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RBSE SS Political Science practice questions

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Question 1Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

Which doctrine, announced by US President Harry Truman in 1947, committed the United States to supporting free peoples resisting armed minority subjugation and is widely treated as the formal start of the containment policy?

  1. The Hallstein Doctrine
  2. The Brezhnev Doctrine
  3. The Truman Doctrine Correct answer.
  4. The Marshall Plan

Explanation

The Truman Doctrine of March 1947 pledged American support to Greece and Turkey and generalized this into a global commitment to assist peoples resisting communist pressure. It marked the shift from wartime alliance to open containment of Soviet expansion. The Marshall Plan was economic aid, the Brezhnev Doctrine asserted socialist-bloc intervention rights, and the Hallstein Doctrine governed West German diplomacy.

Question 2Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The Berlin Blockade of 1948-49 was answered by the Western powers primarily through which measure?

  1. A naval quarantine of the Baltic ports
  2. A formal treaty recognising a unified neutral Germany
  3. An airlift supplying the western sectors of the city Correct answer.
  4. A ground offensive across the Elbe

Explanation

When the Soviet Union cut surface access to West Berlin in June 1948, Britain and the United States organised an airlift that sustained the city for nearly a year until the blockade was lifted. The airlift avoided direct military confrontation while preserving the Western position in Berlin. No naval or ground operation was undertaken, and no unified neutral Germany was agreed at that time.

Question 3Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

Which organisation was created in 1955 as the Soviet-led military alliance of Eastern European socialist states?

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

Explanation

The Warsaw Treaty Organisation was established in May 1955, partly as a response to West Germany joining NATO. It bound the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies in a unified military command. Comecon was the parallel economic body, NATO was the Western alliance, and the CSTO was formed after the Cold War in 1992.

Question 4Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The principle that the two superpowers should accept each other's spheres of influence and avoid direct military confrontation, associated with the period after the Cuban Missile Crisis, is best described as which concept?

  1. Non-alignment
  2. Collective security
  3. Détente Correct answer.
  4. Peaceful coexistence

Explanation

Détente refers to the easing of superpower tensions from the late 1960s through the 1970s, expressed in arms control agreements and expanded dialogue. It rested on mutual acceptance of the nuclear stalemate and of each side's core security interests. Peaceful coexistence was the earlier Soviet formulation, collective security is a UN-based principle, and non-alignment was the position of states outside both blocs.

Question 5Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

Which 1968 event prompted the enunciation of the doctrine that the Soviet Union had the right to intervene in socialist states whose socialism was threatened?

  1. The Prague Spring and the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia Correct answer.
  2. The construction of the Berlin Wall
  3. The Hungarian uprising of 1956
  4. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Explanation

The reforms of Alexander Dubček in Czechoslovakia in 1968, known as the Prague Spring, were ended by a Warsaw Pact invasion. The Soviet leadership then articulated what became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine, asserting a right and duty to defend socialism in any socialist country. The Hungarian crisis preceded it, the Berlin Wall dates from 1961, and Afghanistan from 1979.

Question 6Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was resolved when the Soviet Union agreed to withdraw its missiles from Cuba in exchange for which American commitment?

  1. The dissolution of NATO's southern command
  2. The removal of US missiles from Turkey and a pledge not to invade Cuba Correct answer.
  3. The withdrawal of US forces from West Berlin
  4. Recognition of Cuba's membership in the Warsaw Pact

Explanation

The settlement combined a public American pledge not to invade Cuba with a privately understood removal of Jupiter missiles from Turkey. This allowed both sides to claim success and ended the immediate risk of nuclear war. NATO was not dissolved, Cuba never joined the Warsaw Pact, and US forces remained in West Berlin.

Question 7Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

Which treaty, signed in 1968 and in force from 1970, committed its parties to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and to pursue disarmament?

  1. The Partial Test Ban Treaty
  2. The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
  3. The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
  4. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Correct answer.

Explanation

The Non-Proliferation Treaty rests on three pillars: non-proliferation, disarmament, and peaceful use of nuclear energy. It distinguishes nuclear-weapon states from others and requires safeguards through the IAEA. The ABM and SALT agreements were bilateral US-Soviet arms control measures, and the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 banned tests in the atmosphere, space, and underwater.

Question 8Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The Non-Aligned Movement, whose first summit was held in Belgrade in 1961, is best understood as which of the following?

  1. A bloc that sought to avoid alignment with either superpower while promoting decolonisation and development Correct answer.
  2. A Western economic organisation for coordinating aid to developing states
  3. A secretariat of the United Nations responsible for peacekeeping
  4. An alliance of states that had formally joined the Warsaw Pact

Explanation

Non-alignment was a political position, not a military alliance, adopted by states such as India, Egypt, Yugoslavia, Ghana, and Indonesia. Its members sought independence from both blocs and pressed for decolonisation, development, and a greater voice in international institutions. It had no UN secretariat role, did not join the Warsaw Pact, and was not a Western aid body.

Question 9Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The Helsinki Final Act of 1975 is significant in Cold War diplomacy chiefly because it did which of the following?

  1. Linked recognition of post-war European borders with commitments on human rights and freer movement of people Correct answer.
  2. Established a unified German state within NATO
  3. Created a nuclear-free zone across Central Europe
  4. Formally dissolved the Warsaw Pact

Explanation

The Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe recognised existing European frontiers and added a 'third basket' of commitments on human contacts and rights. Dissident groups in Eastern Europe later used these commitments to press their governments. It did not unify Germany, create a nuclear-free zone, or dissolve any alliance.

Question 10Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The Sino-Soviet split of the late 1950s and 1960s demonstrated which feature of Cold War international politics?

  1. That the socialist camp was not a single monolithic actor under Soviet control Correct answer.
  2. That the Non-Aligned Movement had absorbed both communist giants
  3. That China had joined the NATO alliance system
  4. That the Soviet Union had abandoned Marxist ideology entirely

Explanation

Ideological disputes over peaceful coexistence, de-Stalinisation, and revolutionary strategy, together with border clashes, divided Moscow and Beijing. The split showed that the bipolar model oversimplified a world in which communist states could pursue independent interests. China did not join NATO, the Soviet Union did not abandon Marxism, and neither state joined the Non-Aligned Movement.

Question 11Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The policy of glasnost introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s referred primarily to which of the following?

  1. Greater openness and transparency in public life and the media Correct answer.
  2. The military withdrawal from Afghanistan
  3. The rapid privatisation of state industry
  4. The signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

Explanation

Glasnost, meaning openness, relaxed censorship and encouraged public discussion of Soviet problems. It was paired with perestroika, the restructuring of the economy and political system. Privatisation, the Afghan withdrawal, and the INF Treaty were separate policies or agreements, even though they occurred in the same period.

Question 12Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

Which event in 1989 is generally taken as the symbolic end of the division of Europe during the Cold War?

  1. The opening of the Berlin Wall Correct answer.
  2. The signing of the Maastricht Treaty
  3. The dissolution of the Soviet Union
  4. The founding of the European Coal and Steel Community

Explanation

On 9 November 1989 the East German authorities opened the Berlin Wall, allowing free movement between East and West Berlin. This became the emblem of the collapse of the Eastern bloc, followed by German reunification in 1990. The Maastricht Treaty dates from 1992, the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, and the ECSC was created in 1951.

Question 13Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 was formalised through which instrument?

  1. The Helsinki Final Act
  2. The Treaty of Rome
  3. The Warsaw Pact Charter
  4. The Belovezha Accords and the Alma-Ata Declaration Correct answer.

Explanation

Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus signed the Belovezha Accords in December 1991 declaring the Soviet Union dissolved and creating the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Alma-Ata Declaration extended this to additional republics. The Warsaw Pact was a separate military alliance, and the Helsinki and Rome treaties concerned other matters.

Question 14Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

Which statement best captures the character of the post-Cold War international order described as unipolar in the 1990s?

  1. The United States possessed preponderant military and economic power while multilateral institutions expanded Correct answer.
  2. A concert of five permanent members governed the world jointly
  3. Regional powers replaced global institutions entirely
  4. Two blocs balanced each other under nuclear parity

Explanation

In the 1990s the United States was widely described as the sole superpower, with no rival bloc of comparable capability. At the same time, institutions such as the UN, WTO, and an enlarging NATO and EU expanded their roles. The bipolar balance had ended, the Security Council never governed jointly as a concert, and regional powers did not replace global institutions.

Question 15Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The Gulf War of 1990-91 is often cited as evidence of which post-Cold War development?

  1. The UN Security Council could authorise collective enforcement action against an aggressor Correct answer.
  2. The Non-Aligned Movement could veto great-power decisions
  3. The Soviet Union exercised a veto over Western military action
  4. NATO had ceased to operate as a military alliance

Explanation

After Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the Security Council adopted resolutions authorising the use of force, and a broad coalition expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait. This cooperation was possible because the Cold War veto deadlock had eased. The Non-Aligned Movement had no veto, NATO remained active, and the Soviet Union did not block the action.

Question 16Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

Which concept describes the growing density of cross-border flows of goods, capital, people, and information that intensified after the Cold War?

  1. Containment
  2. Globalisation Correct answer.
  3. Isolationism
  4. Bipolarity

Explanation

Globalisation refers to the deepening integration of economies and societies through trade, investment, migration, and communication. It accelerated after 1990 as markets opened and barriers fell. Containment was a Cold War strategy, isolationism is a policy of withdrawal, and bipolarity describes the earlier superpower structure.

Question 17Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 led the United States to proclaim a 'global war on terror'. Which consequence is most directly associated with that framing?

  1. The establishment of the World Trade Organization
  2. The military intervention in Afghanistan in 2001 and the later invasion of Iraq in 2003 Correct answer.
  3. The creation of the International Criminal Court
  4. The signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

Explanation

The 2001 attacks prompted the US-led intervention in Afghanistan to dismantle al-Qaeda and the Taliban regime, followed by the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Both were justified within the framework of counter-terrorism and weapons proliferation. The ICC, the CTBT, and the WTO belong to different policy trajectories.

Question 18Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

Which development best illustrates the 'rise of the rest' narrative in post-Cold War international politics?

  1. The withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations
  2. The dissolution of the Commonwealth of Independent States
  3. The abolition of the G20
  4. The rapid economic growth of China and the formation of groupings such as BRICS Correct answer.

Explanation

The 'rise of the rest' argument holds that economic growth in states such as China, India, and Brazil has diffused power away from a single hegemon. Institutions like BRICS and the G20 reflect this redistribution of influence. The CIS has not dissolved, the United States remains a UN member, and the G20 still functions.

Question 19Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The concept of 'humanitarian intervention' became contested in the 1990s partly because of which tension?

  1. The rivalry between nuclear and conventional weapons
  2. The tension between state sovereignty and the protection of populations from grave harm Correct answer.
  3. The conflict between free trade and protectionism
  4. The dispute over fixed versus floating exchange rates

Explanation

Interventions in the 1990s, such as in Kosovo and Somalia, raised the question of whether outside forces may act against a state's will to stop atrocities. This tension between sovereignty and human protection later fed into the responsibility to protect doctrine. Trade, weapons types, and exchange rates are unrelated to this debate.

Question 20Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The Responsibility to Protect, endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2005, rests on which three-pillar structure?

  1. The state's protection duties, international assistance and capacity-building, and timely collective action Correct answer.
  2. Disarmament, decolonisation, and development assistance
  3. Deterrence, containment, and rollback
  4. Recognition, reciprocity, and non-intervention

Explanation

R2P holds first that each state has the responsibility to protect its population from atrocity crimes, second that the international community should assist it, and third that timely collective action may follow if a state manifestly fails. The doctrine is thus narrower than general humanitarian intervention. The other options describe unrelated strategic or diplomatic concepts.

Question 21Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

NATO's post-Cold War enlargement is best described by which sequence?

  1. NATO dissolved in 1991 and was replaced by the OSCE
  2. NATO admitted Russia as a full member in 1997
  3. NATO restricted membership to the original twelve founding states
  4. Membership expanded to Central and Eastern European states from 1999, with further rounds into the 2000s and beyond Correct answer.

Explanation

After the Cold War, NATO undertook several enlargement rounds, beginning with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary in 1999, and continuing with Baltic and Balkan states. It also developed partnership arrangements with Russia rather than membership. NATO did not dissolve, and its membership grew well beyond the founding twelve.

Question 22Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

Which statement best explains why the end of the Cold War did not produce a lasting 'end of history' in world politics?

  1. National, ethnic, religious, and geopolitical conflicts persisted and new forms of rivalry emerged Correct answer.
  2. All states immediately adopted identical political systems
  3. The United Nations was abolished
  4. Nuclear weapons were completely eliminated

Explanation

The 'end of history' thesis predicted the global triumph of liberal democracy and market economy. In practice, ethno-national conflicts, civil wars, terrorism, and renewed great-power competition showed that ideological convergence did not end conflict. Political systems remained diverse, the UN continues to exist, and nuclear weapons have not been eliminated.

Question 23Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

The nuclear arms control architecture built during détente suffered a significant blow when which treaty was abandoned by the United States in 2002?

  1. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
  2. The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty Correct answer.
  3. The Outer Space Treaty
  4. The Chemical Weapons Convention

Explanation

The ABM Treaty of 1972 limited strategic missile defences and was a cornerstone of strategic stability. The United States withdrew from it in 2002 to pursue missile defence, weakening the framework. The NPT, the Outer Space Treaty, and the Chemical Weapons Convention were not abandoned in that year.

Question 24Cold War Era and Post-Cold War World Politics

Which factor is most often cited as a cause of the peaceful resolution of the Cold War in Europe?

  1. The sudden collapse of the United States economy
  2. A UN peacekeeping operation imposed on the Soviet Union
  3. Soviet economic stagnation combined with Gorbachev's reforms and the refusal of Eastern European regimes to use force Correct answer.
  4. A decisive military defeat of the Warsaw Pact by NATO

Explanation

Scholars emphasise the interaction of Soviet economic decline, the costs of the arms race, and Gorbachev's decisions not to intervene in Eastern Europe. The revolutions of 1989 were largely peaceful because incumbent regimes did not receive Soviet backing for repression. There was no NATO military victory, no US collapse, and no imposed UN operation.

Question 25Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

Which institution was created by the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 to provide long-term loans for reconstruction and development?

  1. The International Monetary Fund
  2. The Organisation for European Economic Cooperation
  3. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
  4. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Correct answer.

Explanation

The 1944 Bretton Woods Conference set up two institutions: the IMF, to manage short-term balance-of-payments stability, and the IBRD, the lending arm later grouped within the World Bank. The IBRD's original mandate included financing postwar reconstruction and development projects. GATT and the OEEC came later and served trade and Marshall Plan coordination respectively.

Question 26Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

The European Union's principle of 'subsidiarity' means that decisions should be taken:

  1. By national parliaments acting alone without any EU role
  2. Only by the European Commission in Brussels
  3. By the European Court of Justice in all policy areas
  4. At the lowest level of government capable of acting effectively Correct answer.

Explanation

Subsidiarity, written into the Maastricht Treaty, holds that the EU acts only where objectives cannot be sufficiently achieved by member states acting alone. Action is pushed to the lowest competent level, whether local, regional or national. It therefore limits centralisation rather than mandating Brussels control.

Question 27Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

Which body of the United Nations holds the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security?

  1. The Security Council Correct answer.
  2. The Trusteeship Council
  3. The Economic and Social Council
  4. The General Assembly

Explanation

Under the UN Charter the Security Council bears primary responsibility for international peace and security, and its decisions can be binding on member states. The General Assembly debates and recommends but does not impose binding enforcement measures. ECOSOC handles economic and social questions, and the Trusteeship Council suspended operations after decolonisation.

Question 28Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

ASEAN's founding document, the Bangkok Declaration of 1967, was signed by how many original member states?

  1. Five Correct answer.
  2. Three
  3. Ten
  4. Seven

Explanation

The Bangkok Declaration of 8 August 1967 was signed by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, giving five founding members. ASEAN expanded gradually, reaching ten members with Cambodia's accession in 1999. The number ten therefore describes the current membership, not the founding group.

Question 29Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

In the context of global economic governance, the term 'conditionality' refers to:

  1. Tariff reductions agreed in regional trade blocs
  2. Policy requirements a borrower must meet to receive IMF or World Bank funds Correct answer.
  3. The practice of pegging a currency to the US dollar
  4. The rotation of voting shares among member states

Explanation

Conditionality describes the policy commitments, such as fiscal discipline or structural reform, that lending institutions attach to loans. It has been a central source of criticism from developing states, which argue it constrains sovereignty. Currency pegs, tariff deals and voting rotation are separate concepts in international political economy.

Question 30Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

Which of the following best describes the 'Beijing Consensus' as used in debates on global order?

  1. A treaty binding China to IMF fiscal rules
  2. A trade pact modelled on the European single market
  3. A development model stressing state-led growth and policy autonomy from Western prescriptions Correct answer.
  4. A military alliance linking China with Central Asian states

Explanation

The term, coined by Joshua Cooper Ramo, describes an alternative development approach associated with China that emphasises state direction, experimentation and national policy space rather than the Washington Consensus package. It is an analytical label, not a formal treaty or alliance. It therefore speaks to debates about ideational alternatives in the global order.

Question 31Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

The US dollar's role as the world's principal reserve currency gives the United States which structural advantage?

  1. The ability to borrow and finance deficits in its own currency Correct answer.
  2. A permanent veto in the UN Security Council
  3. Immunity from all trade disputes at the WTO
  4. Exclusive control over the pricing of gold

Explanation

Because foreign central banks hold dollar reserves and dollar-denominated assets, the United States can issue debt in its own currency and bear lower exchange-rate risk. This 'exorbitant privilege' lowers borrowing costs and supports deficit financing. It does not confer legal immunity in trade disputes or any special UN voting power.

Question 32Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

Which statement most accurately captures the difference between the IMF and the World Bank?

  1. The IMF finances infrastructure; the World Bank manages exchange rates
  2. The IMF is a UN specialised agency; the World Bank is not part of the UN system
  3. The IMF addresses short-term balance-of-payments crises; the World Bank finances longer-term development projects Correct answer.
  4. The IMF sets tariffs; the World Bank regulates multinational firms

Explanation

Both institutions emerged from Bretton Woods but have distinct mandates: the IMF provides short-term stabilisation finance and surveillance of macroeconomic and exchange-rate policy, while the World Bank group lends for development, infrastructure and poverty reduction. Treating them as interchangeable obscures this division of labour.

Question 33Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

The 'ASEAN Way' in regional diplomacy is characterised by:

  1. Consensus decision-making and non-interference in members' internal affairs Correct answer.
  2. Binding supranational courts with compulsory jurisdiction
  3. Majority voting on security matters
  4. Automatic mutual defence obligations

Explanation

ASEAN diplomacy prizes consultation, consensus and respect for sovereignty, often summarised as the ASEAN Way. This approach has enabled a diverse membership to cooperate but is criticised for limiting decisive collective action. It contrasts with the EU's pooled sovereignty and binding legal institutions.

Question 34Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

Which development best illustrates the shift from a unipolar to a more multipolar global order in the early twenty-first century?

  1. The founding of the United Nations in 1945
  2. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991
  3. The creation of the euro in 1999
  4. The rise of the BRICS grouping and its expanded development bank Correct answer.

Explanation

Multipolarity refers to the dispersal of power across several major centres rather than concentration in one. The BRICS grouping, with its New Development Bank, symbolises coordination among large emerging economies seeking alternatives to Western-led institutions. The other events either preceded unipolarity or concern internal Western integration.

Question 35Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

The European Union's 'Copenhagen criteria' set conditions for:

  1. Membership, requiring democracy, a functioning market economy and adoption of the acquis Correct answer.
  2. Voting weights in the UN General Assembly
  3. Eligibility for IMF standby arrangements
  4. Access to NATO's collective defence clause

Explanation

Agreed in 1993, the Copenhagen criteria require candidate states to have stable democratic institutions, rule of law, a market economy and the capacity to take on EU obligations. Enlargement is conditioned on meeting them. They are distinct from NATO membership requirements or UN and IMF arrangements.

Question 36Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is best described as:

  1. A free-trade area modelled on the EU single market
  2. A regional body focused on security cooperation and confidence-building across Eurasia Correct answer.
  3. A collective defence alliance with binding mutual defence commitments
  4. A monetary union with a shared central bank

Explanation

The SCO grew out of the Shanghai Five border-confidence measures and now addresses security, counter-terrorism and broader regional cooperation across Eurasia. It has expanded economically but lacks a single market, common currency or formal mutual defence clause. Its significance lies in providing a non-Western regional platform.

Question 37Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

Critics argue that the UN Security Council's composition is outdated primarily because:

  1. It has no elected members at all
  2. Its resolutions are automatically binding on non-members
  3. Its permanent membership reflects the power distribution of 1945 rather than today's Correct answer.
  4. It lacks any mechanism for authorising peacekeeping missions

Explanation

The Council's five permanent seats with veto power reflect the victors of the Second World War, while powers such as India, Brazil, Japan and African states have no permanent seat. Reform proposals target this representational gap. The Council does authorise peacekeeping and does include elected non-permanent members.

Question 38Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

The concept of 'soft balancing' in international relations refers to:

  1. Using institutions, diplomacy and economic ties to constrain a dominant power without direct military confrontation Correct answer.
  2. Withdrawing from all multilateral institutions
  3. Deploying troops along a rival's border as a deterrent
  4. Building nuclear arsenals to match a rival's capabilities

Explanation

Soft balancing describes strategies such as coalition-building in international institutions, diplomatic coordination and economic arrangements aimed at limiting a hegemon's freedom of action. It deliberately avoids hard military counterbalancing. The concept is often applied to responses to US primacy.

Question 39Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

The World Trade Organization differs from its GATT predecessor chiefly because the WTO:

  1. Operates only among developing countries
  2. Has authority to deploy peacekeeping forces
  3. Sets exchange rates for member currencies
  4. Has a binding dispute settlement mechanism and a broader rules framework Correct answer.

Explanation

GATT was a provisional agreement without a strong legal dispute system, whereas the WTO, established in 1995, has a more institutionalised and binding dispute settlement process and covers services and intellectual property as well as goods. Monetary and security functions lie outside its mandate.

Question 40Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

Which pairing of a rising power with its principal multilateral initiative is correct?

  1. China - the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Correct answer.
  2. Russia - the European Stability Mechanism
  3. Brazil - the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
  4. India - the New Development Bank

Explanation

China initiated the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched in 2016, as a multilateral development lender. The New Development Bank is associated with the BRICS grouping rather than India alone, and the other pairings misattribute institutions to states that did not found them.

Question 41Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

An analyst argues that the persistence of dollar dominance shows that material capabilities alone do not explain global order. Which evidence would most strengthen this claim?

  1. The IMF has 190 member states
  2. States continue holding dollar reserves despite the euro's and renminbi's growing use Correct answer.
  3. Global trade volumes have risen since 2000
  4. The United States spends more on defence than any other state

Explanation

The claim concerns the limits of material power in explaining institutional and monetary outcomes. Persistent dollar centrality, rooted in network effects, liquidity and institutional habits, supports the argument that ideational and institutional factors matter. The other options describe capabilities or trends that do not directly test the proposition.

Question 42Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

Which scenario best illustrates the tension between ASEAN's non-interference norm and international human rights pressures?

  1. Members agreeing to a common external tariff schedule
  2. Members adopting a shared currency for trade settlements
  3. Members forming a mutual defence pact against external attack
  4. Members resisting collective censure of a fellow member's domestic crackdown Correct answer.

Explanation

Non-interference commits ASEAN members to refrain from criticising each other's internal affairs, which conflicts with demands for collective responses to rights abuses. This tension is a recurring theme in debates over ASEAN's effectiveness. Common tariffs, currency and defence pacts are not features of ASEAN cooperation.

Question 43Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

The EU's response to the eurozone crisis after 2010, including the European Stability Mechanism, is best understood as:

  1. A complete transfer of fiscal sovereignty to the European Parliament
  2. A retreat to purely national currencies
  3. The abandonment of the single market
  4. Deepened integration in some areas alongside reinforced intergovernmental control over fiscal policy Correct answer.

Explanation

Crisis management combined new pooled financial instruments with stricter fiscal rules and intergovernmental bargaining among creditor and debtor states. This produced uneven integration rather than a single federal leap or a break-up. The single market and the euro were retained.

Question 44Contemporary Centres of Power and Global Order

Which argument best explains why multilateral institutions established after 1945 are said to face a 'legitimacy deficit' in the contemporary global order?

  1. They prohibit all forms of regional trade agreement
  2. Their decision rules often give disproportionate weight to a small group of wealthy states Correct answer.
  3. They possess armed forces that answer to no government
  4. They have too few member states to function effectively

Explanation

Critics point to weighted voting at the IMF and World Bank and veto power at the Security Council, which they argue over-represent established powers relative to their share of world population and output. This fuels demands for reform and for alternative institutions. The other options misdescribe how these bodies operate.

Question 45Contemporary South Asia and India's Neighbourhood

Which South Asian country is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament known as the Sansad, and is bordered on three sides by India?

  1. Nepal
  2. Maldives
  3. Sri Lanka
  4. Bhutan Correct answer.

Explanation

Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy whose parliament, the Sansad, consists of the National Council and the National Assembly. It shares land borders only with India, which surrounds it on the north, south and east, while China lies to its north. Nepal and Sri Lanka are republics, and the Maldives is a presidential republic of atolls.

Question 46Contemporary South Asia and India's Neighbourhood

The India–Pakistan Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir originated from which agreement?

  1. The Simla Agreement of 1972
  2. The Lahore Declaration of 1999
  3. The Tashkent Declaration of 1966
  4. The Karachi Agreement of 1949 Correct answer.

Explanation

The Karachi Agreement, signed in July 1949 by military representatives after the first Kashmir war, established the Ceasefire Line that later became the Line of Control. The Simla Agreement of 1972 converted the ceasefire line into the Line of Control after the Bangladesh war. Tashkent and Lahore dealt with post-war peace and confidence-building, not the delineation of the line itself.

Question 47Contemporary South Asia and India's Neighbourhood

Which arrangement describes India's relationship with the Maldives under the 1988 intervention?

  1. India deployed troops at the Maldivian government's request to foil a coup attempt Correct answer.
  2. India joined a multilateral force authorised by the UN Security Council
  3. India annexed the Maldives as a union territory after a plebiscite
  4. India imposed a naval blockade to stop Maldivian trade with Sri Lanka

Explanation

In November 1988 President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom requested Indian help against an attempted coup by Maldivian and foreign mercenaries. India launched Operation Cactus, airlifting paratroopers who restored the government within hours. This episode is cited as a case of India's neighbourhood security role exercised at a sovereign government's invitation.

Question 48Contemporary South Asia and India's Neighbourhood

Which body was created by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation charter signed in Dhaka in 1985?

  1. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
  2. The South Asian Free Trade Area
  3. The Indian Ocean Rim Association
  4. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Correct answer.

Explanation

SAARC was formally established when its charter was adopted at the first summit in Dhaka in December 1985. Its members are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAFTA is a later trade agreement concluded under SAARC auspices, and BIMSTEC and IORA are separate organisations.

Question 49Contemporary South Asia and India's Neighbourhood

Why has SAARC's effectiveness been limited in practice?

  1. Its members are all geographically outside South Asia
  2. It has no permanent secretariat or member states
  3. Its charter forbids any discussion of trade or economic cooperation
  4. India and Pakistan have repeatedly blocked progress on contentious issues Correct answer.

Explanation

SAARC decisions require consensus, so the India–Pakistan rivalry has repeatedly stalled summits and regional projects. The organisation also lacks enforcement mechanisms and has been outpaced by BIMSTEC on connectivity. Its charter actually mandates cooperation on economic and social issues, so trade is not prohibited.

Question 50Contemporary South Asia and India's Neighbourhood

Which Indian state shares borders with Nepal, Bhutan and China?

  1. Assam
  2. West Bengal
  3. Arunachal Pradesh
  4. Sikkim Correct answer.

Explanation

Sikkim borders Nepal to the west, Bhutan to the east and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north. West Bengal borders Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh but not China. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh border Bhutan and China but not Nepal.