Superpowers enquiry question 2 Flashcards
What are the Bretton Woods institutions?
IMF and WB
What is the IMF’s purpose - then and now?
- was to stabilise countries after ww2, preventing poverty and communism
- now money loaned out to help countries in debt, stabilising economies.
What does the IMF reflect?
The interest of America and Europe as the richest countries get the most voting power.
How can the IMF be harsh?
As it helps for superpowers to maintain power as they make nations dependent on them and therefore have the power to limit their development as the imposed conditions of borrowing money is decided by the wealthiest members.
How much voting power does the US have in IMF?
17%
What is the World Banks purpose?
To finance development as well as focusing natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies
How much voting power does the US have in the WB?
16%
How can powerful nations retain control in IGO’S
Due to some for of veto policy, therefore they can block policy and make sure that things are in their best interest.
What are the 6 steps to freedom that the WB and IMF SAP’S advocate for?
- reduced protection of domestic industries
- remove or decrease financial regulations
- minimum or no state control
- cut social spending
- removal of price controls
- raising interest rates to tackle inflation
What doe SAP stand for?
Structural Adjustment Programmes.
What does the OECD stand for
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
Name four important IGO’s in Global Economic Systems
IMF
World Bank
OECD
WTO
What does the WTO do?
The World Trade Organisation aims to ease trade and remove barriers to trade.
Pros of WTO
fairer system as one country uses one vote
Cons of WTO
voting has never occurred so undermines the pro
WTO is seen as a ‘rich man’s club’ biggest markets usually decide the outcome.
WTO and subsidies
removing/reducing farm subsidies makes trade fairer, however only rich can afford to subsidise their industries giving them an unfair advantage in market place.
What are subsidies
financial assistance to a business by the government to make it competitive and prevent potential collapse.
What is the negative of aid in international relations - GOOD EVALUATION POINT
aid always brings out influence, government given aid and monetary generally have a bad perception as it helps no-one
IMF IVORY COAST EXAMPLE
- IMF prevented Ivory Coast from receiving aid until 2013, only did so when government was transparent
- UN still bans diamond exports from the area due to them financing previous civil war.
negative of blue agreement on agriculture
ALLOWS SUBSIDISES TO BE GIVEN, SO LONG AS PRODUCTION IS REDUCED IN THE LONG TERM.
this allows farmers to go on producing large volume of goods at subsidised rates, eu and us then buy these and dump them on developing countries as a ‘form of aid’
Example of dumping aid (agriculture)
Tomatoes from Europe dumped on Ghanaians that already had large tomato production
Criticism of WTO
run by the rich for the rich
What is cultural imperialism
empires and particular groups taking over through cultural dominance and americanisation.
What are patterns of trade?
Who you trade with EU, China and US dominate world trade so therefore can exert influence. Developed countries have a greater share of global trade than developing countries as they mainly export valuable manufacture goods.
What three ways do TNCs help superpowers dominate and why are these important maintain status.
Westernisation, Patterns of trade and Patents
As the economic underpins the other factors when reaching superpower status.
What are patents?
They protect the rights of the inventor for at least 20 yrs, blue print that every time is produced producer gets paid e.g. covid vaccine.
Consequently rise in fake goods.
What percentage of fake goods are in world trade?
approx. 2.5%
How much money do counterfeiters produce in fake products worldwide per year
$700 billion
What is the westernisation
the control of the biggest advertising budgets, selling a way of life and influencing the biggest and wealthiest markets e.g. apple and amazon
Example demonstrating TNC influence over govt?
HSBC announced its headquarters would leave the UK due to the imposition of a banking levy in 2015.
in 2016 the govt reduced this to persuade them to stay
Why do fewer state companies exist?
Due to privatisation in the USA and UK in 1980s - 90s
Where did UK rank in 2015 soft power index?
first
What is soft power?
It describes the use of positive attraction and persuasion to achieve foreign policy objectives. The ability to cooperate rather than coerce, shaping others preferences
What are nye’s three sources of soft powers
- political values
- culture
- foreign policy
What 6 things can measure soft power?
govt
culture
education
global engagement
enterpise
digital
What is important when considering soft power
REPUTATION
What are the three important factors in international decision making
crisis response
conflict prevention
climate change mitigation
Describe crisis response
The focus on aid and humanitarian projects for refugees. Direct aid is needed.Large scale equipment is generally better than money due to corruption.
Example of crisis response - one broad, one detailed
Britain and USA biggest contributors of aid in Syria
Britain contributed over $1.5 billion of aid to 2016 humanitarian crisis in Syria
What does crisis response create for superpowers
The ability to create influence
Describe conflict prevention
Conflict prevention prioritises prevention of conflict in fragile states and is part of the conflict resolution.
Two examples of conflict prevention
2014-2015 Britain coalition against islamic state territory in Iraq
Official Development Assistance Programme
Conflict prevention is generally received as weak responses from superpowers what are two recent examples to evidence this?
Russia/ Ukraine conflict still ongoing
Israel Palestine conflict despite 4 day ceasefire still ongoing
Describe climate change mitigation
The attempt to reduce ghg emissions under the unfccc. Successful mitigation of climate change requires world polluters to take action to reduce emissions.
What are some examples of climate change mitigation agreements
COP25
COP27
Montreal Protocol 1989
Paris Climate Accord 2015
Why is climate change mitigation not successful
As it has not been solved and always creates issues
What were the top 5 countries in soft power influence in 2019 and why?
- France - IGOs, diplomatic network, strong leadership amongst uncertainty
- UK - culture, top unis, but uncertainty over Brexit and govt instability
- Germany - govt, human dev. and continues effort to resettle refugees
- Sweden - global innovation, commitment to net zero carbon by 2045, but global appeal limited
- US - culture, education, digital but domestic policies and America first weakened global appeal
What is a cultural superpower
A superpower that exerts influence that goes beyond monetary and military influence
What are the top 4 most valuable brands and what do the all have in common
ALL AMERICAN
- amazon, google, apple, Microsoft
What are the two definitions of cultural imperialism
- an enforced spread of culture by a larger power
- the voluntary adoption of a foreign culture by other people
What is success determined by ?
Countries working together
Four examples of IGOs and regional blocs that highlight countries working together
NATO, EU, ASEAN, ANZUS
who are in ANZUS
Australia, USA, N.Z., Japan, Philippines
ANZUS PROS
recognised military threat of China in Oceania and has reduced the likelihood of tension successfully in N.K. and Taiwan as USA has moved focus away from Europe.
ANZUS CONS
Biased towards USA
US shifting military focus away from Russia
Taiwan still have 1,000 missiles from China
Each nation has different policies towards water - not cooperation
ASEAN PROS
Allows goods and services to move freely between nations and this has helped create and strengthen economic growth
ASEAN CONS
Political will not v strong e.g. differences between Myanmar conflict have persisted
Massive difference in GDP per capita, individual economic growth
Territorial issues in South China Sea - divisions, China has built new islands to claim territory.
NATO PROS
Members committed to defending each other if military incursion occurs.
Showed resistance against military aggression from Russia
Collective defence pledge, more response from USA if Russia aggression escalates beyond Ukraine
NATO CONS
Problems with funding as not every country gives 2% of GDP into NATO
Can provoke Russia
EU PROS
Has allowed countries to cooperate and avoid potential for conflict
EU CONS
Rich countries can override poorer countries
Members must adhere to EU laws and regs limiting independent decision making
Countries starting to leave - UK, Netherlands considering
Increase in rightwing European governments due to rise in immigration
Not as united
What 4 environmental consequences have superpowers contributed to?
landscape scarring
built environment
oil spills
deforestation
Describe landscape scarring
Opencast mining for fossil fuels, can impact fossil fuels and difficult to put right
What consequences can landscape scarring have
- huge socio economic impact
- dangers with acid mine draining
- subsidence
- water supply
Describe the built environment
use of coal in power station, industry and homes
increased car ownership = oil imports increased
industrial chimneys can cause atmospheric issues such as acid rain in emerging nations
Example of Chinese built environment consequences
in 2003 over 250 Chinese cities were impacted by acid rain costing them approx. 13 billion
Why should one be sceptical about Chinese emissions
in reality Chinese emissions are shares of others due to the production and workshop of the world status
US and China stats about how much co2 emissions they use
China 27% of worlds co2 emission
US 14.7% of worlds co2 emission
US AND UK COMPARISON OF CO2 EMISSIONS
THE US USES 13X OUR EMISSIONS WHEN THEY ARE ONLY 5X LARGER THAN OUR POPULATION
UK 1.1%, US 14.7%
What are the top 3 companies responsible for emissions and what countries are they from
Saudi Aramco - saudi
chevron - us
grazprom - russia
Describe oil spills
Can impact fragile ecosystems
at any given time there are atleast three oil spills occurring around the world e.g. pearl harbour
Describe deforestation
food production increased massively in amazon, brazil. providing food for themselves and others
increasing their national wealth, deforestation is not going to stop
Approximately what percentages of GHG’s does agriculture cause
8-18%
Name 5/10 other environmental concerns as consequence of superpowers and emerging nations
overpopulation
loss of biodiversity
ozone layer depletion
urban sprawl
climate change
waste disposla
pollution, water poll
ocean acidification
public health issues
What has China done to address global environmental concerns, willingness to act
- phasing out coal to reduce resource consumpiton
- agreement to cut CO2 emissions could limit China’s economic growth
- want stop change and improve poor global rep. for pollution and env degradation
- heavy investment in production of solar power and clean energy
What has EU done to address global environmental concerns, willingness to act
- Common Agricultural Policy encouraged intensive farming dues to agricultural subsidies
- Leader in env protection
- unity not always guaranteed due to diff. in GDP.
What has Russia done to address global environmental concerns, willingness to act
- reduced ghg due to investment in nanotech
- efficiency laws and changes to energy consumption
- surplus of carbon credits which can be sold
- sale of natural gas increased political influence
- uncertainty created in nearby countries
What has USA done to address global environmental concerns, willingness to act
- climate change sceptics
- lead to political debates between right and left
- reduction in co2 emissions is a cost for companies and would challenge energy businesses consequently making them resistant to change
- debate continues - America first
What are the global commons
Things that don’t belong to any nation where states have to work collectively as a global society e.g. climate change, e.g. oceans. e.g. Antartica
What are facts about global future consumption in China and what is this going to lead to
- middle classes in China are bigger than entire pop of the USA, a massive growth in demand.
Global future consumption - hi tech goods
They require rare earth elements, this can create toxic waste.
e.g. Cerium in catalytic converters
Global future consumption - mining - China
Mining wastewater can acidify surrounding soils - China produce 85% of rare earth elements and the water waste has contaminated groundwater, drinking water and impacted cattle
Global future consumption - the food supply - India
- green revolution in India has caused soil degradation .
- India’s shrinking farms due to land subdivisions families splitting up their land, this leads to less reliable and productive farms
- increase in rice demand , negative environmental issues as rice increases methane release
Global future consumption - the water supply
- industrialisation increases, so does demand for water.
- groundwater stores are rapidly depleting effecting production
e.g. California e.g. india - water intensive foods
stats about global future consumption in water supply and COTTON
- 73% of global cotton harvest comes from irrigated land.
How is influence contested
- disputed resources
- intellectual property rights
- counterfeiting
Example of influence being contested
- oil in the artic, resource rich area in global commons, no one ones it and land grabs have begun from Canada USA Russia Norway
- 1/8 estimated of untapped oil in the artic - profitable
Counterfeiting goods impact
Counterfeit goods are sold around the world and can strain relations of countries and TNC investment
How is tensions created from counterfeiting goods
This impacts on the revenues of large TNC’s and trade relationships are strained
What percentage of fake goods come directly form China
79%
What has global recession meant for counterfeit goods
That some companies have used counterfeit goods as part of their supply chain increasing profits
e.g. Car materials
How is China establishing its power status through counterfeit goods
They are increasing patent applications and determing their economic profit higher than anyone else.
South China Sea - China
- China’s man made islands in the south china sea air bases military bases and sea ports - seven islands - defending claims with force
- historical claim, nine dash claim
- increase control
- increase naval bases
- cabbage strategy taking over contested territory in small steps
South China Sea case study
basic info
- important trading area - 30% worlds shipping trade travels through it
- 5 countries lay claim to it - exclusive economic zone, sovereign territory within 200 miles of nation
- v. resource rich, estimate 11 billion barrels of oil, 10% worlds fisheries
South China Sea - USA
- US presence, China shadows warship near man made islands
- difficult positions, don’t want to provoke china into war, but they want china to stop threatening us allies in region such as Philippines and Japan
- us managed situated through continuing to patrol, symbolic but effective
What has lead to an increase in land grabs with e.g.
A rise in the value of metals and resources such as iron ore and rare earth elements
e.g. iron ore increased by almost 60% since 2000 so is a profitable investment
How have land grabs benefited developing countries - case study Mozambique
- SEZ established benefits Mozambique
- growth in GDP
- main mining area connected by rail
How have land grabs created issues for Mozambique
- fast growth
- environmental pollution
- inequality
- corruption
- creates reliance
case study - Mozambique resource boom
- rich in natural resources
- gas reserves could make it fourth largest producer globally however it cannot afford massive investment to use gas itself or extract it
