Chapter 11 Key Terms and Assessments

Key Terms

al-Qaeda an Islamic terrorist organization financed and led by militant Saudi Arabian national Osama bin Laden and responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001

bulletin board system (BBS) pre-internet computer networks that consisted of personal computers connected with each other via modems and phone lines

climate change broad changes in temperature, weather, storm activity, wind patterns, sea levels, and other influences on the planet

European Union (EU) a single-market zone created in 1993 to allow the free movement of goods, services, money, and people among European member states

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) a 1947 trade agreement among twenty-three countries to reinforce postwar economic recovery, later replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO)

global warming the general rise in Earth’s temperature that scientists have observed over approximately the past two hundred years

globalization the interconnectedness of societies and economies throughout the world as a result of trade, technology, and adoption and sharing of various aspects of culture

green parties political parties organized around environmental concerns

Islamic State a fundamentalist and militant Islamic group that grew in power and waged a war in Iraq and Syria following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003

multinational corporation a corporate business entity that controls the production of goods and services in multiple countries

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) a 1992 trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico to reduce trade barriers and allow goods to flow freely

offshoring the process of moving some of a company’s operations overseas to access cheaper labor markets

outsourcing the process of hiring outside contractors, sometimes abroad, to perform tasks a company once performed internally

Paris Agreement a 2015 treaty among members of the United Nations to limit global warming to less than 2°C (3.6°F) above levels from the time of industrialization

resource curse the problem that makes resource-rich developing countries prone to authoritarianism, high rates of conflict, and low rates of economic growth

ultranationalist movements organizations that support an extreme form of nationalism and often seek ethnically homogeneous homelands

Assessments

Review Questions

  1. Which organization later became the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
    a. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
    b. European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
    c. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
    d. European Economic Community (EEC)
  2. What controversial policy has the World Bank supported around the world?
    a. increased support for tariffs
    b. increased privatization of public utilities
    c. increased protections for workers
    d. increased access to education
  3. What was one consequence of Bechtel Corporation’s efforts to develop water infrastructure in Bolivia?
    a. the nationalization of Bechtel
    b. NAFTA’s condemnation of Bechtel
    c. better access to water in Bolivia
    d. violent protests in Bolivia
  4. How did U.S. politicians in the 1980s respond to public concerns that Japan was pursuing unfair trade practices?
    a. They called for lower wages in the United States.
    b. They pushed to limit Japanese car exports to the United States.
    c. They cut off trade in electronics with Japan.
    d. They criticized the use of foreign workers in Japan.
  5. At what industry did Rachel Carson take aim in her book Silent Spring?
    a. the coal industry
    b. the chemical industry
    c. the meat industry
    d. the nuclear industry
  6. Which group was most likely to support the growing environmental movement in the 1960s through the 1980s?
    a. young people
    b. older veterans of war
    c. poor timber workers
    d. ranchers in developing countries
  7. Efforts to protect which species created tensions between environmentalists and workers in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s and 1990s?
    a. seals
    b. rainforest mites
    c. iguanas
    d. spotted owls
  8. Which international agreement was created to address the ozone hole in Earth’s atmosphere?
    a. the Montreal Protocol
    b. the Paris Agreement
    c. the UNFCCC
    d. NAFTA
  9. What device made it possible for digital computers to efficiently process large amounts of information without the need for complicated wiring that took up space?
    a. the integrated circuit
    b. the vacuum tube
    c. the BBS
    d. the analog computer
  10. The vaccine developed by Hilary Koprowski was designed to prevent which communicable disease?
    a. smallpox
    b. polio
    c. AIDS
    d. HIV
  11. What was the stated reason for the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003?
    a. to protect Afghanistan
    b. to destabilize Pakistan
    c. to remove WMDs from Iraq
    d. to find Osama bin Laden
  12. What ultranationalist group has arisen in Germany to oppose the immigration of Muslim refugees?
    a. PEGIDA
    b. Order of the Golden Dawn
    c. Kaigi
    d. National Justice Party
  13. Which country experienced the rise of “death squads” during a bloody civil war in the 1980s?
    a. El Salvador
    b. Venezuela
    c. Peru
    d. Ecuador
  14. Countries that experience the resource curse are also more likely to experience what other result?
    a. authoritarianism
    b. economic development
    c. peace
    d. government stability

Check Your Understanding Questions

  1. How has free trade around the world contributed to hardships for workers in developing countries?
  2. What are some of the benefits to companies of regional trading blocs like NAFTA and the EU?
  3. Why have environmentalists faced resistance from workers and other groups?
  4. What effect did microprocessors have on the development of computers and other kinds of technology?
  5. What was a social consequence of the worldwide spread of internet access through smartphones and social media?
  6. What were some of the reasons health organizations were able to eradicate smallpox around the world?
  7. Why did the United States think it was important to secure nuclear weapons in countries like Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus in the 1990s?
  8. What were some of the consequences in Europe of the arrival of refugees from Africa and the Middle East?

Application and Reflection Questions

  1. Do you think NAFTA was beneficial or harmful for the United States economically? Why?
  2. Do you think the benefits of free trade around the world outweigh the costs? Why or why not?
  3. How have humans both caused and suffered from environmental degradation?
  4. Should developing nations be required to limit industrial production to the same extent that developed nations are now being asked to do in order to address environmental issues? Why or why not?
  5. In what ways have computers made life easier and also more difficult? Do you feel we are able to balance these two results of having computers in our lives? Why or why not?
  6. The growth of the internet and social media have been beneficial in many ways. Are there any negative consequences of ease of internet access and widespread reliance on social media? If so, what are they, and how can we mitigate these effects?
  7. Although globalization has increased the speed by which diseases can spread around the globe and promoted collaboration to find treatments for these diseases, access to new medical discoveries remains unequal. How does the unequal application of medical breakthroughs in the developed and developing nations reflect the mixed effects of globalization?
  8. How might the world be different had the United States not invaded Iraq in 2003? Why?
  9. How have the actions of Global North countries contributed to the problems of those in the Global South?

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