“What In The World? Weekly Quiz” – Mar 9-15, 2020

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“Empire of Democracy: The Remaking of the West Since the Cold War”

by Simon Reid-Henry

The first panoramic history of the Western world from the 1970s to the present day, Empire of Democracy is the story for those asking how we got to where we are.

Half a century ago, at the height of the Cold War and amidst a world economic crisis, the Western democracies were forced to undergo a profound transformation. Against what some saw as a full-scale “crisis of democracy”— with race riots, anti-Vietnam marches and a wave of worker discontent sowing crisis from one nation to the next— a new political-economic order was devised and the postwar social contract was torn up and written anew.

In this epic narrative of the events that have shaped our own times, Simon Reid-Henry shows how liberal democracy, and western history with it, was profoundly reimagined when the postwar Golden Age ended. As the institutions of liberal rule were reinvented, a new generation of politicians emerged: Thatcher, Reagan, Mitterrand, Kohl. The late twentieth century heyday they oversaw carried the Western democracies triumphantly to victory in the Cold War and into the economic boom of the 1990s. But equally it led them into the fiasco of Iraq, to the high drama of the financial crisis in 2007/8, and ultimately to the anti-liberal surge of our own times.

The present crisis of liberalism enjoins us to revisit these as yet unscripted decades. The era we have all been living through is closing out, democracy is turning on its axis once again. As this panoramic history poignantly reminds us, the choices we make going forward require us first to come to terms with where we have been.

About the Author

1. The United States agreed with the Taliban to terms which could lead to a draw down of American troops in Afghanistan. U.S. forces entered that country in 2001 in response to the 9/11 attacks to root out Al Qaeda in an American military operation CALLED THIS. It was renamed Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in 2014.

A. Operation Enduring Freedom
B. Operation Afghan Freedom
C. Operation Global War on Terrorism
D. Operation Urgent Fury

Correct Response: A. Operation Enduring Freedom
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/world/asia/afghanistan-war-photos-pictures.html

2. The Coronavirus outbreak in THIS COUNTRY, the second most infections outside China as of Sunday (Mar 1), has seen 60% of the cases among members of the Sincheonji Church of Jesus.

A. Thailand
B. Indonesia
C. Japan
D. South Korea

Correct Response: D. South Korea
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51701039

3. Turkish military forces opened an offensive against Syria over the weekend in response to attacks that included the deaths of 36 troops in Syrian and Russian bombardment. The war between NATO ally Turkey and Syria – and possibly Russia – is taking place in THIS CORNER of Syria where over one million refugees are being driven toward the border in a humanitarian catastrophe.

A. Aleppo
B. Idlib Province
C. Raqqa
D. Al Hasakah Province

Correct Response: B. Idlib Province
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/world/middleeast/turkey-syria-assault.html

4. In 2016 an agreement between the European Union and THIS COUNTRY quieted the flow of migrants from the Middle East into Europe. This weekend the arrangement broke down as THIS COUNTRY warned it could no longer enforce the deal and thousands of refugees headed toward EU countries.

A. Jordan
B. Turkey
C. Greece
D. Syria

Correct Response: B. Turkey
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51707958

5. On his trip to India President Trump lauded Prime Minister Modi’s approach to sectarianism saying, “He wants people to have religious freedom, and very strongly.” However, deadly riots broke out during the visit highlighting Modi’s actions against this religious minority in India which have drawn international condemnation.

A. Hindus
B. Muslims
C. Sikhs
D. Buddhists

Correct Response: B. Muslims
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/us/politics/trump-modi.html?searchResultPosition=8

6. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s positions on US-UK trade negotiations – described as a “hard bargain” by press reports – is set to test the “special relationship” between London and Washington, already strained by ALL OF THESE EXCEPT.

A. Disagreements over “diplomatic immunity” in the death of a cyclist.
B. The possible imposition of digital services taxes.
C. London’s rejection of a role in multilateral security operations in the Persian Gulf.
D. A role for China’s Huawei digital services supplier in the UK’s 5G network.

Correct Response: C. London’s rejection of a role in multilateral security operations in the Persian Gulf.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-trade-usa/britains-demands-for-u-s-trade-talks-set-to-test-special-relationship-idUSKBN20O2BV?il=0

7. The Coronavirus pandemic has led to questions about the Summer Olympics set to start July 24th in this city. However, the International Olympic Committee head said they were “fully committed” to the date and venue.

A. Manila
B. Beijing
C. Tokyo
D. Bangkok

Correct Response: C. Tokyo
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-japan-sports/japans-crowdless-sport-a-prelude-to-a-coronavirus-hit-games-idUSKBN20O1ED

8. Which of these is TRUE concerning recent news about North Korea.

A. North Korean military units reported 350 cases of Coronavirus.
B. Chairman Kim Jong Un wrote to President Trump to request a new summit meeting.
C. North Korea closed a joint North-South industrial facility on the 38th parallel over concerns about Coronavirus spread.
D. Pyongyang tested its missile technology with the firing of two short-range ballistic missiles.

Correct Response: D. Pyongyang tested its missile technology with the firing of two short-range ballistic missiles.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51701731

9. For an unprecedented third time in one year THIS COUNTRY is holding elections in an effort to forge a political coalition with enough power to install a new prime minister.

A. Italy
B. South Korea
C. Israel
D. Brazil

Correct Response: C. Israel
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/01/809978504/israels-groundhog-day-hold-elections-call-another-vote-repeat

10. TRANSITIONS: Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose authoritarian rule ran from 1981 to 2011, dies on Tuesday at age 91. Mubarak spent his final years battling health issues and criminal prosecutions following his ouster in the midst of THIS phenomenon.

A. Muslim Brotherhood Coup
B. Gold Revolution
C. Arab Spring
D. Purple Revolution

Correct Response: C. Arab Spring
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/world/africa/hosni-mubarak-dead.html