Deck 15: Religion, Nationalism, and Conflicting Identities

Question 1

Terms used to describe the way the world is conventionally divided include all of the following categories EXCEPT

A) nation-states.
B) multi-national states.
C) nations.
D) ethnic groups.

Answer 1

ethnic groups.

Question 2

Religious identification is apparently increasing

A) in diverse cultures.
B) different types of political systems.
C) countries with different levels of economic development
D) all of the above

Answer 2

all of the above

Question 3

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, religious ideas and movements

A) take second place to political ideology.
B) are basically irrelevant in modern materialistic societies.
C) are constrained by international organizations.
D) have seen a general global resurgence.

Answer 3

have seen a general global resurgence.

Question 4

According to realists, the single most important actor in world politics is the

A) United Nations.
B) state.
C) nation.
D) ethnic group.

Question 5

Approximately what percent of the world?s population is Muslim?

A) ten percent
B) twenty percent
C) thirty percent
D) forty percent

Question 6

In Islam, who of the following are viewed as prophets of God?

A) Adam and Noah
B) Moses and Abraham
C) Jesus and Muhammad
D) all of the above

Question 7

All of the following are considered to be duties for Muslims EXCEPT

A) pray five times a day and, if one can, make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in one?s lifetime.
B) recite the Sunna once a month.
C) give charitable contributions-one-fortieth of one?s wealth-each year.
D) fast (not eat) during the day in the holy month of Ramadan.

Question 8

The term ethnic group is often used in the United States to refer to a

A) tribe.
B) clan or extended family.
C) people with a separate identity within the nation or society.
D) church organization.

Question 9

All of the following have been significant victims of genocide in the last hundred years EXCEPT

A) Armenians.
B) Turks.
C) Jews.
D) Bosnian Muslims.

Question 10

The authors suggest that one of the best ways to combat racism is to

A) deny its existence.
B) draw no racial distinctions whatsoever.
C) focus on a common humanity.
D) separate groups on the basis of racial identity in order to prevent conflict.

Question 11

Nationalism is

A) a basis for national mobilization.
B) the same as ethnicity.
C) inherently dangerous.
D) patriotism.

Question 12

The country in the world usually credited with creating the first ?nationalist identity? is

A) England.
B) Germany.
C) France.
D) the United States.

Question 13

According to Hitler?s Nazi philosophy, this group should suffer the least oppression

A) Jews.
B) Aryans.
C) Gypsies.
D) Slavs.

Question 14

Binational states include all of the following EXCEPT

A) Germany.
B) Belgium.
C) Canada.
D) the former Czechoslovakia.

Question 15

Swiss citizenship is determined by

A) birth anywhere in Switzerland or a bordering country.
B) parental citizenship as Swiss.
C) application at the time of military service.
D) birth in a local Swiss community at the cantonal or provincial level.

Question 16

An unsuccessful multinational state that has broken apart is each of the following EXCEPT

A) the Soviet Union.
B) Yugoslavia.
C) Czechoslovakia.
D) Belgium.

Question 17

The fighting during the 1990s in Bosnia in the former Yugoslavia was in the region

A) in which the majority of the people are Serbs.
B) that accepted without resistance Nazi occupation in World War II.
C) that was occupied by the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War.
D) that demarcated the fault line between the former Ottoman and Austro -Hungarian empires.

Question 18

Members of the Commonwealth of Independent States include all of the following EXCEPT

A) Latvia.
B) Azerbaijan.
C) Turkmenistan.
D) Armenia.

Question 19

The Slavic countries in east-central Europe include all of the following EXCEPT

A) Russia.
B) Ukraine.
C) Hungary.
D) Poland.

Question 20

In Rwanda as in other African countries, sub-national conflict has often been termed

A) tribal conflict.
B) nationalism.
C) intrastate conflict.
D) ethnic conflict.

Question 21

The whimsical idea of Cyber Yugoslavia actually raises the important question of ?Is nationality

A) a dangerous concept that should be eliminated??
B) a physical characteristic or a state of mind??
C) simply a concept that no longer means anything??
D) no longer an issue in the states comprising the former Yugoslavia??

Question 22

Nations without states

A) are banned under the Charter of the United Nations.
B) are given voting status in the U.N. General Assembly.
C) are only represented in the European Union.
D) are assisted by the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), which works to facilitate access to the United Nations on human rights and indigenous population issues.

Question 23

Neocolonialism is associated with all of the following EXCEPT

A) influence of former colonial rulers.
B) maintaining elite ties between European countries and their former colonies.
C) compensating former colonies for previous injustices committed by Europeans.
D) sustaining European social and political values among former colonial elites.

Question 24

Nationalities or nations without a state include all of the following EXCEPT

A) Kurds.
B) Palestinians.
C) both A and B.
D) neither A nor B.

Question 25

The U.S. president credited with advocating the principle of self-determination in a changing world was

A) Theodore Roosevelt.
B) Franklin Roosevelt.
C) Herbert Hoover.
D) Woodrow Wilson.

Question 26

Donald Rothchild and David Lake feel that the main cause of ethnic conflict is

A) fear of the future.
B) intergroup differences.
C) ancient hatreds.
D) economic differences.

Question 27

The social process whereby various ethnic groups are merged under a new identity is called

A) integration.
B) assimilation.
C) consociationalism.
D) cultural genocide.

Question 28

Another term for a state in which all political power and authority come to rest in the institutions of a central government is

A) communism.
B) totalitarianism.
C) dictatorship.
D) unitary state.

Question 29

States composed of two or more nationalities, which, through agreements and formal rules, share or divide powers and positions of government, are said to be

A) mixed.
B) consociational.
C) confederations.
D) decentralized governments.

Question 30

States in which separate state or provincial governments have important functions to perform independently or share with a central government are called

A) mixed political-economy states.
B) consociational states.
C) federal or confederal states.
D) decentralized states.

Question 31

The period since the end of the Cold War has witnessed the heightened importance of religion in international relations.

Question 32

Christianity and Islam-both of which originated in the Middle East-are the world?s two largest religious identities.

Question 33

Nationalism was an important reason for Napoleon?s military successes.

Question 34

The United Kingdom does not include Scotland.

Question 35

Montenegro was the first Yugoslav republic to gain independence.

Question 36

Historically, Russia has led the pan-Slavic movement.

Question 37

European colonial powers in Africa usually had colony boundaries that closely followed those of preexisting tribal boundaries.

Question 38

Neocolonialism does not require the physical presence of the colonizing power in the ?colony.?

Question 39

Long-term, durable peace is the result when a state is partitioned.

Question 40

The United States is a unitary state.

Question 41

Analyze how each of the theoretical perspectives (realist, pluralist or liberal, economic structuralist, English School, social constructivist, and feminist) would view the issue of identity and its role in international relations and world politics.

Question 42

Explain the historical and doctrinal division between Sunnis and Shiʹites. What political difference does this make?

Question 43

How do religions affect nationalism and human rights? To what degree is the increasing prominence of religious movements a reaction to the lack of justice different peoples experience in the present-day world?

Question 44

Should all ethnic groups have the right of national self-determination? What should be the minimum requirements for creating new states?

Question 45

What can or should the United States and other members of the United Nations do about national and ethnic conflict in other states?

Question 46

Examine and assess the causes as well as political, social, and economic consequences of the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.

Question 47

What are the various methods of maintaining peace and unity in binational, multinational, and multiethnic states? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each method?

Question 48

Discuss and assess the historical background and prospects of two nations that do not have states.

Question 49

How and why have ethnicity and nationalism caused civil strife, civil war or interstate war? Use several historical examples as illustrations.

Question 50

Discuss the definition of genocide use in the 1948 ʺConvention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.ʺ