Question 1

One of the recipients of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was Tawakkol Karman, leader of the Women Journalists Without Chains protest movement in ______.

Accepted Answer

Tawakkol Karman was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her role in leading the Women Journalists Without Chains protest movement in Yemen, advocating for women's rights and democracy.

Question 2

In support of Egypt and Syria against Israel in the _____ war, OPEC quadrupled oil prices.

Accepted Answer

The 1973 war, also known as the Yom Kippur War, led to OPEC quadrupling oil prices in support of Egypt and Syria against Israel.

Question 3

The policies of "globalization" were shaped and directed, in great measure, by the advisors of US President ______ in the 1990s.

Accepted Answer

The policies of "globalization" were significantly shaped and directed by the advisors of US President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, focusing on economic liberalization, free trade agreements, and the promotion of global economic integration.

Question 4

At the head of a coalition force and with United Nations backing, the US evicted the Iraqis from _____ in Operation Desert Storm (1991).

Accepted Answer

Operation Desert Storm (1991) was a military operation led by the United States with coalition forces to evict Iraqi troops from Kuwait, following Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait in 1990.

Question 5

Despite the stated aims of the invasion of ________ in March 2003, no weapons of mass destruction were discovered in that country.

Accepted Answer

The invasion of Iraq in March 2003 was justified by the United States and its allies with the claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. However, subsequent searches found no evidence of such weapons.

Question 6

By 1992, al-Qaeda (Arabic for "__________") had emerged as the principal terrorist organization operating on a global scale.

Accepted Answer

Al-Qaeda translates to "The Base" in Arabic, reflecting its role as a foundational hub for jihadist operations worldwide.

Question 7

During the civil war in _______ in 1994, the ethnic majority Hutus massacred the Tutsi ethnic minority by the hundreds of thousands.

Accepted Answer

The civil war in Rwanda in 1994 involved the mass genocide of the Tutsi ethnic minority by the ethnic majority Hutus.

Question 8

Russian president Vladimir Putin took advantage of protests against Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovych to annex ________ in March 2014.

Accepted Answer

Crimea was annexed by Russia in March 2014 following protests against Ukraine's then-president Viktor Yanukovych, in a move that took advantage of the political instability in Ukraine.

Question 9

Republicans in the US Congress shut down the government for 16 days in 2013 in a failed effort to defund the ________ Health Care Act, passed into law in 2010.

Accepted Answer

The Affordable Health Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was the target of the 2013 government shutdown by Republicans in an attempt to defund it.

Question 10

After the death of Josip Tito, the politician Slobodan Milošević advocated the "cleansing" of minority groups in the interest of creating a "greater ______".

Accepted Answer

Slobodan Milošević was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician who, after the death of Josip Tito, advocated for the creation of a "greater Serbia." This involved the "cleansing" of minority groups from areas considered to be part of this greater Serbian state, leading to ethnic conflicts and wars in the region.

Question 11

Under the impact of the Arab Spring, in 2011 the kingdom of ______ adopted constitutional reforms allowing for greater democracy.

Accepted Answer

Morocco adopted constitutional reforms in 2011 as a response to the Arab Spring protests, aiming to introduce greater democracy by strengthening the powers of the prime minister and the parliament.

Question 12

Recep Erdoğan's party, AKP, garnered slightly more than half of the vote, on which basis they

Accepted Answer

The answer of Recep Erdoğan's party, AKP, garnered slightly more...

Question 13

In Syria, hopes for an Arab Spring were dashed almost immediately by the horrific violence inflicted by its leader, ________ al-Assad.

Accepted Answer

Bashar al-Assad is the leader of Syria, who has been in power since 2000 and whose regime's violent response to protests in 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian Civil War.

Question 14

The terrorist organization known as ISIS is led by a former al-Qaeda operative from _______.

Accepted Answer

ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, was led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was from Iraq. The organization emerged from al-Qaeda in Iraq, which Baghdadi joined, and later transformed into ISIS under his leadership.

Question 15

Despite the success of the middle class in _________, almost three quarters of the population still lived in villages with poor or no water, electricity, and roads at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Accepted Answer

India has experienced significant growth and success within its middle class, but despite these advancements, a large portion of its population continues to live in rural areas lacking basic amenities like clean water, electricity, and proper road infrastructure. This contrast highlights the ongoing challenges in achieving widespread development and reducing inequality.

Question 16

The revolution against Egypt's Hosni Mubarak was launched by the April 6 Youth Movement, a ________ group composed of social and political activists.

Accepted Answer

The April 6 Youth Movement was primarily organized through Facebook, which played a crucial role in mobilizing social and political activists against Hosni Mubarak's regime in Egypt.

Question 17

Until his death in 2013, _______'s President Hugo Chávez was alone in mainland Latin America in his adherence to state socialism, encountering periodic middle-class resistance.

Accepted Answer

Hugo Chávez was the President of Venezuela until his death in 2013, known for his adherence to state socialism, which was unique in mainland Latin America at the time.

Question 18

______ has refused to ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol benchmarks for the reduction of greenhouse gases.

Accepted Answer

The United States has refused to ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which sets binding obligations on industrialized countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

Question 19

In August 2008, Putin provoked the former Soviet republic of ________, which was on track for admission into NATO, into a conflict that resulted in Russian control over one-fifth of its territory.

Accepted Answer

In August 2008, Vladimir Putin, then Prime Minister of Russia, was involved in a conflict with Georgia. This conflict, known as the Russo-Georgian War, led to Russia gaining control over approximately one-fifth of Georgian territory, specifically the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Question 20

The recession of 2008-2011 began with

Accepted Answer

The recession of 2008-2011, also known as the Great Recession, began primarily due to the collapse of the housing market, which led to a financial crisis when the housing bubble burst.

Quiz 31: A Fragile Capitalist-Democratic World Order, 1991-2014