Global Governance and Global Systems

Question 1

describe the concept of the global commons

Answer 1

-the global commons are resource domains or areas that lie outside the political reach of one nation
-the international law recognises the four global commons as Antarctica, the high seas, the atmosphere and outer space
-countries and organisations may exploit the global commons without dealing withe the consequences, as the cost of exploitation is shared globally which is referred to as the tragedy of the commons

Question 2

describe the location of Antarctica

Answer 2

Antarctica is the most Southern continent globally, situated predominantly south of the Antarctic Circle .The continent stretches an areas of 14 million km2.

Question 3

describe the climate of Antarctica

Answer 3

Antarctica is the coldest region globally with temperatures averaging in the -40 degrees
The continent is one of the driest areas globally with averaging annual precipitation of less that 50 mm per annum
The wind speeds in the continent average at 50 mph due to Antarctic convergent katabatic winds

Question 4

what is the antarctic convergence zone?

Answer 4

the antarctic convergence zone is a natural boundary that separate two distinct hydrological regions. at the boundary cold, northward flowing waters from the Antarctic meet with warmer sub-antarctic water at approximately 60 degrees south latitude. The northward flowing waters sink beneath forming areas of mixing and upwelling which promotes high marine productivity

Question 5

how is climate change a threat in Antarctica?

Answer 5

an uneven trend is emerging with the Western coast of Antarctic warming by as much as 3 degrees, whereas the East coast is experiencing cooling. The heating has contributed to the melting around Antarctica’s Weddell Sea and Ross Sea and subsequent retreat of the sea ice. The species of penguin adapted to the sea ice have experienced a decline in populations alongside Antarctic krill which has endured a population decline of 80 percent following the 1970s.

Question 6

how is whaling and fishing a threat in Antarctica?

Answer 6

over-fishing threatens numerous species in the Antarctica with the Patagonian toothfish being fished unsustainability to a point of vulnerability to extinction.
the antarctic krill species are the most fished marine animal with up to 200 thousand tonnes fished on annum
there are legal limits installed on the amount of fish that can be caught annually despite this, there are still reports of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU)
whaling was common within the mid-20th century however has experienced a decline since 1982 when regulations were implemented in order to ban all commercial whaling. despite this certain countries continue to kill whales in accordance with scientific research.

Question 7

how is mineral and resource exploitation a threat in Antarctica?

Answer 7

there is an increasing demand for mineral and oil as supplied for fossil fuels are depleted globally. this could result in the potential exploitation of ANtarctic resources in the future. in particular, china, iran and russia have displayed interest in mineral extraction with china even building research centres to drill into the ice within central Antarctic.

Question 8

how is tourism and scientific research a threat in Antarctica?

Answer 8

with globalisation permitting an ease of travel and increased number of individuals with the disposable income, it has contributed to a rise in the tourism with 37000 tourists visiting the continent between 2009 and 2010.
through more frequent travel by air and seas there is an increased risk of ship crashes such as the MS Explorer crash in 2007 which released a mile long diesel spill and caused subsequent disruption to penguin breeding grounds.

scientific research is integral in ANtarctica however requires numerous facilities which have altered the natural environment . until the 1980s a lot of the waste produced in research bases was either burned or disposed of into the sea.|

Question 9

describe the role of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)

Answer 9

the Antarctic Treaty System is a collection of agreements that work to protect Antarctica through global governance.

The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 guaranteed 12 nations free access and research rights in order to enable scientific research to be conducted under the premise that research was shared and cooperated on.

The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was proposed in 1991, prohibiting mineral extraction of mining on the continent.

Question 10

describe the role of the international whaling commision

Answer 10

in 1982 the IWC introduced the Whaling Moratorium, banning all commercial whaling on all species until further notice. Despite most whaling nations agreeing to halt whaling, over 30000 whales have been killed proceeding the moratorium as the whaling nations of Japan, Norway and Iceland retain politically influential whaling industries, forming the pro-whaling lobby
a the 50 million square km Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was declared, prohibiting all commercial whaling in the area. Despite this, Japan continues to hunt whales in accordance with the IWC which states they are permitted to do so under scientific research. this evidences that countries have the ability to exploit loopholes in their regulations.
Member states choose freely to be part of the IWC therefore have the decision to opt out. When states choose to opt out, such as Japan in 2018, the IWC lacks authority to enforce penalties. some countries argue there should be an improved monitoring system installed including registering all whaling boats with the IWC

Question 11

describe the role of the United Nations Environment Programme

Answer 11

the United Nations environment Programme is a UN agency which is the predominant institution that governs the world’s environment, in particular reporting activity in Antarctica to the UN
the UNEP have successfully maintained stock of fish above their target biomass level to safeguard the sustainability of the ecosystem
the UNEP has reduced the sea bird mortality through mitigation measures from thousands of birds to almost zero.

Question 12

describe the role of Green Peace

Answer 12

Greenpeace is a charity working the enhance the environment of Antarctica through data and information collection independent from governments as a means to monitor the reliability and accuracy of other data
they report on issues and release their findings to the public in order to spread awareness on the issues and and boost donations and petition signatories.

Question 13

define globalisation and how transport and the flows that contribute to it

Answer 13

-globalisation is the increasing interconnectivity between the world’s economic, cultural and political systems
-globalisation is caused by the movement of information, capital, products, services and labour

Question 14

describe the flow of information in globalisation

Answer 14

-the circulation of information and ideas has accelerated subsequent to the development of the internet and social media which allow large amounts of information to be exchanged instantly.
-Increasing flows of information are making the world more interconnected as people can freely communicate from anywhere globally due to software

Question 15

describe the flow of capital in globalisation

Answer 15

-the amount of capital invested in foreign countries, known as foreign direct investment has increased over time with global FDI increasing from 400 dollars in 1996 to 1500 dollars in 2016.
in the 1980s, governments around the world undertook financial deregulation which involved relaxing rules so banks could invest in a greater range of businesses as well as removing barriers to capital coming in and out of a country making it easier for investment banks to buy and sell shares and other products globally
-increasing flows of capital are making the world more interconnected as most economies are now interdependent on flows of investment to and from other countries

Question 16

describe the flows of products in globalisation

Answer 16

-in recent decades manufacturing has decreased in more developed countries
-lower labour costs overseas have caused many companies to relocate to production side of business abroad. through outsourcing a company is able to pay another company to do their work for cheaper costs
-large companies often benefit from economies of scale as they can reduce the average cost of making each item by purchasing specialized equipment and using production lines. this provides larger companies with an advantage over smaller ones

Question 17

describe unequal flow of people

Answer 17

-flows of people bring benefits as immigrants can contribute to economic growth through performing jobs that a country’s citizens may be unable to do or don’t want to do due to associated dangers
-many migrants send money back to their families or home communities referred to as remittance payments which can significantly increase the amount of capital flowing into less developed countries and creates economic growth
-despite this less developed countries experience brain drain which refers to the process of skilled individuals leaving and taking their knowledge with them which reinforces existing inequalities between the countries

Question 18

what are trade agreements

Answer 18

-trade is primarily regulated by countries’ governments who control the flow of products into the country
-controls include tariffs, non-tariff barriers and the banning of certain products
-controls make it more expensive for companies to sell their products abroad so to make it cheaper countries can enter into a trade agreement
-trade agreements mean that one country agrees to remove controls in exchange for the other country doing so which benefits the companies and consumers

Question 19

how do global institutions reinforce unequal powers

Answer 19

-the international monetary fund and the world bank govern the global financial system
-the IMF and world bank provides loans to less developed countries to invest in areas like health, education and infrastructure. the money for the loans is sourced party from subscriptions from its member countries meaning funds are redistributed from developed countries to less developed countries
-these loans are conditions as the less developed country has to make changes such as cutting regulation to make foreign trade easier, so to receive the loan
-in recent years, public trust in these institutions has been reduced due to large scale corruption scandals and issues with poor human rights track records

Question 20

what are trading blocs

Answer 20

-trading blocs are associations between different governments that promote and manage trade
-trade blocs remove trade barriers between their members whilst maintaining these barriers to countries who aren’t in the bloc
-many trading blocs are regional making it easier for countries to trade with their neighbours
-other trading blocs are based around specific industries. for example some of the main oil eporting countries are members of the organisation of the petroleum exporting countries which standardise prices to prevent countries undercutting each other
-special economic zones increase the volume of trade with emerging economies as they are areas with different trade and investment rules to the rest of the country

Question 21

describe the banana trade

Answer 21

-the banana is the most popular fruit in the world with shoppers spending more than 10 billion globally every year. in our globalised world there is an increasing demand from consumers particularly in the wealthier “core” high income countries
-for many developing nations the industry is important with bananas being the fourth most important crop in ensuring food security in the developing world
-as in most food and manufactured goods markets there is a “race to the bottom” in the banana industry, with prices slashed on average by 41 percent between 2002 and 2018 in the UK supermarkets
-this resulted in a rush for producers to outsource their labour for the lowest costs and caused worker exploitation and child labour in countries like ecuador with workers being paid an average of 3.5 dollars daily

Question 22

what is fair trade?

Answer 22

-the fairtrade scheme, set up in 1992, supports local farmers through promoting a fairtrade minimum price as well as a fairtrade premium which is a communal fund for workers and farmers to use to improve their conditions
-there have been criticisms of the fairtrade scheme for being limited in scale with fairtrade only covering 2 percent of bananas globally therefore few farmers actually reap the benefits

Question 23

describe the Apple TNC case study

Answer 23

-Apple inc. is the second largest IT company by revenue which is based in silicon valley in northern california
-whilst having thousands of global staff it outsources the product manufacture process to companies such as Foxconn city in mainland china
-apple’s presence in china grew between the 1990s and 200s in order to capitalise on their labour force, whilst new factories are being opened in even lower wage countries as part of a race to the bottom with the salaries in china increasing
-apple’s outsourcing has contributed to considerable employment in the former periphery regions like china and has led to upskilling of the individuals
-despite this, apple has been subject to a number of worker exploitation claims with employees being required to work for up to 12 hours a day and only receiving a wage of 1.70 dollars per hour. the has contributed to a spate of attempted suicides which apple subsequently responded to through building anti suicide nets

Question 24

what is global governance

Answer 24

global governance can be defined as the process of international cooperation among multiple nations aimed at negotiating response to problems that affect more than one state or region
international laws are legally binding rules that cover human rights and trade regulations
norms are accepted standards of behaviour
institutions are political and legal organisations that exist to pass and enforce laws and decide whether a law has been broken

Question 25

what is the UN

Answer 25

-the united nation was set up in 1945 to establish a peaceful and fair world and currently consists of 193 member countries.
-the UN development programme lead the drive in meeting the millennium development goals which have helped reduce the number of people living in poverty, increased the number of children in primary school and reduce child mortality rates
-the UN peacekeeping forces and diplomatic conflict mediation means the world is safer and more stable with Un peacekeeping missions helping to end wars
-despite this, the UN has been accused of creating more inequalities as they are not representative of every country putting underrepresented countries at a disadvantage. many of the global issues tackled by the UN affect african countries the most yet no african country has a permanent seat at the UN security council