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International Relations: fun facts and quiz
The essentials in 7 ideas, with fun facts, an illustrated story and a quiz to see how much you know.
The essentials
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is how countries talk to each other: through ambassadors, embassies and negotiations, to agree deals and avoid conflict.
Key fact
Embassies are protected under the 1961 Vienna Convention.
The UN Security Council
The UN Security Council has 15 members, including five permanent ones: the US, UK, France, Russia and China, each with a veto.
Key fact
A single permanent member’s veto can block a resolution.
Alliances
Countries form alliances for defence and cooperation. NATO, founded in 1949, commits its members to defend each other if one is attacked.
Key fact
NATO had 32 members by 2024.
Treaties
A treaty is a formal agreement between countries, on anything from borders to climate. The Paris Agreement of 2015 aims to limit global warming.
Key fact
Nearly every country has joined the Paris Agreement.
Sanctions
Sanctions are penalties, like trade bans or frozen assets, that countries use to pressure another government without going to war.
Key fact
Sanctions can target specific people, companies or whole industries.
Soft Power
Soft power is influence through attraction rather than force: culture, films, music, education and values. The global rise of Korean pop culture is a modern example.
Key fact
The term was coined by political scientist Joseph Nye.
Global Groups
Groups like the G7 and G20 bring major economies together to discuss the economy, climate and security. The G20 covers about 85% of world GDP.
Key fact
The African Union joined the G20 in 2023.
Fun facts
A “diplomatic bag” can’t legally be opened or seized, even at a border.
In 1950, the Soviet Union was boycotting the Security Council, so it wasn’t there to veto UN action in Korea.
NATO’s mutual defence clause, Article 5, has been invoked only once: after the attacks of 11 September 2001.
The alliance between England and Portugal, first sealed in 1373, is the oldest still in force.
Around 432 BCE, Athens banned the city of Megara from its markets, one of the sparks of the Peloponnesian War.
Korean dramas and films have made Korean one of the fastest-growing languages for learners worldwide.
The G7 began in 1975 as the G6, before Canada joined.
Story: The Oldest Peace Treaty
The Oldest Peace Treaty
About 1274 BCE, the armies of Egypt and the Hittite Empire clash at Kadesh, in today’s Syria. Both sides claim victory.
Some fifteen years later, Pharaoh Ramesses II and the Hittite king make peace, promising to help each other and send back runaways.
It’s the oldest known peace treaty. A copy of its clay tablet hangs at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
True or false?
Tap your answer to see if you got it, and why.
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Question 1 of 10
Ambassadors represent their country abroad.
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True. Usually from an embassy.
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Question 2 of 10
The UN Security Council has five permanent members.
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True. Each with a veto.
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Question 3 of 10
NATO members pledge to defend each other.
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True. An attack on one counts as an attack on all.
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Question 4 of 10
A treaty is a formal agreement between countries.
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True. Binding under international law.
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Question 5 of 10
Sanctions can include freezing assets.
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True. Blocking access to money abroad.
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Question 6 of 10
Soft power works through attraction, not force.
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True. Winning hearts rather than battles.
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Question 7 of 10
The G20 brings together major economies.
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True. From every continent.
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Question 8 of 10
Diplomacy means solving disputes only by war.
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False. It’s about talking and negotiating.
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Question 9 of 10
Germany is a permanent member of the Security Council.
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False. The five are the US, UK, France, Russia and China.
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Question 10 of 10
NATO was founded in 1999.
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False. In 1949.
Keep going in the app
KnowSoda learns what you know and brings back what you’re about to forget. International Relations has 6 more ideas at the Advanced and Expert levels.
Sources
- United Nations — Security Council
- NATO — Member countries and founding treaty
- UNFCCC — The Paris Agreement
- Joseph S. Nye (2004), Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics
- G20 — About the G20
- United Nations Peacekeeping — History
- UN Office for Disarmament Affairs — NPT; Outer Space Treaty
- OPCW — Chemical Weapons Convention
