Geography 4712 Name______________________
Fall 2002 Final Examination
Answer no more than the required number of questions in each section of the exam. Keep your eyes on your own examination. All cases of cheating will be reported. GOOD LUCK.
Short-answer (10 pts each): answer 3 of the following 5 questions.
1. Explain the concept of pseudo-state and list 3 contemporary examples..
2. Contrast a) liberal democracy; b) social democracy; c) illiberal democracy and d) civic (or participatory) democracy. Make sure to specify the characteristics of each.
3. What are the main political-ideological dimensions in Russian? Give the polar (extreme) positions on each of the cleavages that define each dimension. What is the main axis of competition?
4. What are the key elements of the nationalities policies of Stalin’s Soviet Union?
5. What are the three main theories of nationalism? Elaborate one of them.
1. Explain how global recession (“La Conjuncture”) in the Sahelian belt has led to a food crisis in the 1970s. Make sure to bring in world-systems concepts to the answer. (Watts).
2. Select one of the questions on the last page of the examination and answer it using the material presented in lectures and the readings from this semester of Political Geography.
3. Distinguish between Islamo-nationalism and conservative re-Islamisms and give 2 examples of each (Roy)
4. Five political geographies of the future, using Wallerstein’s key institutions of the world-economy (Taylor and Flint, last chapter.)
5. Explain the twin attacks on social capital from Jihad and McWorld (Barber)
6. Define the three elements of geographic context -a) location, b) locale and c) sense of place (Taylor and Flint)
Definitions
Answer 6 of the following 10 definitions; each is worth 5 pts.
1. The crisis of rationality (and example)
2. Gramsci’s theory of hegemony
3. 5 types of border-territorial conflict (using Hypothetica example) and a contemporary example of each.
4. Why is civic engagement so low in contemporary Moscow and other post-Soviet setting?
5. Fordist and post-Fordist production (with an example of each)
6. Why is nationalism an anti-systemic movement? (Taylor and Flint)
7. Define jus sanguinis and jus soli types of citizenship and give 2 examples of each
8. What reasons underlie the “Islamic resurgence”? (Huntington – West unique).
9. Shariah – and give 2 locations of its implementation. (Hefner)
10. contrast thin and thick trust and show the relationship with democracy.
Bonus: (2 or 3 pts depending on your inventiveness). If matrioshka nationalism is nested national identities, what might “Barbie-doll” nationalism represent?
1) What will replace the containment strategy? Is there a Bush Doctrine? Can there be in the post Cold War environment?
2) Are we firmly on the road to the “end of history? Is war passé?
3) Is globalization irreversible? Are opponents routed and disunited? Can challenges be successful?
4) What determines a country’s success or laggard status in the next century?
5) Will democratization trend reach 100%? What kinds of democracy?
6) Will there be a ‘clash of civilizations’, a continuation of balance of power (West versus rest?), or shifting criss-cross alliances, depending on circumstances?
7) Will the West stay together? Will Europe and US drift apart?
8) Will an “Alliance for Democracy” form that will expand NATO’s reach, aims and goals?
9) Will protection of human rights move ahead of sovereignty in US and maybe UN policy? Will there be another Kosovo-like war?
10) Will states continue to form as a result of national liberation struggles? Will post-nationalism flourish?