22 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in every exam-style shape used in the paper. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markThe collapse of the Soviet bloc put Europe on a fast track and resulted in the establishment of the European Union in:
(A) 1957(B) 1992(C) 1995(D) 2002 - 1 markThe Council of Europe, established in 1949, was another step forward in:
(A) Military integration(B) Monetary union(C) Trade liberalisation(D) Political cooperation - 1 markHow many stars does the European Union flag carry, and what does that number traditionally stand for?
(A) Twelve, the symbol of perfection, completeness and unity(B) Fifteen, one for each founding state(C) Twenty-eight, one for each member(D) Six, the symbol of the six founder countries - 1 markASEAN was established in 1967 by five countries of the region. Which of these was NOT one of them?
(A) Indonesia(B) Malaysia(C) Vietnam(D) Thailand - 1 markWhich document did the five founder countries sign in order to bring ASEAN into being?
(A) The Bangkok Declaration(B) The Jakarta Charter(C) The Manila Accord(D) The Treaty of Rome - 1 markIn which year did ASEAN agree to establish an ASEAN Community comprising three pillars?
(A) 1994(B) 1997(C) 2020(D) 2003 - 1 markThe ASEAN-India Free Trade Area came into effect in:
(A) 2003(B) 2014(C) 2010(D) 1994 - 1 markWho proposed the ‘four modernisations’ in 1973?
(A) Deng Xiaoping(B) Mao(C) Xi Jinping(D) Premier Zhou Enlai - 1 markBy which year had Deng Xiaoping announced the ‘open door’ policy and economic reforms in China?
(A) 1972(B) 1978(C) 1982(D) 1949 - 1 markChina’s accession to the WTO, a further step in its opening to the outside world, took place in:
(A) 2001(B) 1998(C) 1992(D) 1978 - 1 markThe 1962 border conflict between India and China was principally over competing territorial claims in:
(A) Sikkim and the Chumbi valley(B) Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region of Ladakh(C) Tibet and Nepal(D) Kashmir and Punjab
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): The European Union has been able to influence some US policies, such as the US position on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Reason (R): Every member state of the European Union holds a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true but R is false(D) A is false but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): The European Union has its own flag, anthem, founding date and currency.
Reason (R): The attempts to have a Constitution for the EU have failed.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true but R is false(D) A is false but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): There is little desire in ASEAN for supranational structures and institutions.
Reason (R): The respect for national sovereignty is critical to the functioning of ASEAN.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true but R is false(D) A is false but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch the organisation in List I with the year in List II.
List I: (i) OEEC, (ii) Council of Europe, (iii) ASEAN, (iv) ASEAN Regional Forum
List II: (A) 1967, (B) 1994, (C) 1948, (D) 1949
(A) (i)-C, (ii)-D, (iii)-A, (iv)-B(B) (i)-A, (ii)-B, (iii)-C, (iv)-D(C) (i)-D, (ii)-C, (iii)-B, (iv)-A(D) (i)-B, (ii)-A, (iii)-D, (iv)-C
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements about the European Union.
(i) The EU’s combined armed forces are the second largest in the world.
(ii) The EU is the world’s second most important source of space and communications technology.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(A) Only (i)(B) Only (ii)(C) Both (i) and (ii)(D) Neither (i) nor (ii) - 1 markConsider the following statements about India-China trade.
(i) India-China trade has been growing at 30 per cent per year since 1999.
(ii) Bilateral trade between India and China increased from $338 million in 1992 to more than $84 billion in 2017.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(A) Only (i)(B) Only (ii)(C) Both (i) and (ii)(D) Neither (i) nor (ii)
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange the following in the correct chronological order.
(i) Establishment of the EU
(ii) Establishment of the EEC
(iii) China’s accession to the WTO
(iv) Birth of the ARF
(A) (i), (ii), (iv), (iii)(B) (ii), (iii), (i), (iv)(C) (ii), (i), (iv), (iii)(D) (iii), (iv), (ii), (i)
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 mark______ is the organisation of ASEAN that deals with security.
(A) The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)(B) The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community(C) The Bangkok Declaration(D) The ASEAN Dispute Settlement Mechanism
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markThree of these are named by the chapter as costs of China’s economic reforms. Which is the odd one out?
(A) Large foreign exchange reserves(B) Environmental degradation(C) Rising economic inequality between rural and urban residents(D) Corruption
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Unlike the EU there is little desire in ASEAN for supranational structures and institutions. ASEAN countries have celebrated what has become known as the ‘ASEAN Way’, a form of interaction that is informal, non-confrontationist and cooperative. The respect for national sovereignty is critical to the functioning of ASEAN. With some of the fastest growing economies in the world, ASEAN broadened its objectives beyond the economic and social spheres. In 2003, ASEAN moved along the path of the EU by agreeing to establish an ASEAN Community comprising three pillars, namely, the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what is the ‘ASEAN Way’?
(A) The road network connecting the ASEAN members(B) A form of interaction that is informal, non-confrontationist and cooperative(C) The common defence policy of the ASEAN members(D) The lifestyle of the people of Southeast Asia
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 mark(i) The European Union has evolved over time from an economic union to an increasingly political one.
(ii) In the 2016 referendum, 51.9 per cent of voters decided that Britain should exit the EU.
(A) Both statements are true(B) Both statements are untrue(C) (i) is true and (ii) is untrue(D) (i) is untrue and (ii) is true
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (B) The chapter says the collapse of the Soviet bloc ‘resulted in the establishment of the European Union in 1992’, and the timeline dates it exactly: ‘1992 February 7: The Treaty of Maastricht was signed establishing the European Union (EU).’ 1957 is the EEC, 1995 the year Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the EU, and 2002 the year the euro was introduced. (The treaty came into force in November 1993, which is why the CBSE reference note says the EU was ‘founded in 1993’; the NCERT answer is 1992.)
- (D) ‘The Council of Europe, established in 1949, was another step forward in political cooperation.’ The economic side of integration was carried by the OEEC of 1948 and then by the European Economic Community of 1957.
- (A) ‘It has twelve stars, as the number twelve is traditionally the symbol of perfection, completeness and unity.’ The circle of gold stars itself stands for solidarity and harmony between the peoples of Europe.
- (C) The five founders were Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam came later, along with Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR, Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia, whose entry took ASEAN’s strength to ten.
- (A) ‘ASEAN was established in 1967 by five countries of this region … by signing the Bangkok Declaration.’
- (D) ‘In 2003, ASEAN moved along the path of the EU by agreeing to establish an ASEAN Community comprising three pillars, namely, the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.’
- (C) ‘The ASEAN-India FTA came into effect in 2010.’ Before that India had signed trade agreements with three ASEAN members, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
- (D) ‘Premier Zhou Enlai proposed the four modernisations (agriculture, industry, science and technology and military) in 1973.’ Deng Xiaoping is the leader who announced the ‘open door’ policy by 1978.
- (B) ‘By 1978, the then leader Deng Xiaoping announced the open door policy and economic reforms in China. The policy was to generate higher productivity by investments of capital and technology from abroad.’ 1972 is the year China established relations with the United States.
- (A) ‘China’s accession to the WTO in 2001 has been a further step in its opening to the outside world.’ 1998 is the year industry was privatised in China, and 1978 the year Deng Xiaoping announced the ‘open door’ policy.
- (B) ‘China and India were involved in a border conflict in 1962 over competing territorial claims principally in Arunachal Pradesh and in the Aksai Chin region of Ladakh.’ India suffered military reverses, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were downgraded until 1976.
Assertion-Reason
- (C) A is true and is the chapter’s own example of the EU’s political and diplomatic influence. R is false: ‘One member of the EU, France, holds permanent seat on the UN Security Council’, and beyond that the EU only ‘includes several non-permanent members of the UNSC’. It is that presence, not a permanent seat for every member, that gives the EU its leverage.
- (B) Both are in the chapter, in one sentence that sets them against each other: ‘While the attempts to have a Constitution for the EU have failed, it has its own flag, anthem, founding date, and currency.’ The flag and the currency came from the EU acting more as a nation state, so the failure of the constitution is a separate fact standing beside A rather than the cause of it.
- (A) Both statements are the chapter’s own, from the same passage: ‘Unlike the EU there is little desire in ASEAN for supranational structures and institutions’, and ‘The respect for national sovereignty is critical to the functioning of ASEAN.’ R is the correct explanation of A because a supranational institution is, by definition, one whose authority stands above that of its member states. A grouping for which respect for national sovereignty is critical will therefore not want such institutions. That is why the chapter contrasts ASEAN with the EU here.
Match the Following
- (A) The OEEC was established in 1948 under the Marshall Plan; the Council of Europe in 1949; ASEAN in 1967 by the Bangkok Declaration; and the ASEAN Regional Forum in 1994.
Statement-Based Questions
- (C) Both come from the paragraph on military influence: ‘Militarily, the EU’s combined armed forces are the second largest in the world. Its total spending on defence is second after the US … It is also the world’s second most important source of space and communications technology.’
- (C) Both figures are the chapter’s own: ‘With India-China trade growing at 30 per cent per year since 1999, a more positive perspective on relations with China has emerged. Bilateral trade between India and China has increased from $338 million in 1992 to more than $84 billion in 2017.’
Chronological Ordering
- (C) This is the chapter’s own exercise. The EEC was established in 1957, the EU in 1992, the ARF in 1994 and China acceded to the WTO in 2001.
Fill in the Blanks
- (A) This is exercise question 4(e). The book says: ‘The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which was established in 1994, is the organisation that carries out coordination of security and foreign policy.’ The ASEAN Security Community is one of ASEAN’s three pillars, not the organisation the question asks for.
Odd One Out
- (A) Large foreign exchange reserves are listed among the gains: they ‘now allow it to make big investment in other countries’. The costs the chapter names are unemployment, poor female employment and conditions of work, environmental degradation, corruption and the rise in economic inequality between rural and urban residents and coastal and inland provinces.
Passage-Based Questions
- (B) The passage defines it exactly so, and adds that the respect for national sovereignty is critical to the functioning of ASEAN. The other three options are the distractors the NCERT exercise itself uses at question 2.
True / False
- (A) Both are the chapter’s own. The first is its summary of the EU’s development, and the timeline records: ‘2016: Referendum in Britain, 51.9 per cent voters decide that Britain exit (Brexit) from the EU.’
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