EQ4: what are the threats to national sovereignty in a more globalised world

Question 1

define national symbols

Answer 1

visual images linked strongly to sovereign states and nations, such as flags, coats of arms, national colours, national football stripes, flowers and animals. most are bold and instantly recognisable

Question 2

what are the four key ways that national identity in the UK is reinforced

Answer 2

• education : ‘Fundamental British Values’ taught in UK schools: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith
• sport: national teams use national symbols such as the rose (rugby) and lions (football, cricket) as well as strips and kits using colours and symbols from the Union flag
• political parties: the conservative party logo is an oak tree in the colours of the union flag and the Labour Party uses a red rose- all symbols with national links
• brands: Burberry, British Airways, Rimmel often stress their ‘britishness’, or stress their links to a particular UK location, such as London

Question 3

what are two definitions of ‘Britishness’

Answer 3

UK government, home office (2002) : ‘to be British is to respect those over-arching specific institutions, values, beliefs and traditions that bind us all’
Commission for Racial Equality (2005) : ‘Britishness is organised around geography, people, national symbols, citizenship, values and attitudes, cultural habits and behaviour, language and historical achievements.’

Question 4

define ‘national character’

Answer 4

describes the personality of people in a nation, including manners, humour, formality/informality in different social and business situations, expression of emotions and many other cultural characteristics

Question 5

give some examples of ‘British characteristics’

Answer 5

(according to 2016 surveys on Britons)

• wearing summer clothing at the first sight of sun
• apologising automatically
• ability to talk at length about the weather
• making a cup of tea in response to a crisis
• finding queue-jumping the ultimate crime
• forming a queue for pretty much anything
• typically British ‘stiff-upper lip’
• making sarcastic/ dry jokes
• finding American forwardness ‘a bit much’
• avoiding eye contact on public transport
• insisting the other person goes through the door first

Question 6

what suggests a shift to associating oneself to a broader British identity rather than more local ‘Englishness’

Answer 6

• in 1992, 62% of people living in England described themselves as ‘British’ and about 30% english
• by 2012, British had declined to 44% and ‘English’ increased to 44%.

Question 7

what data suggests that despite decades of EU political, economic and social integration, the idea of nationality is very strong and resists erosion.

Answer 7

Eurobarometer survey found:

• only about 2% of citizens identify themselves as European only.
• 40% identify as only their nationality

Question 8

what are some examples of high-value UK brands which are now owned by foreign companies.

Answer 8

• Rolls Royce (Owned by Germany since 1998)
• Cadbury chocolate (bought by US in 2010)
• Pizza Express, Hamley’s and Weetabix (owned by Chinese companies.

Question 9

give reasons why foreign companies, and individuals, might want to buy London property

Answer 9

• as a world city and global hub, the value of land and buildings is likely to rise in the future, making property a good investment
• it may be hard for tax authorities in the home country to get their hands on assets owned in London (this is one reason why around 1,000 central London properties are owned by Russian Oligarch’s)
• three is prestige in owning prime real estate on London’s smartest streets.

Question 10

what are some disadvantages of foreign ownership of properties in a global hub like London?

Answer 10

• it is possible that some of the money invested was earned illegally in foreign countries, and buying London property is a way of hiding this money
• many foreign-owned properties are not occupied, but demand for them pushes up prices for everyone, thereby reducing property supply for local Londoners.
• between 35,000 and 40,000 properties in London are owned by offshore companies, making the actual buyer hard to trace.

Question 11

what government is the biggest property owner in London?

Answer 11

Qatar (QIA Qatar investment authority)

owns the shard, Harrods, the Olympic Village, Hyde park, Camden market and an estimated £1billion of property on mayfair

Question 12

define americanisation

Answer 12

refers to a shift in cultural values and attitudes towards ones that have American characteristics

Question 13

what are some key values of Americanisation

Answer 13

• more informality in personal and business relations
• directness of speech
• use of American words and spelling
• spread of American film, TV and media
• spread of fast food
• a culture of consumption, and the idea that wealth is important and should be a key life aim.

Question 14

compare tax paying in Nordic countries in comparison to the USA

Answer 14

nordic countries: 40-50% of income tax

USA: 25%

Question 15

what is the tax in nordic countries put towards?

Answer 15

• provide housing, healthcare and education

- provide benefits for low income and vulnerable people

Question 16

why are nordic countries often referred to as ‘European social documentary’

Answer 16

the countries believe in social or collective good as much as they do an individuals rights and responsibility.

Question 17

define separatism

Answer 17

splitting a nation of people, usually minority, from a larger sovereign state to create a new nation state

Question 18

give four reasons behind the desire to separate

Answer 18

• nations of people - Sctos, Catalans etc- consider themselves cultural different from the majority of the nation state
• minority nations feel their needs are ignored or unrepresented by the majority
• separatists may feel their political views or values are different, and deserve to be recognised as such
• in order to preserve a culture and traditions, a nation may feel it needs its own nation state

Question 19

give two examples of when nations were deliberately oppressed by the majority.

Answer 19

• Russification in the USSR: a policy of only teaching Russian in schools across the USSR, not traditional languages, and discouraged religions such as Islam.
• Francoist Spain: under the dictator General Franco in 1936-75, regional languages were banned in schools and some cultural traditions such as bullfighting and flamenco dancing were promoted as ‘national’ even though they were not traditional across the whole of Spain

Question 20

give two examples of places that have held referendums to split from nation sates

Answer 20

Scotland from the UK (2014)
Catalonia (2019)
in both cases, those arguing for independence also argued for staying in the EU trading bloc after independence.

Question 21

how many people speak basque and why is it an isolated language

Answer 21

2-3 million Basque people live in France and Spain but only 700,000 are said to speak the language.
it is isolated in that it has nothing in common with other European languages.

Question 22

give an example of how separatist nationalism can be violent

Answer 22

Basque nationalist group ETA (translated to ‘Basque homeland and liberty’)
founded in 1958 and by 1968 was an armed group.
between 1968 and 2010, ETA killed more than 800 people and injured thousands, including police, soldiers and civilians across Spain.
in 2017 it dropped all weapons and became purely a political group.
it was often called a terrorist group

Question 23

what are the political disunity between emerging nations usually down to?

Answer 23

• the income difference between factory workers and business owners is large and inequality very obvious
• emerging countries, while getting wealthier, often lack a welfare state to help poor and marginalised people
• the environmental costs of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation have created polluted air, water and land so overall quality of life is often low.

Question 24

what are some tensions in emerging BRAZIL

Answer 24

corruption

• in 2015-16 there were widespread protests against corrupt politicians in Brazil
• up to 7 million people took part
• president lula da silva (2003-2011) was charged with corruption and bribery in 2015
• his successor, Dilma Rousseff, was charged with corruption in 2016 and was accused of stealing money from the government-run oil company Petrobras

Question 25

what are some tensions in emerging CHILE

Answer 25

inequality

• in 2017, 2 million people protested against changes to pensions
• the privatisation of the pension system is seen as having benefitted the rich, and penalised the poor
• women have been especially badly hit, and there are calls for the whole system to be government-run and made fairer

Question 26

what are some tensions in emerging CHINA

Answer 26

pollution

• in July 2010, about 10,000 residents if Qigong protested against a planned waste pipeline that would dump industrial waste water into the sea
• in 2015, 1000 people protested on the streets of Shanghai against the construction of a new chemical plant -a similar number protested in the same year in Tianjin, claiming a steel factory’s emissions were causing cancer.

Question 27

what are protests in china like?

Answer 27

rare:
-they are usually brutally ended by police and protesters are arrested
-reference to protests on the internet and social media are removed by sensors
-they are not reported in the Chinese media
individuals who are prepared to risk openly protesting in China suggest they have little to lose and feel very deeply about the concern they’re protesting for.

Question 28

why are some nations called ‘failed states’?

Answer 28

• territory is contested, and controlled by more than one group of people using force
• there is not universally recognised sovereign body i.e government
• public services are not provided
• the country does not interact with other countries in a normal way i.e trade and diplomacy

Question 29

name some examples of failed states

Answer 29

• democratic republic of Congo
• Sudan
• Somalia

Question 30

what can failed states population be divided into

Answer 30

-politically and economically powerful elite:
politicians/ government officials/ personal wealth/ wealth acquired through corruption

-foreign investors groups:
TNC’s exploiting materials/ often protected by the elite/ most profits leave the country

-wider population:
50-80% live in extreme poverty/ many are subsidence farmers with informal labour/ public services are basically non-existent and many rely on NGO’s for basic needs.