UNIT FOUR MULTIPLE CHOICE
QUESTIONS
See page two
Practice Political test questions
E. Woods Review
1. An effort to control pieces of the earth’s surface for
political and social ends is called:
A. Politics
B. territoriality
C. political culture
D. ethno nationalism
E. federalism
2. A geographic zone where no state exercises power is
called a (n)
A. frontier
B. boundary
C. ethnic zone
D. separatist area
E. landlocked area
3. The boundary between two countries is set by a river
that runs between them. This type of try is known as a:
a. cultural boundary
b. geometric boundary
c. physical boundary
d. relative boundary
e. perforated boundary
6. Which of the following states has the least desirable
relative location?
a. Mexico
b. Britain
c. Egypt
d. China
e. Kazakhstan
7. All of the following are landlocked states EXCEPT:
a. Bhutan
b. Peru
c. Belarus
d. Paraguay
e. Armenia
8. The Great Wall of China is an example of a boundary
that historically has served the function of
a. protection
b. nationalism
c. elongation
d. cultural diffusion
e. assimilation
9. If two countries argue about exactly where the border
between them is located, it is called a:
a. positional dispute
b. territorial dispute
c. resource dispute
d. functional dispute
e. operational dispute
4. The state above has a shape that categorizes it as a(n)
a. compact state
b. prompted state
c. elongated state
d. fragmented state
e. perforated state
5. Cabinda is a part of the African state of Angola that is
separated by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is
an example of a(n)
a. elongated state
b. perforated state
c. enclave
d. exclave
e. microstate
10. Which point in the diagram above is the core area of
the nation-state?
a. Point A
b. Point B
c. Point C
d. Point D
e. Point E
11. If a state's boundaries do not closely follow the outline
of a group bonded by a common political identity, the
state is not consistent with
a. its sovereignty
b. its core area
c. devolutionary forces
d. its size
e. the nation
16. All of the following were colonies that gained their
independence from the late 1940s through the 1960s
EXCEPT:
a. India
b. Singapore
c. Lithuania
d. Nigeria
e. Zimbabwe
12. If the point identified in #11 is a capital city that
serves as a model for national objectives, it is a(n)
a. ethnic capital
b. electoral capital
c. minority/majority district
d. forward capital
e. heartland city
17. Which of the following is MOST likely to serve as a
centripetal force within a state?
a. tendency for the government to keep its power
focused in a central geographical location
b. strong institutions that challenge the government
c. numerous separatist movements
d. minority ethnic groups that live along the
periphery
d. overall strong sense of nationalism
13. The strange shape of the U.S legislative district above
most likely resulted from:
a. a history of close elections
b. preference for Republican candidates
c. preference for Democratic candidates
d. gerrymandering
e. malapportionment
14. During which time period did African land areas have
such names as "French West Africa," "British
Somaliland," "Belgian Congo," and "German Southwest
Africa"?
a. early 1600s
b. late 1700s
c. late 1800s
d. mid 20th century
e. early 21 51 century
15. Which of the following is the BEST description of the
geographic distribution of power within states today?
a. Most states are federal systems.
b. Most states are confederal systems.
c. Most states are unitary systems.
d. States with federal systems are about equal in
number to states with unitary systems.
e. States with confederal systems are about equal in
number to states with unitary systems.
18. In recent years Britain has allowed the Welsh and
Scottish parliaments to set political policies for their
regions. This process is called
a. fragmentation
b. ethno nationalism
c. integration
d. devolution
e. confederalism
19. Which of the following is the BEST explanation for
the break-up of the nation-state of Yugoslavia during the
1990s?
a. pressure from the Soviet Union to trade
exclusively with them
b. ethnic devolutionary forces
c. centripetal forces encouraged by the Yugoslav
government
d. disputes over natural resources
e. disputes over membership in the European Union
20. According to Mackinder's heartland theory, which of
the following countries would be MOST likely to
dominate the globe?
a. the United States
b. Britain
c. China
d. India
e. Russia
21. Which of the following is an important change in the
nature of sovereignty brought about by the United
Nations?
a. For the first time, an international government
exists.
b. The sovereignty of individual nation-states has
been strengthened.
c. It places an emphasis on regional sovereignty,
not national sovereignty.
d. It has created an international army with almost
unlimited authority to fight and defeat the armies
of defiant nations.
e. It has changed the dynamics of international
relationships from the previous almost exclusive
focus on the sovereignty of nation-states.
22. The main responsibility of the United Nation’s
Security Council is to:
a. provide health and other general welfare
assistance internationally
b. facilitate trade and other economic transactions
among nations
c. settle international disputes that require judicial
decisions
d. prevent disputes among nations from erupting
into wide scale war
e. decide requirements for admitting new members
to the organization
the United Nations
23. All of the following are regional supraorganizations
that have formed since 1945 EXCEPT:
a. the United Nations
b. NATO
c. the Warsaw Pact
d. European Union
e. Organization of American States
24. The European Union’s roots for cooperation lie
primarily in:
a. sharing cultural strengths
b. settling judicial disputes
c. promoting mutual economic goals
d. reuniting Western and Eastern Europe
e. developing a common foreign policy
25. According to Samuel Huntington, which of the
following is a 20th century trend that promotes
fragmentation?
a. democratization
b. politicization of religion
c. movement toward market economies
d. development of regional supranational
organizations
e. proliferation of international, large scale
wars
5.