Deck 12: Iran

Question 1

Iran is most accurately referred to as a __________.

A) theocracy
B) liberal democracy
C) military dictatorship
D) communist state
E) totalitarian regime

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The current President of Iran, elected in 2013 is __________.

A) Hassan Rouhani
B) Mir Hossein Mousavi
C) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
D) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
E) Reza Shah

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In 2015, the United States and Iran sign an agreement that

A) exchanged political prisoners held by the two countries.
B) closed religious schools.
C) led to formal diplomatic relations.
D) enhanced student and other exchanges between the two countries.
E) limited Iran's nuclear weapons and related programs.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

The second Pahlavi shah prepared for kingship by

A) partying in Western European cities.
B) attending a military academy in Moscow.
C) studying Islamic law in Qom.
D) working as a secretary for his father.
E) leading a military campaign against a Soviet republic in the north of Iran.

Question 5

What institution was formed in 1957 by the second Pahlavi shah as a secret police force used to arrest dissidents in Iran and assassinate opponents abroad?

A) The Revolutionary Guard
B) The Majlis
C) The SAVAK
D) The Guardian Council
E) OPEC

Question 6

In 1905, which revolution managed to establish a legislative body in Iran (then Persia)?

A) Middle Eastern
B) White
C) Green
D) Constitutional
E) Islamic

Question 7

Most of the Muslims of the world are __________.

A) Sunni
B) Shiite
C) Islamist
D) Kurdish
E) Persian

Question 8

Which event led to the abdication of the first Pahlavi shah?

A) World War I
B) The Great Depression
C) World War II
D) The Korean War
E) The Iraq War

Question 9

Who was the first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic?

A) Khatami
B) Khomeini
C) Rafsanjani
D) Ahmadinejad
E) Bani-Sadr

Question 10

Mossadeq's reforms in the early 1950s centered on

A) putting Muslim clerics in key government posts.
B) gaining public approval for the shah.
C) nationalizing the oil industry.
D) winning U.S. support to counter British influences.
E) creating a liberal democracy.

Question 11

When Iranian students occupied the American embassy and held Americans hostage,

A) moderates in the government were able to better argue their case for improving relations with the United States.
B) Iran was able to win policy concessions from the United States.
C) Khomeini used the crisis to install his hard-line supporters in nearly all positions of authority.
D) the United States organized anti-Khomeini groups in Iraq.
E) Khomeini used the crisis as an opportunity to soften his hard-line policies.

Question 12

An unintended consequence of the White Revolution was

A) the Ayatollah Khomeini no longer remained removed from politics.
B) the elites withdrew their support from the Shah.
C) foreign companies withdrew their investments.
D) Iran's relationship with the United States weakened.
E) Iraq invaded Iran.

Question 13

Rafsanjani's first term as president (1989-1997) was marked by

A) pragmatic economic reforms.
B) a dramatic thaw in relations with the United States.
C) political repression greater than that under Khomeini.
D) widespread secularization of politics.
E) attempts to normalize relations with the new government in Russia.

Question 14

The Pahlavi Dynasty was founded by

A) an ayatollah turned general.
B) an ambitious soldier trained by the Russian army.
C) a tribal leader hand-picked by the British.
D) a Western-educated economics professor.
E) the son of peasants whose first career was teaching.

Question 15

Factors that helped Khomeini solidify his power in Iran included all of the following EXCEPT

A) the occupation of the U.S. embassy for 444 days.
B) the removal of moderate and secular leaders.
C) the war with Iraq.
D) rapid economic growth.
E) increased levels of repression.

Question 16

The population of Iran is

A) notably homogenous.
B) predominantly Arab.
C) very young by global norms.
D) small by European standards.
E) growing at an unprecedented rate.

Question 17

The development of Iranian political culture has been strongly influenced by

A) traditions of Persia and Shiism.
B) close alliances with the United States.
C) a consistent commitment to secularism.
D) the relative peace and stability of the region.
E) a lack of strong political leaders.

Question 18

A major emphasis of the Pahlavi shahs was

A) to instill enthusiasm for Islam.
B) promoting the export of Iranian manufactured goods.
C) safeguarding the property rights of owners of large estates.
D) to encourage Soviet-style industrialization.
E) building a public educational system.

Question 19

A distinguishing political feature of Shiism is the

A) popularly elected leadership.
B) formally trained religious hierarchy.
C) religious sanction for individual liberties.
D) long tradition of theocratic involvement in politics.
E) emphasis on international political organization.

Question 20

The literal interpretation of a religion's founding text(s) is sometimes referred to as __________.

A) reform.
B) religious subsidizing.
C) Shi'ism.
D) charisma.
E) fundamentalism.

Question 21

The __________ Council approves all candidates for elections.

Question 22

Ayatollah Khomeini's political recommendations were compiled as a series of lectures he delivered in early 1970, and are now known by the name

A) the Guardianship of the Jurist.
B) the Soul of God.
C) the Assembly of Experts.
D) the Partisans of Ali.
E) the Image of the Enemy.

Question 23

There has been some progress made in normalizing relations between Iran and the United States in the last few years, mostly through negotiations by private individuals who have no official authority, something known as __________ diplomacy.

A) second tier
B) second level
C) second phase
D) track-two
E) third-rail

Question 24

All of the following are true about presidential elections in Iran EXCEPT

A) elections are officially nonpartisan.
B) voting occurs in two rounds.
C) campaign posters are forbidden.
D) reformers are often kept off the ballots.
E) women currently are allowed to run for office.

Question 25

For all intents and purposes, Iran has two chief executives, an elected president and a senior cleric known as the __________.

Question 26

Serving as president of Iran from 1997 to 2005, __________ was one of the most pro-reform leaders in post-1979 Iranian history.

A) Mir Mousavi
B) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
C) Mohammad Khatami.
D) Hashemi Rafsanjani.
E) Reza Shah

Question 27

Which body of the Iranian state has veto power on legislation and potential electoral candidates?

A) Majils
B) Expediency Council
C) Assembly of Experts
D) Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps
E) Guardian Council

Question 28

Mustlim charities are known as

A) Revolutionary Guards.
B) Khomeini Institutions.
C) Bonyads.
D) Expediency Council.
E) Majlis.

Question 29

The Green Movement is described as a new kind of social movement because of the prominent role played by what?

A) The military as supporters of the Movement
B) Oil companies who funded protests against the regime
C) Islam as the central issue in question
D) Women as leader of the movement
E) Social media as a means of organizing and informing

Question 30

Economically, Iran has been described as having the potential to suffer from the "__________ disease" as a result of its reliance on a single industry: oil.

A) Swiss
B) French
C) Dutch
D) Russian
E) Norwegian

Question 31

Observers question the democratic nature of Iranian elections because of

A) the two-round process of elections for the Majlis.
B) the free media time offered to candidates by the government.
C) the role of the Guardian Council in approving candidates.
D) the requirement that the candidates have a university degree.
E) the age limitation for candidates.

Question 32

The fact that such a large percentage of the population in Iran is under age 30 is politically significant because

A) young people are easier for the government to control.
B) they were born after the 1979 revolution and do not remember the Shah's regime.
C) they were born after the collapse of the Soviet Union and do not understand Marxism.
D) younger people in Iran are being drawn to Sunni mosques.
E) they have been brainwashed by the regime to hate foreigners.

Question 33

Who organized the overthrow of Prime Minister Mossadeq in 1953?

A) China
B) Russia
C) Iraq
D) The United States
E) The United Nations

Question 34

Economic policy making in Iran today is complicated by

A) the predominance of small business.
B) foreign ownership of major industries.
C) multiple levels of governmental regulation.
D) clerical control of large segments of the economy.
E) the demands of an educated middle class.

Question 35

The rights of women in Iran have

A) improved since the 1979 revolution.
B) declined since the 1979 revolution.
C) remained the same since the 1979 revolution.
D) served as a positive example for rights activists.
E) kept restrictive laws from being passed in Iran.

Question 36

Of the following, which is directly elected by the Iranian people?

A) The Supreme Leader
B) The Majlis
C) The SAVAK
D) The Expediency Council
E) The Revolutionary Guard

Question 37

Who appoints the Supreme Leader?

A) The Guardian Council
B) The Majlis
C) The Iranian people through direct elections
D) The Assembly of Experts
E) The Judicial Council

Question 38

The basij is

A) a group of influential clerics that determine election law.
B) a semi-legal group of vigilantes acting on behalf of the government.
C) the leading human rights organization in Iran.
D) the student-led group that took control of the U.S. embassy in 1979.
E) the middle-class merchants supporting economic reform.

Question 39

Iranians took to the streets in June 2009 to protest

A) economic conditions.
B) Sunni versus Shi'a violence.
C) presidential election results.
D) U.S. foreign policy.
E) construction of nuclear power plants.

Question 40

Until the law was changed in 2005, what was the minimum voting age for national elections in Iran?

A) Ten
B) Twelve
C) Fifteen
D) Eighteen
E) Twenty-one

Question 41

The charismatic leader of the 1979 revolution was Ayatollah __________.

Question 42

How did changes in Iranian politics make the 2015 agreement on limiting the country's nuclear problem possible?

Question 43

How has Iran's history with the United States affected its political structure and public policy over the last century? What are the prospects for that relationship in the future?

Question 44

The second Pahlavi shah created __________ as a means to enforce his rule through arrest and torture.

Question 45

Iran and the United States have not had formal diplomatic relations since the Islamic Revolution. Why has this been the respective policy of both countries? Should a new policy be adopted? Why or why not?

Question 46

The 2009 elections in Iran were mired in controversy. What was the nature of that controversy, and what potential impacts will emerge as a result of that controversy? How does the relatively quiet nature of the 2013 elections affect your answer?

Question 47

Iran has no democratic history and, in fact, has a history of strong dictators. What affect has this had on politics in Iran in the last century? Does Iran have a chance of democratizing in the next few decades? Why or why not?

Question 48

The majority of Iranians are from the __________ sect of Islam.

Question 49

A large percentage of Iran's population is less than thirty years old. How is that politically and economically relevant to Iran's future?

Question 50

The Islamic legal system is based on __________ law.

Question 51

President George W. Bush described Iran as being part of the "axis of evil" while a number of Iranian leaders often use the phrase "the Great __________" to describe the United States.

Question 52

Iran has tremendous economic potential because of its vast natural supply of __________.

Question 53

The Iranian legislature is called the _________.

Question 54

Small businessmen who own stalls and shops in Iran's marketplaces are known as __________.

Question 55

Iran has, since the 1979 revolution, restricted the rights of women, and yet, women outnumber men in the universities there. How is this likely to impact Iranian political culture in the short- and long-term?

Question 56

What are two domestic and two global factors that affect economic policy making in Iran? Are the domestic or global factors more limiting? Why?