General Knowledge: International Affairs
Core concepts
International organizations (UN, its principal organs, IMF, World Bank, WTO, WHO), major treaties and agreements, blocs (SAARC, ASEAN, EU, BRICS, OIC), and contemporary geopolitics. Also know capital cities, currencies, and heads of major institutions, plus landmark events such as the founding of the UN (1945) and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
Traps to expect
- Headquarters confusion: UN in New York, UNESCO in Paris, FAO in Rome, ILO in Geneva, IAEA in Vienna.
- Veto power: only the five permanent members (US, UK, France, Russia, China) hold it; the General Assembly does not.
- Currency and capital swaps: Switzerland uses the Swiss franc, not the euro; Turkey's capital is Ankara, not Istanbul.
- Treaty dates: NATO (1949), Warsaw Pact (1955), Kyoto Protocol (1997), Paris Agreement (2015).
Rule of thumb
Group institutions by city: Geneva hosts ILO, WHO, WTO, and the Red Cross; Paris hosts UNESCO and OECD; Rome hosts FAO and IFAD. City clustering reduces memorization load and defeats "which is NOT headquartered in X" questions.
Worked example
"Which organization is headquartered in Geneva?" Options might include UNESCO, FAO, WTO, and IAEA. UNESCO → Paris, FAO → Rome, IAEA → Vienna, so WTO is correct. The trap is IAEA, which is often grouped with UN agencies but sits in Vienna.