“What in the World?” Quiz – Week of September 23-29, 2018

Don’t forget to sign up as a World Affairs Council member (TNWAC.org/join) to be eligible to win the monthly quiz prize.

Check your global affairs awareness with these ten questions taken from the week’s news reports provided via @TNWAC #TNWACquiz.

***Alternate Link to Quiz***

QUIZ WINNERS FROM LAST WEEK

Elaine Loughlin, Nashville, TN

David Hillinck, Huntsville, AL

Patricia Miletich, Nashville, TN

Drew Lorelli, Washington, DC

Carlos Guerrero, Suwanee, GA

(If you’re a weekly winner you’ll be entered for the monthly prize drawing but you must be a TNWAC member to win.  TNWAC.org/join)

SEPTEMBER 2018 MONTHLY PRIZE

A bracing assessment of U.S. foreign policy and world disorder over the past two decades, anchored by a major new Pentagon-commissioned essay—from the renowned geopolitical analyst and bestselling author of The Revenge of Geographyand The Coming Anarchy.

“Elegant and humane . . . [a] prophecy from an observer with a depressingly accurate record of predictions.”—Bret Stephens, The New York Times Book Review

In the late thirteenth century, Marco Polo began a decades-long trek from Venice to China. The strength of that Silk Road—the trade route between Europe and Asia—was a foundation of Kublai Khan’s sprawling empire. Now, in the early twenty-first century, the Chinese regime has proposed a land-and-maritime Silk Road that duplicates exactly the route Marco Polo traveled.

In the major lead essay, recently released by the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment, Robert D. Kaplan lays out a blueprint of the world’s changing power politics that recalls the late thirteenth century. As Europe fractures from changes in culture and migration, Eurasia coheres into a single conflict system. China is constructing a land bridge to Europe. Iran and India are trying to link the oil fields of Central Asia to the Indian Ocean. America’s ability to influence the power balance in Eurasia is declining.

This is Kaplan’s first collection of essays since his classic The Coming Anarchywas published in 2000. Drawing on decades of firsthand experience as a foreign correspondent and military embed for The Atlantic,as well as encounters with preeminent realist thinkers, Kaplan outlines the timeless principles that should shape America’s role in a turbulent world: a respect for the limits of Western-style democracy; a delineation between American interests and American values; an awareness of the psychological toll of warfare; a projection of power via a strong navy; and more.

From Kaplan’s immediate thoughts on President Trump (“On Foreign Policy, Donald Trump Is No Realist,” 2016) to a frank examination of what will happen in the event of war with North Korea (“When North Korea Falls,” 2006), The Return of Marco Polo’s Worldis a vigorous and honest reckoning with the difficult choices the United States will face in the years ahead.

“These essays constitute a truly pathbreaking, brilliant synthesis and analysis of geographic, political, technological, and economic trends with far-reaching consequences. The Return of Marco Polo’s World is another work by Robert D. Kaplan that will be regarded as a classic.”—General David Petraeus (U.S. Army, Ret.)

To get in on the quiz make sure you’re getting TNWAC emails (here’s the free subscription link: http://eepurl.com/gt6dn) and make sure you’re following @TNWAC on Twitter.

We’ll post the answers and the names of the winner(s) in next week’s quiz.

Here’s last week’s questions and answers:

WHAT IN THE WORLD? QUIZ

Week of September 16-22, 2018

1.  As attention in the United States was focused on Hurricane Florence’s drenching of the Carolinas this tropical cyclone, called the “King of Storms” by the China Meteorological Administration, devastated the Philippines and began a march across southeast China.

A.  Matmo
B.  Mindulle
C.  Mangkhut
D.  Meranti

Correct Response: C.  Mangkhut
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-storm/china-provinces-braced-for-heavy-rainfall-as-typhoon-heads-west-idUSKCN1LX011?il=0 

2.  The White House is expected to announce THIS action in coming days as the confrontation between Washington and Beijing continues to play out.

A.  A 25% reduction on quotas for family reunification visas.
B.  Sanctions on US dollar transactions for a Chinese company importing Iranian oil.
C.  New tariffs on about 1,000 Chinese made consumer goods worth $200 billion.
D.  None of the above.

Correct Response: C.  New tariffs on about 1,000 Chinese made consumer goods worth $200 billion.
http://time.com/5397541/trump-plans-china-tariffs/ 

3.  The next major diplomatic effort to move the needle on Korean Peninsula nuclear weapons talks will happen on Tuesday with THIS meeting.

A.  US Secretary of State Pompeo hosts North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho
B.  Russian President Vladimir Putin hosts North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
C.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hosts South Korean President Moon Jae-in
D.  Chinese President Xi Jinping hosts North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

Correct Response: C.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hosts South Korean President Moon Jae-in
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-southkorea-summit-analysis/at-summit-south-koreas-moon-seeks-to-play-chief-negotiator-between-kim-trump-idUSKCN1LU0JE 

4.  THIS leader in the French far-right returned to the political stage after last year’s decisive loss of the presidency to Emmanuel Macron to call for European populists to unite for next year’s round of European elections against liberal parties.

A.  Marion Marechal
B.  Jean-Marie Le Pen
C.  Marie-Christine Arnautu
D.  Marine Le Pen

Correct Response: D.  Marine Le Pen
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-politics-lepen/frances-le-pen-urges-show-of-nationalist-force-in-european-elections-idUSKCN1LW0KP 

5.  Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace agreement with this leader – the second peace accord signed since July – in a ceremony hosted by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Sunday. The neighboring countries fought a war between 1998 and 2000 and remained at odds.

A.  Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
B.  Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh
C.  Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir
D.  Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi

Correct Response: A.  Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-eritrea-saudi/ethiopian-eritrean-leaders-sign-peace-agreement-in-jeddah-idUSKCN1LW0KV 

6.  The White House warned Iran it would “respond swiftly and decisively” to attacks by Tehran’s proxies against U.S. facilities following attacks against American diplomatic compounds in THIS country.

A.  Yemen
B.  Bahrain
C.  Iraq
D.  Syria

Correct Response: C.  Iraq
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-usa-iran/u-s-warns-iran-it-will-respond-to-attacks-by-tehran-allies-in-iraq-idUSKCN1LR2HP 

7.  Macedonians came out in thousands in ITS capital over the weekend to rally in advance of a historic referendum. The Sept. 30 vote will decide on support for NATO and European Union membership and a change of the country’s name to North Macedonia – as prescribed in an agreement with Greece. The marchers were in THIS city.

A.  Tirana
B.  Prishtina
C.  Skopje
D.  Zagreb

Correct Response: C.  Skopje
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-macedonia-referendum/several-thousand-macedonians-gather-in-support-eu-nato-membership-idUSKCN1LW0KA

8.  Map Time.  Which country does NOT have a border with Myanmar (Burma)?

A.  Malaysia
B.  Laos
C.  China
D.  Bangladesh

Correct Response: A.  Malaysia

9.  Last week “Vostok 2018” showcased Russian military might – its largest military exercise since Cold-War era training in 1981 – and featured its cooperation with THIS country.

A.  Iran
B.  China
C.  Syria
D.  India

Correct Response: B.  China
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/14/asia/vostok-2018-analysis-ilyushina-hodge-intl/index.html

10.  THIS United States official threatened the International Criminal Court in a speech last week in which he said, “The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court.”

A.  Secretary of Defense James Mattis
B.  National Security Advisor John Bolton
C.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions
D.  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Correct Response: B.  National Security Advisor John Bolton
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/threatens-icc-judges-sanctions-180910113100340.html 

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