Section A - Superpowers - EQ2 - What are the Impacts of Superpowers on the Global Economy, Political Systems, and the Physical Environment? Flashcards
1
Q
IGOs - The WEF - What is it, when was it founded, what are its objectives, what do its members want, what is threatening this?
A
- The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit working as an IGO promoting public-private cooperation and aiming to improve society
- The WEF was founded in 1971 to help resolve economic disputes and promote global thinking, discussing issues of corruption, terrorism, economic systems, and social issues
- Its members think internationally and encourage govs to form global links – TNCs gain a lot from gov policies such as low taxation, so networking with world leaders is useful for them
- There are arguments that national decisions EG Brexit can contravene the WEF’s global vision
2
Q
IGOs - The IMF - When founded, goal, how many countries initially and in 2016, voting system, what does its work reflect?
A
- The IMF was founded in 1944 in the US – its job was to sustain global currencies after the 1930s depression and WW2
- 44 countries initially joined to make a fund to be used as loans to help poorer countries facing heavy debts to stabilise their economies and promote capitalism
- By 2016, the IMF has 189 members, but voting rights are proportional to amounts invested in the Fund, so not all equal
- Eight countries control 47% of the vote between them and the top 10 control 60% of the voting rights
- Up to now, most of the IMF’s work has reflected US and European policies in managing issue such as international debt EG imposing conditions on developing countries that forced them to cut spending on health and education in return for stabilising or extending their debt payments
3
Q
IGOs - The World Bank - When founded, role, what else does it focus on, why did it gain a bad rep, what does it do now, voting structure?
A
- WB also founded in the US in 1944 – role is to finance development and its first loan was to France to finance post-war reconstruction
- Also focuses on the effect of natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies
- WB gained a bad rep in the 70s and 80s for financing projects that were either environmentally damaging or so costly that borrowing countries were unable to pay off their loans
- Now it aims to eliminate poverty and implement the sustainable goals
- Similar voting structure to the IMF – 8 countries control 40% of the vote
4
Q
IGOs - The WTO - What does it do, voting system, current focus, value of trade today compared to 1913?
A
- WTO has the same rational as the IMF or WB, but focuses on trade, aiming to free up global trade and reduce trade barriers by negotiating trade agreements
- On country one vote system, but decisions instead made by mutual agreement
- WTO currently focused on poverty reduction by removing farm subsidies, but this has resulted in cheaper imports that undercut local farmers, making them go out of business
- Nevertheless, a combination of globalisation and WTO agreements have seen an explosion in the value of global trade, which is 4400 times more valuable today then in 1913
5
Q
The Role of TNCs as Global Players - First TNC, status by 2015, top 10 TNC changes, Forbes top 2000 companies spread?
A
- First TNC was the East India Company which controlled 20% of the world’s pop
- By 2015, there were over 75,000 TNCs the top 200 producing 25% of the world’s economic output by value
- However, in 2006, six of the top 10 TNCs were American compared to three today, with Chinese companies growing fast such as Sinopec, and American car companies losing ground
- TNCs are dominant forces in the global economy, with 75% of the Forbes top 2000 companies coming from just 10 countries
6
Q
The Role of TNCs as Global Players - Increase in value of trade between 1960 and 2010, change since the 1990s, what % of global trade do TNCs account for?
A
- In terms of their impact on trade, between 1960 and 2010, trade increased by at least 46% per decade, and in the 2000s, trade value increased by 85%
- Since the 1990s, the shift East in manufacturing has led to rapid increases in exports from developing countries, instead of trade occurring between companies, much of global trade today is occurring between different branches of the same company
- It is estimated that TNCs account for 80% of all global trade
7
Q
The Role of TNCs as Global Players - TNC’s impact on tech, patent law, EGs
A
- In terms of tech, in 1995, introduced its Agreement on Tech-related Aspects of Property Rights (TRIPS), requiring all WTO members to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights – ie to register any new tech under patent law
- These undoubtedly favour TNCs as the amount of time that TNCs spend developing new products makes it easy for them to patent it and therefore control the price
- There is a close link between number of patents and proportion of TNCs around the world
- Patents for pharmaceutical companies make many medicines unaffordable to poorer countries EG treatment for HIV being unavailable in its most spread area – Africa
- GM crops are also controlled by TNCs who technically own the seeds that arise from these GM crops and can therefore tell farmers what to do with them – ie stop them from saving seed for the following year – over 1 billion of the world’s poorest farmers rely on saved seeds, so this is very important
8
Q
Superpowers and crisis response - Haiti and Afghanistan
A
- Haiti only received 25% of the donations it needed post Hurricane Matthew as a result of ‘aid fatigue’ – it was up to the USA and France to secure 550 aid personnel and humanitarian aid
- Afghanistan conflict also an important development
- Afghanistan historically on the silk road and has been of strategic importance along trade routes between Russia and Central Asia and central gov rule is difficult to maintain
- Global superpowers also played a part in the conflicts in Afghanistan by funding the Taliban and then fighting the Taliban
9
Q
Attitudes and Actions of IGOs Towards Geopolitical Activity - UN Sec Council and peacekeeping - role, membership, cold war, EGs of peacekeeping missions
A
- UN security council ultimately responsible for keeping peace, with 15 members at any one time, and the 5 permanent members being more powerful than the rest
- During the Cold War, the USA and USSR used their veto power to keep things hostile, but since the fall of the USSR in 1991, the UN Security Council has authorised peacekeeping missions in Kuwait, Bosnia, and the DRC
10
Q
Attitudes and Actions of IGOs Towards Geopolitical Activity - International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Role, judges, cases
A
- ICJ is the judicial branch of the UN and is based in the Hague – it settles disputes between UN countries and advises on international law
- 15 judges from various global regions, along with 5 permanent judges from the same regions as the Security Council
- The court deals only with cases brought be individual countries not individual people
11
Q
Attitudes and Actions of IGOs Towards Geopolitical Activity - The UN and climate change - Annual meetings, what happened between 2011 and what did this result in, effects of this?
A
- Recently, the UN has engaged in the annual COP meetings, COP 27 being the last one and tried to establish international targets for emissions production
- Between 2011 and 2015, each conference took steps to organise a deal, later known as the 2015 Paris Agreement
- The effects of the Paris Agreement are yet to be seen long term, but emissions levels are not falling the way one would hope as of yet
12
Q
International players and global policing - Military alliances - NATO and ANZUS
A
- NATO Formed in 1949 at the start of the Cold War and adopts the policy that an attack on one of its members is an attack on all of its members
- Its influence began to decrease after the USSR collapsed in 1991, but has risen in importance again after Russian military activity in Ukraine
- Similarly, the Australia, New Zealand and United States Security Treat (ANZUS) is a 1952 agreement that sees Australia, NZ and the US cooperate on military matters in the Pacific and beyond
- It helped the USA maintain its presence in the Pacific and also led Australia and NZ to contribute forces to Afghanistan
13
Q
International players and global policing - Economic alliances - The EU
A
- The EU began as a trading alliance of 6 countries and today it has 27 and remains a free-trade area
- Subsequent agreements gave it a common currency and free movement, and it adopts a policy of convergence to reduce the poverty of its poorest members
- Also underpinned by the legal framework of the ECHR which is enshrined in all European law
- However, recently there have been increasing tensions between right wing nationalists who want to leave the EU and the EU itself
14
Q
International players and global policing - Economic alliances - NAFTA
A
- NAFTA consists of Mexico, the USA, and Canada – its concerns are only economic as there is no free movement in this agreement
- It benefits the US as labour costs are low in Mexico and therefore led to the drift of manufacturing into Mexico
15
Q
International players and global policing - Economic alliances - ASEAN
A
- ASEAN compromises of ten Southeast Asian countries and was formed in 1967 to greater cooperation and economic growth between them
