International organisations

Traps in International organisations

• Picks the wrong country or place
  Learn the place with its distinguishing fact (OPEC HQ: Vienna; founded in Baghdad). Read whether the stem asks where something began or where it is now.
• Confuses international organisations
  ECOWAS: 1975, Lagos treaty, HQ Abuja. OAU: 1963 Addis Ababa → AU 2002. UN: 1945, HQ New York. Commonwealth: former British territories.
• Picks a neighbouring date
  Learn key dates as a timeline with the event attached (1957 Ghana independence; 1960 republic; 1963 OAU). Check the event, not just a familiar year.
• Picks a closely related concept
  Learn related terms as contrasting pairs with one-line definitions, then identify which one the stem describes.
• Assigns the function to the wrong body
  Make a table: body → main function → membership. Match the function in the stem to the body, not the topic area.
• Confuses separation of powers and checks and balances
  Separation of powers (Montesquieu): legislature makes, executive implements, judiciary interprets laws. Checks and balances: each organ limits the others (veto, impeachment, judicial review).
• Confuses electoral systems and bodies
  Franchise = right to vote. First-past-the-post: highest votes wins a constituency. Proportional representation: seats in proportion to votes.
• Misunderstands judicial independence
  Independence is secured by security of tenure, salaries charged on the consolidated fund, appointment through a judicial service commission, and immunity for judicial acts.
• Over-generalises a feature
  Political systems vary; options with all/always/never are usually wrong unless the definition itself is absolute.
• Reverses the principle or its effect
  Ask what problem the principle is meant to solve; the right answer serves that purpose, the reversal defeats it.
• Chooses a true but irrelevant statement
  Test each option against the exact term in the stem, not against whether it is true.