Deck 20: The Reach of the United Nations

Question 1

The United Nations was designed to function as a world government that can rule over all countries in the world.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The League of Nations failed primarily due to the failure of collective security.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The structures of United Nations and the League of Nations are dissimilar, as the latter did not have a general assembly and a security council.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

It is the veto system that has helped keep the United Nations alive a lot longer than the League of Nations.

Question 5

During the Cold War, the UN was ineffective as both the United States and the Soviet Union used it as a foreign policy tool.

Question 6

At the UN headquarters, there is a possibility of diplomatic contact with all nations.

Question 7

Functionalism is the notion that cooperation in a narrow area will spill over into the broader area.

Question 8

The inability of many countries to block reform has rendered the UN highly susceptible to change.

Question 9

The spread of democracies doesn't seem to contribute to the spread of peace among nations.

Question 10

The League of Nations was created as part of ________,

A) the Peace of Westphalia
B) the Versailles Treaty
C) the Treaty of Paris
D) the Treaty of Rome
E) the Covenant for Peace

Question 11

The League of Nations was a ________ organization, meaning that its member states agreed to leave other states alone (not attack) and that all would punish any state that broke that agreement.

A) collective security
B) mutual security
C) economic security
D) mutual defense
E) intergovernmental

Question 12

Hitler was emboldened to leave the League of Nations and then act in spite of it due to the League's weak responses to ________.

A) Italian aggression and Swiss aggression
B) Japanese aggression and British aggression
C) Russian aggression and Japanese aggression
D) Italian aggression and Japanese aggression
E) Russian aggression and Italian aggression

Question 13

The UN General Assembly consists of ________.

A) 15 rotating members with one vote
B) 5 permanent members with one vote and 10 rotating members with veto power
C) all member nations with one vote
D) all member nations but only the major powers have a vote
E) 25 members with one vote

Question 14

The five members of the Security Council are in a uniquely powerful position because only they can ________.

A) veto any proposal in the General Assembly
B) veto any resolution in the Security Council
C) propose resolutions for the General Assembly
D) vote for the Secretary General
E) determine committee membership

Question 15

The nonpermanent members of the Security Council ________.

A) are appointed for 5-year terms
B) have veto power while on the Council
C) have an ordinary vote but no veto power
D) are elected by the permanent members of the Security Council
E) can vote as a block and overcome the will of the permanent members

Question 16

Which two countries that are permanent members of the Security Council have experienced significant economic decline, thus prompting some to question whether they should maintain their permanent seats?

A) United States and Britain
B) Britain and France
C) United States and Russia
D) Russia and Germany
E) France and Italy

Question 17

Which of the following was authorized by the UN Security Council, suggesting that it could work as it was meant to?

A) the 2010 sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program
B) the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq
C) the U.S.-led Kosovo campaign
D) the 2010 resolution naming North Korea as the party responsible for sinking a South Korean navy ship
E) President Obama's plans for action against Syria for its use of poisonous gas

Question 18

Which of the following was blamed on the removal of UN troops?

A) Iran-Iraq war
B) Salvadoran civil war
C) Mideast war of 1967
D) independence of Namibia
E) Angolan civil war

Question 19

The first two Secretaries General of the UN were ________.

A) bland bureaucrats who focused on organizational development
B) strong personalities who focused on fulfilling the UN's peacekeeping role
C) academics who merely used the UN as a debating society
D) merely posturing as world leaders
E) focused on management, efficiency, and ethics

Question 20

The current and past UN Secretaries General are, respectively, ________.

A) Ban Ki-moon of South Korea and Kofi Annan of Ghana
B) Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt and Kofi Annan of Nigeria
C) U Thant of Burma and Ban Ki-moon of South Korea
D) U Thant of Burma and Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt
E) Kurt Waldheim of Austria and Trygve Lie of Norway

Question 21

________, an underlying premise of the UN, refers to generating cooperation on major, divisive issues by starting with cooperating on less important, specialized matters.

A) Peacekeeping
B) Cooperative learning
C) Functionalism
D) Peacemaking
E) Escalated cooperation

Question 22

The specialized UN agency that adjudicates claims between nations is ________.

A) the UN Conference on Trade and Development
B) the International Monetary Fund
C) the World Intellectual Property Organization
D) the International Court of Justice
E) the International Labor Organization

Question 23

If the leader of a poor country needed a loan to help with development, which UN agency would he or she approach?

A) the International Monetary Fund
B) the World Bank
C) the World Monetary Fund
D) the UN Conference on Trade and Development
E) the UN Development Bank

Question 24

If you were the leader of a country engaged in enriching uranium for nuclear weapons, what UN agency would you most want to avoid the attention of?

A) the International Nonproliferation Agency
B) the UN Nonproliferation Organization
C) the International Maritime Organization
D) the International Atomic Energy Agency
E) the International Court of Justice

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT a specialized UN agency?

A) the International Seabed Authority
B) the Food and Agriculture Organization
C) the International Labor Organization
D) the World Trade Organization
E) the UN Children's Fund

Question 26

For a peacekeeping mission to be most effective, there must be ________.

A) no cease-fire and weak rules of engagement
B) no cease-fire and NATO presence
C) a UN presence and robust rules of engagement
D) a firm cease-fire and robust rules of engagement
E) a firm cease-fire and weak rules of engagement

Question 27

Which of the following arguably has the biggest impact on the conflict-ridden and impoverished countries since they provide the most international aid each year?

A) the United Nations
B) individual states
C) intergovernmental organizations
D) nongovernmental organizations
E) UN agencies

Question 28

Why did the League of Nations fail? Specifically address the role of the United States and the reasons behind its decision not to ratify the treaty.

Question 29

Describe the goals and methods of collective security. How is it the middle ground between balance-of-power and world government? Is it effective? Why or why not?

Question 30

Describe the organization of the United Nations. Which UN organ has the most power? What was the rationale behind making one organ so much more powerful than the others?

Question 31

Describe the powers of the Security Council. Is President Obama's suggestion that the UN Security Council needs reforming true? Do you agree that India and Brazil should be considered for permanent seats on the Security Council? Which other countries do you think deserve a seat? Do you think reform in the Security Council is likely? Explain why or why not.

Question 32

Discuss the ways in which disillusionment has been growing with the UN. How have the secretaries general contributed to the trend? Include the diplomatic association of the UN with the United States, too.

Question 33

Discuss the new military activity, called peacekeeping, that has emerged in the UN. How does it work? Has the UN been able to keep peace among nations? Discuss the organization's corresponding successes and failures using adequate examples.