GVPT 282 Midterm EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS 2024/2025
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
The AIIB is a financial institution focused on multilateral development in the Asia-Pacific region. This
bank, with its 17-founding member and other joiners, competes with the IFIs established under the
Bretton Woods System, mainly the World Bank and IMF. As a result, it threatens U.S.'s power to advance
its foreign policy through conditionality for loans. Instead, IFIs may not compete, and this competition
allows developing countries to choose which IFI they prefer to do business with.
Bretton Woods Conference
The Bretton Woods Conference was a gathering of delegates from 44 countries who aimed to arrange the
international monetary system for the post-WWII era. This meeting effectively established modern
financial institutions, including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as IFIs as mechanism to
ensure free trade, open markets, and curb nationalism. It also inspired the later creation of the World
Trade Organization. As it relates to the developing world, the goal of these so-called Bretton Woods
institutions is to provide financial aid to poor nations under certain conditions.
Civil war
Civil war, as defined by the University of Michigan, is a conflict exclusive to one country in which there are
1,000 or more combat-related deaths and each side incurs at least 5% of these deaths. According to
Collier in his book The Bottom Billion, poor (i.e. developing) countries are more prone to civil war.
Furthermore, "civil war is development in reverse." Civil war fuels disease, terrorism, and economic
backsliding. As such, it is a conflict trap. For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is still
embroiled in civil war-like conflicts, is also fighting the spread of Ebola. Based on Collier's research, civil
war leaves a country 15% worse than it was before.
Colonialism
Colonialism is the practice of subjugation by physical and psychological force of one culture by another.
Colonialization resulted in the destruction of indigenous populations' cultures, traditions, and survival.
Colonizers typically moved to the new territory and brought western-style economic and social conditions
that did not fit in the colonies' original way of life. Cash cropping in Africa is one example of how
colonialism not only inhibited development but also led to an "underdevelopment," especially in the post-
colonial world. Cash cropping disrupted local crop production, thereby causing famines and social unrest.
Prior to colonialism, people harvested only what was necessary, but with colonialism, overharvesting
destroyed ecosystems.
Comparative Advantage
Comparative advantage describes the economic theory of trade specialization. In the context of a global
free market system, countries will produce and export the products that they are able to produce the most
, quickly and effectively. This concept aligns with liberalism (i.e. Adam Smith and invisible hand), and it
inspired the ideas of the Washington Consensus that attempted to manage the Latin American debt crisis
in the 1980s.
Conditionality
Conditionality was an outcome of the Washington Consensus and it is the practice of loaning money
based on policy commitments. This means that in exchange for a loan, a country must promise to
complete a policy reform. This was used on Latin American countries during their debt crisis in the 1980s.
Policies included curbing corruption and violence.
Conflict trap
This term was coined by Paul Collier and it refers to the causes that keep poor countries poor. Collier, in
Chapter 2 of his book The Bottom Billion, names civil war as a conflict trap because it is "development in
reverse." Low income, slow growth, and dependence on primary commodity exports creates situations of
hopelessness and despair, which leads young men to join rebel/militia groups. The Democratic Republic
of Congo is currently stuck in a conflict trap as it is rich in natural resources but has suffered years of civil
war and internal conflict.
Dependency Theory
The Dependency theory, or the World Systems theory, rose in response to the Modernization theory. The
Dependency theory argues that nations are divided into "core" and "periphery" states whereby the
"periphery" states export primary commodity goods to the "core" states. This theory blames capitalism
and imperialism as central factors to the underdevelopment of previously colonized countries. For
example, countries in Africa and Latin America are underdeveloped to this day because they were busy
exporting their natural resources to "core" states so that the "core" states could industrialize while the
"periphery" states remained poor. Prior to colonialism, people harvested only what was necessary, but
with colonialism, overharvesting destroyed ecosystems.
Development ladder
The development ladder is a theory that countries must pass through certain stages of advancement in
order to reduce poverty, strengthen economically, and become fully developed. This theory is based on
the ideas of the Modernization theory and Walt Rostow. Rostow highlighted five broad stages through
which developing countries must pass to become modern societies.
Elite colonialism
Elite colonialism, also known as extraction colonialism, was the practice of mining natural resources and
sending it back to the metropole. Examples of countries that served as extraction colonies include Brazil,
the Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, and Ghana. These countries were more likely to end up poor than settlement
colonies because they have no representation in the metropole government and also are slaves.
Emerging donors
Emerging donors describes the countries such as China, India, and Saudi Arabia, that are giving foreign
assistance to developing countries. By providing aid without conditions, these emerging donors are
ANSWERS 2024/2025
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
The AIIB is a financial institution focused on multilateral development in the Asia-Pacific region. This
bank, with its 17-founding member and other joiners, competes with the IFIs established under the
Bretton Woods System, mainly the World Bank and IMF. As a result, it threatens U.S.'s power to advance
its foreign policy through conditionality for loans. Instead, IFIs may not compete, and this competition
allows developing countries to choose which IFI they prefer to do business with.
Bretton Woods Conference
The Bretton Woods Conference was a gathering of delegates from 44 countries who aimed to arrange the
international monetary system for the post-WWII era. This meeting effectively established modern
financial institutions, including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as IFIs as mechanism to
ensure free trade, open markets, and curb nationalism. It also inspired the later creation of the World
Trade Organization. As it relates to the developing world, the goal of these so-called Bretton Woods
institutions is to provide financial aid to poor nations under certain conditions.
Civil war
Civil war, as defined by the University of Michigan, is a conflict exclusive to one country in which there are
1,000 or more combat-related deaths and each side incurs at least 5% of these deaths. According to
Collier in his book The Bottom Billion, poor (i.e. developing) countries are more prone to civil war.
Furthermore, "civil war is development in reverse." Civil war fuels disease, terrorism, and economic
backsliding. As such, it is a conflict trap. For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is still
embroiled in civil war-like conflicts, is also fighting the spread of Ebola. Based on Collier's research, civil
war leaves a country 15% worse than it was before.
Colonialism
Colonialism is the practice of subjugation by physical and psychological force of one culture by another.
Colonialization resulted in the destruction of indigenous populations' cultures, traditions, and survival.
Colonizers typically moved to the new territory and brought western-style economic and social conditions
that did not fit in the colonies' original way of life. Cash cropping in Africa is one example of how
colonialism not only inhibited development but also led to an "underdevelopment," especially in the post-
colonial world. Cash cropping disrupted local crop production, thereby causing famines and social unrest.
Prior to colonialism, people harvested only what was necessary, but with colonialism, overharvesting
destroyed ecosystems.
Comparative Advantage
Comparative advantage describes the economic theory of trade specialization. In the context of a global
free market system, countries will produce and export the products that they are able to produce the most
, quickly and effectively. This concept aligns with liberalism (i.e. Adam Smith and invisible hand), and it
inspired the ideas of the Washington Consensus that attempted to manage the Latin American debt crisis
in the 1980s.
Conditionality
Conditionality was an outcome of the Washington Consensus and it is the practice of loaning money
based on policy commitments. This means that in exchange for a loan, a country must promise to
complete a policy reform. This was used on Latin American countries during their debt crisis in the 1980s.
Policies included curbing corruption and violence.
Conflict trap
This term was coined by Paul Collier and it refers to the causes that keep poor countries poor. Collier, in
Chapter 2 of his book The Bottom Billion, names civil war as a conflict trap because it is "development in
reverse." Low income, slow growth, and dependence on primary commodity exports creates situations of
hopelessness and despair, which leads young men to join rebel/militia groups. The Democratic Republic
of Congo is currently stuck in a conflict trap as it is rich in natural resources but has suffered years of civil
war and internal conflict.
Dependency Theory
The Dependency theory, or the World Systems theory, rose in response to the Modernization theory. The
Dependency theory argues that nations are divided into "core" and "periphery" states whereby the
"periphery" states export primary commodity goods to the "core" states. This theory blames capitalism
and imperialism as central factors to the underdevelopment of previously colonized countries. For
example, countries in Africa and Latin America are underdeveloped to this day because they were busy
exporting their natural resources to "core" states so that the "core" states could industrialize while the
"periphery" states remained poor. Prior to colonialism, people harvested only what was necessary, but
with colonialism, overharvesting destroyed ecosystems.
Development ladder
The development ladder is a theory that countries must pass through certain stages of advancement in
order to reduce poverty, strengthen economically, and become fully developed. This theory is based on
the ideas of the Modernization theory and Walt Rostow. Rostow highlighted five broad stages through
which developing countries must pass to become modern societies.
Elite colonialism
Elite colonialism, also known as extraction colonialism, was the practice of mining natural resources and
sending it back to the metropole. Examples of countries that served as extraction colonies include Brazil,
the Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, and Ghana. These countries were more likely to end up poor than settlement
colonies because they have no representation in the metropole government and also are slaves.
Emerging donors
Emerging donors describes the countries such as China, India, and Saudi Arabia, that are giving foreign
assistance to developing countries. By providing aid without conditions, these emerging donors are
