CHAPTER 1: Democracy In The Contemporary World (Date : 01-03-2019)

Question 1:

With reference to features of “Democracy”, consider the following statements:

Only leaders elected by people should rule the country.
People have the freedom to express views, freedom to organise and freedom to protest.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : C

Explanation

Democracy is a form of government that allows people to choose their rulers.
In a democracy:
- Only leaders elected by people should rule the country. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
- People have the freedom to express views, freedom to organise and freedom to protest. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Question 2:

Consider the following statements:

Martial law is a system of rules that takes effect when a military authority takes control of the normal administration of justice.
A coup d’état is the sudden overthrow of a government illegally.
In communist system, the state controls all the big property and industry.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3 only

Correct Answer : D

Explanation

Coup: A coup d’état or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government illegally. It may or may not be violent in nature. The term is French for 'a sudden blow or strike to a state'. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
Martial law: A system of rules that takes effect when a military authority takes control of the normal administration of justice. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
Communist state: A state governed by a communist party without allowing other parties to compete for power. The state controls all the big property and industry. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Question 3:

Consider the following statement:

Referendum is an Indirect vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal.
Veto is the right which gives unlimited power to stop a decision.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : B

Explanation

Referendum: A direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may be adoption of a new constitution, a law or a specific governmental policy. Hence, statement 1 is NOT correct.
Veto: The right of a person, party or nation to stop a certain decision or law. The word comes from Latin, which means ‘I forbid’. A veto gives unlimited power to stop a decision, but not to adopt one. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Question 4:

Consider the following statements:

Ghana used to be a British colony called Diamond Coast.
It was among the first countries in Africa to gain independence.
Kwame Nkrumah became the first prime minister and then the president of Ghana.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
3 only
1, 2 and 3 only

Correct Answer : B

Explanation

Ghana used to be a British colony named Gold Coast. Hence, statement 1 is NOT correct.
It became independent in 1957. It was among the first countries in Africa to gain independence. It inspired other African countries to struggle for freedom. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
Kwame Nkrumah (pronounced Enkruma), son of a goldsmith and himself a teacher, was active in the independence struggle of his country.
After independence, Nkrumah became the first prime minister and then the president of Ghana. He was a friend of Jawaharlal Nehru and an inspiration for democrats in Africa. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
But unlike Nehru, he got himself elected president for life. Soon after in 1966, he was overthrown by the military.

Question 5:

With reference to Soviet Union, consider the following statements:

The disintegration of the Soviet Union deaccelerated the process of democracy.
Soviet Union broke down in 1991.
All the constituent Republics of Soviet Union emerged as independent countries after its breakup.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
3 only
1, 2 and 3 only

Correct Answer : B

Explanation

The disintegration of the Soviet Union accelerated the process of democracy in 1990s. Hence, statement 1 is NOT correct.
The Soviet Union controlled many of its neighbouring communist countries in Eastern Europe.
Poland and several other countries became free from the control of the Soviet Union during 1989-90. They chose to become democracies.
Finally the Soviet Union itself broke down in 1991. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
The Soviet Union comprised 15 Republics. All the constituent Republics emerged as independent countries. Most of them became democracies. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
Thus the end of Soviet control on East Europe and the break up of the Soviet Union led to a big change in the political map of the world.

Question 6:

Which of the following does not lead to the spread of democracy?

Struggle by the people
Invasion by foreign countries
End of colonialism
People’s desire for freedom

Correct Answer : B

Explanation

Urge towards global democracy comes from people who get more opportunities to come in touch with one another. Over the last few years the people of different countries have come together without their governments’ support. As in the case of democracy within the nations, the initiative for democracy among nations has come from the struggles of the people.
For a very long time most countries in Asia and Africa were colonies under the control of European nations. End of colonialism made democracy flourish in these counties. Foreign countries invaded these countries and them their colonies. Hence, option (b) is correct.
People of the colonised countries had to wage struggles to achieve independence.

Question 7:

Which of the following statements is true about today’s world?

Monarchy as a form of government has vanished.
The relationship between different countries has become more democratic than ever before.
In more and more countries rulers are being elected by the people.
There are no more military dictators in the world.

Correct Answer : C

Explanation

Democracy has been expanding to more and more regions and countries all over the world. Thus, more and more countries are becoming democratic. Hence, option (c) is correct.
By 2016, about 140 countries were holding multi-party elections. This number was higher than ever before.
More than 80 previously non-democratic countries have made significant advances towards democracy since 1980.
But, even today, there are many countries where people cannot express their opinion freely.
They still cannot elect their leaders. They cannot take big decisions about their present and future life.

Question 8:

Democracy in the international organisations requires that:

The rich countries should have a greater say.
Countries should have a say according to their military power.
Countries should be treated with respect in proportion to their population.
All countries in the world should be treated equally.

Correct Answer : D

Explanation

There are many institutions at the world level that perform some of the functions in a democratic way.
The yardstick here is whether each of the countries has free and equal say in the decisions that affect them. Hence, option (d) is correct.
For example: Every one of the 193 member states (as on 1 September 2012) of the United Nation has one vote in the UN General Assembly.
It meets in regular yearly sessions under a president elected from among the representatives of the member countries.
General Assembly is like the parliament where all the discussion takes place.
In that sense the UN appear to be a very democratic organisation.

Question 9:

With reference to International Monetary Fund (IMF), consider the following statements:

International Monetary Fund (IMF) is one of the biggest moneylenders for any country in the world.
Its member states have equal voting rights.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : A

Explanation

International Monetary Fund (IMF) is one of the biggest moneylenders for any country in the world. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
Its 189 member states (as on 12 April 2016) do not have equal voting rights. Hence, statement 2 is NOT correct.
The vote of each country is weighed by how much money it has contributed to the IMF.
More than 40% of the voting power in the IMF is in the hands of only seven countries (US, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy and Canada).
The remaining 182 countries have very little say in how these international organisations take Decisions.

Question 10:

With reference to International Monetary Fund (IMF), consider the following statements:

International Monetary Fund (IMF) is one of the biggest moneylenders for any country in the world.
Its member states have equal voting rights.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : A

Explanation

International Monetary Fund (IMF) is one of the biggest moneylenders for any country in the world. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
Its 189 member states (as on 12 April 2016) do not have equal voting rights. Hence, statement 2 is NOT correct.
The vote of each country is weighed by how much money it has contributed to the IMF.
More than 40% of the voting power in the IMF is in the hands of only seven countries (US, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy and Canada).
The remaining 182 countries have very little say in how these international organisations take Decisions.

Question 11:

Consider the following statements:

In the nineteenth century struggles for democracy often centred round political equality, freedom and justice.
European countries after becoming democratic allowed all people to vote at once.
In the United States of America, the blacks all over the country got the right to vote right after American war of indepence in 18^th century

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 and 2 only
1 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3 only

Correct Answer : B

Explanation

In the nineteenth century struggles for democracy often centred round political equality, freedom and justice. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
One major demand was the right for every adult citizen to vote.
Those struggling for democracy wanted this right granted universally to all adults — men or women, rich or poor, white or black. This is called ‘universal adult franchise’ or ‘universal suffrage’.
Many European countries that were becoming more democratic did not initially allow all people to vote. Hence, statement 2 is NOT correct.
In some countries only people owning property had the right to vote. Often women did not have the right to vote.
In the United States of America, the blacks all over the country could not exercise the right to vote until 1965. Hence, statement 3 is NOT correct.
By 1900 New Zealand was the only country where every adult had voting right.