The most populous country that is not a member of the United Nations is

• Taiwan.

• South Korea.

• Antarctica.

The historically neutral country that recently joined the United Nations is

• Switzerland

• Australia.

• France.

The world's largest state is

• China

• Canada.

• Russia.

The United Nations is primarily what kind of cooperative effort?

• political

• military

• economic

As indicated on the maps of economic and political alliances, in 1980 Sweden

• was a member of NATO and the European Community.

• remained nonaligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact.

An area organized into an independent political unit is a

• colony.

• nation.

• state.

The best example of a state among the following is

• 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.

• 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.

• a mountainous region inhabited by heterogeneous ethnicities which share responsibility for maintaining an independent government and a standing army.

The first states in ancient Mesopotamia were

• city-states, which incorporated cities as well as their countryside.

• colonies, which incorporated cities as well as their countryside.

• empires, which incorporated dozens of unified colonies

Political unity in the ancient Mediterranean world reached its height in

• the Fertile Crescent.

• Egypt.

• the Roman Empire.

The first widespread use of the nation-state concept came in

• Mesopotamia.

• the Roman Empire.

• Western Europe.