UPSC Prelims 2016 · Question 95 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2016 question on Gulf Cooperation Council
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2016
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectInternational Relations
- TopicInternational Relations and Current Affairs
- DifficultyEasy
- TypeDirect
Which of the following is not a member of ‘Gulf Cooperation Council’?
Show answer
Answer: A. Iran
Verdict
The answer is Iran. It is not a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Analysis
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Its full title names Arab states of the Gulf, and Iran is Persian rather than Arab, predominantly Shia rather than Sunni majority governed, and has been the Council's principal strategic rival rather than a member. Iraq, though Arab, is also outside the Council. Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait are all founding members.
Source
The Hindu report on India and Gulf Cooperation Council free trade discussions.
How to crack it
The organisation's full name is the answer, since Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf sets an ethnic and linguistic criterion, and Iran fails it immediately. Reading the expanded title of a regional body rather than its acronym is one of the highest yield habits in international relations questions. Remember the second exclusion too, that Iraq is Arab and on the Gulf but still outside, because that is the natural follow up.
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