Deck 30: The Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and New Conflicts in the Contemporary World, Since 1945

Question 1

Between 1980 and 1988 Iraq under Saddam Hussein fought a war with which state?

A) Kuwait
B) The United States
C) Iran

Answer 1

Iran

Question 2

Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique were given independence last as former colonies of what European country?

A) Belgium
B) Portugal
C) Britain

Answer 2

Portugal

Question 3

Which of the following describes the most important reason for the Nigerian Civil War in the 1960s?

A) Religious differences
B) Control over oil reserves
C) Corruption

Answer 3

Control over oil reserves

Question 4

Why did the United States secretly intervene to help Shah Pahlavi come back to power in Iran in 1953?

A) Shah Pahlavi was committed to democratic reforms.
B) Pahlavi allowed Western countries to control Iranian oil reserves.
C) The USSR was secretly taking control of Iran.

Question 5

How was Apartheid under minority white government maintained in South Africa?

A) By overwhelming force
B) By providing many social services
C) By popular vote from black and white Africans

Question 6

Which French colony was granted independence in 1962 after a long revolution that killed hundreds of thousands of colonial subjects?

A) Algeria
B) Lebanon
C) Syria

Question 7

When did Ghana achieve its independence?

A) 1971
B) 1948
C) 1957

Question 8

Which of the following was a feature of South Africa under apartheid?

A) All Africans were required to carry ID cards designating where they could go.
B) Shared schools, public buildings, and recreational places.
C) Strong support of black education.

Question 9

The Mau Mau Rebellion led to independence in what African nation?

A) Kenya
B) Southern Rhodesia
C) Nigeria

Question 10

Who was the leader of Kenya's nationalist movement and its first Prime Minister?

A) Kwame Nkrumah
B) Patrice Lumumba
C) Jomo Kenyatta

Question 11

Which writer redefined "jihad" as violent opposition to the West rather than as personal struggle?

A) Ayatollah Khomeini
B) Usama bin Ladin
C) Sayyid Qutb

Question 12

Which state is Africa's most populous nation, with a fifth of the continent's population?

A) South Africa
B) Egypt
C) Nigeria

Question 13

Which of the following was NOT one of the policies of Shah Pahlavi's "White Revolution" in Iran?

A) Support for women's rights
B) Enlarging the middle class
C) Nationalizing Iran's oil supply

Question 14

Who forced the Soviets to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989?

A) U.S. forces
B) Mujahidin
C) U.N. forces

Question 15

When did Saudi Arabia help establish the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in order to influence oil prices?

A) 2007
B) 1972
C) 1960

Question 16

What European power had controlled the colonies of Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Syria until after World War II?

A) Britain
B) France
C) Spain

Question 17

Zaire was the name taken by what former European colony in Africa?

A) Chad
B) Rhodesia
C) Congo

Question 18

In Egypt, Algeria, Turkey, and Iran, what religion has become increasingly influential in recent years?

A) Moderate Islam
B) Fundamentalist Islam
C) Mystical Islam

Question 19

Which of the following was a policy followed by the Ayatollah Khomeini's government in Iran after 1979?

A) Expansion of women's rights
B) Implementation of Islamic law
C) Suppression of minorities such as Kurds

Question 20

Who was forced to live on Bantustans in South Africa?

A) Wealthy whites who owned large farms
B) Poor whites who worked for black farmers
C) Poor blacks not needed to work in cities

Question 21

What is the objective of the PLO?

Question 22

Which of the following best describes contemporary African demographic trends?

A) People are moving to quickly growing cities.
B) People are moving from overcrowded cities to the country.
C) People are not moving as much as they used to.

Question 23

Investment from which country has made major inroads in Africa due to the Belt and Road Initiative?

A) China
B) Russia
C) India

Question 24

Who became the first black president of South Africa after apartheid?

A) Nelson Mandela
B) F. W. de Klerk
C) Jacob Zuma

Question 25

Why did the CIA overthrow Mossadegh?

Question 26

Which of the following major problem is facing sub-Saharan Africa?

A) Extreme natural disasters
B) The world's highest infant mortality rates
C) Very low population growth

Question 27

What are the origins of Israeli-Arab conflict?

Question 28

The African Union, formed in 2000, has how many member states?

A) 36
B) 24
C) 54

Question 29

When President Nasser of Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, which countries tried to intervene militarily?

A) The United States, Britain, and Israel
B) Britain, France, and the United States
C) Britain, France, and Israel

Question 30

The white minority in South Africa finally gave up power in 1994 under what circumstances?

A) After military intervention by the United States and Britain
B) After violent uprisings by the black majority
C) Peacefully, after international isolation and economic pressures

Question 31

What is the largest source of investment capital for African economies today?

A) A growing middle class in Africa
B) Wealthy African political leaders
C) Foreign investors and international organizations

Question 32

What is the largest religion (with perhaps 300 million followers) in Africa?

A) Islam
B) Christianity
C) Rastafarianism

Question 33

Describe Turkey's relations with Europe in the 1960s and 1970s.

Question 34

How much of the world's goods and services does Africa produce?

A) 10 percent
B) 1 percent
C) 20 percent

Question 35

Which of the following problems best explains why foreign investors are wary of investing in African development?

A) A lack of interest
B) Corruption
C) Few natural resources

Question 36

Describe Nasser's program for developing Egypt?

Question 37

Although largely successful as a democracy, recently Botswana's government has recently been undermined by what problem?

A) Droughts
B) Ethnic tensions
C) AIDS epidemic

Question 38

One of the few African leaders to voluntarily give up political power was who, from Tanzania?

A) Robert Mugabe
B) Mobutu Sese Seko
C) Julius Nyerere

Question 39

Who helped Egypt fund the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile in 1970?

A) United States
B) Britain
C) Soviet Union

Question 40

What were the origins of the Arab Spring?

Question 41

Describe Saddam Hussein's foreign and domestic policies.

Question 42

How has urbanization affected African life?

Question 43

What effect did World War II have on African nationalist movements?

Question 44

How did colonialism's legacies affect postcolonial African politics?

Question 45

Unlike many of its neighbors, Egypt does NOT have what resource?

A) Oil reserves
B) Sufficient water
C) Copper

Question 46

Why was decolonization so violent in Africa?

Question 47

What was the Suez Crisis? What were its short-term and long-term consequences?

Question 48

Why is the Belt and Road initiative attractive to some African states?

Question 49

What is Salafism and why is it a significant movement?

Question 50

Why was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan unsuccessful?

Question 51

Who are the supporters of liberalization in the Middle East, and who are its opponents?

Question 52

How did the global financial crisis of 2008 affect Africa?

Question 53

Describe the religious beliefs and practices observed in Saudi Arabia.

Question 54

What was the purpose of "Bantustans"?

Question 55

What are the consequences of an increasingly younger Middle Eastern population?

Question 56

How was Apartheid resisted?

Question 57

What role has the IMF played in African development?

Question 58

What were the origins of the Iran Hostage Crisis and how was it resolved?

Question 59

Who defeated Egypt in the 1967 Six-Day War?

A) Saudi Arabia
B) Israel
C) Britain

Question 60

Why is Julius Nyerere often remembered as a good leader?

Question 61

Compare how the Arab Spring affected different countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Discuss at least three countries.

Question 62

What were the goals of Apartheid? Why did it last for so long? How did it end?

Question 63

How has Arab-Israeli conflict drawn in multiple other states over time? How has the conflict changed from 1948 to the present day?

Question 64

In 2006, the Palestinians elected which of the following as their government?

A) Fatah
B) The Palestinian Liberation Organization
C) Hamas

Question 65

In 1951, Shah Mohammed Pahlavi lost most of his political power in Iran when who took over?

A) Communists
B) Radical Islamists
C) Nationalists

Question 66

How have the Soviet experience and the U.S. experience in Afghanistan been similar? What differences exist between them?

Question 67

Israel was proclaimed a state in which year?

A) 1919
B) 1945
C) 1948

Question 68

How has globalization helped and hindered African development? Why?

Question 69

Why was Saddam Hussein regarded at first as a liberator? Why did this perception change?

Question 70

Why was OPEC formed, who are members, and what influence has it had on regional politics and world markets?

Question 71

How did the Iranian revolution change Iranian politics, society, and the economy?

Question 72

How has the internet changed politics, society, and the economy in the Middle East? Why?

Question 73

Compare and contrast the experiences of postcolonial African states. Why did they share some experiences? In what ways were their experiences different? Discuss at least three states.

Question 74

Who began an Intifada, or "uprising," against Israel in 1987?

A) Iran
B) Palestinians
C) Syria

Question 75

Which has led to more conflict in the Middle East, ethnic or sectarian differences? Why?

Question 76

What similarities and differences existed between the decolonization of Kenya, Algeria, and Portugal's colonies?

Question 77

How has African social life changed in the 2000s? What are some of the most important changes and why?

Question 78

What obstacles prevent Africa's development? Which are the most significant and why?