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Subjects · Leaving Cert Politics & Society

Leaving Cert Politics & Society: West, non-West & cosmopolitanism

How often West, non-West & cosmopolitanism comes up on the Politics & Society papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 4 of the last 7 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2024.

OL Asked on 2 of the last 7 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2019.

West, non-West & cosmopolitanism, Higher Level(7 marks)

Quick ones on West, non-West & cosmopolitanism.

(a)In Orientalism (1978), what did Edward Said argue the West had done?
  1. Learned to see the East accurately through scholarship
  2. Portrayed the East as backward to justify power
  3. Adopted Eastern values and customs wholesale
(b)What did Samuel Huntington predict would drive major conflict after the Cold War?
  1. Wars over political ideology
  2. Conflict between social classes
  3. Clashes between civilisations
(c)Which is a common criticism of Huntington's clash of civilisations thesis?
  1. It treats civilisations as fixed, uniform blocs
  2. It says that all conflict will end after the Cold War
  3. It ignores culture and religion completely
Show the answers

(a) Portrayed the East as backward to justify power

(b) Clashes between civilisations

(c) It treats civilisations as fixed, uniform blocs

Your turn: Higher Level questions on West, non-West & cosmopolitanism.

Higher Level

Asked on 4 of the last 7 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2024.

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Not asked
2024Q1m
2023Not asked
2022Q3a
2021Q5
2019Not asked
2018Q5a, Q5b

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More West, non-West & cosmopolitanism questions

West, non-West & cosmopolitanism, 2 marks

Which region did Edward Said mainly focus on in Orientalism?

  1. Latin America and the Caribbean
  2. West Africa and the Sahel region
  3. The Middle East and the Arab world
Show the answer

The Middle East and the Arab world

Said studied how Western scholars, writers and officials portrayed the Arab and Muslim world as exotic and backward, supporting imperial rule.

West, non-West & cosmopolitanism, 2 marks

Which of these did Huntington identify as a major civilisation?

  1. Mediterranean
  2. Islamic
  3. Celtic
Show the answer

Islamic

Huntington's civilisations included Western, Islamic, Sinic (Chinese), Hindu, Orthodox, Latin American and Japanese, defined mainly by religion and culture.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 2 of the last 7 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2019.

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Not asked
2024Not asked
2023Not asked
2022Not asked
2021Not asked
2019Q1i, Q5
2018Q7

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More West, non-West & cosmopolitanism questions

West, non-West & cosmopolitanism, 2 marks

Which thinker wrote 'Orientalism', about how the West pictured the East?

  1. Samuel Huntington
  2. Benedict Anderson
  3. Edward Said
Show the answer

Edward Said

Said (1978) argued the West portrayed the East as backward, irrational and exotic, and so saw itself as rational and civilised. That image helped justify empire.

West, non-West & cosmopolitanism, 2 marks

Samuel Huntington predicted future conflicts would mainly be between what?

  1. Rival trade unions competing for the same members
  2. Major civilisations with different cultures and religions
  3. Social classes within each country fighting over wealth and power
Show the answer

Major civilisations with different cultures and religions

In The Clash of Civilizations (1993, book 1996) Huntington said the main divides after the Cold War would be cultural. Critics, including Said, say this treats cultures as fixed blocs.

West, non-West & cosmopolitanism, 2 marks

Kwame Anthony Appiah argues for cosmopolitanism. What is it?

  1. Seeing ourselves as citizens of the world with duties to all
  2. Living only in large cities rather than the countryside
  3. Keeping every culture strictly apart so that none of them changes
Show the answer

Seeing ourselves as citizens of the world with duties to all

Appiah's rooted cosmopolitanism keeps local loyalties while caring about all humans and learning through conversation across differences. He rejects the idea that cultures are pure.

Other Politics & Society topics

All of Leaving Cert Politics & Society