currencies was generally fixed in relation to the U.S. dollar, and the value of the dollar was fixed to gold. President Richard Nixon's 1971 decision to end the ability to convert dollars to gold led to the collapse of this system. Thereafter, major currencies were allowed to float, or change value, vis-à-vis each other.

What are the powers granted to the United Nations Security Council by Chapter VII of the UN Charter?

**to decide whether a threat to peace exists, to tell UN member states to cut off diplomatic relations with a given country, and to tell UN member states to use military force to restore peace** Chapter VII of the UN Charter outlines the Security Council's most muscular powers for responding to "threats of the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression." While Chapter VI allows the Security Council to use peaceful means to help resolve disputes, Chapter VII empowers it to order stronger measures, including military force. Security Council resolutions adopted under Chapter VII are generally considered legally binding.

What is the primary purpose of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. government agency created in 2004?

**to give foreign aid to countries that meet certain political and economic criteria** The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) offers funding to countries that are deemed to have sound governance and economic policies. To be eligible, countries must have relatively low per capita incomes and perform strongly on various indicators. The MCC helps recipients with infrastructure, agriculture, water, education, and other priorities.

Another important NATO mission has been leading the Kosovo Force (KFOR) to maintain peace and stability in Kosovo. When did this mission begin?

1999 Conflict erupted in Kosovo, then part of Serbia in the Balkan country of Yugoslavia, in the mid-1990s. The ethnic and sectarian conflict pitted Muslim Albanians, who formed a majority in Kosovo and sought independence, against Christian Orthodox Serbs, who dominated Serbia as a whole. In 1999, NATO conducted a seventy-eight-day campaign of airstrikes against the regime of Yugoslavia's Serbian president, Slobodan Milosevic, in response to his brutal repression of uprisings in Kosovo. Following negotiations that led to a peace agreement, NATO began a peacebuilding operation in June 1999. This mission, known as KFOR, remains ongoing to this day. Following Kosovo's declaration of independence in February 2008, the United States and many European countries recognized it as an independent state, though other countries did not.

NATO countries have endorsed a goal of spending what percentage of their total economies on defense?

2% In recent years, NATO members have agreed that each country should spend at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of the total size of the economy, on defense. The target has become a focus of debate as President Donald J. Trump has expressed doubts about whether the United States' allies are paying their fair share. In 2016, five NATO countries met the threshold: the United States (3.6 percent), Greece (2.4 percent), the United Kingdom (2.2), Estonia (2.2), and Poland (2.0). Luxembourg spends by far the least, just 0.4 percent of its GDP.

How many countries are members of NATO?

29 At its foundation on April 4, 1949, NATO had twelve members: the United States, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Since then, seventeen additional European countries have joined the alliance in seven rounds of enlargement, beginning with Greece and Turkey in 1952. The bulk of the increase came after the Cold War as NATO admitted countries that had been part of the Soviet-dominated eastern bloc. These include the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, which acceded to the alliance in 1999. Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia followed suit in 2004. Most recently, NATO has expanded to the Balkans with the accession of Albania and Croatia in 2009 and Montenegro in 2017.

The best-known part of NATO's founding treaty, Article 5, deals with what topic?

Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, also called the Washington Treaty, establishes the principle of collective defense that underpins the alliance. It contains the famous declaration that alliance members "agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all." In Article 5, the allies also agree to come to each other's aid if any is attacked.

Who is the current managing director of the IMF, and also the first woman to lead the IMF?

Christine Lagarde

What is the distinguishing feature of the UN General Assembly, set up as part of the United Nations in 1945?

It includes all the UN member states, each with an equal vote. The United Nations now has 193 members, meaning that the General Assembly includes essentially every country in the world. Its resolutions are generally nonbinding, and some topics require a simple majority vote while others require two-thirds. Although the General Assembly was intended as the United Nations' primary deliberative body, the Security Council has generally proved more visible and prestigious given its limited membership and responsibility for questions of war and peace.

In 2011, during a wave of uprisings in Arab countries, NATO intervened in which country?

Libya In early 2011, an uprising broke out in Libya against the country's longtime dictator, Muammar al-Qaddafi. Qaddafi's forces and allied groups cracked down violently, sparking a widespread humanitarian crisis. As the unrest continued, the United States and other countries took initial military action in March, including surveillance and the enforcement of an arms embargo and no-fly zone. (Some of these actions came under the auspices of NATO and some did not.) At the end of the month, NATO took official control of international military efforts in Libya under a mission called Operation Unified Protector, which ended on October 31, 2011. Given Libya's ongoing instability, the military intervention there has received significant criticism.

So far, NATO members have invoked the Article 5 provision on collective defense only once. They did so in response to what?

NATO allies invoked the Article 5 collective defense commitment for the first and, so far, only time in response to the September 11 attacks on the United States. In a statement issued the following day, alliance members "agreed that if it is determined that this attack was directed from abroad against the United States, it shall be regarded as an action covered by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty." Over the following years, NATO members supported the U.S. response to the attacks by joining military operations in Afghanistan and other counterterrorism efforts.

What does the acronym "NATO" stand for?

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance among countries in North America and Europe. Beyond its purely military function, the alliance underpins the transatlantic relationship that connects the United States to many of its closest allies. It has been a critical instrument of U.S. security and U.S. foreign policy overall.

What is the OECD?

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development An international organisation of those developed countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and a free market economy. It is based in Paris. It originated in 1948 as the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), to help administer the Marshall Plan for the re-construction of Europe after World War II. Later its membership was extended to non-European states, and in 1961 it was reformed into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Members include most of rich European nations, Japan, South Korea, Australia, NAFTA members, and Turkey.

The United Nations

The United Nations was established in 1945 as the main international organization intended to promote cooperation and avoid further catastrophic conflict in the postwar world. The UN Charter (as amended in 1965) set up the Security Council with fifteen members, five permanent and ten rotating. The permanent members, who hold vetoes on Security Council actions, were the main victors of World War II: the United States, China, France, Soviet Union, and United Kingdom. It included six main bodies, among them the Security Council, endowed with chief responsibility for maintaining peace. -the General Assembly -the Security Council -the Trusteeship Council -the Economic and Social Council -the International Court of Justice -the Secretariat This structure has endured to this day, prompting frequent criticism that the Security Council does not accurately represent today's world. On paper, the Security Council retains significant powers, including authorizing the use of force by member states. However, differences between the world's major powers, among other factors, have reduced its effectiveness as a forum for cooperation.

What is the G7?

an informal bloc of industrialized democracies. The heads of state and government of the United States, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and West Germany met together for the first time at Rambouillet, outside Paris, in 1975. The following year, this so-called Group of Six expanded to include Canada, forming the Group of Seven, generally called the G7. Russia was formally added in 1998, creating the G8. However, in 2014, the other seven countries excluded Russia following its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine. Since then, the group has been the G7 once again. One country each year serves as president, hosting the annual summit, which aims to promote coordination on international economics and security concerns. Governments have also sought to advance economic coordination in recent years through the G20, a larger group that includes the G7 and major developing countries.