JEOPOLİTİK STRATEJİ - Deneme Sınavı - 9

As it historically was, it is still one of the most important interregional trade routes. That is why the states which make up Wider Black Sea, have come together in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation which was established in 1992.

Starting from Roosevelt’s presidency, oil politics gradually shaped the contours of US foreign policy toward oil-rich countries in the region, such as Mexico and Venezuela. Aside from defending the interests of US oil firms, the Roosevelt administration affirmed that it would not hesitate to intervene in the domestic affairs of those countries in order to secure the supply of oil. Thus, the correct answer is D.

Beside economic aid, in April 1961, the Central Intelligence Agency supported a failed attempt by a rebel group to in- vade Cuba, and in 1965, the US Army invaded the Dominican Republic to prevent the country from becoming a second Cuba. Therefore, A is the correct answer.

Cuba pursued an active policy in the Non-Aligned Movement, assuming the presidency for a four-year period. Individual countries, such as Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela, also adopted an active, autonomist foreign policy in the 1970s. Brazil enhanced its ties with Japan and Western Europe; Mexico pursued solidarity with the Arab countries; and Venezuela cooperated with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Thus, E is the correct answer.

In the late 1980s and the early 1990s, global politics witnessed a series of dramatic changes. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the liberation of Eastern Europe all marked an end to the Cold War, ushering in a power shift in the international arena from bipolarity to a “unipolar moment”. By the mid-1990s, the US found itself to be a single hegemon in the Western Hemisphere as well as on a global scale. According to Francis Fukuyama, the “battle of ideas” brought an end to the Cold War and resulted in the triumph of Western political and
economic liberalism over communism. Therefore, B is the correct answer.

Today, whileCentral and Eastern European countries are both
EU and NATO members, and the Balkan states
are either EU and NATO members or on their way
to join both organizations, the remaining nations -
Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus - appear the objects
of geopolitical rivalry between the EU and Russia.

The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) was created through the signing of the Treaty of Asuncion in 1991 between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to design a South American common market. So, C is the correct answer.

Indeed the EU membership covers 28
of more than 40 European nations, while it still
continues to expand its influence well beyond the
European core, “…surrounded by a buffer zone
of a so-called ‘ring of friends’, beyond which lies
a threatening world” (Browning, 2018: 127).

By the mid-2000s, polarisation dominated inter-American relations, and the US’s capacity to exert hegemony in the region significantly decreased. Thus, E is the correct answer.

The restoration of peace in Europe after long centuries
of conflict between European nations was the main
success of the 70 year-long European integration,
and due to this success, the EU was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

Chile built friendly relations with the US and embraced free trade, whereas Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezu- ela were fierce opponents of the US and its free trade policies. Argentina was a heterodox case that pursued developmentalist strategies and a regional autonomist discourse, but it did not confront the US openly. Brazil also made use of a mixed strategy that combined elements of liberalism and developmentalism, and it maintained strained but cordial relations with the US. Right-leaning Colombia was the regional country that adhered the most to the US’s leadership. Hence, A is the correct answer.

The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) is a regional integration project created by Venezuela in 2005 which aims at promoting South– South Cooperation through non-market mechanisms. The correct answer is C.

The Copenhagen Criteria:
Political criteria: democracy, the rule of law,
human rights and respect for and protection
of minorities;

Economic criteria: the existence of a
functioning market economy as well as the
capacity to cope with competitive pressure
and market forces within the Union;

The adoption of the EU acquis: the ability
to take on the obligations of membership.

Over the last two decades, Brazil and Venezuela have increased their prominence as emergent regional powers, partly filling the vacuum created by the decline of US influence in the Western Hemisphere. Thus, D is the right answer.

In the meantime, the Western
Balkan countries - Serbia, Montenegro, Albania
and Bosnia - joined the membership queue starting
from 2009 by officially applying for membership
successively. Of these, Serbia and Montenegro are in
the phase of accession negotiations with the Union
with a prospect of accession around 2025

Partners in EU’s Neighborhood Policy:
ten Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Egypt,
Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco,
Palestinian Authority, Syria and Tunisia) and
six Eastern countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine).

The anti-US, anti-neoliberal leaders, such as Rafael Correa in Ecuador, Evo Morales in Bolivia and Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, have viewed China’s interest in the region as an opportunity to strengthen their national and regional autonomist visions. Also, for Brazil, due to the growing multipolarity in the global economy and BRICSs’ emergence as a strategic alliance of rising powers, China became an important partner in enhancing South–South Cooperation in multilateral institutions such as the WTO as well as relating South America with the Asia-Pacific region. Besides, in 2009, China replaced the US as Brazil’s major trade partner, importing primarily Brazilian soy meal and iron ore. Hence, B is the correct answer.

For example, Central and Eastern European EU
members are desperate to receive further Chinese
investment, while has Italy become the first G-7
country and the only EU member to officially
participate in the Belt and Road project.

The unilateral withdrawal
of the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan
of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, also called the
Iranian nuclear deal, is not welcomed by the EU
and its signatory members, who wish to remain
committed to the deal.