Global-Politics Question and Answer-Plans

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IB Global politics Questions & Answer plans
12- mark questions
Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

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Examine the benefits of cultural globalisation [12]

 One benefit of cultural globalisation is the press of liberal democracy. This means that an
increasing number of states would move towards a common ground on political ideas,
including things like human rights, individualism, democracy and liberalism. For example, when
the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, these cultural
ideas about politics spread rapidly from Western to Eastern Europe.
 Many countries are adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights due to the spread of
liberal views. This has benefited individuals as they can have their views heard, emphasizing
freedom. This has benefited the state as there’s more political stability with liberal democracy. This
has improved interstate relations as countries are moving towards liberal ideas-easier for them to co-
operate as their views aren’t differing. Eg. End of Cold War-Germany no longer communist.
Germany has now been able to work with other western countries. E.g. G7, and G20 so also
helps worldly relations.
 This has allowed revolutions in places such as the Middle East – with the Arab spring in 2011
helping citizens, and allowing them to gain freedom of expression.
 Another benefit of cultural globalisation is the increased possibility of co-existence and

peace between cultures. This is increasingly important in a multicultural modern society when
many states no longer correlate neatly with a ‘cultural nation’ and people with different ways
of life/beliefs/behaviors have to coexist. The blending of different cultures inherently
enriches the human experience .e.g. London, NYC, Singapore are seen to be more tolerant cities
due to the sheer mass of culture incorporated in those societies e.g chain stores such as Taco Bell,
halal food carts etc. is the beginning of integration.
 This benefits many social groups as they don’t have to worry about discrimination as much as
before as countries are more accepting of different cultures – e.g places where there are more
immigrants, including inner cities tend to be more tolerant and understanding.
-13 Marks Questions

Examine the criticisms made of cultural globalisation [13]
 Some of the criticisms made of cultural globalisation is that it’s actually Westernization,
more specifically Americanization. Cultural globalisation is seen by some to be an unequal
process – not cultures blending together and sharing their ‘best parts’, but primarily of a
dominant culture being imposed over all others. Historically, this dominant culture has
been Western culture, or more specifically American culture in the late 20th/21st century –

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Hollywood dominates the film industry E.g. Transnational co-operations such as Starbucks or
McDonald’s are spreading American culture. American transnational co-operations are seen
more globally than companies from any other countries. This is negative as it means most
societies are becoming more American-cultures aren’t blending due to globalisation, but
adopting American ideals.
 Westernization can be seen in the brand fair & lovely-people with darker skin tones are being
encouraged to bleach their skin-this means cultures aren’t blending as its seen as a negative thing to
have dark skin and a positive thing to have fairer skin. Overall, the criticism of cultural
globalisation is that it makes nations lose their own culture
 Another criticism of cultural globalisation is the clash of civilizations thesis which argues that
cultural globalisation leads to more conflict. Arguably some cultures are mutually exclusive, such
as Western values and traditional Islamic values of individuals. Power is a zero-sum game.
 In Huntington’s view, civilizations are therefore bound to ‘clash’. This may happen along fault-lines
between civilizations, or it may happen where a civilization tries to impose its values on
another civilization, leading to an inevitable backlash. According to Huntington, the majority
of modern conflicts can be understood in this way, for example: India v Pakistan conflicts (Hindu v
Islamic) which has escalated following the Kashmir terrorist attack - ‘War on Terror’ – both ways
(Islamic v Western) Mohammad Ata a fighter felt a clash between the Muslim world and newly
promoted values in society, with the use of red light districts – Crimea as an example of Russia
moving against Western standards

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12- marks question
Examine the benefits of economic globalisation [12]

 Economic globalisation can be defined as the increasing integration of national and regional
economies. This means there would be an increase in goods, services, Labour etc. over borders. A
benefit of economic globalisation is greater quality of goods and services. There would be a
significant rise in trade between nation states-greater availability and quality of goods. They
would also be generally cheaper across the world, e.g importing bananas is relatively cheap
 This would be the case because countries who are fit to make a good would create it –
countries who
specialize in certain goods, such as the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and car parts in Britain
can trade with countries who don’t have similar infrastructure.
 There would be an increase in exchange of services-eg. Holidays-Someone in the UK would have
the choice of going to Malaga on holiday instead of staying in their own country
 Another benefit of economic globalisation is a reduction in poverty. Economic globalisation

means that transnational corporations often shift or outsource many aspects of their
manufacturing or production to the developing world. This provides more job opportunities,
improves infrastructure and generates wealth. For example, virtually all of Vietnamese workers
employed by TNCs are in the top 20% of the country’s earners – causes a rise in living
standards and boosts a country’s demand
 As well as the economic opportunities provided by integration into a global economy, advances
in knowledge and technology can be lowered in price and rapidly transmitted to the developing
world in a globalized economy. For example, mobile phones and the internet have led to a massive
growth in online banking in sub-Saharan Africa, which in turn has reduced poverty in rural areas –
pay-as-you-go or lycamobile sims also available in less developed countries such as India
 Economic globalisation is creating a supranational state/interconnectedness – e.g tariffs are

effecting the American economy – facing repercussions of globalisation – EU started off as
the EEC with Germany and France but now has 28 observer states, including members with their
own international courts and European Commission – the EU sovereignty over domestic law
through the ECJ – WTO as a section of the UN, which aims to reduce tariffs and barriers
between countries, allowing the transfer of capital and goods – IMF requires deregulation
before regulation – capitalism = freedom also adapted to exchange rates in 1971 to focus on
debt reduction and development after communism – adopting similar economic systems, world
Bank educated people
Examine the criticisms made of economic globalisation [12]

 One criticism of economic globalisation is that it has resulted in rising inequality within states.

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Although globalisation has raised the GDP of developing states as a whole, the spread of wealth
within states has been very uneven. In developing states, the statistical evidence suggests that
economic globalisation benefits mainly: male/urban populations.
 In developed states, ‘modern’ sectors of the economy may benefit, but areas which formerly
relied heavily on manufacturing (like the North of England, or the ‘Rust Belt’ in the USA) are
likely to suffer because of economic globalisation as they are less likely to experience the
benefits – closed manufacturing facilities in the England and USA, focus on financial sector –
Northern Coal Mines have become redundant following the outsource of foreign goods
 Economic growth in Saudi, mainly due to SAUDI ARAMCO has benefit the male/urban population
as there is existing poverty/human rights abuses that aren’t picked up on by states due to the need
for oil by the West – women rights/worker rights are non-existent.
 Another criticism made of economic globalisation is that it causes ecological destruction.

Economic globalisation has essentially created something approximating a global capitalist
economy. Because capitalism is driven by the profit motive, producers seek to lower their costs
of production and sell as much as possible, so this may encourage ecological destruction.
 This can lead to corporations:

o Moving production to countries with lax environmental regulations. This can lead to
widespread local pollution (e.g. mining Congo – runoff from toxic chemicals to purify
cobalt)
o Extracting resources at an unsustainable rate to satisfy demand (e.g. 60% of deforestation
for cattle ranches in the Amazon)

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o As a result of greenhouse gases being generated by industry, climate change raises global
temperatures and damages the environment as a whole (rising sea levels, desertification
and food shortages).
 California fires/flooding in Bangladesh/ The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have
decreased in mass. Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show
Antarctica lost about 119 from 1993-2016. Antarctica ice mass loss has tripled in last
decade.
 TNCS exploit other countries workers and conditions:

• There may be poor conditions in countries such as Guatemalan, TNCs take advantage
of this and so the republic only produces bananas – central American banana republics
– specialize in one good so there is no development of other infrastructure, and will
face a depletion of resources too
• Causes financial crises to spread all over the world: the GFC caused Western countries
to also face a recession, and the Asian FC spread in 1997 from Thailand, the
interconnectedness experiences th downfall in the economy.
12-Marks Questions
Examine the benefits of political globalisation [12]
 One benefit of political globalisation is the spread of positive legislation while countries work
together to make world improvements. This can lead to important, needed, changes in society.
 Many problems in the modern world are global problems and therefore cannot be solved by a
single state in isolation. Examples of this may include: Climate change, terrorism and workers’
rights – the IPCC is an intergovernmental panel on climate change, with over 195 members
currently makes regular reports on climate change and has successfully established a global
consensus on the issue; UNFCCC also meet up, as seen by the Kyoto protocol and Paris in 2015.
United Nations also upholds the human rights charter, which includes guaranteeing fundamental
human rights, and promotes cooperation in giving the fundamental freedoms to individuals.
 One other benefit of political globalisation is that it allows NGOs to solve issues and global
problems through direct intervention in those areas. For example, Jubilee 2000 was a
movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of third world debt by the year 2000.
PM Blair publicly expressed his personal support for, and dedication to, debt forgiveness, this
was also influenced by the millennium development goals. Later a promise from the US in
1999 to cancel 100% of the debt that qualifying countries owed the U.S. was attributed in
part to the influence of the campaign. Amnesty, has more than seven million members and
supporters around the world. Amnesty draws attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for

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compliance with international laws and standards – helped with the release of Ahed Tamimi in
2018 after being imprisoned for 8 months for attacking an IDF.
 Another criticism of political globalisation is that its dominated by larger states:

Another potential downside of political globalisation is that the institutions and programmes
established across and between nation-states to solve global problems do not really do this (or at
least do not provide equitable solutions). Instead, those institutions and programmes are
dominated by more powerful states, which use political globalisation to extend and entrench
their influence.
 The United Nations gives a VETO to five permanent members: China, France, Russia, United Kingdom,
and United States which allows these countries to dominate larger institutions, for example the US
has vetoed many resolutions to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, VETOing 43 resolutions
against Israel by the United Nations
 International courts now have universal jurisdiction too, which also help solve war crimes:
Nuremberg trials after the defeat of Nazi Germany took place in 1945/6, key Nazi figures
such as Goering were trailed and faced capital punishment – condemned to be executed –
Yugoslavia tribunals in 1993 also took place to deal with too – more effort is put into ensuring
human rights – Major in 1991 created the initiative of no-fly zines which benefit the Kurdish
population
 The international court of justice includes countries that have signed the Rome Statute (123
countries) – effective in these countries only (leaves out the US and some others)
 Thomas Lubanga abducated boys and girls under 15 to fight in DPRCs wars, so they wanted to
give him 30 years, but would reduce his sentence if he gave an apology – girls taken as sex
slaves and boys beaten in camps – 60,000 killed in the conflicts between the Hema and Lendu
peoples in that area

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 Dominic Ongwen was feared leader of the LRA, as a cult, blamed for 100,000 deaths and
60,000 children in Northern Uganda – child soldier and believed to have been abducted at 9 years
old – both a perpetrator and a victim of the system – 9/10 cases have been African cases???
12-mark question
Examine the criticisms made of political globalisation [12]
 One criticism of political globalisation is that it causes a loss in sovereignty for states; some
nation- states would argue that by delegating power to global political institutions, their
states have lost sovereignty as even being compelled to accept some decisions, even if most
decisions are still made by the nation-state’s government, means that they do not have
‘absolute’ power. This is seen as a slippery slope to a complete loss of power.
 IMF has criteria countries must meet before they’re given help – they are provided on the basis
of conditionality, which means that the IMF will typically insist that the borrower nation engage in
economic reforms – usually aligning with capitalist values they have – deregulate
 Brexit 2016 campaign won, partially on the basis that the EU infringes on British sovereignty
due to the role of European courts – EU infringes on sovereignty.
 Another criticism of political globalisation is that its dominated by larger states; a downside of
political globalisation is that the institutions and programmes established across and between
nation-states to solve global problems do not really do this (or at least do not provide equitable
solutions). Instead, those institutions and programmes are dominated by more powerful
states, which use political globalisation to extend and entrench their influence.
 The United Nations gives a VETO to five permanent members: China, France, Russia, United
Kingdom, and United States which allows these countries to dominate larger institutions, for
example the US has vetoed many resolutions to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, VETOing
43 resolutions against Israel by the United Nations – regardless of their human rights abuses
 Arguably the European Union is also dominated by Germany, who contribute under a quarter
of the budget (in 2014) and continue to contribute the most – so are the most dominant power
within the Union – dictate meetings and decisions which is unfair.
 NATO/world bank/IMF are the biggest contributors so have the biggest decision making power
and can threaten to withdraw from it – puts other at risk – also to restrict growth in countries
they don’t they don’t like, including Turkey – which.
Examine the impacts of globalisation on the state system [12]

 One impact of political globalisation on states is that it causes a loss in sovereignty; some nation-
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states would argue that by delegating power to global political institutions, their states have lost
sovereignty as even being compelled to accept some decisions, even if most decisions are still
made by the nation- state’s government, means that they do not have ‘absolute’ power. This is seen
as a slippery slope to a complete loss of power.
economic reforms – usually aligning with capitalist values
 Brexit 2016 campaign won, partially on the basis that the EU infringes on British sovereignty
due to the role of European courts – Germany dominates EU – creation of the EU means the
share similar policy and the use of the Euro has integrated all countries in to one. G20 dominated
by larger powers too, IMF and NATO.
 One impact of economic globalisation is that it allows for external influences to become more
prominent in different areas through the use of NGOS; laws sometimes passed in favour of TNCs,
e.g Nigeria, in other places it makes up a large proportion of employment - Vietnamese workers
employed by TNCs are in the top 20% of the country’s earners so legislation must be in their
favour
 Nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) are those that are established to deal with global issues but
that do not involve states. When referring to NGOs, we usually are referring to non-state and non-
profit organisations, rather than for-profit organisations like corporations.
 It is currently estimated that there are currently around 6000 NGOs in the world (depending on
the precise definition that is used) so have the ability to influence states - Examples of NGOs
include: Human rights: Amnesty International – have abolished the death penalty, environmental
NGO include Greenpeace – some are positive and others less so – education

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Examine the significance of globalisation with regards to international law [12]

 Countries may decide to completely ignore international law, and decide to do as they please:
Iraq invasion condemned by the U.N. Secretary General Kofe Anan – dons without U.N.
authorisation, so the nation states still act as they prefer, regardless of any attempted limits on
their actions
 Israel has committed human rights abuses in Palestine against International law, yet countries such
as the US still do not care about this – 43 times they have VETOed any condemnations on Israeli
actions – US prison camps in Guantanamo Bay has been open since 2002, 779 men have been
put in the camp on the basis of terrorism – Obama promised to shut the camp down but didn’t
– 40 prisoners.
 Hungary workers’ rights – Orban didn’t follow the recommendations of the U.N either, even
though the UN Charter specifically prohibits human rights abuses – these aren’t necessarily
followed – goes against the Universal declaration of Human rights - ICJ- China human rights abuses
overlooked - they have a VETO! – No intervention when it comes to upholding international
human rights
 Chechnya is an example of human rights violations – as they are putting gay people in concentration
camps, and Russia is supporting their action against people.
 Realists argue that states act in a self-interested way and aren’t concerned about the negative
repercussions – they only co-operate within an international system if it benefits them.
 International courts now have universal jurisdiction too, which also help solve war crimes:
Nuremberg trials after the defeat of Nazi Germany took place in 1945/6, key Nazi figures such as
Goering were trailed and faced capital punishment – condemned to be executed – Yugoslavia
tribunals in 1993 also took place to deal with too – more effort is put into ensuring human
rights – Major in 1991 created the initiative of no-fly zines which benefit the Kurdish
population
 The international court of justice includes countries that have signed the Rome Statute (123
countries) – effective in these countries only (leaves out the US and some others)
 Thomas Lubanga abducated boys and girls under 15 to fight in DPRCs wars, so they wanted to
give him 30 years, but would reduce his sentence if he gave an apology – girls taken as sex slaves
and boys beaten in camps – 60,000 killed in the conflicts between the Hema and Lendu peoples
in that area
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60,000 children in Northern Uganda – child soldier and believed to have been abducted at 9 years
old – both a perpetrator and a victim of the system – 9/10 cases have been African cases???
Examine the causes of globalisation [12]

One cause of globalisation is the rising speed and frequency of communication:
 Mass communication is virtually instantaneous is now available to billions of people, who can use
the internet smartphones, and access the latest news 24 hours a day. This is possible in countries
which aren’t particularly economically developed, like India, using apps like
WhatsApp/Facebook/Viber allow for the rapid dissemination of information – china has their
own version called Weybo
 The cost of internet usage has fallen precipitously as better fibre-optic and satellite technology
has been developed, and private companies compete to provide services. Higher availability of
news and information, may aid the process of democratisation in autocratic countries where official
channels do not provide critical accounts of the government – communication through
entertainment
 The growth in the speed and affordability of communications has also allowed groups to
leverage social media for ‘good’ or ‘bad’ outcomes; ISIS widely used the internet to transmit
its brutal propaganda/execution videos, as well as to recruit new followers – grooming
 The Arab Spring protests across North Africa and the Middle East in 2011 were largely
organized through Twitter, and global pressure on Arab dictators was increased by clips of army
and police atrocities being shared and going viral.
Another cause of globalisation is changes in the speed and cost of transport:

 In 1800 it would have taken over two months for a ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean with its
cargo. The development of cheap steam power today, oil/gas-based engines mean a ship can make
the journey in less than four days. A plane can probably make the journey from the UK to the USA
in about five hours in good conditions. This has also become much cheaper due to greater
availability of technology and competing private companies.
 This means it is no longer prohibitive for individuals to travel, or move goods en-masse. Goods can
be produced in one part of the world and shipped to another in a matter of days – for example,
most flowers that you see in supermarkets in the UK have been grown in East Africa, in countries
like Kenya and Tanzania, freshly cut, and shipped over to the UK.

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 This allows the flow of factors of production easily, leading to economic unions such as the EU
which can function better with the cheap labour transport costs/movement of labour and
capital and may eventually allow political integration too, aiding globalisation further –
common markets
 Trade agreements such as within the Commonwealth also indicate Britain able to maintain
economic relations with former colonies that benefits relations and increases the likelihood of
cultural globalisation as countries have a comparative advantage/absolute advantage in.
Evaluate the extent to which globalisation has eroded the nation-state [25]
No- States are independent from global institutions even though they remain part of it, they don’t necessarily
follow decisions made by these institutions:
 Iraq invasion condemned by the U.N. Secretary General Kofe Anan – dons without U.N.
their actions.
though the UN charter specifically prohibits human rights abuses – these aren’t necessarily
followed
repercussions – they only co-operate within an international system if it benefits them.
 Rome statute/ICJ not binding for countries ICJ said the US sanctions on Iran went against the
Amity treaty 1955
However: Sanctions can be imposed on countries if they refuse to listen, for example, sanctions were
placed on South Africa from 1986-94 in order to end the apartheid regime – this caused inflation to rise
by 15% as well as capital flight – which threatened the Government severely – NATO was forced
intervention in Libya
No – cultural globalisation is limited; the traditions of a nation state have been preserved:
 Brexit, the traditions are being maintained still, a vote to keep British culture, in 2016 – 48
—52% split in the vote, a vote for British sovereignty and to keep away any changed to British
culture – Enoch Powells’ “rivers of blood speech”, is an example of the existent patriotism and
culture countries keep regardless of immigration
 Culture in different European countries has also remained distinct regardless of the union and
links between countries that should have in theory, made European culture into one single type
of culture – therefore it is limited
However: Americanization has arguably been the modern from globalisation due to America’s position as
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the global hegemon – American stores such as McDonald’s, singers such as Michael Jackson etc. E.g.
Westernization - skin whitening in India/Africa; spread of media (film, TV, music); food - Starbucks,
McDonalds; liberal democratic values have become much more widespread - such as Eastern Europe post-
Berlin Wall/Cold War
Yes – international institutions infringe on state sovereignty:

 Some nation-states would argue that by delegating power to global political institutions, their
economic reforms – usually aligning with capitalist values e.g elimination of price controls
 A loss in sovereignty can be seen by the use of NATO, where the American general has the
ability to command the European armies – e.g Kosovo war this was done without consent.
Yes – economic interdependence allows for external influences to become more prominent in different
areas – NGOS in the economy:
 Laws sometimes passed in favour of external influences, which become more prominent in
different areas through the use of NGOS; laws sometimes passed in favour of TNCs, e.g
Nigeria, in other places it makes up a large proportion of employment - Vietnamese workers
employed by TNCs are in the top 20% of the country’s earners so legislation must be in
their favour – ecological damages
 Nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) are those that are established to deal with global issues but
that do not involve states. When referring to NGOs, we usually are referring to non-state and non-
profit organisations, rather than for-profit organisations like corporations – the Cambridge Analytica
influenced elections through targeted adverts in the UK – caused Brexit – TNCS have vast power;
Amazon, Starbucks, Google evade tax – they often pride the bedrock of economic growth – approx.
70% of the economy is global trade
 It is currently estimated that there are currently around 6000 NGOs in the world (depending on
the precise definition that is used) so have the ability to influence states - Examples of NGOs
include: Human rights: Amnesty International – have abolished the death penalty, environmental
NGO include Greenpeace – some are positive and others less so like NIKE sweatshops
Yes – humanitarian interventions by global institutions eroded sovereignty:

 Afghanistan war in 2001 - The U.S. was initially supported by the United Kingdom, Canada, and
Australia and later by a coalition of over 40 countries, including all NATO members. The war's
public aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda and to deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by
removing the Taliban from power. The War in Afghanistan is the longest war in United States
history and has led to further instability in the region – bombed civilians by accident (mistook for
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terrorism bases) – bombing of a wedding in 2008 after they though it was Taliban meeting
 Libyan Civil War of 2011, after Gaddafi followed the principles set out on the green book, and
was part of the Arab Jamahiriya party, which was essentially an oppressive dictatorship – NATO
intervened which infringed on state sovereignty – and although Gaddafi was later executed under
Iraqi law, they still intervened – anarchy in Libya as a result – left without a leader
 First Gulf War – The UN security council therefore passed a resolution demanding that Iraq
withdraw from Kuwait after Saddam Hussein invaded for oil, by January 1991, and empowering
states to use ‘all necessary means’ to force Iraq out. Immediately after the expiry of the deadline, a
coalition of 35 nations led by the United States launched an attack on Iraq using aerial and
naval bombing and a ground assault, which forced Iraqi forces out of Kuwait within five weeks –
but this infringed on Iraq’s sovereignty – he invaded Kuwait and mass extermination

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Evaluate the view that globalisation has caused more problems than it has solved [25]
No – One benefit of political globalisation is that it allows NGOs and other instituions to solve issues and
global problems through direct intervention in those areas, to solve problems:
 For example, Jubilee 2000 was a movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of
third world debt by the year
2000. PM Blair publicly expressed his personal support for, and dedication to, debt forgiveness,
this was also influenced by the millennium development goals. Later a promise from the US in
1999 to cancel 100% of the debt that qualifying countries owed the U.S. was attributed in part
to the influence of the campaign. Amnesty, has more than seven million members and
supporters around the world.
 Amnesty draws attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international
laws and standards – helped
with the release of Ahed Tamimi in 2018 after being imprisoned for 8 months for attacking an
IDF soldier – allows progression and development in these communities; good.
 The World Bank has worked with the Arab league to reduce female unemployment and
increase their economic participation,
they also expanded electricity and have provided power supplies to rural areas in Tanzania.
However: this may translate into power for TNCs too - Laws sometimes passed in favour of external
influences, which become more prominent in different areas through the use of NGOS; laws sometimes
passed in favour of TNCs, e.g Nigeria, in other places it makes up a large proportion of employment -
Vietnamese workers employed by TNCs are in the top 20% of the country’s earners so legislation must be
in their favour. Unfair! Crash crops – World Bank loans like in Cameroon – coco beans, and coffee
in Ethiopia is purely for exports – developing countries are dependent markets and TNCs – Nestle –
CEO claimed access to water is not a human right – World Bank loans used by corrupt Governments –
2016 officials in Kabul embezzled £700m in aid – Robert McGarvey of Zimbabwe embezzled
money
No - One benefit of cultural globalisation is the press of liberal democracy. This means that an increasing
number of states would move towards a common ground on political ideas, including things like human
rights, democracy and liberalism:
 For example, when the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union collapsed in the early
1990s, these cultural ideas about politics spread rapidly from Western to Eastern Europe.
liberal views. This has benefited individuals as they can have their views heard, emphasizing
freedom. This has benefited the state as there’s more political stability with liberal democracy.
This has improved interstate relations as countries are moving towards liberal ideas-easier for
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them to co-operate as their views aren’t differing. Eg. End of Cold War-Germany no longer
communist. Germany has now been able to work with other western countries. Eg. G7, and
G20 so also helps worldly relations.
helping citizens, and allowing them to gain freedom of expression
However: this also allows influences from the global hegemon – which has arguably become the US in the
21st century - American stores such as McDonald’s, singers such as Michael Jackson etc; erodes other
cultures.
Yes – Another criticism of cultural globalisation is the clash of civilizations thesis which argues that cultural
globalisation leads to more conflict. Arguably some cultures are mutually exclusive, such as Western
values and traditional Islamic values of individuals:
 In Huntington’s view, civilisations are therefore bound to ‘clash’. This may happen along fault-
lines between civilisations, or it may happen where a civilisation tries to impose its values on
another civilisation, leading to an inevitable backlash. According to Huntington, the majority of
modern conflicts can be understood in this way.
 For example, India v Pakistan conflicts (Hindu v Islamic) partition since the 40s has caused an
ongoing clash between the two powers – which translated into cricket competition over the years,
but has escalated following the Kashmir terrorist attack – the BJP is openly anti-Muslim too
 ‘War on Terror’ – both ways (Islamic v Western) Mohammad Ata a fighter felt a clash between
the Muslim world and newly promoted values in society, with the use of red light districts,
prompting the attack on the World Trade Centre on 9/11
Yes – Another criticism of political globalisation is that it’s dominated by larger states:
 A downside of political globalisation is that the institutions and programmes established across
and between nation-states to solve global problems do not really do this (or at least do not
provide equitable solutions). Instead, those institutions and programmes are dominated by
more powerful states, which use political globalisation to extend and entrench their influence.
Kingdom, and United States which allows these countries to dominate larger institutions, for
example the US has vetoed many resolutions to do with the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, VETOing
43 resolutions against Israel by the United Nations – regardless of their human rights abuses
 Arguably the European Union is also dominated by Germany, who contribute under a quarter
of the budget (in 2014) and continue to contribute the most – so are the most dominant power
within the Union – dictate meetings and decisions

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history and has led to further instability in the region

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intervened which infringed on state sovereignty – and although Gaddafi was later executed uner
Iraqi law, they still intervened
naval bombing and a ground assault, which forced Iraqi forces out of Kuwait within five weeks
– but this infringed on Iraq’s sovereignty.
Evaluate the view that the skeptical perspective on globalisation is an exaggeration

[25]
[Skeptical – no interdependence or action]

Sceptics believe that most of globalisation is a myth and argue that the so called integrated global
economy is a myth. In reality, regional, national and local economies are more significant. Sceptics also
argue that international trade and capital flows are not a new phenomenon
Agree: The skeptical perspective on globalisation is an exaggeration because aspects like economic globalisation
has led to a reduction in poverty:
 Economic globalisation means that transnational corporations often shift or outsource many
aspects of their manufacturing or production to the developing world. This provides more job
opportunities, improves infrastructure and generates wealth.
 For example, virtually all of Vietnamese workers employed by TNCs are in the top 20% of the
country’s earners – showing globalisation to be a force for good
 They also develop infrastructure in developing countries, as seen through the Chinese
infrastructure spending on the silk road initiative; and have allowed BRICS nations to progress
as the population becomes richer through earnings of exports
However: Economic globalisation has contributed to poverty. With the transfer of jobs to low cost
countries eg. Outsourcing call centres to India or the production of clothing to the Far East or countries
like Bangladesh away from Europe and the USA-unemployment can occur in countries that lose these
industries. Many developing countries may be reluctant to increase their minimum wage or impose a
high minimum wage as they may fear causing problems for their economy eg. TNCs set production in
countries with cheap labour, if wages in those countries rise then TNCs may set their production elsewhere.
This means that low wages and poverty may persist in developing countries.
Yes: The skeptical perspective on globalisation may be considered an exaggeration because of the global
institutions that have been made to solve problems-this has come from political globalisation;
 Interpol (the International Criminal Police Organisation) cooperates between national police forces
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to deal
with global crime like the drug trade, modern slavery, war crimes, etc.
 The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization that was tasked to maintain international
peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international co-operation
and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations since 1945 – they have many parts of the
body like WHO and UNICEF. Today, UNRWA provides assistance, protection and advocacy for
some 5 million registered Palestine refugees in the Middle East
 Recent examples of UN humanitarian intervention include include Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burundi,
the north-south conflict in the Sudan and Nepal.
However: Global institutions don’t actually deal with the problems they said they would. They are often
dominated by larger states. Eg. The UN Security Council has 5 permanent members who have a veto.
This veto has led to many problems unsolved. One million Muslim Uighurs are believed to have been
detained in re- education camps in the Xinjiang region of China. They are believed to be being forced
to learn Mandarin Chinese and renounce Islam. The Chinese government denies this. So far the UN
Security Council has done nothing.
No: The skeptical perspective of globalisation isn’t an exaggeration because cultural globalisation
isn’t a positive thing as it’s just westernisation currently, which was due to the US’s hegemony after
the collapse of the USSR:
 Cultural globalisation erodes a country’s culture and is an unequal process – not cultures blending
together and sharing their ‘best parts’, but primarily of a dominant culture being imposed over all
others. Historically, this dominant culture has been Western culture, or more specifically American
culture in the late 20th/21st century.
 There are western corporations everywhere eg. McDonald’s and Starbucks are in many
countries like a
Japan and India and smaller organisations – 8 of the world’s biggest companies are American e.g.
Amazon
 Hollywood films are more dominant in other countries as well as America and has spread
Western culture due to their prominence, e.g ‘friends’ and Hollywood movies like the
Godfather/Die Hard
No: The skeptical perspective of globalisation isn’t an exaggeration because it leads to a loss in
sovereignty
states have lost sovereignty – as even being compelled to accept some decisions, even if most
decisions are still made by the nation-state’s government, means that they do not have ‘absolute’
power. This is seen as a slippery slope to a complete loss of power. eg. The EU has criticized
Hungary’s policies ( Closed down independent critical newspapers
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 Built a southern border fence to prevent asylum claims) which means Hungary is losing
sovereignty

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Evaluate the view that globalisation has created a long-lasting ‘global community’ [25]
No – The global-community doesn’t really exist as states are unitary actors and there is no new
integration/a reduction:
 Realists/skeptical argue that states act in a self-interested way and aren’t concerned about the
negative repercussions – they only co-operate within an international system if it benefits them.
Chinese belt road initiative has come from the origins of the Silk Road – nothing new.
 Iraq invasion condemned by the U.N. Secretary General Kofe Anan – dons without U.N.
their actions
though the UN charter specifically prohibits human rights abuses – these aren’t
necessarily followed – The UK also democratically decided to the leave the EU, so this
shows a reduction in integration on the global scale
 USA only looks out for themselves by placing traffic on countries including China and Turkey –
they put their economy first – the US also intervenes in conflicts for their own means – Gulf
war
No – Can be reversed – due to the clash of cultures that may occur as arguably some cultures are mutually
exclusive, such as Western values and traditional Islamic values of individuals:
 In Huntington’s view, civilisations are therefore bound to ‘clash’. This may happen along fault-
lines between civilisations, or it may happen where a civilisation tries to impose its values on
another civilisation, leading to an inevitable backlash. According to Huntington, the majority of
modern conflicts can be understood in this way.
 For example, India v Pakistan conflicts (Hindu v Islamic) partition since the 40s has caused an
ongoing clash between the two powers – which translated into cricket competition over the years,
but has escalated following the Kashmir terrorist attack – the BJP is openly anti-Muslim too –
which limits relations between countries
 ‘War on Terror’ – both ways (Islamic v Western) Mohammad Ata a fighter felt a clash
between the Muslim world and newly promoted values in society, with the use of red light
districts, prompting the attack on the World Trade Centre on 9/11 – these values cannot exist
simultaneously, so will lead to a reversal of gloabalisation
Yes – Globalisation has created a long lasting community, as seen through organisations such as
NATO/UN:
 The United Nation is has been around from 1945 and has intervened in multiple conflicts
since then, as an efficient body that works effectively – with 5 permanent members on the
security council they make important decision, and have intervened in many conflicts, including
Sierra Leone and Burundi, only two countries that are not part of the UN, or recognised,
including the Vatican City and Palestine, other 4 are recognised.
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 Other organisations such as NATO have been working since the Cold War and are still intact within
the structure –these are secure regardless of the sovereignty that some member states had to give up
– like the American SACCEUR who commands armies and the European diplomat who leads
 Also created a long lasting community as powers must work within the different aims of the
UN – with the ICJ,
IMF/world Bank, UNFCCC as global aims are to be reached
Yes – Cultural globalisation cannot be reversed:

liberal views. This has benefited individuals as they can have their views heard, emphasising
freedom. This has benefited the state as there’s more political stability with liberal democracy.
This has improved interstate relations as countries are moving towards liberal ideas-easier for
them to co-operate as their views aren’t differing. Eg. End of Cold War- Germany no longer
communist, the collapse of the Berlin wall was also influenced by these liberal ideas
spreading, as well as the Arab Spring
 There are western corporations everywhere eg. McDonald’s and Starbucks are in many countries
like a Japan and India and smaller organisations – 8 of the world’s biggest companies are American
e.g Amazon which ultimately spreads the American way of life – eating habits seem to be
influenced – with the likes of Taco Bell also promoting Mexican culture as an Americanized
company
 Hollywood films are more dominant in other countries as well as America and has spread
Western culture due to their prominence, e.g ‘friends’ and Hollywood movies like the
Godfather/Die Hard – these values cannot be uninstalled from people even if economic de-
globalisation occurred

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Yes – Globalisation has created economic interdependence:

 In the view of liberals, trade and economic interdependence is also the best way to spread
cultures and ideas which will lead to ‘bonds of eternal peace’, and can also lead to cooperation
on issues like development, poverty reduction, and tackling climate change across the planet.
 Trade agreements such as the European Union, NAFTA and the Commonwealth allow the free
movement of
goods and services, some also allow the movement of factors of production too – this increased
interdependence if some countries, as the countries now rely on each other for trade – for
example European nations are heavily invested in their relationship with the UK. The UK is
the fourth-largest importer in the world, and the EU needs British import demand – 9%of the
Netherlands and 7.4% of Germany’s exports go to the UK
Evaluate the view that economic globalisation is the most important dimension of the globalisation process
[30]
Yes – economic integration/ dependency/ stops war:

 WTO as a section of the UN, which aims to reduce tariffs and barriers between countries, allowing
the transfer of capital and goods – IMF requires deregulation before regulation – capitalism =
freedom also adapted to exchange rates in 1971 to focus on debt reduction and development after
communism
– adopting similar economic systems, world Bank educated people about this
 There are a number of trading blocs such as NAFTA, ASEAN and CEFTA all indicate the
importance of global trade – the EU also has enabled economic integration which has created a
level of dependency between these countries in the economy as they are now likely to rely on
each other for the trade of goods they may be able specialise in – for example the
manufacture of car parts by Germany – given that large car brands such as Mercedes,
Volkswagen and Audi - The UK is the fourth-largest importer in the world, and the EU needs
British import demand – 9% of the Netherlands and 7.4% of Germany’s exports go to the UK –
the threat of Brexit has threatened to push countries into a recession
However – Nationalist backlash – no longer the driving force and protectionism – Trump pulled out of
the arms trade treaty in 2019 and the USA has been involved in a trade against China due to the
threat China poses yo their domestic industry – sanctions increased from 10% to 20% and he increases
tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, and has levied import duties on Chinese goods, too. There
has been rising opposition has risen to the European Union globally, favouring de-globalisation – Farage
won in the UK, La Pen in France, Orban in France and Salvini won in Italy – with right wing populists
receiving support – with approximately 40% in Poland supporting the right wing ideology instead
Yes – economic leads to political and cultural globalisation:

 EU started off as the EEC with Germany and France but now has 28 observer states, including
members with their own international courts and European Commission – the EU sovereignty
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over domestic law through the ECJ as a result of economic globalisation – the EEC was first
based on the trade of steel and coal between France and Germany and expanded further
following reforms
 These may have influenced the creation of other type of trading blocs too, with futher aims of
globaisation– The
AU is the most successful as it has 55 member states, hence it is viewed as a legitimate
institution. Furthermore, it is viewed as a democratic institute with its establishment of its highest
decision-making body- the Assembly of the African Union, which consists of the heads of
state or government or all the member states. It has a number of other institutions, including
the Pan African Parliament whose members are appointed by the legislatures of member states
and the Executive Council, which consists of the foreign ministers of the member states. These
institutes are effective as it maintains a democratic decision making process by having all
countries represented.
However – political/culture globalisation may prevent economic globalisation – so is less important –
sanctions on Iran caused by political differences – Iran’s policies of building nuclear arms was threatening
as they wanted to introduce a new nuclear programme – and wanted a deal before it would resume
nuclear enrichment – Trump imposed sanctions on steel, aluminium, copper and Iran – which provide
crucial foreign currency earnings – metal are 10% of exports.
Yes – economic globalisation has tackled global poverty in general

 All of Vietnam’s workers employed by the TNCs are in the top 20% of the country’s workers
 Mobile phones and the internet has led to massive growth in online banking in sub-Saharan –
ask
 IMF and World Bank in particular have also worked towards tackling inequality with the use of
SAPs – SAPs were used to transform the countries of the Eastern Bloc to free market
economies following the collapse of Communism and gave out loans based on condition set
out by the poorer countries, also given to countries in South America. This allows the
Philippines to specialise in the production of prawns, tobacco in Zimbabwe and cocoa in Ghana
– SAPs helped to reduce inflation in the economy by over 10% so are a good method to
tackle poverty – they offer support
However: volatility in commodity markets – and primary product dependency makes economic globalisation
and tacking global poverty less useful – SAPs caused TB in Eastern Hungary there has been a rise in
tuberculosis due to healthcare cuts [Eastern Europe]; youth unemployment has also drastically risen in
Greece; and increasing corporate influence at

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the expense of ‘ordinary’ people [Jamaica]. Institutions like the World Bank and IMF favor the Western
countries whilst poorer countries must tackle the depletion of resources instead – there is a heavy bias – also
dominated by powerful Western countries
No – political – cause’s international institutions:

 Similar values and aims causes further globalisation – as regions that are politically different
and experience differences within the norms/government structure may be barred from
joining
 The Arab League began with political aims – Palestine has not achieved self-determination and the
League was split in its attitude to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1998, with some member states such
as Saudi Arabia supporting US intervention and others condemning it. Furthermore, despite
suspending Syria in 2011 due to the Syrian Civil War, Assad has renewed attendance to League
meetings, without repercussions. They also have diverging aims - Saudi-Qatar tensions and military
conflict between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The focus on sovereignty in the League has inhibited the
League from making major collective decisions and securing peace within the Middle- Eastern
region, therefore it is the least successful form of regionalism – this stops any successful reforms
from actually occurring as countries are unwilling to co-operate with one another.
 Political globalisation is the process of increasing cooperation and coordination between

national governments through the creation of global political institutions. There has been many
regional organisations that have been made eg. The EU. The EU has integrated politically by
having a European Parliament that makes binding decisions on all member states.
No – cultural – liberal democracy:

 The spread of liberal democracy is more important as countries become more democratic and
likely to be integrated into political structures such as the European union – or want to work
towards the same aims – joining organisations such as the UN.
has improved interstate relations as countries are moving towards liberal ideas-easier for them to co-
operate as their views aren’t differing. Eg. End of Cold War-Germany no longer communist.
Germany has now been able to work with other western countries. Eg. G7, and G20 so also
helps worldly relations.
No – cultural – co-existence:
 Cultural globalisation is important for globalisation as cultures began to merge and may therefore
pick up the same tastes/ become likely to integrate with one another due to the spread of
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cultures and ideas – this paves the way for further integration.
 The spread of western corporations such as McDonalds has been a result of the spread of
American cultures, increasing the likelihood of the purchase of these products; replacing previously
local shops and dominating global cultures – paves the way for political and economic
integration later.
 Pop culture has also allowed stores like Nike to dominate, as Nike now has 1000 stores
worldwide. Cultural globalisation is also a method of sharing values through the use of Hollywood
and K-pop – these allow co-operation as there is increasing tolerance of other cultures through
access to their norms and ideals, too.

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Evaluate the extent to which globalisation has resolved contemporary issues in global politics
[25].
No – intervention causes further problems; as human rights aren’t upheld regardless:

 The US plays a lead role on upholding the values as states by the UN – so directly intervene in
order to help. NATO’s humanitarian intervention has actually worsened situations in countries.
NATO has intervened in Afghanistan and although they had played a part in combating the
Taliban, their intervention did cause many problems such as a large number of civilian
deaths.
 The War in Afghanistan is the longest war in United States history and has led to further
instability in the region – bombed civilians by accident (mistook for terrorism bases) – bombing of
a wedding in 2008 after they though it was Taliban meeting – inaccurate guesses
 NATO has also intervened in the Libyan Civil war in 2011. However, the outcome of the civil
war was that Gadhafi was assassinated and no leader has been in Libya since 2011. Libya is now in
anarchy with no government but just gangs occupying each region of Libya. Although, NATO
intervened in these countries in order to stop vulnerable groups being massacred and to get rid of
authoritarian regimes, the intervention has been proven ineffective, and worsened the state of
affairs
However – they have helped in cases where there has been an abuse of human rights: The UN Security
Council gave its forces in the area the additional mission of keeping the Bosniak population alive. They
succeeded in keeping Sarajevo airport open and connected to the city of Sarajevo, then besieged by Serbian
forces, which enabled 2,476 aircraft to be brought in carrying 27,460 tons of food, medicines and other relief
goods. If they had not done so thousands of people would have died of starvation in Sarajevo, and Serbian
forces may have taken the city, leading to a massacre – during the Yugoslav wars which began in 1991.
No – infringes on global sovereignty through intervention to stop war:

 Afghanistan war in 2001 - The U.S. was initially supported by the United Kingdom, Canada,
and
history and has led to further instability in the region – bombed civilians by accident (mistook
for terrorism bases) – bombing of a wedding in 2008 after they though it was Taliban meeting

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states to use ‘all necessary means’ to force Iraq out. Immediately after the expiry of the
deadline, a coalition of 35 nations led by the United States launched an attack on Iraq using
aerial and naval bombing and a ground assault, which forced Iraqi forces out of Kuwait within
five weeks – but this infringed on Iraq’s sovereignty – he invaded Kuwait and mass
extermination of the minority population later due to retaliation over the invasion
However, this is necessary – for R2P – responsibility to protect - In essence, it reiterates that states are
sovereign in the Westphalian sense, but modifies this by arguing that sovereignty is contingent on following
certain responsibilities, including the protection of one’s own citizens. If a state does not uphold this
responsibility, either by directly persecuting them or by killing them through inaction (e.g. not alleviating a
famine then other nation-states may conduct a humanitarian intervention which justifies intervention by a
state into the economy – still has dealt with the issue
Yes – globalisation leads to the spreads liberal values which reduces general problems:
 Globalisation allows for the movement of ideas and beliefs – particularly of Western values
- The spread of liberal democracy is more important as countries become more democratic and
likely to be integrated into political structures such as the European union – or want to work
towards the same aims – joining organisations such as the UN, happy to co-operate and
work towards peace
has improved

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interstate relations as countries are moving towards liberal ideas-easier for them to co-operate as
their views aren’t differing. Eg. End of Cold War-Germany no longer communist. Germany has
now been able to work with other western countries. Eg. G7, and G20 so also helps worldly
relations.
Yes – global governance works towards environmental issues. Political globalisation has aimed to resolve
contemporary issues like environmental problems. Political globalisation refers to the amount of political
cooperation that exists between different countries. This is often through intergovernmental organisations,
regional organisations and non-governmental organisations:
 Political globalisation can be seen as effective in resolving environmental issues through the
UNFCC
 In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and established legally binding obligations for
developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the period 2008–2012. This
means that since states have to lower emissions, the UNFCC would be more likely to meet their
goal of ensuring that global emissions don’t surpass 1.5 °C.
 NGOs are also effective dealing with environmental problems eg. Greenpeace was one of the
leading participants advocating early phase-out of ozone depleting substances in the Montreal
Protocol. In 1987 a treaty called the Montreal Protocol was signed banning the production of CFCs
and related chemicals. This was ratified by virtually every state. Ozone levels stabilized in the
1990s and began to rise in the 2000s – therefore they have made some progress regarding the
environment
Yes – global governance has worked towards alleviating poverty:

 The World Bank worked with the UN to reduce world poverty by 2015. The World Bank aims to
reduce the world’s population living on less than $1.90 a day to 3% and to boost the income
of every country in the bottom 40%. It has a willingness to adapt; it evolved from being an
organisation funding big infrastructure projects that promote poverty reduction, also changing
after the 2008/9 financial crisis to stop another recession.
 They have changed the way they give loans-they involve local people and organisations in how
loansare spent and give greater consideration to their structural, social, human and environmental
impact. The IMF also promotes economic stability.
 Acts against economic disasters. The IMF has bailed out many countries during the 2007-2008
financial crisis such as Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain-preventing further spread of
crisis The IMF adapts to different contexts. When the US suspended the dollar’s convertibility to
gold-end if the gold standard, the IMF focused on debt reduction and development
 The IMF has responded to criticisms about their under-representation of developing countries
in decision making by increasing the quotas for Brazil, China, and Russia-part of the 10 largest
members of the IMF. After the global financial crisis, the IMF refocused on surveillance, warning
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members when their debt burdens or economic policies are jeopardizing economic growth.

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Examine the strengths of the United Nations [12]
 One strength of the United Nations is that it’s democratic organisation that allows representation
for all in an international system. The Security Council has 10 non-permanent members which are
elected every 2 years, giving smaller countries an opportunity for their input. Security Council
Resolutions are passed if nine out of fifteen members vote for them. The General Assembly-
Every UN state has one vote. Vote are either decided by a simple majority, making te process
a lot more democratic.
 ECOSOC has 54 members elected by the general assembly for 3 year terms. This makes it
democratic.
The International Courts of Justice-Composed of fifteen judges elected for nine-year terms by
the General Assembly and the Security Council with the distribution of seats fixed by custom for
different regions. The court reaches judgements by a majority decision, allowing contribution from
many for these positions International courts of justice- It’s democratic because it will only
hear contentious cases if they are between states and if all the states involved agree to abide by
its ruling
 The UN is also democratic as bodies within the UN as intergovernmental rather than
supranational; this allows the body to maintain its legitimacy as countries are still sovereign and do
not risk losing this due to their joining of the United Nations
 Another strength of the United Nations is that it makes many binding decisions. The UN
Security Council specifically makes decisions that are binding on all member states. They have
peacekeepers which enforce them. The UN international court of justice-It’s effective as its
rulings in contentious cases are considered binding on member states and the Security Council
can take action to enforce them. For example the decision made to hand over Omar Al-Bashir
as he is a convicted criminal still standards, regardless of the fact that he was the ruler of the
country at the time.
 Another strength of the United Nations is that it’s effective in dealing with some conflicts,
which has restored peace after some of these conflicts. In the 1990s, UN Peacekeepers helped to
mediate end of brutal civil war in El Salvador, disarming both rebel and government forces, and
instituting an enduring parliamentary- democratic system (cost - $115m).
 Another success against Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War, a coalition of 35 nations led by the
US launched an attack on Iraq using aerial and naval bombing and a ground assault, which forced
Iraqi forces out of Kuwait within five weeks, showing the cohesion of UN member states that is
successful.
 Tony Blair declared the UK’s intention to intervene in the former colony in an attempt to
support the government. With a renewed UN mandate and Guinean air support, the British
Operation Palliser finally defeated the RUF, taking control of Freetown. On 18 January 2002,
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President Kabbah declared the Sierra Leone Civil War over.
Examine the criticisms that have been made of the United Nations [12]
Kingdom, and United States which allows these countries to dominate larger institutions, which is
undemocratic. For example, the US has vetoed many resolutions to do with the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, VETOing 43 resolutions against Israel by the United Nations – regardless of their
human rights abuses in the region, ignoring responsibility.
 This veto has led to many problems unsolved in China. One million Muslim Uighurs are
believed to have been detained in re-education camps in the Xinjiang region of China. They are
believed to be being forced to learn Mandarin Chinese and renounce Islam. The Chinese
government denies this. So far the UN Security Council has done nothing.
 The Russians have also vetoed intervention in Syria, against Assad’s brutal regime, due to the
alliance between Putin and Assad – these human rights abuses cannot be effectively dealt with.

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 UN Resolutions are not binding – they can only be implemented where there is the political
will of states to implement them – this works against the aims of the United Nations as aims
cannot be met if countries can choose whether or not they want to implement them.
 This has led to human rights abuses within countries that are member states – which are
directly opposing to the declaration of human rights - Saudi Arabia heading the UN Human Rights
Commission in 2015 despite beheading more people than ISIS; there has also been n accountability
following the murder of Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian embassy. UN built on principle of state
sovereignty, so arguably concerns of oppressed minorities, e.g. Rohingya in Myanmar persecution
due to their faith, homosexuals in Chechnya being abused, regardless of UN values show the
inefficiencies and futile nature of the UN if member states are openly abusing human rights –
even the major ones, such as the US who still operate Guantanamo Bay, and subjected assumed
terrorists to mass abuse
Examine the strengths of NATO [12]
 A strength of NATO is that their humanitarian intervention has proven successful in the
Balkans. In Bosnia and Herzegovina there were Bosnian Muslims, Serbs and Croats who had
conflict between each other. The deteriorating situation led to the UN protection force asking
NATO to launch air strikes to stop the situation. NATO air strikes that year helped bring the
Yugoslav Wars to an end, resulting in the Dayton Agreement in November 1995. As part of
the agreement, NATO deployed a UN peacekeeping force. This has helped maintain peace in
the area.
 Humanitarian intervention by NATO is the Kosovo War in 1999. NATO aimed to immediately
end repression and violence by starting a military operation against the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The Serbian President accented NATO’s demands for ending
the conflict over Kosovo. This means that the ethnic cleansing of Albanians driving them into
neighbouring countries ended.
 Another strength of NATO is that power is distributed equally between the US and Europe.
NATO is governed by the North Atlantic Council in Brussels which meets at least once a week.
Its meetings are chaired by the Secretary General of NATO, who has always been a European
diplomat.
 Each NATO member state has a Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council. There is
no voting; decisions are only made if they are unanimous. Since 1951 NATO has had a single
military command structure. This means officers of the armed forces of one country give
orders to officers from the armed forces of another. The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces
in Europe (SACEUR) is at the top. He is always an American general. There is a set structure
that works.
 Another strength of NATO is that it effectively dealt with the Cold War. The North Atlantic
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Treaty was signed in the context of the Cold War. It was effectively a commitment by the
USA to protect the capitalist nations of Europe against any attack by the USSR. At the time the
USSR had the largest army in the world and no combination of European countries would have
been able to resist it had it chosen to invade. NATO did not deploy any forces throughout the
whole period of the Cold War. Instead it effectively operated as a deterrent preventing war in
Europe.
 Even with the Warsaw pact, soviet equivalent of NATO, they managed to successfully keep the
peace.
Examine the criticisms that have been made of NATO [12]
 A criticism of NATO is that their humanitarian intervention has actually worsened situations
in countries. NATO has intervened in Afghanistan and although they had played a part in
combating the Taliban, their intervention did cause many problems such as a large number of
civilian deaths. The War in Afghanistan is the longest war in United States history and has
led to further instability in the region – bombed civilians by accident (mistook for terrorism
bases) – bombing of a wedding in 2008 after they though it was Taliban meeting
 NATO has also intervened in the Libyan Civil war in 2011. However, the outcome of the civil
war was that Gadhafi was assassinated and no leader has been in Libya since 2011. Libya is now in
anarchy with no government but just gangs occupying each region of Libya. Although, NATO
intervened in these countries in order to stop vulnerable groups being massacred and to get rid of
authoritarian regimes, the intervention has been proven ineffective, and worsened the state of
affairs.

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 Another criticism of NATO is that the USA was responsible for the overwhelming majority of
NATO military spending since the Cold War. Successive American governments sought to
persuade their European partners to spend more on defence with little success.
 This may make the US want to leave NATO or fund less as they may be frustrated with how much
they put into NATO to benefit Europe. For example, Donald Trump has been skeptical of
NATO and has threatened to leave. US leaving NATO would cause problems for the
organisation as they are the most powerful country in NATO. It would be harder to keep
countries safe without the US. The USA currently provides 75% of NATO military expenditure,
something which has led President Trump to question whether US forces should come to the
aid of lower spending NATO member states if requested to do so. Many NATO countries
don’t even meet the minimum funds criteria - This has become an issue recently, given that
only a few member states meet the threshold of 2% GDP on military expenditure.
 Another criticism of NATO is that its anti-Russian stance would create more hostility in the
world. The Russian government and Russian public opinion regards NATO expansion into the
Soviet Union’s former sphere of influence as a threat to Russia.
 The possibility of future NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine is controversial. It is one
of the reasons for the Russo-Georgian War of 2008- the Russian army helped the separatist
regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to break away from Georgia. It is also one of the reasons for
the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. These conflicts may seem like there’s
a new Cold War with Russia and the West, as the existence of NATO has heightened Russian
aggression.
Examine the strengths of the World Bank and IMF [12]
 The World Bank worked with the UN to reduce world poverty by 2015. The World Bank aims to
reduce the world’s population living on less than $1.90 a day to 3% and to boost the income
of every country in the bottom 40%. It has a willingness to adapt; it evolved from being an
organisation funding big infrastructure projects that promote poverty reduction, also changing
after the 2008/9 financial crisis to stop another recession.
 They have changed the way they give loans-they involve local people and organisations in how loans
are spent and give greater consideration to their structural, social, human and environmental
impact.
 US having a lot of power in the World Bank isn’t necessarily a bad thing because they make
sure that heads of the developing world who are familiar with with the challenges facing
developing countries- In 2012, Obama administration appointed Dr Kim as president – helps to
collectively meet the aims of the UN, allowing them to have reduced world poverty by 2015.

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 The IMF also promotes economic stability. In the 1950s and 60s the world experienced its
longest period of sustained economic growth and OECD countries had a growth around 4-5% a
year. However this growth may have been the product if other causes such as the application if
Keynesian demand management policies by domestic governments. Could have been the
effect of the US economy leading to globalisation of production, boosting economic growth
outside the USIt lends to countries who don’t have access to other forms of financing
themselves.
crisis The IMF adapts to different contexts. When the US suspended the dollar’s convertibility to
gold-end if the gold standard, the IMF focused on debt reduction and development
 The IMF has responded to criticisms about their under-representation of developing countries
in decision making by increasing the quotas for Brazil, China, and Russia-part of the 10 largest
members of the IMF. After the global financial crisis, the IMF refocused on surveillance, warning
members when their debt burdens or economic policies are jeopardizing economic growth.

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Examine the criticisms that have been made of the World Bank and IMF [12]
 Both the IMF and World Bank have been criticized as being overly influenced by the USA
and the West. The IMF requires 85% of votes to make a decision; since the USA has
nearly 17%, this is effectively a veto.
 Both the World Bank and the IMF are based in Washington DC (the American capital). The
US economy also makes up a largest economy. IMF which gives it the biggest say in the IMF – may
service its aims only
 Specifically, it has been alleged that both institutions prioritize neo-liberal policy –
deregulation, privatization and free trade – and impose this on other states. Both institutions
attach some form of ‘conditionalities’ to their loans, which usually involve structural reform of
the recipient’s economy to adhere to neoliberal policy.
 In practice, this means lowering taxes and regulation, no price controls, privatising industry
and slashing welfare. In several states, this has been demonstrably damaging – several studies have
shown a clear link between countries accepting IMF loans and problems.
 There has been a rise in tuberculosis due to healthcare cuts [Eastern Europe]; youth
unemployment has also drastically risen in Greece; and increasing corporate influence at the
expense of ‘ordinary’ people [Jamaica]
 Several questions about the efficacy and desirability of World Bank loans have arisen: · Cash
crops: those like cocoa [Cameroon] and coffee [Ethiopia] are produced for high-profit export,
rather than domestic consumption. This can cause developing countries to become dependent
on developed markets and vulnerable to the TNCs that control processing and distribution, like
Nestle (the CEO of which has claimed water is not a ‘human right’). The World Bank
encourages rapid economic development by investing into cash crops. ·
 Corruption: loans are diverted from their intended purpose (infrastructure investment and
poverty alleviation) instead of giving consideration to the ‘human’ impact. A project to build
schools in Eastern Afghanistan with local educational officials of corrupt government officials.
For example, in 2016, officials in Kabul (Afghanistan) embezzled £700m of aid
 Ecological damage through pushing economic development at all costs. Draining marshlands or
cutting
down forests for farmland damages the environment, where elsewhere the World Bank invests
in development projects like coal-fired power plants in South Africa, oil-drilling off the coast
of Ghana, and gold mining in Peru (which leaches dangerous heavy metal chemicals into the
ground and water, injuring and killing people/animals) · Insufficient: The scope of the World Bank
is simply too small; the World Bank budget in 2016 was $63bn – less than a tenth the size of the
US military budget in the same year.

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Examine the significance of the G7 and the G20 [12]
 The G7 are significant as they have made important intervention sin global politics. They
cancelled the debt of developing countries. The G7 cancelled $100 billion in 1999 of bilateral and
multilateral debt.
 The G7 cancelled all debts of 19 African countries owed to the IMF and the World Bank in
2005. In
2008, they met to discuss the global financial crisis.
 In 2014 they also expelled Russia from the G8, after the annexation of Crimea and the war in
the Eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass – countering Russian aggression effectively
 The G20 are significant because they promote economic recovery, as seen through their dealing
with the GFC in 2008. The G7/G8 states we’re hit particularly hard by the global financial crisis
and realised they needed the help of developing states to deal with it, as it was a collective
issue that damaged the economy of the West largely
 The G20’s first meetings-a package of measures to aid economic recovery was agreed, with a fund
of
$500 billion to stimulate economic growth

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 Agreement was reached over the expansion of the IMF’s borrowing programme, and voting
shares in the IMF and World Bank were adjusted in favour of the developing countries
 Significance of the G7, it provides a forum where states can openly discuss common concerns
openly unlike other forums-the group is small enough for intimate discussions between leaders
and finance ministers, which makes it easier to reach agreement. The G7 represents states with
similar political and economic systems-liberal democratic capitalist economies.
 Many important interventions in politics eg. 1999-cancelled $100 billion of bilateral and
multilateral debt. They cancelled all debts of 19 African countries owed to the IMF and the
World Bank in 2005. In 2008, they met to discuss the global financial crisis. Since 2014, the G7
has placed pressure on Russia to withdraw from Crimea and stop supporting Russian separatist
rebels in eastern Ukraine.
 Significance of the G20. It’s a progress from the G7/G8. Since 2009, it has become a more
significant body than the G7. The G7/G8 states we’re hit particularly hard by the global
financial crisis and realised they needed the help of developing states to deal with it
 The G20’s first meetings-a package of measures to aid economic recovery was agreed, with a fund
of
$500 billion to stimulate economic growth. Agreement was reached over the expansion of the
IMF’s borrowing programme, and voting shares in the IMF and World Bank were adjusted in
favour of the developing countries
Examine the key arguments of Classical economic Development Theory [12]
Classical development theory is inspired by the eighteenth and nineteenth century political economy of
Adam Smith and David Ricardo. It is based on the idea that poverty is a lack of income or resources,
which can be measured, nowadays this is typically done by considering GDP per capita (wealth per
head). It advances the claim that economic development can be encouraged by the ‘invisible hand’ of the
free market. It argues that countries can tackle poverty by deregulating markets, cutting government
spending, privatising state-owned industries and focusing their economies on producing products in which
they have a comparative advantage. Neo-classical development theory is based on a different
understanding of how economics works (the nature of value &c), but reaches the same practical
conclusions. It became influential around the end of the 1970s and was in line with the neoliberal
project pursued by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. The set of practical solutions proposed by
this school is called the Washington Consensus and it inspired the Structural Adjustment Programmes
of the 1980s onwards.
 Inflation fell dramatically in most South American countries in receipt of SAPs, something
which helped balance their economies.
 SAPs were used to transform the countries of the Eastern Bloc to free market economies following
the collapse of Communism, in some cases (such as the Czech Republic very successfully), in others
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less so (one million people are estimated to have died in the former USSR as a result of the
transition to a free market economy).
Examine the key arguments of structural economic development theory [12]
 This is an approach to development that originated in South America. It argues that poverty
is the product of global inequality perpetuated by Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and
conditions attached to aid by the IMF and the World Bank. It argues that in order to end
global inequality poorer countries should intervene substantially in their economies to promote
industrialisation and reduce the reliance on the export of primary goods, such as agricultural
and mining products. Developing states should also impose restrictive trade policies to
protect domestic industries from external competition and promote trade with other
developing countries. These strategies rest of the ‘infant industry’ argument, which states
that young industries do not have the economies of scale and experience to be able to
compete with foreign competitors, and thus need to be protected until they are able to
compete in the free market.
• Since structural adjustment programmes require privatisations, they typically have a negative
impact on health and education services in developing countries. Countries in receipt of structural
adjustment programmes tend, for example, to suffer increasing rates of tuberculosis.

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• Debt forgiveness seems to have had a positive impact on poverty reduction, with Tanzania using
the money saved to abolish school fees and Burkino Faso using it reduce healthcare charges –
suggesting intervention was good.
Dependency theory:
 The classical theory suggests that the world capitalist system merged in the 16th century – it
argues that Latin America, Asia and Africa are locked in unequal exploitive relationships
with the more powerful European nations.
 The argument suggests that slavery and colonialism have defined the world economic system.
The
European colonial systems meant each agricultural products – for example, Bengal would produce
cotton, nutmeg from Indonesia, cocoa from West Africa, sugar cane and banana from the Caribbean
indicate the exploitation of resources that took place under their rule.
 They went as far as to introduce slavery in these regions, which is prominent in African
countries where they would extract rubber from Congo and treat citizens incredibly badly. This
system lead to huge changes in the colonial regions – as they had to establish systems to keep
social order – for example, the railways and post offices were introduced by the British in
places like Lahore – sometimes force was used to do command the population whipping and
shooting at people who disobeyed their orders. They also used willing natives to run the local
Government, such as the sepoys in South Asia used to keep the local population in line.
 The unequal and dependent relationship was caused as a result – colonialism destroyed local
economies which were self-sufficient and dependent, replacing them with plantations and
monocrop economies; which were geared up to export one product to the mother country.
 For example, Bengal would produce cotton, nutmeg from Indonesia, cocoa from West Africa,
sugar cane and banana from the Caribbean. The wealth that flowed into these countries provided
funds for the industrial revolution in European countries, which furthered their technological
superiority over these countries – e.g the British introduced guns, Europeans produced higher
quality manufactured goods; which generated more welfare and increased inequality between
continents.
 By 1960s, most colonies had achieved independence, but these countries are still seen as
source of cheap labour – and put up resistance to independence movements so attempted to
maintain control
e.g Churchill’s opposition to 1935 Government India act and the creation of the commonwealth to
continue benefitting the exploiting economies.
World systems theory:

• The world is essentially divided into two sections – the core countries; who control world
wages and monopolize the production of manufactural goods and the semi-peripheral zone
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include BRICS nations that resemble the core in terms of the urban centres – but also have
areas of poverty, which resemble to peripheral countries. The core counties give out countries to
the semi-countries, because they have a degree of infrastructure that allows manufacturing, but at
cheap cost. For example, India produces clothing, whilst China produces other cheaper goods.
The peripheral countries generally lack development, as seen through African countries who
instead provide raw materials such as crash crops to the core and semi-peripheral countries
and may have emerging markets in which the core attempts to market their manufactured
goods at cheaper prices.
• Land grabs = plots of land that countries are able to buy and build on.

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Evaluate the view that institutions of global economic governance have been ineffective in solving
contemporary global issues [25]
Against: Institutions of global economic governance have been effective in solving contemporary global
issues due to the IMF. The IMF is the International Monetary Fund which lends to countries who don’t
have access to other forms of financing themselves:
crisis
 After the global financial crisis, the IMF refocused on surveillance, warning members when
their debt burdens or economic policies are jeopardizing economic growth.
 The IMF is flexible, also ending £3.6 billion to the UK under the Callaghan administration
However: The IMF have actually been ineffective in resolving global economic issues as they actually
contribute to global economic problems. The IMF encouraged deregulation of international finance
by promoting neo-liberal policies through the conditions on its loans. The IMF didn’t anticipate that a
deregulated environment would lead to governments engaging in risky practices such as parceling debt out
to other financial institutions. Since the IMF has contributed the global financial crisis in 2008, it’s likely
that their promotion of neo-Liberalism would lead to future financial crises.
Against: Institutions of global economic governance have been effective in dealing with contemporary
problems due to the World Bank’s efforts to tackle poverty, through the things such as the SAP programme:
 The World Bank worked with the UN to reduce world poverty by 2015
 Many countries have to switch to single cash crops such as cocoa in Ghana, tobacco in
Zimbabwe and prawns in the Philippines which allows them to specialize in a given good
 The World Bank aims to reduce the world’s population living on less than $1.90 a day to 3%
and to boost the income of every country in the bottom 40
 The World Bank involve local people and organisations in how loans are spent and give
greater consideration to their structural, social, human and environmental impact
 SAPs were used to transform the countries of the Eastern Bloc to free market economies
following the collapse of Communism and gave out loans based on condition set out by the poorer
countries, also given to countries in South America and other countries – reduing inflation in
South America.
However: Although the World Bank aim to reduce global poverty, they don’t promote economic
development in countries properly-this makes it difficult for poor countries to get themselves out of poverty.
For example, the World Bank encourage poor countries to produce cash crops like cocoa and coffee, but this
leaves developing economies dependent on developed-world markets and vulnerable to the transnational
corporations that control processing and distributions, cash crop production reduces the amount of land
under cultivation to meet domestic foods needs which leads to a continuing cycle of famine and
poverty
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-It spends too little on development-the USA spent $600 billion on its military in 2016, while the World Bank
spent just $63 billion on global economic development
For-Institutions of global governance are ineffective in dealing with current global economic issues due to
the WTO’s inability to help developing countries, working towards alleviating poverty:
 The WTO aims to reduce protectionism by reducing tariffs. This should have helped
developing countries but More developed countries have not fully opened their markets to products
from less developed countries-the US and the EU have been unwilling to abandon

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protection of their agricultural and textile industries-disadvantaged countries like China and India.
 Allows rich countries to exploit developing countries’ workers, paying them low wages and
making them work in conditions which would be completely unacceptable in developed
countries.
 WTO as a section of the UN, which aims to reduce tariffs and barriers between countries,
allowing the transfer of capital and goods – this has allowed developing countries to experience
export led growth, as with cocoa from Ghana and Diamonds from Botswana
For institutions of global governance are ineffective in dealing with contemporary global issues due to the
G7:
 The G7 is made up of 7 of the wealthiest economies. This means they wouldn’t be able to deal with
global economic issues like poverty as their country isn’t being faced with it.
 They fail to take into consideration developing states - this means their policies won’t help
them. Ineffective and unwilling to deal with poverty, inequality and climate change.
 It cancelled much of the debt of developing countries but the gap continues to widen between
them and developed countries.
 The G7 are significant as they have made important intervention sin global politics. They
cancelled the debt of developing countries. The G7 cancelled $100 billion in 1999 of bilateral and
multilateral debt.
 The G7 cancelled all debts of 19 African countries owed to the IMF and the World Bank in
2005. In 2008, they met to discuss the global financial crisis.

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Evaluate the extent to which the UN’s effectiveness is crippled by the composition and powers of the UN
Security Council [25]
Yes – the UN is crippled by the composition and powers of the UN Security Council who act in their
own interest and without permission from the Security Council, including keeping American hegemony
and interests in regions with oil:
 Iraqi forces occupied Kuwait in August 1990. They did so as Iraqi nationalists regard Kuwait
as rightfully part of
Iraq, and as Saddam Hussein, thought that revenue from the Kuwaiti oilfields would help him
rebuild the Iraqi economy following the Iran-Iraq War
 The US gave support to the Iraqi regime during the Iran-Iraq war, but afraid of Iraqi control of
a majority of the oil in the middle east. Eventually, a coalition of 35 nations led by the US
launched an attack on Iraq using aerial and naval bombing and a ground assault, which forced
Iraqi forces out of Kuwait within five weeks – oil was a priority of the members, even though they
had initially aided the Iraqi forces.
 President Bush declared his intention to invade Iraq because Hussein, was constructing
‘weapons of mass-destruction’ which could be used to attack the US. Other American government
officials stated that the invasion was justified because the Iraqi government had been supporting Al
Qaeda and because Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator. None were ever found – leading to
doubts on whether the invasion of Iraq was initially due to oil, as they have some of the largest
and profitable oil fields - The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated in September
2004 that: "I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter. From our point of
view and the UN Charter point of view, it was illegal", explicitly declaring that the US-led war
on Iraq as illegal
However: There are cases where they have nothing to gain, yet there was still intervention by – Kosovo
Yes – VETO prevents action: Afghanistan

However: intervention isn’t always the best option – al-Qaeda/Libya/
No – humanitarian intervention allowed by Security Council: Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone
No – UN Security Council increases incentive to abide by international law: failure of the League/ USA and
China GDP and threatening sanctions are, foreign investments = $2.4m – 17.4% IMF vote share (US) –
China modernizing their military
No – VETO insures powers are part of the institution: US has VETO 43 resolutions as Israel, might have left
if an ally was condemned – Russia’s VETO kept peace during the cold war and allows them to work towards
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peace – Syria Assad regime supported by China – Britain and colonies (Rhoedia/Suez)

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Evaluate the view that NATO has destabilized global politics [25]
NATO is a formal alliance between the United States and other Western Countries, mainly European
countries. It’s arguable that NATO has helped stabilize international relations due to its protection for
peace programme and humanitarian intervention.
However, it’s more convincing to say that it has actually destabilized international relations.
One reason why it’s arguable that NATO hasn’t destabilized international relations is its commitment
to peace. NATO has a protection for peace program NATO can be seen as peaceful because of the
partnership of Peace program. This program is aimed at creating trust between NATO and former
Soviet Union states. NATO builds relationships with partners through military-to- military
cooperation on training, exercises, disaster planning and response, science and environmental issues and
planning policies. Furthermore, NATO only uses military force when necessary. During the context of the
Cold War, NATO didn’t deploy any troops. NATO mainly just paid attention to acting as a deterrent to
the USSR so the USSR wouldn’t use their nuclear weapons against western countries. Therefore, it’s
arguable that since NATO doesn’t use military aid straight away but aims to work with non NATO
countries through the partnership for peace program, it hasn’t destabilized international relations but has
improved them.
However, this argument is limited in its persuasiveness as NATO has used more military intervention even
without UN permission, making them a less peaceful organisation. Since they are a less peaceful
organisation, they actually destabilize international relations. For example, since the fall of the USSR,
military intervention has increased which have caused many civilian deaths. For example, Afghanistan and
Yugoslavia have had a high number of deaths due to NATO intervention.
Another reason why it’s arguable that NATO hasn’t destabilized international relations but has improved
them is its humanitarian intervention in Kosovo in 1999. This has helped improve relations in Europe.
NATO aimed to immediately end repression and violence by starting a military operation against the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The Serbian President accepted NATO’s demands
for ending the conflict over Kosovo. This means that the ethnic cleansing of Albanians driving them into
neighbouring countries ended. Therefore, NATO humanitarian intervention helped to improve international
relations as there was more peace between Albania and Yugoslavia. However, this intervention can be seen
as worsening international relations as they intervened in Yugoslavia without approval from the UN.
NATO is often seen as an organisation that listens to the principles of the UN in order to maintain peace
and improve relations. China and Russia opposed the campaign. This shows that NATO isn’t effective in
improving international relations as they didn’t listen to the opinions of non NATO countries when
making decisions. The campaign arguably violated international law as it didn’t have UN Security
Council support. This shows that international relations had actually been destabilized under NATO
because there’s greater hostility between the western countries if NATO and the non-western countries of
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China and Russia.
A reason why NATO actually destabilizes international relations is that there’s internal problems between
countries in NATO. USA is responsible for the overwhelming majority of NATO military spending since
the Cold War. The USA currently provides 75% of NATO military expenditure. Successive American
governments sought to persuade their European partners to spend more on defense with little success. This
may make the US want to leave NATO or fund less as they may be frustrated with how much they put
into NATO to benefit Europe. For example, Donald Trump has been skeptical of NATO and has
threatened to leave. Therefore, this would destabilize international relations as there may be less co-
operation between the US and other western countries who aren’t leaving NATO. Furthermore, the
potential for US to leave NATO would make it harder for the organisation to improve situations in other
countries as they are the most powerful country in NATO. Therefore, since majority of the burden of
running NATO’s finances is put on the US and other European countries are refusing to fund more,
NATO is actually destabilizing international relations as its distrusting the relationships between USA
and other western countries.
Another reason why NATO has destabilised international relations is that it has a very anti-Russia stance.
It’s likely that this anti- Russian attitude would actually create more hostility between western countries
and Russia, effectively destabilising international relations-especially between western countries and
Russia.
-NATO was also formed in response to the USSR

The Russian government and Russian public opinion regards NATO expansion into the Soviet Union’s
former sphere of influence as a threat to Russia. The possibility of future NATO membership for Georgia
and Ukraine is controversial. It is one of the reasons for the Russo-Georgian War of 2008 whereby the
Russian army helped the separatist regions such as Abkhazia break away from Georgia. It is also one of
the reasons for the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. These conflicts may seem
like there’s a new Cold War with Russia and the west. This means that NATO has destabilised international
relations because it cements the distinction between western countries and Russia.
Another reason why NATO has destabilized international relations is its intervention in the Middle East.
NATO intervened in the Libyan civil war in 2011 which led to Gadhafi being assassinated and no
government to replace him. Libya has been in anarchy ever since. Furthermore, there has been a high
number of Afghan deaths due to NATO intervention. This could have angered Middle Eastern countries,
leading to retaliation.
-European countries vulnerable to attacks from external powers, in retaliation. For example, the 7/7
bombings and terrorist attacks in Western countries such as Germany and France have been catalyzed by
the intervention of the West in the Middle East, actions attributed to groups such as NATO, who have to
eventually face the backlash. This has worsened relations between the Middle East and the West.
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Evaluate the impact of global civil society and NGOs in resolving contemporary global issues [30]
-Civil society is the part of society distinct from government and business. It includes families, religious
organizations, families and pressure groups. Global civil society is civil society operating on a world
scale. Global civil society and NGOs can resolve contemporary global issues like poverty and problems with
standards of living.
 Oxfam takes donations from the public to use for sustainable development in developing countries
so poor people can help them self-get out of poverty
 They help with emergencies to ensure poor people can get help eg. Oxfam is supporting the
Indonesian government to provide clean water and hygiene facilities to those affected by the
tsunami that hit Indonesia's Sunda Strait on 22 December.
 WaterAid works in many countries like India, Zambia and Bangladesh. WaterAid has provided
42,600 people in Zambia with access to clean, safe water.
Global civil society and NGOs can resolve contemporary global issues like human rights abuses
-Amnesty aims to help in areas of Women's, children's, minorities' and indigenous rights
Ending torture, Abolition of the death penalty, Rights of refugees, Rights of prisoners of conscience and
Protection of human dignity.
Global civil society and NGOs can resolve contemporary global issues regarding the environment
Greenpeace was one of the leading participants advocating early phase-out of ozone depleting substances
in the Montreal Protocol
-United Nations Environment Programme awarded Greenpeace for "outstanding contributions to the
protection of the Earth's ozone layer" in 1997.
-In 2011 two fifths of the world's total production of refrigerators were based on Greenfreeze technology,
with over 600 million units in use
Greenpeace have also claimed to help influence:
-The adoption of a ban on toxic waste exports to less developed countries.
A United Nations convention providing for better management of world
fisheries A Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
-bans on the dumping at sea of radioactive and industrial waste and disused oil installations
and an end to large-scale driftnet fishing on the high-seas.
No-They don’t resolve global issues as the state is more important in solving probles regarding poverty

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-There are many states receiving aid that are still very poor like Yemen and Bangladesh. It’s more
important for a state to create a welfare state like the one in the UK or other EU countries to tackle
poverty
Counter:
-NGOs have power over states to help reduce poverty
-Jubilee 2000 staged demonstrations at the 1998 G8 meeting in Birmingham.
There were between 50,000 and 70,000 demonstrators participated in a peaceful protest in an effort to reduce
debts
-In1999 the US said they would cancel 100% of the debt that qualifying countries owed the U.S.
-Gordon Brown supported debt relief in a campaign
$100 billion of debt owed by 35 of the poorest countries was cancelled

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Evaluate the extent to which the G20 is currently the most important institution for global political and
economic governance [30]
G20 is the most important institution for global politics and global governance as it represents a large
proportion of world GDP so therefore is important in ensuring economic development:
• the share of GDP in the G20 is currently at 74.5% therefore accounts for much of the economy growth
in the economy and is therefore a strong institution
• The biggest economies of the world are now a part of the G20. G20 was created in response to
criticism that the Group of Seven (G7) was outdated and overly restrictive. Aside from Japan, no
county from outside of North America and Europe is a member of the G7.
• At present, The United States is the largest economy in the G20 in terms of GDP with 18.57 trillion U.S.
dollars in 2016.
However: the G20 May represent a large proportion of world GDP but is said to be dominated by the
western powers. This means that although there is representation this may serve as a front for western
economic interests and serve them instead of allowing economic growth in all these counties.
The G20 is the most important institution for global politics and economic governance as they hold regular
meetings in which they discuss major issues that affect the world:
• The expansion of the summit to the G20 saw diversity in developmental experiences in addition to
cultural and geographic factors.
• In the context of a global political discourse that is increasingly skeptical of globalization, questions
about international openness may be directed from within the halls of power towards the likes of
China.
• Climate change is widely recognized as one of the world’s largest collective problems. Despite
dismissive statements about the validity of global warming by recently elected President of the
United States Donald Trump, climate issues looked set to play a prominent role at G20 Germany
2017. The United States is the largest CO2 emitter in the group by a significant margin, making the
potential isolation of Trump from Merkel, Modi, Macron and Co. on climate issues a point of poignant
discussion.
However; talks have not lead to anything constructive so far.
The G20 isn’t the most important institution for global politics and economic governance because WTO is
more important
- GATT and the WTO have reduced tariff barriers
-In 1947, average tariffs on imported goods were 40% of the value of these goods
-By 2000 these had fallen to 3%. This has made it cheaper for states to trade. Prices of manufactured
goods have fallen which leads to more affordable good for consumers and allows disposable income to be
spent on more goods-stimulates economic growth and leads to better job prospects. By promoting free
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trade, the WTO has helped to raise living standards around the world.
G20 isn’t the most important institution for global politics and economic governance because the IMF is
more important
-It lends to countries who don’t have access to other forms of financing themselves.
-Acts against economic disasters. The IMF has bailed out many countries during the 2007-2008 financial
crisis such as Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain-preventing further spread of crisis
- After the global financial crisis, the IMF refocused on surveillance, warning members when their debt
burdens or economic policies are jeopardizing economic growth.
G20 isn’t the most important institution for global politics and economic governance as it’s less important
than the World Bank.
-The World Bank deals with global economic problems like poverty
- The World Bank aims to reduce the world’s population living on less than $1.90 a day to 3% and to
boost the income of every country in the bottom 40%
-They have changed the way they give loans-they involve local people and organisations in how loans are
spent and give greater consideration to their structural, social, human and environmental impact.

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-The US has a lot of power over the World Bank which is positive thing because they are a wealthy economy
so they know what is needed to keep an economy stable

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Evaluate the impact of institutions of global political governance on state sovereignty [30]
No – States are independent from global institutions even though they remain part of it, they don’t
necessarily follow decisions made by these institutions:
 Iraq invasion against Saddam Hussein’s weapon of mass destruction condemned by the U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Anan – dons without U.N. authorisation, so the nation states still act as
they prefer, regardless of any attempted limits on their actions – the US is part of the security
council but did this
though the UN charter specifically prohibits human rights abuses – these aren’t necessarily
followed by all in the UN
 Guantanamo Bay, Uighurs persecution in China, Chechnya gay concentration camps
repercussions – they only co- opeate within an international system if it benefits them
 Rome statute/ICJ not binding for countries, ICJ said the US sanctions on Iran went against the
Amity treaty 1955 –
However: Sanctions can be imposed on countries if they refuse to listen, for example, sanctions were
placed on South Africa from 1986-94 in order to end the apartheid regime – this caused inflation to rise
by 15% as well as capital flight – which threatened the Government severely – NATO was forced
intervention in Libya due to Gadhafi’s actions – so there are methods to tackle rouge states
No – global institutions do not infringe on state sovereignty due to the intergovernmental nature of
these institutions:
 The UN Security Council; made of the 5 permanent members of U.K., US, China, Russia and
France all have the right to veto any resolution passed through the security council – allows
countries to defend themselves and their allies – US has vetoed 43 resolutions against Israel
 Other parts of institutions are only binder by orders made by the ICJ if they had signed the
Rome Statue – which 123 countries
have signed up to, these cannot be enforced on countries including the US, China or Israel who have
either withdrawn from the Rome statue or decided not to sign it
 The IMF also has a VETO for member states – with the US, as the p biggest economy within
the institution having a 17% Vote share, which is effectively a complete veto as 85% is needed
to pass decisions
Yes – international institutions infringe may infringe state sovereignty through the structure of the
institution:
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economic reforms – usually aligning with capitalist values e.g elimination of price controls –
which has caused TB in Eastern Europe, as well as a rise in youth employment as ythey must
abide by the IMF’s terms or risk the collapse of their economy
 A loss in sovereignty can be seen by the use of NATO, where the American general has the
ability to command the European armies – e.g Kosovo war this was done without consent –
Europeans cannot command their army in NATO
Yes – economic interdependence infringes on state sovereignty as they can no longer function
individually:
 In the view of liberals, trade and economic interdependence is also the best way to spread cultures
and ideas which will lead to ‘bonds of eternal peace’, and can also lead to cooperation on issues
like development, poverty reduction, and tackling climate change across the planet.
 Trade agreements such as the European Union, NAFTA and the Commonwealth allow the free
movement of goods and services, some also allow the movement of factors of production too –
this increased interdependence if some countries, as the countries now rely on each other for
trade – for example European nations are heavily invested in their relationship with the UK. The
UK is the fourth-largest importer in the world, and the EU needs British import demand – 9%of the
Netherlands and 7.4% of Germany’s exports go to the UK
 The reduction of barriers to trade by the commonwealth has also allowed interdependence, as
now trade barriers have been reduced to 5%, countries are dependent on imports – the UK
imports £153 million in fuels yearly, and £104 million in food and livestock – so countries are
dependent on each other

history and has led to further instability in the region – bombed civilians by accident (mistook for
terrorism bases) – bombing of a wedding in 2008 after they thought it was Taliban meeting
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naval bombing and a ground assault, which forced Iraqi forces out of Kuwait within five weeks
– but this infringed on Iraq’s sovereignty – he invaded Kuwait and mass extermination

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Examine the significance/ effectiveness of international courts and tribunals [12]

 One advantage of international courts is that they have been effective in securing human rights
on a global scale through holding people accountable for their crimes. Thomas Lubanga
abducted boys and girls under 15 to fight in DPRCs wars, so they wanted to give him 30 years,
but would reduce his sentence if he gave an apology – girls taken as sex slaves and boys beaten
in camps – 60,000 killed in the conflicts between the Hema and Lendu peoples in that area.
 The Rome statue signed in 2002 also has 123 signatories, including Sudan, so when Omar Al-
Bashir abuses his position the international court sent a warrant for his arrest even though he
was governing
 Another cause the international court has dealt with was in regards to Dominic Ongwen was
feared leader of the LRA, as a cult, blamed for 100,000 deaths and 60,000 children in Northern
Uganda – child soldier and believed to have been abducted at 9 years old.
 The international criminal court also sets up tribunals for specific crimes and has been successful
at holding these people to account. There have been many tribunals, where special courts are set
up to deal with serious human rights abuses that may have taken place.
 Nuremberg trials after the defeat of Nazi Germany took place in 1945/6, key Nazi figures such
as Goering were trailed and faced capital punishment – condemned to be executed – Yugoslavia
tribunals in 1993 also took place to deal with too – more effort is put into ensuring human
rights –as the Sbrenica massacres saw the deaths of 8,000 men, as well as attacks on women
and children.
Examine the criticisms that have been made of international courts and tribunals [12]
 One criticism that has been made of international courts and tribunals is that they are racist.
 A number of African leaders have accused the ICC of being a tool of Western imperialism,
only punishing leaders from small, weak states while ignoring crimes committed by richer
and more powerful states.
 Until January 2016, all situations which the ICC had been investigating were in African countries.
The
ICC has yet to indict a non-African leader of any crime, despite having a global mandate.
African leaders have pointed out that there are a number of western candidates who could very
plausibly be tried for war crimes, for example American leaders over the Vietnam War, the War
in Afghanistan or the 2003 invasion of Iraq, or Israeli leaders over the situation in Palestine.
 A criticism of international courts and tribunals is that they require heads of states to co-
operate which isn’t always possible. The ICC is unable to proceed without the cooperation of the
government of the state in which the indicted lives, and that this prevents it dealing with hard
cases.
 They also point out that the existence of the ICC acts as an extra incentive for dictators to hold
on to power, since if they lose control there is a chance that they might be compelled to appear
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before it. This can be seen with Sudan-In 2009 the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an
arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan (who has ruled as a dictator since
1989) for war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the conflict (genocide was later
added to the indictment). Al Bashir is now still in power.
 Another criticism of international courts and tribunals is that they impose on state sovereignty.
State sovereignty refers to when the state is the most important thing regarding decision
making.
 The Rome Statue, signed by 123 countries includes legally binding decisions – an example of this is
a warrant for Omar Al-Bashir, de jure president of Sudan
 Another criticism is that it’s difficult to hear all cases. The ECHR has 47 signatories so they
have 47 judges. One judge from each state. This means they can’t hear all cases as there are 10s
of thousands of cases that need to be heard.

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Examine the impact of international law on state sovereignty [12]

• International law infringes on state sovereignty. For example, the Rome statute in 2002 has
123 signatories. Resolutions or decisions passed by the courts are legally binding. For example
Omar Al- Bashir, the president of Sudan is wanted by the criminal court for his actions
against international agreements. Although he is the president, he was still bound by this
Examine the criticisms that have been made of humanitarian interventions [12]
Paragraph 1: One criticism of humanitarian intervention is that it’s part of western double standards
and hypocrisy. Western states go to states for the purpose of humanitarian intervention but then then
treat prisoners inhumanly. The United States has run a prison camp at Guantanamo Bay since 2002. Torture
and the sexual humiliation of prisoners have been widely used in the camp. Prisoners are frequently
chained up for 18 or more hours at a time so that they soil themselves. This shows that many states aren’t
actually intervening in places on the basis of protecting human rights as they don’t care about human
rights.
Paragraph 2: Another criticism of humanitarian intervention is that after humanitarian intervention, human
rights abuses in the invaded country don’t stop. Eg. NATO invaded Libya in 2011 and Gaddafi was
executed. However, Libya is now a rogue state in anarchy. There are many human rights abuses like
modern day slavery and trafficking. The state in Libya hasn’t gotten worse with intervention.
Paragraph 3: Another criticism of humanitarian intervention is that it imposes on state sovereignty. States
don’t agree with other states intervening like Afghanistan didn’t agree with US intervention.
Examine the conditions required for a ‘successful’ humanitarian intervention [12]

• Must save the lives of as many people as possible during the conflict
• Must not have made the situation worse

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Evaluate the view that international courts have been ineffective in securing human rights on a global scale
[25]
Arguably, international courts have not been ineffective in securing human rights on a global scale due to the
tribunals that are set up to secure human rights on a global scale:
 The international criminal court also sets up tribunals for specific crimes and has been successful at
holding these people to account. There have been many tribunals, where special courts are set up to
deal with serious human rights abuses that may have taken place.
 Nuremberg trials after the defeat of Nazi Germany took place in 1945/6, key Nazi figures such
as Goering were trailed and faced capital punishment – condemned to be executed – Yugoslavia
tribunals in 1993 also took place to deal with too – more effort is put into ensuring human rights
–as the Sbrenica massacres saw the deaths of 8,000 men, as well as attacks on women and
children.
However: some tribunals are ineffective, as they are not properly held to account. For example, during
the Tokyo and Nuremburg trial, some individuals were allowed to escape and not be held accountable. For
example, Arthur Rudolph was granted amnesty, as he was a rocket scientist that could be of use to him.
The Unit 131 group were also granted amnesty regardless of their war crimes.
International courts have not been ineffective in securing human rights on a global scale due to the
individuals they have held accountable over crimes against humanity.
 Thomas Lubanga abducted boys and girls under 15 to fight in DPRCs wars, so they wanted to give
him 30 years,
but would reduce his sentence if he gave an apology – girls taken as sex slaves and boys beaten in
camps – 60,000 killed in the conflicts between the Hema and Lendu peoples in that area.
60,000 children in
Northern Uganda – child soldier and believed to have been abducted at 9 years old.
 The UNIC also intervened in a dispute between Britain and Mauritius, over the Chagos islands
However: There has been a claim that the ICC targets mostly African nations, so is racist as 9/10 were
disputes to do with African countries. Until January 2016, all situations which the ICC had been
investigating were in African countries. The ICC has yet to indict a non-African leader of any crime, despite
having a global mandate. African leaders have pointed out that there are a number of western candidates
who could very plausibly be tried for war crimes, for example American leaders over the Vietnam War, the
War in Afghanistan or the 2003 invasion of Iraq, or Israeli leaders over the situation in Palestine
International courts have been ineffective in securing human rights on a global scale as the Rome stature that

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binds countries to the decisions made is generally too weak:

 The Rome stature has jurisdiction of 123 countries, and was signed in 2002 – countries that have
signed the Rome stature are legally bound to the decision made
 However, many powerful countries, including Saudi Arabia, the US, China, India and Israel have
either withdraw from the agreement or failed to initially be a part of it – therefore abuses by
these countries are not highlighted, and they are not held accountable by the international
courts
 Saudi Arabia’s war crimes in Yemen, as well as he Kashoggi murder have not been
highlighted, or the US use of Guantanamo Bay, still with 4o prisoners, or the persecution of a
million Uighur Muslims who are tortured and forced to renounce their religion in China
The European Court of Humans rights is also too weak, so international courts have not been ineffective in
securing human rights on a global scale:
 Prisoner voting is protected by the ECHR, however on hearing this Cameron rejecting it,
stating that he felt ‘physically ill’ – so hasn’t been implemented in the UK
 According to the Daily express, the ECHR has failed to implement 10,000 of its rulings;
including the release of Ilgar Mammadov, who has been in a detention centre, serving 3 years
extra despite this being a major human rights violation, there has also been police brutality
in Bulgaria and HIV prisoner mixing in Greece – all resolutions against these failed to be
implemented.
International courts have not been ineffective in securing human rights on a global scale due to the
unintended effect they have of keeping dictators in power:
 They also point out that the existence of the ICC acts as an extra incentive for dictators to hold
on to power, since if they lose control there is a chance that they might be compelled to appear
before it. This can be seen with Sudan-In 2009 the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an
arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan (who has ruled as a dictator since 1989)
for war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the conflict (genocide was later added to
the indictment). Al Bashir has now recently been ousted
 Also an incentive to keep Venezuelan president Maduro in power (won’t step down – as challenged
by Guadio, as well as Kim Jong-Un for his human rights abuses and nuclear weapons testing, and
Chinese Xi Jinping who abolished presidential terms

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Evaluate the view that humanitarian interventions cause more problems than they solve [25]

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No – humanitarian interventions do not cause more problems than they solve as they secure human rights:
 Humanitarian intervention in Kosovo in 1999. NATO aimed to immediately end repression and
violence by starting a military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the
Kosovo War. The Serbian President accepted NATO’s demands for ending the conflict over
Kosovo. This means that the ethnic cleansing of Albanians driving them into neighbouring
countries ended. Therefore, NATO humanitarian intervention helped to improve international
relations as there was more peace between Albania and Yugoslavia.
 The UN passed numerous resolutions calling for a ceasefire in the Iran-Iraq war and condemning
chemical weapons due
to the massacring of the population and human rights abuses, that were being commit by both sides
All its resolutions condemned ‘both sides’ even though Iraq invaded and used chemical
weapons.
However, this intervention can be seen as worsening international relations as they intervened in Yugoslavia
without approval from the UN. NATO is often seen as an organisation that listens to the principles of the
UN in order to maintain peace and improve relations but did not do so, which makes intervention less
legitimate. China and Russia opposed the campaign. In Iraq attempts to secure human rights are futile as
neither side is sanctions and permanent Security Council member, the US, supplied Iraq with weapons,
working against aims.
No – humanitarian interventions do not cause more problems than they solve help future stability:
 There have been extremely serious human rights abuses, as when the Assad regime used chemical
weapons in 2013 and 2016. The UN brokered talks between the different sides in the conflict
and UN agencies have provided humanitarian aid to the victims.
 The Rwandan Civil War began in 1990 as a conflict between the Hutu dominated government
and the Tutsi dominated
Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). In 1993 the two sides agreed the Arusha Accords to create a
power-sharing government, and the UN Security Council voted to deploy a small peace-keeping
force of about 2,500 soldiers to act as a neutral party to help them achieve that
However: the UN cannot deal with future stability effectively, as seen in Syria. The UN has been
unable to put pressure on the Assad regime to make meaningful concessions because Russia and China have
vetoed almost all resolutions condemning Assad’s actions, even with chemical weapons. Assad regime is a
client state of Russia and has long engaged in military cooperation with China. The Rwandan civil war
saw war crimes occur even with UN peacekeepers through letting war crimes occur - An estimated
500,000 to 1 million Rwandans were killed over the next hundred days, including 70% of the Tutsi
population. The UN peacekeepers had not been given a mandate by the Security Council to use
force, so they did not prevent this.
Yes – humanitarian interventions cause more problems than they solve as they destabilize society:

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 Libyan Civil War of 2011, after Gaddafi followed the principles set out on the green book,
and was part of the Arab Jamahiriya party, which was essentially an oppressive dictatorship –
NATO intervened which infringed on state sovereignty – and although Gaddafi was later
executed under Iraqi law, they still intervened and did so at the expense of the internal stability in
Libya. Libya is now in a state of anarchy after Saddam Hussein, which has left a power
vacuum
 Initially, the situation in Sierra Leone was worsened - The civil war lasted 11 years and left
over 50,000 dead. During the first year of the war, the RUF took control of large swathes of
territory. In 1995, the government hired Executive Outcomes (EO), a South African private
military company with a dubious reputation, to repel the RUF, which they did. The retreating RUF
signed the Abidjan Peace Accord. Under UN pressure, however, the government terminated its
contract with EO before the accord was implemented. No longer afraid of EO, the RUF resumed
hostilities, and in 1997 briefly captured the capital, Freetown, with little resistance.
Yes – humanitarian interventions cause more problems than they solve as they cause further
aggression:
 The Iraq war in 2001 saw Saddam Hussein as even more powerful and aggressive following their
expulsion from Kuwait.
The alleged built up of weapons of mass destruction indicate the steps taken by Hussein after the
crisis – there was further opposition to the west.
 Gaddafi had a famously anti-wester stance in Libya, as caused by Western imperialism – he
refused all help from the west and acted aggressively particularly towards the US, rejecting
their hegemony
 European countries vulnerable to attacks from external powers, in retaliation to their intervention.
For example, the 7/7 bombings and terrorist attacks in Western countries such as Germany
and France have been catalyzed by the intervention of the West in the Middle East
Yes – infringe on state sovereignty and undermine countries self-determination:

 Afghanistan war in 2001 - The U.S. was initially supported by the United Kingdom, Canada,
and Australia and later by a coalition of over 40 countries, including all NATO members. The
war's public aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda and to deny it a safe base of operations in
Afghanistan by removing the Taliban from power. The War in Afghanistan is
the longest war in United States history and has led to further instability in the region –
bombed civilians by accident (mistook for terrorism bases) – bombing of a wedding in 2008
after they though it was Taliban meeting – Taliban are still on the rise and were not
effectively tackled by the US – Afghans, particularly in Pashtun still live in feat of the
Taliban
withdraw from Kuwait after
Saddam Hussein invaded for oil, by January 1991, and empowering states to use ‘all necessary
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means to force Iraq out. Immediately after the expiry of the deadline, a coalition of 35 nations
led by the United States launched an attack on Iraq using aerial and naval bombing and a ground
assault, which forced Iraqi forces out of Kuwait within five weeks – but this infringed on Iraq’s
sovereignty – US invaded Kuwait and undermined the situation as the US took matters into their
own hands, despite the fact that they initially supported Iraq, and allowed them to gain power
in the Middle East

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‘Hard power’ has become increasingly irrelevant in the modern world.” Discuss [25]
Hard power is irrelevant because soft power is more important-

-Pax Britannica-The UK tops league tables of ‘soft-power’ states. One reason is that English is the most
common second-language in the world, spoken by over 1 billion people – about a seventh of the
global population
- British media is broadcast internationally, notably the BBC World Service, BBC World News and The
Economist magazine. British film and literature have international appeal-This means that Britain can
implicitly get other countries to do as they wish without being coercive.
Evaluation:
The only reason Britain was able to obtain this soft power is through military hard power- Britain colonized
24% of the world by 1920. Britain also had one of the largest navies so this meant they could colonize
so many countries - This meant they were able to impose their language and beliefs on other countries eg.
Britain made monasteries in India- many in the Anglican Church, including many missionaries, wanted to
destroy Hinduism and convert the Indian people to Christianity. This means hard power can’t be
irrelevant as it was the underlying reason why Britain could obtain soft power.
Hard power is becoming more irrelevant as economic sanctions sometimes have adverse effects and aren’t
always successful in meeting its aims.

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-The USA, Japan and the EEC imposed comprehensive sanctions on South Africa to end the apartheid
regime. The sanctions led to a 15% inflation rise in South Africa and significant capital flight. There is some
analysis that suggests the primary impact of sanctions was on poor black Africans, rather than the white
ruling class.
-Between 1990 and 1993, the de Klerk government negotiated with Nelson Mandela to bring an end to
the system of apartheid and institute genuinely multiracial elections in 1994, which Mandela’s ANC Party
won. It is arguable that although black majority rule emerged, this was not solely due to the impact of
sanctions.
Economic sanctions also only work if a country is reliant on you for economic growth- Before western
countries imposed sanctions Black African countries had imposed sanctions on South Africa, but these
were not particularly effective since their economies were not as vital to South African exports and
imports.
Hard power isn’t becoming increasingly irrelevant, military hard power is becoming less important
whilst economic hard power is becoming more important. After World War 2-, countries wanted to ensure
that huge wars wouldn’t happen again-this means that countries couldn’t use military hard power as much.
They would have to use a different method of obtaining power-through economic hard power.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (2013-present): This project has been spearheaded by the visions of Xi
Jinping, the ‘core leader’ (general secretary, president and chairman) of China. The overall project has been
called the ‘Silk Roads’, ‘One Belt One Road’, or ‘Belt and Road Initiative’. It is a development strategy
involving infrastructure developments across Europe, Asia and Africa. This involves the building of ports,
roads, railways, and airports. In total, it is expected to cost more than $1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) –
current projected spending is $210,000,000,000 (210 billion). The project also involves buying up and
developing port capacity across the world. China currently controls 10% of major European ports. In March
2019 Italy has been the first G7 country to join China’s one belt project,
Military hard power is still very important although it’s less significant in the modern world-
Evaluate the extent to which the rise of emerging powers has altered the nature of world order
[25]
Emerging powers are having an important effect on the nature of the world order but it is mainly
China that has altered the world stage into bipolarity.

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Emerging powers haven’t altered the world stage as the world is arguably in a state of unipolarity due to US
economic power
- Current US GDP is over $20 trillion, about a quarter of the world’s GDP.
- large population (over 320 million) that is highly educated, with more than 80% living in urban areas.
- The US dollar is the currency most used in international transactions and is the world’s foremost
reserve currency, backed by faith in the US economy.
- Well developed infrastructure and high productivity including the main global hub for digital
technology and companies like Apple, Google, Facebook and Visa (Of the world’s 500 largest
companies, 134 are headquartered in the USA.)
- The USA is also home to the world’s largest financial markets, especially in New York and Chicago –
foreign investments made in the US total almost $2.4 trillion.
Emerging powers haven’t altered the world stage as the world is still in a state of unipolarity due
to US soft power
The USA has driven the prominence of English through the products that it exports worldwide – cars,
electronics (Apple, Microsoft), food (McDonalds, Starbucks, Coca Cola) and the entertainment industry
(music, Hollywood).
- American media is accessed across the world-CNN, Fox News, Comedy Central
-Hip-Hop comes from the US and is the main genre of Music across the world
Emerging powers haven’t altered the world stage as the world is still in a state of unipolarity due to
US military power
-The USA possesses the world’s most technologically advanced military, with a truly global reach. They use
‘drones’, to carry out surveillance and bombing raids abroad with minimal risk to US personnel.
- The USA maintains a nuclear stockpile of nearly 7000 warheads

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- The US navy is the largest in the world and has ‘blue-water’ capability – it is able to operate
anywhere in any ocean in the world, even far from US shores. (20 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers)
- The USA also maintains over 800 military bases across the planet, with the majority concentrated
in the Caribbean, the Middle East, Europe, and Japan/South Korea.
- When the USA used decisive force against Iraq in 2003, it took less than a month to capture Baghdad.
Emerging powers have arguably altered the nature of the world order because China in particular has
become an important economic power
-Chinese membership of the G20 has led to that organisation being seen as more influential and
important than the more Western-oriented G7. China has been strengthening its political and economic
links with countries such as Australia and those in central Africa, parts of the Middle East and Latin
America to gain access to natural resources.
-China weathered the 2008 financial crisis with relative ease, being one of the few countries in the
world to be running a surplus, spending less than it earns in tax revenue.-Chinese companies provide
financial investment for local infrastructure – building schools, roads and hospitals, increasingly under the
umbrella of the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2019, Italy was the first G7 country to join China’s one
belt initiative.
The world could arguably changed to a state of multipolarity because of economic interdependence
Emerging powers have economic power and because states are dependent on eachother, they are arguably
equally as important as eachother.
-Brazil has becoming the leading power in South America. It has the eighth-largest economy in the world,
and is rich in natural resources such as iron, gold, uranium and timber. Brazil’s estimated reserves of natural
resources is $21.8 trillion.
- Russia possesses about 30% of the world’s mineral resources, equivalent to a total value of $75
trillion India-Fastest growing major economy since 2014, Cheap production of manufactured
industry goods
-China-according to World Bank statistics, China has the second largest GDP in 2017
The nature of the world stage could be classified as multipolar because of the military power of emerging
powers
-Russia & China- Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China-Russia military exercise, begins its eight-day
training on the Shandong Peninsula. Naval and air blockades, amphibious assault, and occupation
techniques were practiced. 8,000 Chinese and 2,000 Russians were involved.
-India has one if the biggest armies in the world
- Brazil has the third-largest military in the Americas (behind the USA and Colombia
To what extent is the world in a state of unipolarity since 2000

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Emerging powers haven’t altered the world stage as the world is arguably in a state of unipolarity due to US
economic power
- Current US GDP is over $20 trillion, about a quarter of the world’s GDP.
- Large population (over 320 million) that is highly educated, with more than 80% living in urban
areas.
- The US dollar is the currency most used in international transactions and is the world’s foremost
reserve currency, backed by faith in the US economy.
- Well-developed infrastructure and high productivity including the main global hub for digital
technology and companies like Apple, Google, Facebook and Visa (Of the world’s 500 largest
companies, 134 are headquartered in the USA.)
- The USA is also home to the world’s largest financial markets, especially in New York and Chicago –
foreign investments made in the US total almost $2.4 trillion.
Emerging powers haven’t altered the world stage as the world is still in a state of unipolarity due
to US soft power
The USA has driven the prominence of English through the products that it exports worldwide – cars,
electronics (Apple, Microsoft), food (McDonalds, Starbucks, Coca Cola) and the entertainment industry
(music, Hollywood).
- American media is accessed across the world-CNN, Fox News, Comedy Central
-Hip-Hop comes from the US and is the main genre of Music across the world

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Emerging powers haven’t altered the world stage as the world is still in a state of unipolarity due to
US military power
-The USA possesses the world’s most technologically advanced military, with a truly global reach. They use
‘drones’, to carry out surveillance and bombing raids abroad with minimal risk to US personnel.
- The USA maintains a nuclear stockpile of nearly 7000 warheads
- The US navy is the largest in the world and has ‘blue-water’ capability – it is able to operate
anywhere in any ocean in the world, even far from US shores. (20 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers)
- The USA also maintains over 800 military bases across the planet, with the majority concentrated
in the Caribbean, the Middle East, Europe, and Japan/South Korea.
- When the USA used decisive force against Iraq in 2003, it took less than a month to capture
Baghdad. The world could be seen as being in a state of bipolarity because the importance of
China
- Chinese membership of the G20 has led to that organisation being seen as more influential and
important than the more Western-oriented G7. China has been strengthening its political and
economic links with countries such as Australia and those in central Africa, parts of the Middle East and
Latin America to gain access to natural resources.
-China weathered the 2008 financial crisis with relative ease, being one of the few countries in the
world to be running a surplus, spending less than it earns in tax revenue.-Chinese companies provide
financial investment for local infrastructure – building schools, roads and hospitals, increasingly under the
umbrella of the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2019, Italy was the first G7 country to join China’s one
belt initiative.
The world can be seen as a state of multipolarity because of the importance of emerging powers
Brazil has becoming the leading power in South America. It has the eighth-largest economy in the world,
and is rich in natural resources such as iron, gold, uranium and timber. Brazil’s estimated reserves of
natural resources is $21.8 trillion.
- Russia possesses about 30% of the world’s mineral resources, equivalent to a total value of $75
trillion India-Fastest growing major economy since 2014, Cheap production of manufactured
industry goods
-China-according to World Bank statistics, China has the second largest GDP in 2017
The nature of the world stage could be classified as multipolar because of the military power of emerging
powers
-Russia & China- Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China-Russia military exercise, begins its eight-day
training on the Shandong Peninsula. Naval and air blockades, amphibious assault, and occupation
techniques were practiced. 8,000 Chinese and 2,000 Russians were involved.
-India has one if the biggest armies in the world
- Brazil has the third-largest military in the Americas (behind the USA and
Colombia Unit 3.5 (Regionalism)
lOMoARcPSD|10678020
Evaluate the extent to which regionalism helps to address global issues (25)
Regionalism has had a limited influence on environmental issues:

 In 2000 the AU made sustainable development was made one of their underlying objectives.
However they haven’t taken any further actions from this
 Some of ASEAN’s policies have had negative impacts on the environment – for example they
plant palms too – as some countries within this are developing countries so they may emit
some of these bad greenhouse gases in the process – to develop manufacturing industries in their
economy.
 Even some EU schemes have had negative repercussions- for example, the Common
Agricultural Policy has a decline in European bird and insect populations by maintaining an
artificially high level of cultivation. They are part of the UNFCCC which have failed to achieve
reductions in emissions.
However – many of these countries have set targets and goals - The Arab league and the
environment: April 2018, Arab Leaders, during the Summit of the Arab League adopted the Arab strategy on
health and the environment and its strategic action guideline (2017–2030). The Arab Strategy outlines nine
environmental health priorities in the following areas: Water, sanitation and health, air pollution, food safety,
chemical safety, climate change and healt. They have Integrated the principles of sustainable development
into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources. Proportion of land area
covered by forest: 45% since 2005, prevented commercial deforestation. Active replanting of trees.
Regionalism has had a limited influence on human rights:

 AU member states set to implement agricultural led investment plans and the Comprehensive
African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) framework. To enhance food security,
eliminate hunger and reduce poverty while simultaneously increasing economic growth.
Malabo Declaration Principles, the AU has set to end hunger by 2025 through agricultural
growth and transformation, boosting intra-Africa trade in commodities.
 According to the Third Arab Report on the MDGs 2010, Arab countries are on track with
respect to halving the proportion of people living below $ 1.25 a day, i.e the poorest of the
poor. (less than 5 per cent widespread poverty in 2005-2009)
 The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. ASEAN launched its first ever
Emergency Rapid Assessment Team for the Rohingya Crisis, reports led to the creation of the
ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force and the TCG brought ASEAN, the Myanmar government and the
United Nations together to facilitate response operations in a manner that was acceptable. They
promote and protects human rights and freedoms as long as they do not run counter to history,
politics, religions, or economic context of the member state.
 Even the EU has the ECJ in order to uphold human rights and is committed to this system.
However – ASEAN has a policy of “Non-interference” with each other’s internal affairs therefore means
ASEAN has failed to improve the human rights situation. Myanmar: Journalists reporting on rights

lOMoARcPSD|10678020
violations against the Rohingya last year, which may amount to crimes against humanity, have been denied
access to the area, while government dismissed reports of rape/sexual violence. Duterte dispensed with
denials of journalists and human rights activists. Conducted “war on drugs”, resulting in 7000+ deaths,
Duterte threatened people who report on these human rights.
Arab charter of human rights, limited education to women, capital punishment for children, women can’t
work. There are harsh living standards. Conflict in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen drive poverty. Syria -80 percent
of the population in poverty, life expectancy has been cut by 20 years.

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Regional Governments help to tackle poverty in the global community:

 AU member states set to implement agricultural led investment plans and the Comprehensive
African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) framework. To enhance food security,
eliminate hunger and reduce poverty while increasing economic growth.
 According to the Malabo Declaration Principles, the AU has set to end hunger by 2025 through
inclusive agricultural growth and transformation, boosting intra-Africa trade in agricultural
commodities. Within the Arab League, Iran has lifted itself through trade
 The countries in ASEAN with a national poverty line have managed to reduce both the share of
their populations living below their national and the international poverty line (IPL) to less than
half. Underweight children at the regional level has been reduced to half. There has been a
comprehensive improvement of the educational system, in net enrolment, literacy and gender
equality. Under 5 mortality rate has reduced by 2/3 (1990-2015). 81% of population use
improved drinking water source. 78% of population use improved sanitation facility. 1990, 47% of
the population of 6 members were living below the standard poverty line of $1.25 PPP, this has
been reduced by 2/3 + - (Not Philippines and Thailand)
 The European Union has also provided money to developing countries – giving £2.6 billion to
Latin America – so tackles these issues.
Regional governments help to tackle conflict in the global community:

 The AU made significant progress against Al Shabaab militants with support from the African
Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Approved by the UN Security Council. Mandated to
support transitional governmental structures, train Somalian security forces and create a secure
environment for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
 The Arab League has made advancements - Beirut Summit on 28 March 2002, the league
adopted a peace plan for the Arab–Israeli conflict. In exchange, Israel was required to withdraw
from all occupied territories. In 2015, the Arab League voiced support for Saudi Arabian-led
military intervention in Yemen against Shia Houthis.
 The Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone (1995) - non-proliferation of nuclear
weapons as well as to the safety of the region. Bangkok Declaration of (1967): Stated ASEAN
would avoid interference in intrastate conflicts.
 The European Union has members which are part of NATO and have also intervened - the EU
is also a part of the Middle East Quartet, alongside the UN and US and Russia who work
together and attempt to achieve peace and also prevent the risk of conflict by giving money– $6
million to the Phillipines.

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Regionalism helps to address global issues like environmental problems
Analyse the divisions between liberals and realists regarding human nature [12]
Realist view on power in global politics

-States are motivated by the pursuit of the national interest which is always power.
-Classical realists believe that power is a good in itself
-structural neo-realists see it as a means of security. The more powerful a state is, the better able it is
to protect itself against other states. It is not known how much power guarantees security, so the safest
course is for a state to become the hegemon (the dominant world power).
-States therefore compete with each other for military and economic power at the expense of each other
-Power is a zero sum game, if one state gains power, another state has to lose power
-Realists argue that in a unipolar system the dominant power can act as the world’s police officer eg.
Pax Britannicus and Pax Americana and guarantee economic and financial stability by setting and
maintaining ground rules for economic behaviour. The USA was the guardian of peace and security at the
end of the 20th century
Liberal view on power in global politics

-Liberals don’t believe that power is a zero sum game but that all states can gain power. The persuit of
power isn’t a game of winners and losers
-Liberals claim that bipolarity causes tension and insecurity, resulting from its tendency to breed
hegemonic ambition and prioritise military power. Bipolarity led to an arms race that came near to
producing a nuclear conflict in the Cuban missile crisis
-Liberals argue that unipolarity promotes fear, resentment and hostility towards the dominant power among
other powers. The USA’s invasion of Iraq was an act of obsession with power that increased hostility to it
in the Middle East and spawned new enemies like ISIS
-Liberals claim that multipolarity is a movement towards multilateralism-greater co-operation and
integration. The agreement at the Paris climate change conference to keep global warming below 2 degrees

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above pre- industrial levels shows how co-operation can increase in a multipolar world. The UN is also
an example.

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Analyse the divisions between liberals and realists on order and security [12]
Realist idea of conflict

-People and states are selfish and will always seek power amorally
-Power is a limited resource and pursuing power is a zero-sum game. This can be explained by the security
dilemma
-There is no regulatory authority
-Therefore, the conclusion that war is inevitable seems to be inescapable from a realist perspective.
Liberal idea on conflict

The foundation of modern liberal theory is not that conflict is impossible, but that it can be made less
likely and avoided by pursuing certain cooperative mechanisms. In other words, peace is not the default
position, but it is achievable.
-These mechanisms can be seen in the ‘Kantian Triangle’
-The Kantian triangle explains that democracy, economic interdependence and international
organisations would lead to peace and make conflict less likely
Analyse the divisions between liberals and realists on the existence and impact of international
organisations in global politics [12]
Paragraph 1:
Realists and Liberals are divided regarding the significance of states in the modern world. Realists believe
that states are more significant.
-Realists co-operate with each other in the short term but states are selfish and act in their own interest. This
links back to Conservatism which argues that human nature is selfish. This is rooted in conservative ideals
on human imperfection; as humans are selfish actors, states must therefore portray the same selfish
characteristics in turn.
-Power is seen to be a zero-sum game between states, so states can only gain power at the expense of other
states.
-States are the key actors in the international system and pursue a national interest defined by power
according to realists. They are not concerned with morality or justice, only acting in a way that benefits
themselves.
-Conflict is therefore inevitable between states, as seen through recent ideas regarding Brexit. The UK
voted to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum, which from a realist perspective was due
to the loss in sovereignty joining the Union meant. As power is a zero-sum game, leaving the EU would
give back power to the UK over their own internal decisions and nationally through allowing it to
decide for itself.

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-Furthermore, although states co-operate for for the greater good, humanitarian intervention can be for
self interest. The British invaded Iraq in 2003 to supposedly look for weapons that could be used for
terrorist attacks. However, it’s likely that the US was only invading for oil and the British followed
along. Western intentions to gain oil in the regions meant that their humanitarian intervention wasn’t
sincere. The US wanted more power and hegemony so they intervened in the region. In this way, realists
believe that states are unitary

lOMoARcPSD|10678020
actors characterized by their greed for power. Therefore, in the modern world, realists believe that states are
more significant than liberals.
Paragraph 2:
-Liberals believe that international institutions are more significant in the modern world than states
compared to realists. States are not defined by selfish behaviours, and often act according to their moral
principles rather than self-interest.
-This would make states co-operate with each other. This is rooted in the liberal idea of rationalism, and
the fact that states can act morally as they are rational actors.
-States can also co-operate well with the UN. For example, the UN Security Council has members from
different countries who work together to enforce international peace, showing that they are significant.
This means that power may not be a zero-sum game.
-Furthermore, NATO has intervened in the Kosovo war in 1999 to create peace in the Balkans. Countries
had no selfish reasons for this intervention other than to create peace, so this shows that international
organisations are more important in the modern world. This means that power may not be a zero-sum
Game. Compared to Realists, liberals are arguing that when states work in an international framework
there are better outcomes.
In conclusion, liberals and realists have differing ideals on the significance of states today. Realists argue
that states are important as they are unitary actors that are characterized by selfishness, so are more
important that international organisations, which can only survive in the short term. By comparison,
Liberals think that international organisations which makes states co-operate is more important than
the individual state.
Therefore, realists believe that states are more significant in the modern world, whereas liberals put more
emphasis on international organisations states contribute to.
Analyse the divisions between liberals and realists on the state and globalisation [12]
Realists would argue that globalisation is exaggerated in its scope and scale, and is merely an extension of
previous global flows of trade and capital, such as the Silk Roads between China and Rome in the ancient
world. The realist perspective is that the Westphalian system still exists, and that globalisation has not
eroded state sovereignty - in the Hobbesian sense, the state still has absolute power over its citizens. As
such, it can wantonly disregard the directives of globalised international courts or laws, as in the case of
China’s persecution of the Uighurs or the Saudi war in Yemen. Although globalised political institutions
such as the UN, NATO or the EU may exist, states enter such arrangements of their own volition and
leave them when they

lOMoARcPSD|10678020
feel that they no longer serve their needs or feel that their ability to make sovereign decisions (e.g.
over economic policy or immigration policy) are being infringed. This was the case in Brexit, for
example. Likewise, the globalised economy is seen as an exaggeration by realists - states will eventually
return to regional trade or isolationism if they feel that global flows of trade and industry
disadvantage them (for example, the tariffs that Trump has applied to Chinese steel). Where globalised
institutions do appear to be working, this is not a truly collaborative effort - since, in the conservative
sense, states merely reflect the moral imperfection and selfishness of individual humans - but because
a powerful state is dominating the institution to serve its own interests - for example, American
domination of NATO or German domination of the EU. Ultimately, globalisation in the realist view,
will generate an inevitable cultural backlash - Huntington’s ‘clash of civilisations’ - as sovereign states
seek to defend their traditional conservative identity from the onset of cultural homogeneity.

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Analyse the divisions between liberals and realists on political global governance [12]
Paragraph 1:
-Realist view on political global governance:
-Realists would say is that states will use those institutions to further their own national interests
rather than to pursue a common global good [e.g. Iran/UN]
-Successful co-operative institutions only work because a dominant power makes it work, not because
states are truly cooperating [e.g. EU/Germany]
-Although temporary co-operation is possible, permanent institutionalised co-operation is doomed to fail as
selfish states’ pursuit of power will lead to cooperation failing and allies cannot be indefinitely trusted
[e.g.Trump’s attempt to withdraw the USA from NAFTA]
Paragraph 2:
-Liberal view on political global governance:
-International organisations emerged so states can co-operate.
-After World War Two, international institutions emerged to prevent a Third World War
-
Analyse the divisions between liberals and realists on economic global governance [12]
Analyse the divisions between liberals and realists on global governance of human rights [12]
Realist perspective:
Realists believe that human rights is just used as a front for states-they act like they care about human
rights but this is really for their own selfish gain
This stems from the Conservative view that human nature is selfish. Eg Hobbes
-The US intervened in Afghanistan after 9/11 to get rid of the taliban and avoid attacks on
-USA and the U.K. intervened in Iraq in 2003. They said it was to find weapons of mass destruction but this
was mainly to avoid an attack from Al Qaeda on American soil.
Liberal perspective:
Liberals believe that USA and UK intervention isn’t for selfish reasons-they believe that states are co-
operating because it’s for their own good.
-Arguably NATO has been successful as their humanitarian intervention has been able to help
vulnerable groups from being massacred. For instance, the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a
former republic of Yugoslavia with a multiethnic population. There were Bosnian Muslims, Serbs and
lOMoARcPSD|10678020
Croats who had conflict between each other. The deteriorating situation led to the UN protection force
asking NATO to launch air strikes to stop the situation. NATO air strikes that year helped bring the
Yugoslav Wars to an end, resulting in the Dayton Agreement in November 1995. As part of the
agreement, NATO deployed a UN peacekeeping force. This shows that humanitarian intervention by
NATO is successful and effective as they were able to stop the Yugoslav war and maintain peace in
the area.
-Furthermore, another example of successful humanitarian intervention by NATO is the Kosovo War in
1999. NATO aimed to immediately end repression and violence by starting a military operation against
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The Serbian President accented NATO’s
demands for ending the conflict over Kosovo. This means that the ethnic cleansing of Albanians
driving them into neighbouring countries ended. Therefore, NATO humanitarian intervention is
successful as it was able to bring an end to conflicts in Europe.
Analyse the divisions between realists and liberals regarding developments in the distribution of
global power since 2000 [12]
Liberal View:
Liberals believe that unipolarity is a dangerous system as there are no checks on the power of the hegemon.
Britain’s power led to crimes and millions of deaths from famine and colonialism in Africa and India
Bipolarity is better than unipolarity but it’s still not ideal due to unforeseeable circumstances.
Multipolarity is the best system of polarity because states are forced to co-operate with eachother because no
one state has sufficient power to act alone.
Realist View:
Realists believe that unipolarity is the most stable system as other states have no choice but to fall in line or
be destroyed.
Bipolarity is a natural tendency in world order. States seek to establish such a balance to curb hegemonic
ambitions of all states-mutually assured destruction.
Multipolarity-States seek power by breaking old alliances and forming new ones. States switch from
one alliance to another-power is a zero sum game. Just one becoming more powerful would ruin the entire
system.
Analyse the divisions between realists and liberals on regionalism and the EU
[12] Realist perspective on regionalism:

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-Countries only join regional organisations if it benefits them and gives them power. States are selfish and
seek power as human nature is selfish, as argued by Hobbes
-They would leave if it doesn’t benefit them and this can be seen by Brexit or the USA’s
attempts to leave NAFTA.
They believe larger states would dominate-Germany dominates and benefits the most from the EU
Regional organisations are temporary as people leave when they realise it doesn’t benefit them.eg. Brexit
and only join if it benefits them
The security dilemma-the African Union was formed as an organisation against the West and ASEAN was
formed against rising power of China and North Korea.
It magnifies power of larger states eg. German power is magnified in the EU
Liberal perspective on regionalism:

Countries work better together-the Kantian triangle and the Stag Hunt scenario. The stag hunt scenario.
Liberals believe that human nature is fundamentally altruistic and co-operative and that we can achieve more
power working in concert than fighting over a (wrongly-perceived) limited amount of power. This has
been classically illustrated in the ‘Stag Hunt’ scenario-the hunters are better off working together.

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IB Global politics Questions & Answer plans

12- mark questions

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Examine the benefits of cultural globalisation [12]

 Another benefit of cultural globalisation is the increased possibility of co-existence and

-13 Marks Questions

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

12- marks question

Examine the benefits of economic globalisation [12]

 Another benefit of economic globalisation is a reduction in poverty. Economic globalisation

 Economic globalisation is creating a supranational state/interconnectedness – e.g tariffs are

Examine the criticisms made of economic globalisation [12]

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

 Another criticism made of economic globalisation is that it causes ecological destruction.

 This can lead to corporations:

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

 TNCS exploit other countries workers and conditions:

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

 Another criticism of political globalisation is that its dominated by larger states:

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Examine the impacts of globalisation on the state system [12]

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Examine the significance of globalisation with regards to international law [12]

Examine the causes of globalisation [12]

Another cause of globalisation is changes in the speed and cost of transport:

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Yes – international institutions infringe on state sovereignty:

Yes – humanitarian interventions by global institutions eroded sovereignty:

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Yes – humanitarian interventions by global institutions eroded sovereignty:

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Evaluate the view that the skeptical perspective on globalisation is an exaggeration

[Skeptical – no interdependence or action]

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Yes – Cultural globalisation cannot be reversed:

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Yes – Globalisation has created economic interdependence:

Yes – economic integration/ dependency/ stops war:

Yes – economic leads to political and cultural globalisation:

Yes – economic globalisation has tackled global poverty in general

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

No – political – cause’s international institutions:

 Political globalisation is the process of increasing cooperation and coordination between

No – cultural – liberal democracy:

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No – intervention causes further problems; as human rights aren’t upheld regardless:

No – infringes on global sovereignty through intervention to stop war:

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Yes – global governance has worked towards alleviating poverty:

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Examine the strengths of the United Nations [12]

President Kabbah declared the Sierra Leone Civil War over.

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)

Examine the strengths of NATO [12]

Examine the criticisms that have been made of NATO [12]

Compiled by: Akoh Nixon Akoh (nixon.akoh@enkoeducation.com)