POLI/INTL 105

Things from the second exam that will be on the third exam.

Hi everyone,

There were a few things from the second exam that a lot of people missed, but I think they are crucial, so I’m going to ask those questions again on the third exam.

Here they are:

The administrative body of the United Nations is the Secretariat. I think people were tripped up by the word administrative. That word simply means the managing of an organization; the people who do the paperwork and filing and record keeping and fact finding. They work for the United Nations (and therefore all the nations who are members). They do everything from making sure there are translations of documents to writing reports on issues like climate change or human rights violations during wars. The Secretariat is run by the Secretary General.

The International Court of Justice deals with legal disputes between nation-states. Can a nation-state sue another one? Yes. Wouldn’t it be better if instead of going to war, nations brought their dispute to a court who would see which nation has violated international law? That’s what the International Court of Justice does (when nations allow it to do its job).

How many nations sit on the UN Security Council? 15! Many people said 5. There are 5 permanent members, but 15 members overall. The other 10 members rotate on and off the UNSC for two-year terms. They are elected by the other nations in the regional blocs within the UN General Assembly. So, since the question asked how many members, not how many permanent members, the answer is 15.

In East Asia, have most nations balanced or bandwagoned against China. The answer is balanced. Most nations have built up their militaries, and strengthened alliances with the US or Japan.

And there will be one question from the first exam, that was also included on the second exam, and still, I’m not happy with the answer. So, I will include it on the third exam.

Here is the question:

China’s economic reforms had the following impact

a. Shifted the economy toward capitalism

b. Ended the communist party dictatorship

c. Increased poverty in China

d. all of the above

Many people chose: “d. all of the above.” That is incorrect, and it’s important that everyone knows the correct answer here.

China’s launched economic reforms in 1978 that accelerated in the early 1990s. These reforms did shift the economy toward capitalism. So, answer “a” is correct. Before the reforms, the government had controlled the economy, every aspect of it. It was called a command economy and there was no free market at all (except in organized crime). Government control and collectivized agriculture led to famine and tremendous poverty. The reforms led China to become the fastest growing non-oil producing nation in the world for over a generation.

But the reforms did not end the Communist Party’s rule over China. It still runs China and it does not allow other political parties to exist. There is no freedom of speech, or freedom of the press, or freedom of assembly. So, answer “b” is wrong.

Also, these reforms led to a massive creation of wealth and China went from a poverty-stricken economy which could barely feed itself to an economic powerhouse with a huge middle class. Though there is still poverty in China, it decreased by amazing proportions since the reforms began. So, answer “c” is incredibly incorrect.

If “b” and “c” are wrong, then so is “d”.