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BSEB Intermediate Political Science practice questions

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Question 1The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

The Cold War is best described as a prolonged rivalry between which two blocs after the Second World War?

  1. The capitalist bloc led by the United States and the socialist bloc led by the Soviet Union Correct answer.
  2. The colonial bloc led by France and the anti-colonial bloc led by China
  3. The neutral bloc led by India and the militarist bloc led by Japan
  4. The fascist bloc led by Germany and the democratic bloc led by Britain

Explanation

After 1945 the world order was shaped by a rivalry between the United States and its capitalist allies on one side and the Soviet Union and its socialist allies on the other. This confrontation was called 'cold' because it rarely turned into direct war between the two superpowers, though it produced arms races, alliances and proxy conflicts.

Question 2The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

Which two military alliances became the principal rival security structures of the Cold War in Europe?

  1. SEATO and CENTO
  2. The European Coal and Steel Community and Comecon
  3. The League of Nations and the United Nations
  4. NATO and the Warsaw Pact Correct answer.

Explanation

NATO was formed in 1949 by the United States, Canada and Western European states, while the Warsaw Pact was created in 1955 by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies. These two alliances anchored the military division of Europe during the Cold War.

Question 3The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

The term 'Third World' in the Cold War context originally referred to states that were:

  1. aligned with the capitalist bloc
  2. aligned with the socialist bloc
  3. economically developed but militarily neutral
  4. outside both major blocs and largely former colonial territories Correct answer.

Explanation

The 'Third World' label described countries that did not belong to the Western capitalist camp or the Soviet socialist camp, many of them newly independent states in Asia and Africa. The term was associated with non-alignment and with the development concerns of these countries.

Question 4The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

Who is regarded as the principal architect of India's non-alignment policy in the early years after independence?

  1. B. R. Ambedkar
  2. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
  3. Jawaharlal Nehru Correct answer.
  4. Rajendra Prasad

Explanation

As India's first Prime Minister and later Foreign Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru articulated non-alignment as a policy of independent judgement rather than passive neutrality. He argued that India should avoid joining either superpower bloc while cooperating with all states on peace and development.

Question 5The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

The Bandung Conference of 1955 is significant in the history of the Non-Aligned Movement because it:

  1. established the Bretton Woods financial institutions
  2. brought together Asian and African states to oppose colonialism and promote cooperation Correct answer.
  3. created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  4. formally dissolved the Warsaw Pact

Explanation

The Asian-African Conference at Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955 assembled newly independent states to condemn colonialism and racial discrimination and to encourage solidarity. Its ten-point declaration and spirit directly prepared the ground for the Belgrade summit and the formal Non-Aligned Movement.

Question 6The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

Which city hosted the first formal summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961?

  1. Cairo
  2. Lusaka
  3. Havana
  4. Belgrade Correct answer.

Explanation

The first Non-Aligned Movement summit was held at Belgrade in September 1961, hosted by Yugoslavia under Josip Broz Tito. It drew together leaders such as Nehru, Nasser, Sukarno and Nkrumah around the principles of independent foreign policy and opposition to bloc politics.

Question 7The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

In the Non-Aligned Movement's vocabulary, 'non-alignment' is distinguished from 'neutrality' mainly because non-alignment:

  1. applies only during declared wars between two states
  2. means active participation in world affairs while refusing bloc membership Correct answer.
  3. requires permanent abstention from all international organisations
  4. involves signing a mutual defence treaty with a superpower

Explanation

Neutrality in international law is a legal status of abstention from a particular war, whereas non-alignment was a positive political stance. Non-aligned states sought to judge each issue on its merits, take part in global institutions and support decolonisation without joining either military bloc.

Question 8The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

The policy of 'containment' pursued by the United States during the Cold War aimed to:

  1. withdraw American forces from Western Europe
  2. unify Germany under Soviet control
  3. prevent the spread of Soviet influence beyond its existing sphere Correct answer.
  4. encourage Soviet expansion into the Mediterranean

Explanation

Containment, associated with the Truman Doctrine and the thinking of George Kennan, sought to check the expansion of Soviet and communist influence through economic and military assistance to threatened states. It underlay measures such as the Marshall Plan and the formation of NATO.

Question 9The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

The Marshall Plan of 1947 was significant in the Cold War because it:

  1. abolished tariff barriers across the entire world
  2. created a Soviet-led economic union in Eastern Europe
  3. set up the Warsaw Pact's military command
  4. provided American economic aid to rebuild Western Europe and strengthen it against communist influence Correct answer.

Explanation

The European Recovery Programme, known as the Marshall Plan, channelled large-scale American aid into Western European reconstruction. It was intended to stabilise economies and reduce the appeal of communist parties, and it deepened the division of Europe when the Soviet Union rejected participation.

Question 10The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 is often treated as a turning point because it:

  1. ended the Cold War immediately
  2. persuaded the Soviet Union to abandon nuclear weapons entirely
  3. resulted in Cuba joining NATO
  4. brought the superpowers close to nuclear war and led to steps to manage the risk of confrontation Correct answer.

Explanation

The discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba produced a tense standoff that brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear conflict. Its resolution included the withdrawal of the missiles and a partial test-ban treaty, encouraging later efforts at arms control and crisis communication.

Question 11The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

The Panchsheel, or Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, agreed between India and China in 1954, included which principle?

  1. Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty Correct answer.
  2. Establishment of a joint military command
  3. Creation of a single currency for Asia
  4. Collective defence against third countries

Explanation

The Panchsheel set out mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. These principles became a foundation of India's non-aligned diplomacy and were later echoed in NAM declarations.

Question 12The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

Which of the following best explains why many newly independent African and Asian states found non-alignment attractive during the Cold War?

  1. It guaranteed large-scale military aid from both superpowers
  2. It required them to adopt a single economic model prescribed by the movement
  3. It allowed them to protect their new sovereignty and pursue development without becoming clients of either bloc Correct answer.
  4. It promised immediate membership of the United Nations Security Council

Explanation

For newly decolonised states, joining a superpower bloc risked limiting their freedom of action and drawing them into distant conflicts. Non-alignment offered a way to assert sovereignty, seek aid from multiple sources and concentrate resources on economic development at home.

Question 13The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

The NAM summit at Lusaka in 1970 is remembered chiefly for:

  1. creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  2. founding the United Nations
  3. launching the Marshall Plan
  4. adopting a programme of action against colonialism and racial discrimination in southern Africa Correct answer.

Explanation

The Lusaka summit of 1970 sharpened the movement's anti-colonial focus, demanding independence for remaining colonies and an end to apartheid and white minority rule in southern Africa. It also strengthened NAM's economic agenda for developing countries.

Question 14The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

The New International Economic Order (NIEO) demand, championed through the non-aligned and developing-country groupings in the 1970s, called for:

  1. the merger of the World Bank with the Warsaw Pact
  2. a ban on all foreign investment in developing countries
  3. the abolition of all national borders
  4. fairer terms of trade, technology transfer and greater say for developing states in global economic institutions Correct answer.

Explanation

The NIEO sought to restructure global economic relations so that developing countries gained fairer commodity prices, access to technology and finance, and more influence in institutions such as the IMF and World Bank. It reflected the movement's shift from purely political to economic concerns.

Question 15The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

The Non-Aligned Movement's membership grew most rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s mainly because of:

  1. the dissolution of the United Nations
  2. the expansion of NATO into Asia
  3. the collapse of the Soviet Union
  4. decolonisation in Africa and Asia, which produced many newly independent states Correct answer.

Explanation

As European empires withdrew from Africa and Asia, dozens of new states joined the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement. This wave of decolonisation transformed NAM from a small group of founding leaders into a large coalition of developing countries.

Question 16The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

Which statement best captures the NAM's position on military blocs as expressed in its founding declarations?

  1. Members were required to declare war on any state joining a bloc
  2. Members should host foreign bases to obtain security guarantees
  3. Members were obliged to join a superpower alliance once their economy grew
  4. Members should avoid military alliances concluded in the context of great-power conflicts and resist foreign military bases on their soil Correct answer.

Explanation

The Belgrade Declaration of 1961 urged non-aligned states to reject military alliances tied to the great-power rivalry and to oppose the presence of foreign bases imposed against a country's will. This stance flowed from the movement's commitment to independent decision-making and sovereignty.

Question 17The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

The Sino-Soviet split affected the Non-Aligned Movement in which way?

  1. It made non-alignment unnecessary because the bloc system had ended
  2. It caused the immediate disbanding of the United Nations
  3. It led all non-aligned states to join NATO
  4. It complicated the movement's diplomacy by creating a second major socialist pole and rival pressures on member states Correct answer.

Explanation

The rift between the Soviet Union and China in the late 1950s and 1960s fragmented the socialist camp and created competing pressures on non-aligned governments. It made the movement's balancing act harder and contributed to disputes within NAM, including over the representation of Cambodia in the 1970s and 1980s.

Question 18The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

India's decision to sign the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1971 is best understood as:

  1. a complete abandonment of non-alignment in favour of joining the Warsaw Pact
  2. a step taken at the request of the United States
  3. an agreement that obliged India to host Soviet nuclear missiles
  4. a pragmatic security move during the Bangladesh crisis that nonetheless stopped short of joining a military bloc Correct answer.

Explanation

Facing pressure over the Bangladesh crisis and wary of American and Chinese backing for Pakistan, India signed a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union in August 1971. New Delhi presented it as a bilateral arrangement consistent with non-alignment, since it was not a military alliance and India did not join the Warsaw Pact.

Question 19The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

Critics argue that the Non-Aligned Movement lost much of its original purpose after the Cold War ended. Which development most directly undercuts the movement's founding rationale?

  1. The continued existence of the World Health Organization
  2. The growth of international trade in services
  3. The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the bipolar division of the world Correct answer.
  4. The expansion of the United Nations membership

Explanation

Non-alignment was defined in relation to the rivalry between two superpower blocs, so the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of bipolarity removed the structural condition it had addressed. The movement then reoriented itself towards issues such as development, South-South cooperation and reform of global governance.

Question 20The Cold War Era and the Non-Aligned Movement

Which pairing of a NAM founder with the country he led is correct?

  1. Kwame Nkrumah and Egypt
  2. Sukarno and Ghana
  3. Josip Broz Tito and Yugoslavia Correct answer.
  4. Gamal Abdel Nasser and Indonesia

Explanation

Tito led Yugoslavia and, with Nehru of India, Nasser of Egypt, Sukarno of Indonesia and Nkrumah of Ghana, helped convene the Belgrade summit of 1961. Yugoslavia's independent position between the blocs made it a natural host for the founding meeting.

Question 21The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 is most directly associated with which development in world politics?

  1. The reunification of Germany under a socialist constitution
  2. The formation of the Non-Aligned Movement as a third force
  3. The creation of the League of Nations as a global security body
  4. The end of the bipolar division of the world into two rival blocs Correct answer.

Explanation

The Soviet collapse left the United States as the sole superpower, ending the Cold War structure in which two blocs competed for influence. Analysts describe the resulting situation as a unipolar or transitional order. The other events either predate 1991 or never occurred in the form described.

Question 22The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

Which term is used to describe the international system in which a single superpower dominates military, economic and political affairs after the Cold War?

  1. Unipolarity Correct answer.
  2. Bipolarity
  3. Bicameralism
  4. Multipolarity

Explanation

Unipolarity describes a distribution of power concentrated in one state, a description widely applied to the United States in the 1990s. Multipolarity refers to several roughly equal great powers, while bipolarity refers to two. Bicameralism belongs to legislative structure, not international order.

Question 23The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

The term 'shock therapy' in post-Soviet Russia refers to which set of policies?

  1. Gradual retention of central planning with limited private trade
  2. Rapid market liberalisation, privatisation and price deregulation Correct answer.
  3. Immediate political union with the former Warsaw Pact states
  4. Expansion of collective farms under state procurement quotas

Explanation

Shock therapy denotes the sudden transition from a command economy to a market economy through liberalisation, privatisation and removal of price controls. It was associated with reformers in Russia in the early 1990s and produced severe social dislocation. The other options describe planned or gradual alternatives rather than shock therapy.

Question 24The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

Which organisation, formed in 1949, expanded its membership eastward after the Cold War despite Soviet and later Russian objections?

  1. The Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation
  2. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Correct answer.
  3. The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
  4. The Warsaw Treaty Organisation

Explanation

NATO survived the Cold War and admitted former Warsaw Pact and Baltic states in successive enlargement rounds from 1999 onward. This eastward expansion became a major point of friction with Russia. The other bodies were either Soviet-led, dissolved, or confined to another region.

Question 25The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

The 'Rose Revolution' of 2003 took place in which country?

  1. Georgia Correct answer.
  2. Ukraine
  3. Kyrgyzstan
  4. Belarus

Explanation

The Rose Revolution refers to the 2003 transfer of power in Georgia following contested parliamentary elections. It is one of the colour revolutions in the post-Soviet space, alongside Ukraine's Orange Revolution and Kyrgyzstan's Tulip Revolution. Each label is tied to a specific country and year.

Question 26The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

Which of the following best explains why the end of bipolarity did not produce immediate global stability?

  1. All former socialist states immediately joined a single world government
  2. The United Nations was dissolved and replaced by a concert of great powers
  3. The removal of superpower rivalry released regional, ethnic and nationalist conflicts that had been suppressed Correct answer.
  4. Nuclear weapons were completely eliminated under a new treaty

Explanation

During the Cold War, superpower competition often froze local disputes; once that overlay disappeared, long-suppressed ethnic and territorial conflicts surfaced in the Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Asia. This is the standard explanation for the paradox of peace between blocs combined with local wars. The other options describe events that did not happen.

Question 27The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

Yugoslavia's violent break-up in the 1990s is best understood as an example of which phenomenon?

  1. Economic integration producing a common market across the Balkans
  2. Peaceful secession coordinated by the European Union
  3. A conflict caused primarily by rival alliances of developed capitalist states
  4. Nationalist mobilisation and ethnic conflict within a multinational federation Correct answer.

Explanation

Yugoslavia was a multinational federation whose dissolution was driven by competing nationalist projects and resulted in wars in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia. External actors intervened late and inconsistently. The episode is therefore a leading case of post-Cold War ethno-national conflict rather than economic integration.

Question 28The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

In the context of the new world order, 'humanitarian intervention' raises which central controversy?

  1. Whether sovereignty can be overridden to protect populations from mass atrocities Correct answer.
  2. Whether central banks should set interest rates independently
  3. Whether diplomatic immunity applies to trade negotiators
  4. Whether tariffs should be reduced for least developed countries

Explanation

Humanitarian intervention is contested because it pits the principle of non-interference in sovereign states against the responsibility to protect civilians from genocide and crimes against humanity. Critics worry about selectivity and great-power motives. The other options concern unrelated policy areas.

Question 29The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

Which statement correctly distinguishes the World Trade Organisation from its predecessor, the GATT?

  1. The WTO was created in 1944 at Bretton Woods, while GATT came in 1995
  2. The WTO covers only agriculture, while GATT covered manufactures
  3. The WTO has binding dispute settlement, while GATT relied on voluntary consensus Correct answer.
  4. The WTO restricts membership to developed countries, while GATT was universal

Explanation

The WTO, established in 1995, converted the loose GATT arrangement into a formal organisation with a strengthened, binding dispute settlement mechanism. GATT rules were applied provisionally and depended more on consensus. The other statements misstate dates, coverage or membership.

Question 30The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

Which body is the principal decision-making organ of the United Nations, in which all member states hold one vote?

  1. The Secretariat
  2. The General Assembly Correct answer.
  3. The International Court of Justice
  4. The Security Council

Explanation

The General Assembly includes every member state on the principle of one state, one vote, and it debates and adopts resolutions on global issues. The Security Council has limited membership with permanent veto-holding members. The other bodies are judicial or administrative rather than the main deliberative assembly.

Question 31The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

The rise of the BRICS grouping is most often cited as evidence of which trend in the post-Cold War order?

  1. The restoration of the Soviet Union in a new institutional form
  2. A shift toward a more multipolar distribution of economic and political power Correct answer.
  3. The replacement of the United Nations by a great-power directorate
  4. The complete disappearance of the United States from world affairs

Explanation

BRICS brings together large emerging economies that seek greater voice in global governance, and its growth is read as a move away from unipolarity toward multipolarity. The grouping does not, however, amount to a restored Soviet bloc or a replacement of the UN. Such claims overstate the trend.

Question 32The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

Which of the following was a major consequence of the First Gulf War of 1990-91 for the emerging world order?

  1. It led to the immediate creation of a single Middle Eastern state
  2. It ended the practice of peacekeeping altogether
  3. It permanently dissolved OPEC as an oil cartel
  4. It demonstrated that the Security Council could authorise collective action against an aggressor state Correct answer.

Explanation

The Gulf War saw the Security Council authorise the use of force to reverse Iraq's annexation of Kuwait, a rare instance of great-power cooperation in the early post-Cold War period. It was presented as a model of collective security. The other outcomes did not occur.

Question 33The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

A developing country argues that the post-Cold War order is unequal because decisions in the IMF and World Bank are weighted by financial contribution. Which criticism does this illustrate?

  1. That these institutions are controlled by the United Nations General Assembly
  2. That these institutions have abolished conditionality on loans
  3. That international financial institutions lack democratic representation and favour wealthy states Correct answer.
  4. That these institutions refuse to lend to any sovereign state

Explanation

Voting weights in the Bretton Woods institutions reflect financial quotas, so richer contributors wield more influence, a frequent complaint of the Global South. Reform of quotas and voting shares has been a long-standing demand. The remaining options misdescribe how these bodies operate.

Question 34The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

Which combination best captures the two contrasting responses of post-Soviet states to the new world order: integration with Western institutions versus alignment with Russia?

  1. Baltic states joining NATO and the EU, while Belarus pursued close ties with Russia Correct answer.
  2. Central Asian states abolishing their armed forces under UN supervision
  3. All post-Soviet states joining NATO simultaneously in 1991
  4. Russia joining the European Union while Ukraine joined the Warsaw Pact

Explanation

The Baltic states sought and obtained NATO and EU membership, while Belarus under Lukashenko deepened integration with Russia through bodies such as the Union State. This divergence illustrates the contested geopolitical space left by the Soviet collapse. The other options describe events that never took place.

Question 35The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

Some scholars argue that the 'new world order' announced after 1991 was never truly unipolar. Which evidence most directly supports that sceptical view?

  1. Every state in the world adopted a single liberal democratic constitution
  2. The United Nations Charter was amended to abolish the Security Council veto
  3. Nuclear weapons were used in a regional conflict during the 1990s
  4. The United States faced limits on its power, shown by protracted wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the rise of rival economic centres Correct answer.

Explanation

The sceptical argument holds that unipolarity was always constrained: costly interventions, resistance from regional powers, and the emergence of the EU, China and others limited American freedom of action. This points toward a transitional or multipolar order. The other options are factually false.

Question 36The End of Bipolarity and the New World Order

Which sequence correctly orders these events in the transformation of the post-Cold War order?

  1. Dissolution of the USSR, the global financial crisis, eastward enlargement of NATO
  2. Dissolution of the USSR, eastward enlargement of NATO, the global financial crisis Correct answer.
  3. The global financial crisis, dissolution of the USSR, eastward enlargement of NATO
  4. Eastward enlargement of NATO, dissolution of the USSR, the global financial crisis

Explanation

The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, NATO's first post-Cold War enlargement round came in 1999, and the global financial crisis struck in 2008. Placing these in order shows how the unipolar moment was followed by institutional expansion and then economic shock. Any other ordering contradicts the documented dates.

Question 37US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

Which institution was created at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference and later became the central lender for reconstruction and development in the post-war world economy?

  1. The Warsaw Pact
  2. The Non-Aligned Movement
  3. The League of Nations
  4. The World Bank Correct answer.

Explanation

The Bretton Woods Conference set up the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, known as the World Bank, alongside the IMF. It gave the United States and its allies a lasting institutional lever over global finance and development lending.

Question 38US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

In the study of US hegemony, what does the term 'structural power' most precisely refer to?

  1. The capacity to shape the rules and frameworks within which other states must operate Correct answer.
  2. The size of a country's gold reserves at any moment
  3. The number of overseas military bases a country maintains
  4. The ability to win a majority vote in the UN General Assembly

Explanation

Structural power means the ability to set the framework of action, such as financial rules, technical standards or security arrangements, so that others adapt to it. It is broader than counting bases or votes because it shapes the choices available to other actors.

Question 39US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

Why is the US dollar's role as the main reserve currency often described as a source of hegemonic advantage?

  1. It gives the issuing state a formal veto in the Security Council
  2. It guarantees that the issuing state never runs a trade deficit
  3. It lets the issuing state borrow in its own currency and influence global liquidity conditions Correct answer.
  4. It removes the need for the issuing state to maintain any military presence abroad

Explanation

Because foreign central banks hold dollars and dollar assets, the issuing country can borrow abroad in its own money and its monetary policy spills over into other economies. This combination of low funding risk and influence over liquidity is a structural privilege.

Question 40US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

The 1971 decision by the United States to suspend the conversion of dollars into gold is commonly called what?

  1. The Marshall Plan
  2. The Truman Doctrine
  3. The Nixon Shock Correct answer.
  4. The Plaza Accord

Explanation

In August 1971 President Nixon ended the dollar's fixed convertibility into gold, collapsing the Bretton Woods exchange-rate system. The episode is known as the Nixon Shock and marked a shift to floating currencies.

Question 41US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

Which organisation is the principal military alliance through which the United States has projected collective defence in Europe since 1949?

  1. The European Union
  2. CENTO
  3. NATO Correct answer.
  4. SEATO

Explanation

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in 1949 and remains the core collective-defence framework linking the United States to Europe. Its Article 5 commitment is the clearest institutional expression of US-led security hegemony in Europe.

Question 42US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

A developing country accepts an IMF loan that requires it to cut subsidies and liberalise capital accounts. Which concept best describes this situation?

  1. Collective security
  2. Détente
  3. Multipolar balance
  4. Conditionality tied to structural adjustment Correct answer.

Explanation

IMF lending often comes with policy conditions such as fiscal tightening and market liberalisation, known as conditionality or structural adjustment. Critics argue such terms limit the policy autonomy of borrower states and reflect lender preferences.

Question 43US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

What did the 1985 Plaza Accord primarily aim to achieve?

  1. A ban on nuclear testing in the Pacific
  2. The creation of the World Trade Organization
  3. The admission of China to the United Nations
  4. A coordinated depreciation of the US dollar against the yen and other major currencies Correct answer.

Explanation

The Plaza Accord was an agreement among the major economies to intervene in currency markets and push the dollar down, especially against the yen. It reflected both US trade concerns and the coordination power of the leading economies.

Question 44US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

Which statement best captures the idea of 'soft power' in the context of US hegemony?

  1. The threat of withholding development loans
  2. The use of tariffs to force trade concessions
  3. Attraction through culture, values and legitimacy rather than coercion Correct answer.
  4. The deployment of carrier groups to deter rivals

Explanation

Soft power works through attraction, so that others willingly follow or emulate, rather than through payments or threats. Hollywood, universities and liberal-democratic norms are often cited as US soft-power assets.

Question 45US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

Why do some analysts argue that the 2003 Iraq invasion damaged US legitimacy even where US military power remained overwhelming?

  1. It resulted in the United States leaving the United Nations
  2. It led to the immediate dissolution of NATO
  3. It caused the United States to abandon the dollar as its currency
  4. It proceeded without clear Security Council authorisation, weakening support for US-led rules Correct answer.

Explanation

The invasion was launched without an explicit Security Council mandate, which critics say undermined the claim that the United States acts through agreed multilateral rules. This shows that legitimacy and material power can diverge.

Question 46US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

Which of the following is the clearest example of a multilateral institution created largely under US leadership after the Second World War?

  1. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Correct answer.
  2. The Axis powers
  3. The Congress of Vienna
  4. The Comintern

Explanation

GATT, established in 1947, provided a rule-based framework for trade liberalisation shaped heavily by US preferences. It later evolved into the WTO, showing how the United States embedded its economic vision in institutions.

Question 47US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

A scholar argues that US hegemony persists because challengers depend on dollar-clearing systems and US-controlled payment networks. Which dimension of power is being emphasised?

  1. Cultural attraction
  2. Financial infrastructural power Correct answer.
  3. Nuclear deterrence
  4. Territorial annexation

Explanation

Control over payment infrastructure, such as clearing systems and correspondent banking, gives the United States leverage over other states and firms even without military action. This is a form of infrastructural financial power rather than attraction or territorial control.

Question 48US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

What is meant by 'extra-territorial' application of US sanctions?

  1. Punishing foreign firms for transactions that occur largely outside US territory Correct answer.
  2. Applying sanctions only to US citizens living abroad
  3. Negotiating treaties with regional organisations
  4. Extending military bases to foreign soil

Explanation

Secondary or extra-territorial sanctions target non-US entities that trade with a sanctioned state, often because transactions touch the US financial system. Many governments view this as an assertion of jurisdiction beyond national borders.

Question 49US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

Which development most directly signalled a shift toward a more multipolar world economy in the 2010s?

  1. The creation of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Correct answer.
  2. The withdrawal of the United States from the IMF
  3. The dissolution of the World Bank
  4. The abolition of the euro

Explanation

The AIIB, launched in 2015, offered an alternative development-finance channel led by China, and several US allies joined despite US reservations. It symbolised growing institutional competition rather than the end of existing bodies.

Question 50US Hegemony and Contemporary World Politics

The phrase 'hegemonic stability' in international political economy suggests which relationship?

  1. A dominant power underwrites open economic rules, which may encourage stability Correct answer.
  2. Only military conquest can produce stable trade
  3. Hegemony automatically ends when tariffs rise
  4. Stability requires the absence of any dominant power

Explanation

Hegemonic stability theory holds that a single dominant state may provide public goods such as open markets and a stable currency, facilitating cooperation. Critics dispute whether hegemony is necessary or whether it merely reflects the hegemon's interests.