Geopolitics Review

Which of the following is not true of a sovereign state?

• It has a defined recognized territory.

• It has a population.

• It is sovereign.

• It has one common culture.

Read the following description of Kurds to answer the question that follows: “The Kurds are an ethnic group indigenous to a region often referred to as Kurdistan, an area that includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.”

Which of the following terms best classifies the Kurds?

• a stateless nation

• a nation-state

• a satellite nation

• an artificial boundary

Read the passage from “Mexico in Transition” below and use the information in the passage and your knowledge of political systems to answer the two questions that follow.

...The dictatorship was drowned in blood in the revolution of 1910, in which more than a million people died. This led to a constitution modeled on that of the United States and passed in 1917. But by 1929 the party known as the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) had shaped a system that looked like a democracy but worked like a dictatorship. Freedoms of speech and press were severely limited, and elections were controlled. Voters at some polls were handed “taco ballots” – several ballots stuffed into one – so they could cast multiple votes. This is an example of corruption. Loyalists were bussed from place to place to vote repeatedly...

The Mexican Government under the PRI would best be classified as

• presidential.

• a monarchy.

• parliamentary.

• authoritarian.

Read the passage from “Mexico in Transition” below and use the information in the passage and your knowledge of political systems to answer the two questions that follow.

...The dictatorship was drowned in blood in the revolution of 1910, in which more than a million people died. This led to a constitution modeled on that of the United States and passed in 1917. But by 1929 the party known as the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) had shaped a system that looked like a democracy but worked like a dictatorship. Freedoms of speech and press were severely limited, and elections were controlled. Voters at some polls were handed “taco ballots” – several ballots stuffed into one – so they could cast multiple votes. This is an example of corruption. Loyalists were bussed from place to place to vote repeatedly...

All of the following from the passage indicate a dictatorship except:

• voter fraud.

• limited freedom of the press.

• limited freedom of speech.

• a constitution modeled on that of the United States.

“The king combines legislative, executive, and judicial functions. As prime minister, he presides over the Council of Ministers (Majlis al-Wuzarāʾ). The council is responsible for such executive and administrative matters as foreign and domestic policy, defense, finance, health, and education, which it administers through numerous separate agencies. Appointment to and dismissal from the council are prerogatives of the king.”

The above description of the Saudi King’s duties indicate that Saudi Arabia is a (an) ______________

• dictator

• monarchy

• republic

• theocracy

A group of people in a particular area and have a strong sense of unity based on a set shared beliefs is a

• Tribe

• State

• Nation

• centripetal force

Read the passage from “Change Comes to Iran” below and use the information in the passage and your knowledge of political systems to answer the question that follows.

...Twenty years after Ayatollah Khomeini and his devoted followers overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and installed a religious government, many of Iran’s 64 million people are fed up. Iran has been undergoing a second revolution, one that seeks to soften the overbearing rule of the religion-based government...

According to the passage above, Iran would best be classified as

• an aristocracy.

• communist.

• a theocracy.

• a constitutional monarchy.

Which of the following statements best describes direct and indirect democracies?

• Direct democracy votes on day to day decisions while indirect democracy votes on representatives.

• Indirect democracies ensure everyone’s opinions are heard by citizens voting on every law.

• Direct democracies are more effective because senators make the decisions for the citizens.

• Indirect democracies vote on day to day decisions to run the state while direct democracies vote for representatives.

Korea is a good example of a

• Sovereign state

• Colony

• Nation-state

• Nation divided between more than one sovereign state

Which of the following is a strong result of being a landlocked state?

• The sovereign state will most likely struggle developmentally and economically

• The sovereign state will most likely not be a recognized member of the United Nations

• The sovereign state will most likely have a low population growth rate

• The sovereign state will most likely be a republic