Deck 8: States and Economies in Transition: Between Democracy and Yesterday

Question 1

Which of the following best describes Gorbachev's policy called glasnost?

A)Foreign policy initiative
B)Economic initiative
C)Scientific initiative
D)Political initiative
E)Domestic policy initiative

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Unlike the pattern found in Asian transitional states, in Latin America economic development has preceded political liberalization.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

What was the goal of perestroika?

A)Challenging the power of the nomenklatura
B)Restructuring the Soviet economic system
C)Initiating economic reforms
D)Improving the efficiency of Soviet workers
E)All of the above

Answer 3

E

Question 4

What term was used to describe the Soviet elite, who enjoyed a privileged life of luxury apartments, specialty shops, vacation resorts, private health spas, and hospitals?

A)Blat
B)Glasnost
C)Nomenklatura
D)Duma
E)Politburo

Question 5

Glasnost, or openness, reinforced perestroika by relaxing controls on the media and liberalizing the culture.

Question 6

Russia rekindled memories of the Cold War with its attack on Georgia in August of 2008.

Question 7

What did Georgia have that Russia wanted so much that led to the Russian invasion?

A)Control of oil and gas pipelines to the West
B)Access to large gold reserves
C)Access to the Red Sea
D)Access to vast mineral deposits
E)All of the above

Question 8

Cuba is the last unreconstructed Stalinist state.

Question 9

Which did Vladimir Putin not do after becoming Russian President?

A)Crack down on oligarchs
B)Expand executive powers
C)Diversify the economy
D)Make foreign policy more aggressive
E)Fight money laundering

Question 10

The transitions of Eastern Europe have been remarkably free of economic problems.

Question 11

When the Soviet Union dissolved, over half of the population was in Russia.

Question 12

The Russian economy immediately got better after the fall of the Soviet Union and the introduction of privatization.

Question 13

The Pan-Blue Coalition favors an official declaration of Taiwanese independence.

Question 14

Gorbachev's aim in reforming Communism was to save it.

Question 15

The most critical social problems in the former Soviet Union were alcoholism, corruption, and a widening technology gap.

Question 16

Although widely seen as economically successful, South Korea still lags behind Greece and Portugal, Western Europe's poorest countries.

Question 17

After 1989, Hungary's popularly elected government slowed down the pace of free-market reforms.

Question 18

With the breakup of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan inherited and retains a significant nuclear arsenal.

Question 19

As their reign of totalitarian rule has ended, Russia is back on track to become a superpower, again.

Question 20

The election of Vicente Fox was a major victory for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

Question 21

The New Economic Mechanism (NEM) attempted to decentralize the economy of which state?

A)Romania
B)Poland
C)Hungary
D)Russia
E)Czech Republic

Question 22

Which Taiwanese coalition is seeking eventual reunification with China?

A)Pan-Chinese Coalition
B)Pan-Blue Coalition
C)Pan-Red Coalition
D)Pan-Asian Coalition
E)Pan-Green Coalition

Question 23

Which of the following is a healthy sign of party competition and political pluralism at work?

A)Two decades of one party rule
B)Multiple parties vying for electoral seats
C)Different parties in control after every election
D)Multiple parties in control
E)Coalition form of government

Question 24

As a rule, change in Latin America has followed which pattern?

A)Economic reforms with little or no political reform
B)Economic reform preceding political reform
C)Economic and political reforms moving forward at the same time
D)Political reforms preceding economic reforms
E)Political reforms with little or no economic reform

Question 25

How have the transitions in Asia differed from those in Latin America? What are the impediments to reform in the two regions? The incentives?

Question 26

Which of the following is no longer recognized as a sovereign nation and does not have a seat in the United Nations?

A)South Korea
B)North Korea
C)Thailand
D)Malaysia
E)Taiwan

Question 27

Though it is prosperous, which South American country has seen a great deal of civil unrest related to concerns over fairness?

A)Argentina
B)Mexico
C)Chile
D)Brazil
E)Both A and D

Question 28

Which South American country has risen to prominence, along with China and India?

A)Mexico
B)Brazil
C)Argentina
D)Chile
E)Both B and C

Question 29

Which of the following best describes the government of the Czech Republic?

A)Chaotic mess
B)Coalition government of the elite
C)Parliamentary democracy
D)Constitutional monarchy
E)None of the above

Question 30

What term was used to describe Asia's financial crisis of 1997-1998?

A)Asian flu
B)Far East malaise
C)Economic pox
D)Siamese sickness
E)Korean plague

Question 31

How do international organizations like NAFTA, the EU, and the UN affect the transitions that states go through? Do they always have a positive influence? Which transitional state has been the most affected by an international organization?

Question 32

In January of 1990, Time magazine named Mikhail Gorbachev "Man of the Decade for the 1980s." What do you think the reasons were for this choice? Discuss his successes and failures as president of the former Soviet Union.

Question 33

The boldest reforms were adopted by which of the following former Communist countries?

A)Poland
B)Hungary
C)The Czech republic
D)All of the above
E)None of the above

Question 34

Although it operates as a liberal democracy, what party has ruled Mexico for almost all of the twentieth century?

A)Democratic Progressive Party
B)National Action Party
C)Republican Revolution Party
D)Institutional Revolutionary Party
E)None of the above

Question 35

Which of the following transitional states has the most powerful economy?

A)Mexico
B)Taiwan
C)South Korea
D)Czech Republic
E)Poland

Question 36

Satisfaction or discontent among a state's population are usually connected with the performance of the economy, yet the prosperous Chile faces a great deal of turmoil. What other factors besides the economy are important to people in a state? Which do you think is the most important? Why?

Question 37

In a response to China's insistence that Taiwan is part of China and to help restore full diplomatic ties with China, what did the United States do?

A)Got Taiwan admitted into the World Trade Organization
B)Agreed to more loans for Taiwan from the World Monetary Organization
C)Granted China the "most favored nation" trading status
D)Dropped opposition to China's membership in the United Nation's Security Council
E)Agreed to derecognize Taiwan as a separate country

Question 38

Which state was NOT an original signatory of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)?

A)United States
B)Mexico
C)Brazil
D)Canada
E)None of the above

Question 39

Boris Yeltsin proved unable to handle the transition from totalitarian regime to democratic republic. What were his problems, and why do Russians seem to like Vladimir Putin, a hardliner?

Question 40

Of all the Eastern European countries experiencing transition after the collapse of the USSR, which has experienced the most economic success?

A)Poland
B)Hungary
C)Slovenia
D)Czech Republic
E)Bosnia

Question 41

How did the former Communist countries of Eastern Europe succeed economically after breaking away from the former Soviet Union?