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Edexcel A Level Politics > C3: Global Governance: Political & Economic > Flashcards

C3: Global Governance: Political & Economic Flashcards

1
Q

What are the two main types of global governance?

A

Political & Economic

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2
Q

What are some examples of intergovernmental organisations?

A

The UN, NATO

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3
Q

What is a ‘World Government’?

A

The idea of a common political authority with legislative & executive power over other states.

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4
Q

What is the only intergovernmental organisation where all states in the world can be members?

A

The UN

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5
Q

When was the UN set up?

A

1945

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6
Q

Who are the permanent members of the UN Security Council?

A

China, UK, USA, Russia, France

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7
Q

What are the main organs of the UN?

A

Security Council
General Assembly
Economic & Social Council
International Court of Justice
UN Secretariat

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8
Q

What are some general strengths of the UN?

A

Global forum where every country is a member
Allows equal representation of all states within the international system
Unique in the world
Favours talking over war

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9
Q

What are some general weaknesses of the UN?

A

Works as a talking shop but has little power
Gives equal say to dictators as democracies
Represents the interests of the states, not their people

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10
Q

What is the UN Security Council & what does it do?

A

The UNSC is a body that authorises military action to resolve conflicts. It has 5 permanent members, and ten non-permanent members who are elected in blocs of five every year to serve 2-year terms. All members have a vote, but permanent members have a full veto.

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11
Q

What are some strengths of the UNSC?

A

Represents realities of world power
Can be a powerful force when acting collaboratively
Represents the ideal of collective security
Formed to maintain world peace

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12
Q

What are some weaknesses of the UNSC?

A

Often powerless due to permanent member veto
Gives too much power to already very powerful states
Represents the power structure of 1945
Lack of permanent members from South America & Africa
Hard to reform, permanent members must agree to changes

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13
Q

What is the UN Economic & Social Council & what does it do?

A

A body that oversees the many UN agencies & their work on economic & social issues.
These agencies include the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation, the World Health Organisation, etc.

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14
Q

What are some strengths of the UN Economic & Social council?

A

Important global issues have a forum
Quietly gets on with its task - improves the lives of millions
Focuses on sustainable development

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15
Q

What are some weaknesses of the UN Economic & Social council?

A

Not powerful enough
Unclear & misunderstood role
Too decentralised
Underfunded

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16
Q

What is the International Court of Justice & what does it do?

A

It’s the principle judicial organ of the UN, and resolves disputes between member states. It’s based in the Hague, and has 15 judges elected for 9 year terms.

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17
Q

What are some strengths of the ICJ?

A

Upholds the idea of international rule of law
Upholds the principle that conflicts should be resolved peacefully
Genuine neutrality makes decisions legitimate
Gives states an oppourtunity to back down in conflict without losing face
Genuine need, as there are so many disputes

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18
Q

What are some weaknesses of the ICJ?

A

Can’t enforce rulings
Both states involved need to agree to the ICJ having jurisdiction

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19
Q

What is the UN Secretariat & what does it do?

A

It comprises the secretary-general of the UN and the staff members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN.
The secretary-general of the UN is appointed by the generel assembly for a five-year term & is the head of the secretariat.

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20
Q

What does NATO stand for?

A

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

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21
Q

What was NATO’s early role?

A

Prevent USSR expansion during the Cold War

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22
Q

Why did the end of the Cold War affect NATO?

A

It had a crisis of purpose - the USSR was gone now

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23
Q

What is NATO’s new role in the modern day?

A

Collective security & promotion of peace & freedom

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24
Q

When is the only time Article 5 has been triggered by NATO?

A

9/11

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25
Q

Why was NATO involvement in Afghanistan controversial?

A

Military personnel suffered considerable casualties
Hard to swing it as ‘acting defensively’
Arguably did nothing for the interests of member states
Many civilians were killed by NATO bombings

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26
Q

Why have relations between Russia & NATO been strained?

A

NATO expansion eastward
Russia invaded Ukraine 2022
Russia took Crimea in 2014
Historical conflict - USSR vs. NATO

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27
Q

What are some strengths of NATO?

A

Countries are bound by values of freedom & democracy
Achieved its purpose of deterring Soviet/Russian aggression against member states
Has effectively changed with the times
Spends about 70% of the world’s total military expenditure
Technologically advanced
Proven to be capable in action

28
Q

What are some weaknesses of NATO?

A

Too reliant on the USA
Requires unaniminity for decisions to be made
All states have different national interests
Questionable whether states would actually come to the aid of an attacked state

29
Q

What is the IMF?

A

International Monetary Fund - has 3 purposes;
Economic Surveillance, capacity development, and lending.

30
Q

When was the IMF set up?

A

1945 - product of Bretton-Woods

31
Q

How many members of the IMF are there?

A

190

32
Q

Where is the IMF based?

A

Washington DC

33
Q

How does voting work within the IMF?

A

A country’s vote share is relative to the size of their economies.
Decisions require at least 85% of the vote from all member states.

34
Q

What are some strengths of the IMF?

A

It seems to be effective - helped restart world economies after WW2
Will lend to countries with no other sources of finance - bailed out Spain, Greece, and others in 2007-08 due to financial crash
Has adapted to changing international context - refocused on surveillance after the unpredicted 2007 crash

35
Q

What are some weaknesses of the IMF?

A

USA dominated - 85% of the vote is needed, 17% of the vote belongs to the USA, meaning they have an effective veto
Created by the USA
Based in Washington DC

36
Q

What is the World Bank?

A

An organisation very close to the IMF that attempts to reduce world poverty.

37
Q

What does the World Bank do?

A

It provides low-interest loans to countries that need development - loaned over £63 billion in 2016

38
Q

What are some strengths of the World Bank?

A

Willing to adapt - involved local people & ensures money is spent well
Key disseminator of development information
Works closely with the UN to solve extreme poverty - redistributed wealth to help those in poorer countries

39
Q

What are some weaknesses of the World Bank?

A

Spends too little - Spent only $63bn in 2016 compared to US military spending of $600bn
Encourages reliance on cash crops for developing nations - countries then become reliant on TNCs for trade
No requirement for good governance - funds some corrupt regimes
Encourages some unsustainable development - Environment has been damaged to make space for crops
Massively USA dominated - follows their model of economics for all countries

40
Q

What is the WTO?

A

World Trade Organisation - settles trade disputes between member nations & is the primary instrument of international trade law.
Set up 1995 in Marrakesh, budget of £176m per year.

41
Q

What are some strengths of the WTO?

A

164 members - wide reach
WTO can impose sanctions on member states that break rules
Generally reduces trade conflicts
Successful in reducing tariff barriers

42
Q

What are some weaknesses of the WTO?

A

Broadens global wealth gap - economic globalisation
No elected legitimacy to pass laws
Dominated by the West
Still rampant protectionism
Indifferent to the impact on worker rights, environment, and health

43
Q

What is the G7?

A

Group of 7 - an informal bloc of industrialised democracies that meet anually to discuss issues such as security, gloabl economic governance, and energy policy.

44
Q

Who are the members of the G7?

A

USA, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK

45
Q

What are some strengths of the G7?

A

It acts as a forum where states can discuss things more openly
It’s small enough to reach agreements quickly & easily
It has undertaken effective political moves - cancelled $10bn of debt

46
Q

What are some weaknesses of the G7?

A

Started as a ‘rich countries’ club - no longer reflects top 7 economies
Doesn’t deal effectively with issues
Eclipsed by the G20

47
Q

What is the G20?

A

The Group of 20 - meets every year to discuss global issues
Covers 85% of world GDP & 75% of World Trade

48
Q

Who are the members of the G20?

A

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA, EU.
(Spain is permanently invited but not a member)

49
Q

What are some strengths of the G20?

A

More diverse than the G7
Rotating presidency once per year (currently Narendra Modi)
All members hold equal say
G20 replaced G7

50
Q

What are some weaknesses of the G20?

A

No formal organisation or meetings
No membership criteria
Lack of transparency & accountability - discussions are behind closed doors
No formal charter

51
Q

What is the North-South divide?

A

A line drawn in the Brandt report 1980 that showed the line between ‘developed’ and ‘undeveloped’

52
Q

What is the Brandt Report?

A

A report written in 1980 that came up with development theories such as the North-South divide

53
Q

What is Dependency theory?

A

Emphasises structural imbalances within capitalism that impose dependency on poorer states through things like cash crops

54
Q

What is world-systems theory?

A

Suggests there is a world economic system developed as a result of the spread of capitalism, where some countries are exploited for others to benefit.

55
Q

What is Absolute poverty?

A

Defined by the organisation of economic cooperation & development as income that is 50% less than the average household
Otherwise defined as the inability to meet material needs

56
Q

What is the OECD?

A

Organisation of Economic Cooperation & Development

57
Q

What is Classical development theory?

A

Claims poverty is a lack of income of resources, and that the free market will help to fix this.

58
Q

What is Structural Theory?

A

Argues that poverty is due to global inequality perpetuated by TNCs & rich countries

59
Q

How do institutes of global governance help to solve Poverty?

A

IMF has a budget of $1.2bn - lending capacity of $1 trillion
IMF helped Jordan 1993-1999
Reduced inflation in Tanzania from 37.9% in 1994 to 4.1% in 2004
World Bank provided $104.4bn in loans 2022

60
Q

How do institutes of global governance not help to solve poverty?

A

Poorer countries have limited participation
No accountability
Many of these are loans, not grants
IMF failed with Tanzania - lowered trade boundaries, made education cost, & sold the health service to private hands; AIDS rate rose by 8% & literacy fell by half
USA-style economics doesn’t work for everyone

61
Q

How could the IMF be reformed?

A

More accountability
Equal representation for all countries
Less USA dominated
Abandon one-size-fits-all mentality

62
Q

How could the World bank be reformed?

A

Make it not run by the USA
More money to give
Prerequisites for grants
No cash crop reliance

63
Q

How could the UN be reformed?

A

Remove UNSC permanent member veto
Remove UNSC permanent members altogether

64
Q

How could NATO be reformed?

A

Increase political power to make it a talking shop rather than a military threat
Make it less reliant on the USA

65
Q

What were the UN’s Millenium & sustainable development goals?

A

Eradicate extreme poverty & hunger
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat disease such as HIV
Ensure environmmental sustainability
Develop global partnerships for sustainable development

Edexcel A Level Politics (18 decks)

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