UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2007-2008
STUDY UNIT: IRL2091 Malta in International Relations
(Malta’s Foreign Policy)
DATE: Friday 25th January 2008
TIME: 10.30 – 12.30
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Answer either One or Two questions. Repetition of the same material in different
answers will be penalized.
1. Discuss how Malta’s foreign policy during the immediate post-independence
period reflected the country’s economic problems.
2. Relevance in international relations is always a problem that small states have to
tackle. Discuss how Malta’s foreign policy has tended to grapple with this
problem. (You may build your answer around a specific period chosen from the
years 1964 to 2004. Specify the period you intend to discuss at the start of your
answer.)
3. Discuss the main developments in Malta’s foreign policy between 1964 and 1984.
4. Trace the development of Malta’s foreign policy and regard to either Europe or
the Mediterranean.
5. Either (a)
OR
(b)
Discuss the central role that Malta’s foreign policy played in
ensuring the island’s security.
Discuss Western perception of Malta’s foreign policy between
1971 and 1984 and the effects that this had on the island.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2007-2008
STUDY UNIT: IRL 3091 - FOREIGN POLICY OF EUROPEAN STATES II
(FOREIGN POLICY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM)
DATE: Monday 28th January 2008
TIME: 8.00-9.00
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Answer ONE of the following:
1. “In the early 1950s Winston Churchill popularised the concept of ‘three great
circles among the free nations and democracies’ – the Commonwealth, the
English speaking world, and Europe.” To what extent do you think such a
description of Britain’s foreign policy is still valid today?
2. It has long been said about Britain that after losing its Empire, it failed to find a
role. How has Britain’s special relationship with the United States of America
ensured Britain’s place in international affairs?
3. “Britain is in some ways a halfway house between America and the rest of
Europe.” Discuss.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2007-2008
STUDY UNIT: IRL 1055 –COMPARATIVE POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
DATE: Friday 25th January 2008
TIME: 15.30 – 16.30
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Students must answer question ONE and ANY other two from questions 2, 3 and 4.
1. Choose two political theorists from the course syllabus and compare their
approaches towards the format of a viable state.(50 marks)
2. Outline the contribution of the legislature or the electoral system towards the
maintenance of a liberal democratic state. (25 marks)
3. What do either dystopias or Utopias teach us about power and authority in the
state. (25 marks)
4. Good governance depends on maintaining the social contract. Elaborate.(25
marks)
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2007-2008
STUDY UNIT: IRL3092 Foreign Policy of USA & Russia
(Foreign Policy of Russia)
DATE: Thursday 24th January 2008
TIME: 15.30 – 16.30
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Choose one of the following:
1. A major feature in Russia’s foreign policy has consistently been to establish itself
as a regional power in order to guarantee its place as a world power. Discuss.
2. Russia’s relations with the West since the end of the Cold War have remained
volatile, leading some analysts to speculate the re-emergence of the Cold War.
Discuss.
3. “When (Putin) took over as President of Russia in 2000, he found a country on the
verge of becoming a failed state. With dauntless persistence, a sharp vision of
what Russia should become and a sense that he embodied the spirit of Mother
Russia, Putin has put his country back on the map.” (Time Magazine, December
31, 2007) Discuss this statement in the context of Putin’s Foreign Policy.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2007-2008
STUDY UNIT: IRL3094 Foreign Policy of North African States
DATE: Thursday, 31st January, 2008
TIME: 13.00 – 14.00
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Answer ONE of the following questions
1. Compare the foreign policies of Egypt and Libya.
2.
‘Domestic forces determine what a state wishes to do, but a state’s position in its
regional distribution of power determines what it can do.’ Discuss with reference
to at least two North African states.
3. ‘Post-independence Tunisia has experienced neither war nor revolution, and had a
relatively brief experience of colonialism.’ Discuss the relevance of this
observation to Tunisia’s foreign policy.
4. How have the regional and international systems in which North Africa is
embedded changed since the 1950s?
Ordinary-language dictionaries may be used.
Credit may be given for essays finished in point form, depending on the quality of the
points made.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Re-sit, 2007-2008
STUDY UNIT: IRL 2093 - POLITICAL PROCESSES AND PATTERNS IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN
DATE: Friday 25th January 2008
TIME: 15.30 – 14.30
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
ANSWER ONLY ONE QUESTION.
1.
Outline the impact of external players on democratization in Southern Europe
in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
2.
Which domestic factors, social, economic or political do you believe
contributed most to democratization in Southern Europe in the 1970s?
3.
Pillars of polarization hindered democratization in Turkey. Elaborate
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2004-2005
STUDY UNIT: IRL2092 POLITICAL MOVEMENTS AND PARTIES
DATE: Monday, 24th January, 2005
TIME: 15.30 – 16.30
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Answer one of the following questions.
1.
Outline the rise of new movements from the 1970s in the ex communist states of
Europe and explain how they reflected the new cleavages in society.
2. Either (a) Choose two of the new issues in European politics and explain their
purpose and contribution to the European Agenda.
Or
(b) The new left and the new right attempted to revitalize politics by
reopening a debate which they felt that the catchall parties of the old left and
right had debunked. Elaborate.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2004-2005
STUDY UNIT: IRL2093 POLITICAL PATTERNS & PROCESSES IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN
DATE: Friday, 28th January, 2005
TIME: 11.45am – 12.45pm
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Answer one of the following questions.
1. Either
(a) Why did the transition to democracy in Southern Europe in the 1970s
occur so much later than it did in Western and Northern Europe?
Or
(b) The third wave began with democratic transition in Southern Europe
which proved to be by far the most successful regio0nal attempt outstripping
later attempts in South America and Eastern Europe. Can you account for
this success?
2.
Democratic governance in Islamic states has not been very successful within the
Mediterranean Region. Can you account for its success within Turkey?
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2005-2006
STUDY UNIT: IRL 3091 - FOREIGN POLICY OF EUROPEAN STATES II
- (FOREIGN POLICY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM)
DATE: Monday, 23rd January, 2005
TIME: 9.15am – 10.15am
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Answer ONE of the following:
1. Following the Second World War, Britain lost an Empire and was struggling to
find a role. Repeated attempts were made to put the “Great” back into Great
Britain. By examining British foreign policy over the years and to date, do you
think this has been achieved?
2. “The most remarkable aspect of the British foreign policy debate is how little it
appears to have been affected by the transformation of international order.”
Discuss.
3. “In the early 1950s Winston Churchill popularised the concept of ‘three great
circles among the free nations and democracies’ – the Commonwealth, the
English speaking world, and Europe.”
How would you describe the
contemporary paradigms of British foreign policy?
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2006-2007
STUDY UNIT: IRL 2056 The Diplomacy of the EU
DATE: Tuesday 23rd January 2006
TIME: 11.45-13.15
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
1st part: Answer the following questions:
1.
What does GAERC stand for? Who sits at the GAERC?
2.
Which countries joined the EU on 1 January 2007? Which countries currently
hold the official status of “candidate country” of the EU?
3.
List 2 acronyms of EU Parliament committee and what they stand for
(i.e. DROI – Subcommittee on Human Rights)
4.
Who represents the EU at the World Trade Organization?
5.
What are the main functions of the Political and Security Committee
(PSC/COPS)?
Who sits at the PSC?
6.
What is the nationality of the new UN Secretary-General?
7.
How many EU countries sit at the UN Security Council? List all permanent
members of the UN Security Council.
8.
List 2 acronyms of EU Council Working groups and what they stand for
(i.e. COTER – Council Working Group on Terrorism)
9.
Roughly what percentage of development cooperation in the world is carried out
by the EU Member States and the EU institutions? Tick the right answer:
□ 20%,
□ 35%
□ 40%
□ 55%
10. Through what means does the European Parliament conduct Foreign Policy?
2nd part: Answer the following question with your knowledge of how
the EU and the UN work in the field of diplomacy.
You are the UN Special Representative to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. You
are concerned with the resurgence of violence in the country following the holding of
general elections. The human rights situation is particularly worrisome. You want to
consult the EU on the matter.
Questions:
Who will you contact and where?
How will the EU formulate its position on the new developments in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo?
Give two examples of concrete actions that can be taken by the various EU actors in the
light of the violence and human rights repression in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2006-2007
STUDY UNIT: IRL 1055 –COMPARATIVE POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
DATE: Friday 26th January 2007
TIME: 15.30 – 16.30
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Students must Answer All Questions.
1. Write a short synopsis outlining the general views of one of the cited authors on
the Structures necessary to support the most viable/ or the most perfect state.Choose only one of the following authors – Plato /
Aristotle / Moore /
Machiavelli / Hobbes / Marx
2. Using the course material illustrate the characteristics of a Utopia and a Distopia.
To what extent do you believe that they are in effect two sides of the same coin?
3. Outline the characteristics of Two of the following Regimes
- Liberaldemocratic Regimes / Egalitarian –Authoritarian Regimes / Traditional –
Inegalitarian Regimes / Populist Regimes / Authoritarian – Inegalitarian Regimes
4. Write a paragraph outlining the role played by either The Military or The Civil
Service in maintaining a Liberal Democratic State
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2006-2007
STUDY UNIT: IRL2071 Middle East Politics II
DATE: Friday 26th January 2007
TIME: 11.45 – 12.45
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Choose one of the following:
1. Compare and contrast the political evolution in two or three of the following
states of your choice:
a. Syria
b. Lebanon
c. Jordan
d. Egypt
e. Israel
2. Discuss the impact of the Arab Israeli Conflict on two or three of the following
states of your choice:
a. Syria
b. Lebanon
c. Jordan
d. Egypt
e. Israel and the Palestinian Territories
3. With reference to the states studied in Middle East Politics I, discuss the
challenges and prospects for Democratisation in the Middle East Region.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2006-2007
STUDY UNIT: IRL 2093 - POLITICAL PROCESSES AND PATTERNS IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN
DATE: Friday 26th January, 2007
TIME: 15.30-16.30
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
ANSWER ONLY ONE QUESTION
1. Outline the conditions that were present in the Southern Europe Region that
contributed to democratization in Spain, Portugal and Greece in the 1970s
2. Explain how external factors including the regions proximity to Europe also
contributed to successful democratization in Southern Europe in the 1970s.
3. Democratization in Turkey has been largely successful despite the presence here
of a number of negative variables. Elaborate.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2006-2007
STUDY UNIT: IRL 2093 - POLITICAL PROCESSES AND PATTERNS IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN
DATE: Thursday 1st February 2007
TIME: 11.45-12.45
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
ANSWER ONLY ONE QUESTION
1. Outline the Economic, Social and Political conditions that were present in
Southern Europe in the 1950s and 1960s that facilitated successful democratic
transition in the region in the 1970s
2. The Political literature on Southern Europe in the 1980s argues that Successful
democratic transition in Southern Europe in the 1970s was primarily a result of
positive domestic conditions and gives little space to international factors. How
far do you agree with this view?
3. Many political theorists argue that democratization in Islamic States is an
impossible task yet democratization in Turkey has been largely successful. How
do you account for this anomaly.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2006-2007
STUDY UNIT: IRL2081 Globalization and International Relations
DATE: Friday 26th January 2007
TIME: 13.00-15.00
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Answer any two questions in 2 hours.
1. The process of globalization is described by David Held as having four
conceptual dimensions. Discuss in the context of one indicator of this process.
2. In Global Transformations, hyperglobalists, skeptics and transformationalists
have clear demarcation lines on how to approach an analysis on the process of
globalization. Describe in brief the three positions through examples from
international relations.
3. The nation-state is a key player in the process of globalization. Discuss
4. The divide between rich and poor countries has been at the centre of the debate
on globalization. The World Economic Forum and the World Social Forum have
expressed this divide on various occasions. Which political priorities do you think
nation-states should adopt to bridge the gap between the developed and underdeveloping regions of the world?
5. Globalization has often been described as the integration of economic, political
and cultural systems across the globe or a force for environmental devastation,
exploitation of the developing world and suppression of basic human rights
particularly in the labour market of developing countries. Discuss.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2006-2007
STUDY UNIT: IRL 1090 Theory of International Relations
(IRL 1390 Classical Political Theory and International Relations)
DATE: Monday 26th January, 2009
TIME: 13.00-15.00
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Dictionaries are allowed.
Answer TWO questions ONLY. Mark your answer with the corresponding
number of the question.
1.
Rousseau’s Social Contract comes down to this fundamental
assertion: “Each one of us puts into the community his person and all
his powers under the supreme direction of the general will; and as a
body, we incorporate every member as an indivisible part of the
whole”. In what ways does this “general will” manifest itself in today’s
world affairs?
2.
Kant’s Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose is a
landmark in the history of political thought. What contemporary political
messages would you highlight from such a text to promote cooperation
between nation-states?
3.
Do you agree that “the problem of establishing a perfect civil
constitution is subordinate to the problem of a law-governed external
relationship with other states, and cannot be resolved unless the latter
is also resolved”?
4.
Freud’s assertion that “instinctual passions are stronger than
reasonable interests” is critical in the context of a world order governed
by the rule of law. Can you list and comment upon a few of such
instinctual passions and reasonable interest in international relations
today.
5.
What steps does Konrad Lorenz suggest in the extract taken from On
Aggression to deflect outbreaks of aggression within and between
states?
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2006-2007
STUDY UNIT: IRL 1090 Theory of International Relations
(IRL 1190 Introduction to International Relations)
DATE: Thursday 29th January, 2009
TIME: 13.00-15.00
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Dictionaries are allowed.
Answer TWO questions ONLY. Mark your answer with the corresponding
number of the question.
1.
Structuralism and Rationalism have dominated theory of international
relations for decades. What particular characteristics do these two
schools of thought have in the analysis of international relations today?
2.
What is foreign-policy analysis fundamentally concerned with?
3.
Jackson and Sorenson discuss five of the most important issues in IR
namely international terrorism, the environment, gender, sovereignty
and changes in statehood. Choose two of these issues and discuss the
political impact on international relations.
4.
Non-governmental actors are increasingly influencing international
relations. By giving examples, discuss whether this is true or just a
perception.
5.
Stern’s prescriptions and prerequisites for peace are at the core of his
theory of international relations. How do some of these prescriptions
and prerequisites influence his Agenda for the 21st Century?
6.
The core values that states are expected to uphold such as security,
freedom, order, justice and welfare are at the heart of the study of
international relations. Discuss.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 1, 2008-2009
STUDY UNIT: IRL 2093 - POLITICAL PROCESSES AND PATTERNS IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN
DATE: Monday 26th January 2009
TIME: 14.15 – 15.15
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Dictionaries are allowed.
ANSWER ONLY ONE QUESTION
1.
The role of external players in the third wave of democratization were considered
as a crucial factor in the ultimate success of this democratizating process.
However external players may also militate against democratisation. Comment
with reference to either Southern Europe or North Africa.
2.
A democracy cannot be imposed. Illustrate the truth of this argument.
3.
What factors contribute towards successful democratisation. Illustrate your
answer with reference to countries discussed throughout the course
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
End of Semester Tests June 2006
IRL 2090 – INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SINCE 1919
06 June, 2006
9.15 – 11.15
Time allowed: 1 hr for those answering ONE question
2 hrs for those answering TWO questions.
N.B.:- Students who only registered for HST 3109 International Relations between the
World Wars are to answer ONE question from Section A.
Students who only registered for IRL 2290 International Relations since 1945 are to
answer ONE question from Section B.
Students who registered for the whole study unit, IRL 2090 International Relations since
1919, are to answer TWO questions, one from Section A and one from Section B.
Use of similar material to answer questions will be penalised.
SECTION A
1.
Would you agree with the description of the inter-war period as the age of
dictators?
2.
After 1919 the U.S.A. retreated into isolation through choice while the U.S.S.R.
had isolation forced upon it. Discuss.
3.
Democracy was a major casualty of 1920’s and 1930’s Europe. To what extent do
you agree with this statement?
SECTION B
4.
Discuss what you see as the major negative and positive aspects of the Cold War
period.
5.
Discuss what you consider to have been two of the most important developments in
international relations since 1945.
6.
Choose any two major crises that have occurred since 1945 and show how they
affected the development of international relations.
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
End of Semester Tests June 2006
1 June 2006
IRL 1093 – European Political History
(History of European Integration)
8.00 – 10.00
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Choose TWO of the following:
1. In 1957, the founding members of the European Economic Community were
“determined to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of
Europe.” Almost 50 years later, to what extent do you think they have been
successful?
2. The process of European Integration was initiated as a remedy for a history
bedevilled by conflict. Discuss.
3. Whilst the process of European Integration has always suffered setbacks and
stumbling blocks, it has proceeded. What lessons can be learnt for the prospects
for further integration today?
4. France’s role in the process of European Integration epitomises the way member
states may steer the direction of integration. Discuss.
5. The European Union is a supranational state in denial. Discuss.
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
End of Semester Tests June 2006
2 June 2006
IRL 3092 – Foreign Policy of USA and Russia
(IRL 3292 – Foreign Policy of Russia)
9.15 – 10.10
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Choose one of the following:
1. “The fundamentals of Russian Foreign Policy have remained constant, even
though Russia has undergone considerable political, economic and social
changes.” Discuss.
2. “One of the features of Putin’s management of foreign policy is that he tailors
conceptions of Russian identity to circumstances and objectives.” Discuss
contemporary Russian Foreign Policy in light of this statement.
3. Securing a buffer zone has always been and remains a priority in Russia’s Foreign
Policy. Discuss.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 2, 2008-2009
STUDY UNIT: IRL 1093 European Political History
DATE: Saturday 13th June 2009
TIME: 9.15 – 11.15
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Dictionaries are allowed.
Answer any TWO questions.
1. “The general spirit today is already far more disposed than it was in the past to a
federal reorganisation of Europe. The hard experience of the last decades has
opened the eyes even of those who would not see, and has matured many
circumstances favourable to our ideal.” (Altiero Spinelli: Ventetone Manifesto,
1941) Discuss the foundations of European Integration in the light of this
statement.
2. European Integration has been characterised by widening and deepening
according to the political and economic needs and objectives of the EU’s Member
States. Discuss.
3. “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built
through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.” (The
Schuman Declaration, 9 May 1950) Discuss the major achievements that have
led to the European Union as we know it today.
4. The path of European Integration has been determined by both internal and
external events. Discuss.
5. The process of European Integration has always suffered setbacks and stumbling
blocks, yet member states have proceeded with greater resolve. What lessons can
be learnt for the prospects for further integration today?
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 2, 2008-2009
STUDY UNIT: IRL 2072 – Middle East Politics II
DATE: Saturday 13th June 2009
TIME: 9.15 – 10.15
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
ANSWER ONLY ONE QUESTION
1.
What are the main features of the state-society interaction in the Islamic-Arabic
world?
2.
What are the major factors that shape the political economy of the Middle East (and
North Africa) region?
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester II, 2008-2009
STUDY UNIT: IRL2072 Middle East Politics II
DATE: Thursday 11th June 2009
TIME: 08.00 – 09.00
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foollscap.
Answer one of the following questions:
1. What are the major characteristics of the political-economic system prevalent in the
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region?
2. What is the importance of the study of Middle East (and North Africa) Politics for
your understanding of International Relations?
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 2, 2008-2009
STUDY UNIT: IRL 2081 – Globalisation and International Relations
DATE: Thursday 28th May 2009
TIME: 15.30 – 17.30
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Dictionaries are allowed.
Answer any TWO questions.
6. Many have described the current economic crisis as a global affair that hits local
economies and ordinary people. What made the global economy a national
concern?
7. Hyperglobalists, skeptics and transformationalists seek to convince readers that
the process of globalization is heading towards development or underdevelopment
or transformation respectively. In your opinion, which one of the three schools-ofthought is closer to the truth?
8. The media is a key player in the process of globalization. Do you agree that the
media can shape world affairs or is it just a perception based on the impact of
television on our daily lives?
9. The divide between rich and poor countries has been the ongoing debate between
the World Economic Forum and the World Social Forum. In the last Davos
Meeting (January/February 2009) WEF leaders proclaimed the start of a
“transformational economic crisis” whereas at the same time, participants in the
WSF meeting in Belem were determined to oppose neo-liberalism and the
domination of the world by capital and forms of imperialism. What lessons can
nation-states extract from such a global discussion?
10. Today a myriad of actors, both State and non-State play critically important roles
in shaping the evolution of the process of globalisation. Global networks bring
together diverse groups such as youths, religious groups, trade unions,
parliamentarians, local authorities, academia, lawyers, women, indigenous people
and many others. Do you think that such networks are reaching the millions who
live on the margin of subsistence or are such networks conditioned by their own
sectoral and financial boundaries?
11. How can dialogue and governance among Nation-States be strengthened to move
towards a global society based on distributive justice, security and the provision
of basic needs?
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 2, 2008-2009
STUDY UNIT: IRL 2095 European Security
DATE: Friday 12th June 2009
TIME: 13.00 – 15.00
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Dictionaries are allowed.
Choose TWO questions from the below. You have 2 hrs to complete the assessment.
1.
Failing and failed states present a grave danger to international stability as well as
to the well-being of their populations. Pick up one such state and discuss how it
poses a security threat to Europe.
2.
Discuss in detail one of the new security issues that appeared after the end of the
Cold War in Europe.
3.
The 2003 European Security Strategy states that the “proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction is potentially the greatest threat to our security”. Do you agree
with this statement?
4.
Do you think that environmental and energy related security issues will gain more
importance in the future?
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 2, 2008-2009
STUDY UNIT: IRL 3095 – Diplomacy and Diplomatic Practice
DATE: Tuesday 26th May 2009
TIME: 8.00 – 10.00
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Dictionaries are allowed.
Choose ANY TWO questions:1) If Diplomacy is correctly defined as being distinct from Foreign Policy, which
diplomatic ‘skills’ and ‘qualities’ are essential in a modern foreign service?
2) The list of diplomatic functions in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
(1961) needs urgent updating: it harks back to an outdated concept of a Foreign
Ministry as an exclusive 'gatekeeper' with a monopoly on all its country’s foreign
relations. Discuss.
3) Whose Representative is the Diplomat?
4) Having a 'better alternative than a negotiated solution' (BATNA) applies much
more usefully to bilateral than to multilateral negotiations. Discuss.
5) “Diplomatic bargaining theories generated mainly in the bi-polar world of the Cold
War have increasingly lost their relevance in the highly militarised, unipolar
world of the 21st century. Nevertheless, diplomacy remains the vital power of the
weak” Discuss.
6) 'Stalemate is necessary to mediation, just as mediation is necessary to overcome
stalemate'. Discuss with particular reference to the question of Cyprus.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 2, 2008-2009
STUDY UNIT: IRL 3096 – CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN STUDIES
(IRL3296 - EXTERNAL RELATIONS OF THE EU)
DATE: Friday 29th May 2009
TIME: 10.30 – 11.30
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Dictionaries are allowed.
ANSWER ONLY ONE QUESTION
1. It is argued that the EU's CFSP remains largely a failure since its ability to use
force is highly constrained. Do you agree with this statement?
2. The EU is regarded as a civilian and normative power yet it carries a certain
weight on the global circuit. Can you explain this success?
3. The EU is regarded by some of its neighbours as a democratizing force and by
others as a neo colonial power. Comment.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 2, 2008-2009
STUDY UNIT: IRL 1092 – International Institutions
DATE: Monday 25th May 2009
TIME: 13.00 – 15.00
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Dictionaries are allowed.
ANSWER ANY TWO QUESTION
1.
What are the main qualities of a structural leader that determine the success of an
international institution?
2.
International institutions have a huge role to play in the development of
international relations particularly in forging new policies and legislation. By
taking one international institution you have studied, illustrate to what extent this
assertion is true or false.
3.
Martha Finnemore states that an international institution has three important roles
to fulfill: that of a norm developer, a source of influence to policymakers and
depositary and clearing house for data and information. Discuss.
4.
The institutions of the European Union have similar structures and function on
standard criteria and practices. What are the key indicators in European Union
institutions that ensure greater transparency, effectiveness and efficiency?
5.
Why is it that “no one expects public institutions to die” and what are the main
structural and functional differences between international governmental (IGOs)
and non-governmental institutions (INGOs)?
6.
International Institutions deploy knowledge in such ways that define shared
international tasks, create new categories of actors, form new interests for actors,
and transfer new models of political organization around the world. (Barnett and
Finnemore). To what extent is this relevant to the organization/s you have
studied?
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASSESSMENT TEST: Semester 2, 2008-2009
STUDY UNIT: IRL 2092 - POLITICAL MOVEMENTS AND PARTIES
DATE: Saturday 23rd May 2009
TIME: 10.30 – 11.30
Please remember to write your:
Surname and Name
Question Number
on each foolscap.
Dictionaries are allowed.
ANSWER ONLY ONE QUESTION
1. To what extent do the predominance of catch all parties in a party system threaten
the proper representation of new issues?
2. Outline how public concern for new issue politics to be given due consideration by
the powers that be, contributed to the rise of a more open party system in the USSR
in the 1970s and 1980s.
3. Outline the impact of new issue politics on party systems in Europe.
UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
STUDY UNIT: IRL3089 International Political Economy.
1. Describe the ways in which political forces (states, institutions, parties, individual
actors) shape the systems through which economic interactions across borders are
expressed.
2. Discuss the effects that economic exchanges (through world markets, Transnational
Corporations and banks) have upon political structures, processes and outcomes in the
international system.
Development and Development Assistance
Sample questions
Section A (40 % of grade): Please answer ALL the following questions:
1) What does ODA stand for? What is the difference between ODA and OOF?
2) List five bilateral aid agencies.
3) Which are the main multilateral aid actors? Name four.
4) Which country has provided most ODA since the 1950s?
5) Name four important NGOs involved in humanitarian assistance.
6) What is meant by structural adjustment/ 1st generation conditionalities? During what
decade were they the most prevalent?
Section B (60 % of grade): Please answer ONE of the following questions:
a) Why do states provide foreign aid? Outline the various theories of foreign aid and
argue for the one you find the most persuasive.
b) “NGO aid is more successful than bilateral aid”. Discuss statement
c) Do you think that the world will manage to reach the Millennium Development Goals
by the date agreed? Why/why not?