“What in the World? Weekly Quiz" | Mar 29-Apr 4, 2021

A global affairs awareness service provided by the
Tennessee World Affairs Council

CLICK IMAGE FOR QUIZ

Thanks to quiz master Matthew Jackson for this week’s quiz.

LAST WEEK’S QUIZ WINNERS (9s and 10s)

David Hillinck, Huntsville, AL
Gashaw Bekele, Nashville, TN
Stephen Freidberg, Boston, MA
Allan Ramsaur, Nashville, TN
Charles Bowers, Nashville, TN
Campbell Lahman, Nolensville, TN
George Pruden, Townsend, GA
Joseph Mendenhall, Bedford, TX
Anne Wasse-Lyon, Mt Laurel, NJ
Beth O’Brien, Washington, IL
Bernie Drake, Peoria, IL
John Steward, Peoria, IL
Donald McKenzie, Nashville, TN
Peter Sharadin, Blandon, PA
Muhammad Rahman, Nashville, TN
Laurie Bergner, Normal, IL
Yezzie Dospil, Nashville, TN
Nathan Solomon, Nashville, TN

WELL DONE!

Hey! Dozens of quiz takers are on our weekly winners list. You will be eligible for our end of month quiz prize if you become a TNWAC member. Join today to be in the running for the December quiz prize.

The World Affairs Council needs your support now more than ever. With a suggested donation of $100, you can help the Council continue to offer free and public programming to discuss critical global issues affecting Americans’ security and prosperity.

You can give in one of several ways:

Pay with your credit card via the donation button below.
Mail a check to the TNWAC Office (Fidelity 304A, Belmont University, 1900 Belmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37212)
Planned giving through a bequest. Consult the attorney who assisted with your estate planning.
Request a distribution from your Donor Advised Fund
Check with your employer to see if they will match your gift!

With the passing of the CARES Act, most individual taxpayers will become eligible for significant tax benefits for charitable contributions made this year. Two of these benefits will be:

A $300 Above-the-Line Charitable deduction, meaning that individuals who do not itemize their deductions will be eligible to claim up to $300 of charitable deductions in 2020, on top of the standard deduction
Modified Limitations on Cash Charitable Contributions – for 2020, the 60% AGI limitation on cash contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations, such as WACA, is suspended

Please give to support global affairs awareness programs in the community and in your schools.

March 2021 – Quiz Prize Winner

Campbell Lahman, Nolensville, TN

Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism

By Anne Applebaum

April 2021 – Quiz Prize

Russia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order

by Kathryn E. Stoner

An assessment of Russia that suggests that we should look beyond traditional means of power to understand its strength and capacity to disrupt international politics.

Too often, we are told that Russia plays a weak hand well. But, perhaps the nation’s cards are better than we know. Russia ranks significantly behind the US and China by traditional measures of power: GDP, population size and health, and military might. Yet 25 years removed from its mid-1990s nadir following the collapse of the USSR, Russia has become a supremely disruptive force in world politics. Kathryn E. Stoner assesses the resurrection of Russia and argues that we should look beyond traditional means of power to assess its strength in global affairs. Taking into account how Russian domestic politics under Vladimir Putin influence its foreign policy, Stoner explains how Russia has battled its way back to international prominence.

From Russia’s seizure of the Crimea from Ukraine to its military support for the Assad regime in Syria, the country has reasserted itself as a major global power. Stoner examines these developments and more in tackling the big questions about Russia’s turnaround and global future. Stoner marshals data on Russia’s political, economic, and social development and uncovers key insights from its domestic politics. Russian people are wealthier than the Chinese, debt is low, and fiscal policy is good despite sanctions and the volatile global economy. Vladimir Putin’s autocratic regime faces virtually no organized domestic opposition. Yet, mindful of maintaining control at home, Russia under Putin also uses its varied power capacities to extend its influence abroad. While we often underestimate Russia’s global influence, the consequences are evident in the disruption of politics in the US, Syria, and Venezuela, to name a few. Russia Resurrected is an eye-opening reassessment of the country, identifying the actual sources of its power in international politics and why it has been able to redefine the post-Cold War global order.

LAST WEEK’S QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What in the World? Quiz – Week of Mar 22-28, 2021

1. The United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor were in a testy meeting with top foreign policy official, Yang Jiechi, and foreign minister Wang Yi of China in Alaska last week, the most senior official contacts between the fractious superpowers. THIS person is the U.S. Secretary of State.

A. Jake Sullivan
B. Antony Blinken
C. Lloyd Austin
D. William Burns

Correct Response: B. Antony Blinken
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/top-us-china-diplomats-have-public-spat-as-alaska-summit-opens/ar-BB1eJJTx?ocid=BingNews

2. The United States Secretary of Defense visited Afghanistan following visits with the Secretary of State to Japan and South Korea last week. THIS “SecDef” didn’t comment on the Trump-Taliban agreement date of May 1 for U.S. forces’ departure, but he did say, “What we want to see is a responsible end to this conflict.”

A. Jake Sullivan
B. Antony Blinken
C. Lloyd Austin
D. William Burns

Correct Response: B. Lloyd Austin
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/21/world/asia/afghanistan-lloyd-austin.html

3. THIS association agreed to sanction several Chinese officials over human rights abuse against the Uighurs, a Muslim minority whose repression in China has been called “genocide” by the United States.

A. European Union
B. United Nations
C. World Health Organization
D. ASEAN

Correct Response: A. European Union
https://www.dw.com/en/eu-agrees-china-sanctions-over-human-rights-abuses/a-56897653

4. The United Kingdom and the European Union exchanged charges over holding Covid-19 vaccines from one another as well as countries like Italy stalling export of vaccines to fellow EU nations. The phenomenon is called THIS.

A. Biomed imperialism
B. Jab diplomacy
C. Pharma faux
D. Vaccine nationalism

Correct Response: D. Vaccine nationalism
“Daily Chatter,” March 19, 2021

5. Women marched across THIS country demanding “safety from endemic violence, accessible health care … and the basic economic justice of safe working environments and equal opportunities for women.” The annual rallies which started in Karachi faced threats and backlash from religious extremists. [USIP Question]

A. Saudi Arabia
B. Myanmar
C. Pakistan
D. Egypt

Correct Response: C. Pakistan
https://www.usip.org/publications/2021/03/pakistan-rising-womens-movement-confronts-new-backlash

6. Protestors chanting anti-government slogans stormed the presidential palace in the port city of Aden while Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed and officials from the internationally recognized government of THIS nation were in the building.

A. Yemen
B. Myanmar
C. Oman
D. Somalia

Correct Response: A. Yemen
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/16/protesters-storm-presidential-palace-in-yemens-aden

7. The Prime Minister of Sudan asked the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, and the United States to help in their dispute with THIS country over a controversial dam opened on the Nile River.

A. Egypt
B. Uganda
C. Ethiopia
D. Rwanda

Correct Response: C. Ethiopia
https://www.voanews.com/africa/sudan-requests-un-us-eu-help-resolve-dam-conflict-ethiopia?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

8. Twelve provinces in THIS country were covered by the country’s worst sandstorm in decades causing cancellation of hundreds of flights at “PEK” airport.

A. Saudi Arabia
B. China
C. Mongolia
D. Algeria

Correct Response: B. China
https://apnews.com/article/china-beijing-worst-sandstorm-in-a-decade-adee96d74319c09a0e69eac9693eb481

9. President Biden bluntly said THIS of Russian President and ex-KGB officer Vladimir Putin touching off a rhetorical battle between the leaders.

A. He is a “killer.”
B. He will be subject to personal sanctions.
C. He was not legitimately elected.
D. He is responsible for division in America.

Correct Response: A. He is a “killer.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/world/europe/russia-biden-putin-killer.html?smid=tw-nytimesworld&smtyp=cur

10. John Magufuli, President of THIS country and a prominent Covid-19 skeptic died last week in Dar es Salaam.

A. Uganda
B. Mali
C. Burundi
D. Tanzania

Correct Response: D. Tanzania
https://www.dw.com/en/tanzanias-covid-skeptic-president-john-magufuli-dies-at-61/a-56908583

THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS AWARENESS AND EDUCATION OUTREACH

THE MISSION of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Tennessee World Affairs Council is to promote international awareness, understanding and connections to enhance the region’s global stature and to prepare Tennesseans to thrive in our increasingly complex and connected world.

THE VISION of the Tennessee World Affairs Council is a well-informed community that thinks critically about the world and the impact of global events.