Globalisation and contemporary global issues | Edexcel A-Level Politics
Updated: Sep 29
For Specification 9PL0
Edexcel A-Level Politics | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time: 60–70 minutes
Globalisation creates opportunities for greater prosperity, co-operation and protection of rights, but it can also deepen inequalities, generate tensions and contribute to environmental damage. This Globalisation and contemporary global issues A-Level Politics revision page examines the advantages and disadvantages of globalisation and its relationship with four major issues: poverty, conflict, human rights and the environment. It builds on debates about globalisation [Debates about globalisation] by moving from arguments about the state to the practical question of whether global interconnectedness actually helps solve major global problems.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Explain major advantages and disadvantages associated with economic, political and cultural globalisation.
Analyse how globalisation may reduce or intensify poverty.
Explain how political and cultural globalisation may reduce or contribute to conflict.
Analyse the relationship between globalisation and the promotion and protection of human rights.
Explain how economic globalisation can both support development and contribute to environmental degradation.
Evaluate the extent to which globalisation addresses and resolves contemporary global issues.
Revision Notes 📚
What does the specification require?
Edexcel requires students to understand both:
debates about the advantages and disadvantages of globalisation
the ways and extent to which globalisation addresses and resolves contemporary issues, specifically including:
poverty
conflict
human rights
the environment
The wording "ways and extent" is important.
You are not simply expected to describe how globalisation affects each issue. You need to consider:
How globalisation affects the issue.
Whether the effect is positive or negative.
How significant that effect is.
Whether globalisation actually addresses and resolves the problem.
The Global Politics specification deliberately treats these as contestable questions. It describes poverty, conflict and environmental degradation as significant global challenges requiring global co-operation if they are to be resolved.
Globalisation can create both solutions and problems
Globalisation is the emergence of a complex web of interconnectedness in many forms.
Its different dimensions include:
economic globalisation, growing economic integration and interdependence
political globalisation, the growing importance of international organisations
cultural globalisation, the growing transmission of ideas, meanings and values around the world
These dimensions do not automatically produce either positive or negative outcomes.
The same process can produce advantages for some actors and disadvantages for others.
For example:
economic interconnectedness
can lead to
greater trade, investment and economic growth
but can also produce
uneven prosperity and environmental pressures
Similarly:
political globalisation
can create
international institutions for peaceful co-operation
but those institutions may also be criticised for
Western dominance or restrictions on state sovereignty.
This is why a strong answer should avoid treating globalisation as inherently "good" or "bad".
The major advantages and disadvantages of globalisation
The 2024 Edexcel mark scheme for a 30-mark question on whether the advantages of globalisation outweigh the disadvantages identifies arguments across cultural, human-rights, economic and political globalisation.
Dimension | Potential advantages | Potential disadvantages |
Economic | More trade, growth, investment and potentially higher living standards | Uneven prosperity, exploitation, Western economic dominance, consumerism and environmental damage |
Political | More international co-operation and institutions for resolving problems | International organisations may appear Western-dominated and may reduce state autonomy |
Cultural | Greater sharing of cultures, values and ideas | Western cultural dominance may undermine other cultures and create resentment |
Human rights | Greater awareness of abuses and development of institutions to protect rights | Human-rights standards may be criticised as Western-dominated or used to justify selective intervention |
Conflict | Institutions and shared rules may encourage peaceful co-operation | Cultural resentment, inequality and disputes over intervention may generate tension |
Environment | Interconnected states can co-operate on cross-border environmental problems | Increased production, consumption and use of resources can worsen environmental degradation |
These arguments should be analysed, not just memorised as a list.
Globalisation and poverty
One of the most important debates concerns whether economic globalisation reduces poverty.
Economic globalisation involves growing integration and interdependence through intensified cross-border movement of:
goods
services
technologies
capital
The debate is between the argument that economic growth spreads prosperity and the argument that its benefits are distributed very unevenly.
This provides an important foundation for global economic governance and poverty [Global economic governance and poverty].
Argument: globalisation can reduce poverty
Supporters of economic globalisation argue that increasing international trade and investment can generate economic growth.
The 2023 Edexcel mark scheme identifies several possible mechanisms:
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organization (WTO) can support economic stability and increased trade
free trade and liberalisation can reduce barriers to economic growth
greater interconnectedness can spread the benefits of economic growth between states
transnational corporations can bring investment, infrastructure, employment, skills and training
The basic argument is:
greater international trade and investment
↓
increased economic activity
↓
economic growth
↓
employment and higher incomes
↓
reduction in poverty
The 2024 mark scheme also identifies the argument that development of a global market has increased production and raised living standards, using China's economic growth as an example.
The "rising tide" argument
One argument supporting economic globalisation is sometimes summarised by the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats.
The reasoning is that global economic growth does not need to benefit every state or person equally for poverty to decline.
If:
global trade expands
production increases
economies grow
employment opportunities increase
then living standards may improve even where inequality remains.
This is an important distinction:
inequality can increase at the same time as absolute poverty decreases.
Therefore, evidence that some people benefit more than others does not by itself prove that globalisation has failed to reduce poverty.
Economic interconnectedness and shared prosperity
Globalisation can also mean that economic growth in one state has consequences elsewhere.
Economic interdependence links national economies through:
investment
trade
production
capital flows
Supporters therefore argue that prosperity can spread through an increasingly interconnected global economy.
This fits particularly well with liberal ideas about complex interdependence, which you will study later in liberalism [Liberalism].
Argument: the benefits of globalisation are unevenly distributed
The strongest challenge is that economic growth does not necessarily benefit everybody.
The 2023 mark scheme identifies several criticisms:
the benefits of economic globalisation have been uneven
the IMF, World Bank and WTO have been criticised for contributing to differences between developed and developing countries
Western transnational corporations may repatriate profits rather than leaving the full benefit within developing economies
workers may be employed on low wages
poverty remains concentrated in particular areas, including parts of sub-Saharan Africa
world-systems theory argues that the global economy can maintain divisions between core and peripheral states
This produces a different chain:
global economic integration
↓
investment and production concentrate where they are most profitable
↓
some states and groups benefit more than others
↓
wealth gaps may remain or widen
↓
globalisation does not necessarily eliminate poverty
Globalisation, corporations and poverty
The role of transnational corporations creates a particularly useful debate.
Possible benefit
Investment can provide:
employment
infrastructure
skills
training
economic growth
This may provide conditions for poverty reduction.
Possible disadvantage
Corporations may:
seek low-cost labour
pay relatively low wages
repatriate profits
prioritise profit over wider development
The 2023 mark scheme uses these concerns to question whether economic globalisation necessarily reduces poverty.
The key evaluative question is therefore:
Does participation in the global economy create sustainable prosperity, or does it reproduce relationships in which benefits are concentrated elsewhere?
Poverty: overall assessment
Globalisation can clearly create conditions for economic growth, and growth can reduce poverty.
However, economic globalisation does not guarantee:
equal distribution
development in every state
equal benefits within states
the disappearance of the North-South divide
A strong judgement is therefore likely to distinguish between:
reducing poverty
and
eliminating inequality.
Globalisation may contribute significantly to the first without necessarily achieving the second.
Detailed theories and measurements of poverty belong in global economic governance and poverty [Global economic governance and poverty].
Globalisation and conflict
Globalisation also has a complicated relationship with conflict.
Political globalisation may increase the opportunities for states to resolve disagreements peacefully.
However, economic and cultural globalisation can also generate:
resentment
inequality
cultural tensions
political backlash
Globalisation may therefore both reduce and contribute to conflict.
Argument: political globalisation can reduce conflict
Political globalisation means the growing importance of international organisations.
The 2024 mark scheme identifies the creation of political governance institutions such as the United Nations (UN) as an advantage of globalisation because states can pursue collective action and diplomacy rather than conflict.
The logic is:
greater interconnectedness
↓
more international institutions
↓
more opportunities for negotiation and diplomacy
↓
greater ability to manage disputes peacefully
↓
reduced likelihood of conflict
The UN becomes a major case study later in the United Nations [The United Nations].
Global rules and peaceful coexistence
Political globalisation may encourage a more rules-based global environment.
International institutions provide locations where states can:
negotiate
establish rules
resolve disputes
organise collective responses
This can be seen as an alternative to states simply using force whenever their interests conflict.
The 2024 mark scheme presents the argument that political globalisation has helped states coexist peacefully through globally accepted rules and institutions.
This connects closely with the liberal view that international organisations and complex interdependence can reduce the likelihood of war.
Economic interdependence and conflict
The wider liberal interpretation can also support the argument that economic interconnectedness makes conflict less attractive.
Where states become mutually dependent through economic relationships, conflict can disrupt those relationships.
The more economically interconnected states become, the more they may have to lose from war.
This relationship is developed more fully later in realism and liberalism compared [Realism and liberalism compared].
Argument: globalisation can contribute to conflict
Globalisation does not automatically create harmony.
The 2024 mark scheme identifies cultural globalisation as a possible source of resentment when global cultural influences appear heavily Western-dominated.
Western:
companies
films
music
values
may become widely influential.
This can produce cultural backlash, including anti-globalisation movements and religious fundamentalism. The mark scheme identifies the possibility that this resentment can threaten political order and increase the likelihood of conflict.
The chain is:
cultural globalisation
↓
perceived dominance of one culture or set of values
↓
resentment or resistance
↓
political and cultural tensions
↓
potential conflict
Inequality can also generate tensions
Economic globalisation may increase prosperity overall while distributing that prosperity unevenly.
Large inequalities between:
states
regions
social groups
can generate frustration and resentment.
The 2024 mark scheme links unequal economic benefit to tensions and resentment.
Therefore:
economic globalisation → unequal benefits → resentment → possible instability or conflict
This provides a useful connection between poverty and conflict rather than treating each contemporary issue as completely separate.
Globalisation and intervention
Humanitarian intervention demonstrates another complicated relationship between globalisation and conflict.
Growing awareness of events inside states can encourage international pressure for action.
Intervention may be intended to:
protect human rights
stop violence
resolve humanitarian crises
However, intervention itself involves military force and can be controversial.
The specification requires later examination of:
successful and unsuccessful intervention
selective interventionism
Responsibility to Protect
conflict with sovereignty
alleged Western double standards
You explore this fully in humanitarian intervention [Humanitarian intervention].
For this lesson, the important evaluative point is:
Globalisation can create international mechanisms intended to respond to conflict, but those responses can themselves become sources of political disagreement.
Conflict: overall assessment
Globalisation can make conflict less likely by:
increasing economic interdependence
developing shared political institutions
encouraging diplomacy
creating international rules
But it may also produce or intensify conflict through:
cultural backlash
uneven economic development
disputes about Western dominance
controversial intervention
This means that globalisation does not straightforwardly "solve" conflict.
Its effectiveness depends heavily on whether interconnectedness produces co-operation or new sources of tension.
Globalisation and human rights
Human rights are another area where political and cultural globalisation have had major implications.
The 2024 mark scheme identifies increased awareness of:
human rights
human-rights violations
as an advantage of globalisation. It also connects globalisation with the development of courts and tribunals.
Greater awareness of human-rights violations
Global interconnectedness makes it increasingly difficult to regard the treatment of citizens as entirely invisible beyond national borders.
The Edexcel mark schemes refer to the CNN effect, the idea that greater media awareness can increase global attention to humanitarian events and rights violations.
The 2022 mark scheme also links cultural globalisation with increasing awareness of human-rights abuses and the development of human-rights institutions.
The process can be understood as:
greater flow of information
↓
greater international awareness of abuses
↓
pressure for international action
↓
growth of human-rights institutions and standards
↓
potentially greater protection of individuals
Development of international human-rights institutions
Globalisation is also associated with the development and increasing importance of international institutions.
The 2024 mark scheme specifically identifies:
the International Criminal Court (ICC)
special UN tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda
as examples of institutions acting where serious rights violations have occurred.
Detailed knowledge of international law and these institutions belongs later in international human-rights law and institutions [International human-rights law and institutions].
At this stage, the important globalisation link is:
political interconnectedness → international standards and institutions → pressure on states concerning human rights
Universal human rights and cultural globalisation
Cultural globalisation can help transmit political values as well as popular culture.
This may encourage wider recognition of ideas such as:
democracy
human rights
shared international standards
The 2022 mark scheme associates continuing cultural globalisation with shared values, universal human rights and the development of global and regional human-rights bodies.
From a liberal perspective, this provides evidence that globalisation can create progress beyond the nation-state.
Argument: human-rights globalisation may reflect Western dominance
The alternative argument is that supposedly universal human-rights standards can be perceived as rooted particularly strongly in Western political values.
The 2024 mark scheme identifies criticism that:
human-rights institutions can appear Western-dominated
this can be regarded as a form of neo-colonialism
cultural differences may not be sufficiently recognised
human rights may be used to justify selective or controversial intervention
The resulting argument is:
global human-rights standards
↓
perception of Western dominance
↓
resistance from some states or cultures
↓
disagreement over implementation
↓
limits to effective global human-rights protection
Human rights and state sovereignty
There is also a fundamental tension between:
universal human rights
and
national sovereignty.
If states possess ultimate authority over their citizens, international involvement may be regarded as interference.
However, if rights are genuinely universal, their protection cannot depend entirely upon whether a state chooses to respect them.
This tension explains why globalisation may strengthen human-rights expectations while simultaneously generating resistance from sovereign governments.
You examine this directly in human rights and state sovereignty [Human rights and state sovereignty].
Selective application
A further disadvantage is the possibility of selective protection.
Globalisation may increase awareness of rights, but international action does not necessarily occur consistently in every case.
The specification requires later study of:
selective interventionism
alleged Western double standards or hypocrisy
the extent to which international law is accepted and enforced
Therefore, the existence of global human-rights norms does not automatically prove that human rights are effectively protected everywhere.
Human rights: overall assessment
Globalisation has clearly increased:
awareness
international legal development
human-rights institutions
expectations about state treatment of citizens
However, effectiveness can still be limited by:
state sovereignty
cultural disagreement
selective intervention
Western-dominance criticisms
inconsistent acceptance and enforcement
The strongest judgement is therefore likely to distinguish between promoting human rights and successfully enforcing them.
Globalisation may be particularly effective at making human rights a global political issue, while being less successful at ensuring consistent protection.
Globalisation and the environment
Environmental problems demonstrate why interconnectedness can make global co-operation necessary.
Environmental degradation does not necessarily remain confined within state boundaries.
This supports political globalisation because common problems may require states to develop:
institutions
international agreements
shared rules
collective action
The specification later requires detailed study of international environmental governance, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), environmental agreements and obstacles to international co-operation.
These are developed in global environmental governance [Global environmental governance].
Argument: globalisation can help address environmental issues
Political globalisation creates mechanisms through which governments can attempt to address problems collectively.
The basic logic is:
environmental problem crosses borders
↓
one state cannot solve it alone
↓
states co-operate
↓
international organisations and agreements develop
↓
co-ordinated action becomes possible
The overall Global Politics specification itself stresses that environmental degradation is among the challenges requiring global co-operation.
Globalisation can therefore help by creating the connections through which states:
share information
negotiate agreements
establish international institutions
attempt common responses
Argument: economic globalisation can worsen environmental degradation
At the same time, the economic side of globalisation can contribute directly to environmental problems.
The 2024 mark scheme links economic globalisation with:
growing production
consumerism
materialism
greater use of raw materials
increased use of resources such as oil
environmental degradation and global warming
This creates a major contradiction:
globalisation helps create international environmental co-operation
while
economic globalisation can intensify the activity creating environmental damage
The process may look like this:
greater global demand
↓
increased production and consumption
↓
greater demand for energy and raw materials
↓
environmental degradation
↓
greater need for international co-operation
Globalisation can therefore simultaneously help cause a problem and provide mechanisms for trying to solve it.
Economic growth versus environmental protection
This tension raises a fundamental issue:
Can global economic growth continue without causing unacceptable environmental damage?
Later specification content introduces:
shallow-green ecology
deep-green ecology
sustainable development
tragedy of the commons
as competing approaches to environmental problems.
Those detailed debates belong in environmental approaches and international agreements [Environmental approaches and international agreements].
For this topic, you should recognise that one of globalisation's most important advantages, economic growth, may also be connected to one of its major disadvantages, environmental degradation.
Environmental problems and sovereignty
Even where international co-operation exists, states remain sovereign.
The specification identifies sovereignty as one of the obstacles to environmental co-operation, alongside:
division between developed and developing countries
disagreement over responsibility
disagreement over measurement
Globalisation may therefore make collective environmental action more necessary without making it easy.
This is a useful evaluative principle:
Interdependence increases the need for co-operation, but it does not guarantee successful co-operation.
Environment: overall assessment
Globalisation has increased the capacity for:
scientific and political co-operation
collective negotiations
international agreements
shared approaches to global environmental problems
However, economic globalisation can also increase:
production
consumption
resource extraction
environmental degradation
Its overall environmental impact is therefore highly contested.
Bringing the four contemporary issues together
Poverty, conflict, human rights and the environment should not always be treated as separate topics.
They frequently interact.
For example:
economic globalisation
↓
economic growth
↓
may reduce poverty
but
↓
greater production may increase environmental degradation
At the same time:
uneven economic benefits
↓
may contribute to resentment
↓
which can increase conflict
Similarly:
political and cultural globalisation
↓
can increase awareness of human rights
↓
which may encourage intervention
↓
which may be intended to resolve conflict
but can itself generate political tensions over sovereignty.
This interconnection is exactly what Edexcel Global Politics is designed to test. The specification requires students to identify parallels and connections between contemporary issues rather than treating every section as isolated knowledge.
A comparison of globalisation's impact
Issue | How globalisation may help | How globalisation may make the problem worse or fail to solve it |
Poverty | Trade, investment, growth, employment and economic integration can raise living standards | Benefits are uneven; some workers and states may remain marginalised; profits may be repatriated |
Conflict | International institutions, rules, diplomacy and interdependence can encourage peaceful co-operation | Cultural backlash, inequality and controversial interventions can create new tensions |
Human rights | Greater awareness, international law, courts and tribunals can increase protection | Western-bias criticisms, sovereignty and selective enforcement can limit effectiveness |
Environment | International institutions and agreements make co-operation possible | Greater production, consumption and resource use can worsen environmental damage |
This table provides a useful starting point for a 30-mark essay plan, but high-level answers must develop why each advantage or disadvantage matters.
Does globalisation address or resolve global issues?
The specification wording distinguishes implicitly between making progress and completely solving a problem.
Globalisation can address an issue by creating:
institutions
awareness
economic opportunities
international rules
mechanisms for co-operation
That does not necessarily mean it resolves the issue.
For example:
Poverty
Economic integration can contribute to falling poverty while significant poverty remains.
Conflict
International organisations can manage disputes without eliminating war.
Human rights
Courts and international standards can promote rights without ensuring universal enforcement.
Environment
International agreements can create collective action while environmental degradation continues.
This distinction is extremely useful in evaluation.
Measuring effectiveness
When asked whether globalisation has been effective in resolving contemporary issues, ask several questions.
1. Has the scale of the problem reduced?
For example, has economic globalisation materially reduced poverty?
2. Are benefits widely distributed?
Improvement in some countries does not automatically demonstrate equal global success.
3. Has globalisation addressed the cause or only the symptoms?
Greater humanitarian awareness may respond to rights violations without eliminating the conditions producing them.
4. Are global mechanisms enforceable?
Institutions can exist without possessing enough power to secure compliance.
5. Does globalisation itself contribute to the problem?
This is particularly important for environmental degradation and economic inequality.
These criteria turn description into genuine evaluation.
Liberal interpretations
A liberal interpretation is generally more optimistic about globalisation's potential to address global issues.
Liberalism emphasises:
complex interdependence
international organisations
global governance
the possibility of co-operation
Applied to contemporary issues, liberals can argue:
poverty: economic interdependence and trade can spread prosperity.
conflict: states can co-operate through international institutions.
human rights: universal standards and institutions can protect individuals.
environment: collective problems encourage collective international responses.
This interpretation fits many of the advantages identified in Edexcel's 2024 globalisation mark scheme.
Realist interpretations
A realist interpretation is more cautious.
Realists emphasise:
sovereign states
national interests
power
international anarchy
limitations of international organisations
Applied to contemporary issues, a realist might question whether:
states will accept economic arrangements that conflict with national interests
political institutions can prevent conflict where major powers disagree
states will permit international human-rights institutions to override sovereignty
governments will accept environmental restrictions they perceive as economically damaging
This provides an important explanation for why growing interconnectedness may fail to produce successful global solutions.
You compare these approaches fully in realism and liberalism compared [Realism and liberalism compared].
Advantages and disadvantages must be evaluated against each other
A 30-mark globalisation essay should not simply contain:
three advantages
followed by
three disadvantages.
A stronger structure evaluates competing effects using the same criterion.
For example:
Poverty
Advantage: economic globalisation increases trade and growth.
Counterargument: growth is distributed unevenly.
Judgement: globalisation may therefore reduce absolute poverty without eliminating economic inequality.
Human rights
Advantage: greater awareness and global institutions promote universal rights.
Counterargument: state sovereignty and accusations of Western bias limit enforcement.
Judgement: globalisation may be more successful at establishing international expectations than guaranteeing compliance.
This produces sustained AO3 rather than leaving all judgement until the conclusion.
Overall advantages of globalisation
Using the specification and Edexcel mark schemes, the broad case in favour includes:
increased international economic activity
opportunities for growth and higher living standards
greater cultural exchange
increased transmission of ideas and values
greater international awareness of human rights
development of courts and tribunals
creation and growth of international organisations
greater opportunities for diplomacy and peaceful conflict resolution
mechanisms for addressing problems that cross state borders
Overall disadvantages of globalisation
The main criticisms include:
uneven economic prosperity
possible exploitation of low-cost labour
profits leaving developing states
persistence of poverty in some parts of the world
Western dominance of economic institutions
Western cultural dominance
cultural backlash and resentment
criticisms of Western approaches to human rights
restrictions on national sovereignty
consumerism and materialism
increased consumption of natural resources
environmental degradation
The strongest answer weighs these consequences rather than assuming one automatically outweighs all the others.
An exam-ready evaluation framework
For each issue, use:
1. Mechanism
How does globalisation affect the issue?
2. Evidence or example
What supported example demonstrates this effect?
3. Impact
Why does that development matter?
4. Limitation
What prevents it from fully solving the issue?
5. Judgement
How effective is globalisation overall according to this criterion?
For example:
Economic globalisation reduces barriers to trade → this can increase investment and economic growth → greater economic activity can create jobs and raise incomes → however, the benefits may be unevenly distributed and profits can be repatriated → therefore globalisation can reduce poverty without necessarily removing global economic inequality.
That is much stronger than:
"Globalisation reduces poverty because trade is good."
Judging globalisation overall
There is no requirement to reach a predetermined conclusion that globalisation is either beneficial or harmful.
A well-supported overall judgement can reasonably argue that:
globalisation has had different degrees of effectiveness across different issues
it may be better at creating mechanisms for addressing problems than completely resolving them
many advantages are accompanied by related disadvantages
outcomes depend heavily on states, international institutions and how the benefits and costs of interconnectedness are distributed
For example:
globalisation can create economic growth but not equal prosperity
it can create institutions for peace but not eliminate conflict
it can establish human-rights expectations but not guarantee enforcement
it can enable environmental co-operation while also encouraging environmentally damaging production
This nuanced approach is likely to produce stronger evaluation than an absolute claim.
Key Words 🔑
Key word | Student-friendly definition | How it may be used in an exam |
Globalisation | The emergence of a complex web of interconnectedness in many forms. | Use when explaining why contemporary problems increasingly cross national boundaries. |
Economic globalisation | Growing economic integration and interdependence through intensified cross-border movement of goods, services, technologies and capital. | Use when analysing globalisation's impact on poverty, development and environmental pressures. |
Political globalisation | The growing importance of international organisations. | Use when explaining attempts to deal with conflict, human rights and environmental problems collectively. |
Cultural globalisation | The growing transmission of ideas, meanings and values around the world. | Use when analysing shared values, human rights, cultural homogenisation and cultural backlash. |
Global governance | The broad and complex process of decision making at a global level. | Use when assessing whether interconnectedness produces effective collective responses to global problems. |
Hints from the Examiner Reports 💡
Examiner hint: Make impact central to your answer. The 2022 examiner report noted that the vast majority of candidates recognised that "impact" was the central word when answering a question about contemporary global issues. Stronger answers consistently explained the consequences of political developments rather than merely describing institutions.
Examiner hint: You can organise arguments around several contemporary global issues. The 2022 examiner report noted that many candidates successfully used conflict, poverty, human rights and the environment as their framework, although strong answers did not necessarily have to cover every issue.
Examiner hint: Develop comparison and evaluation throughout. An examiner-commented 2022 response successfully compared impact across human rights, conflict and poverty instead of treating examples as disconnected knowledge.
Examiner hint: For poverty questions, avoid assuming that economic growth automatically means poverty has been solved. Edexcel's 2023 mark scheme allows substantial evaluation of uneven benefits, continued poverty and the role of global institutions and corporations.
Examiner hint: In a 30-mark answer, AO1, AO2 and AO3 matter equally. Your factual knowledge must lead to analysis, and your analysis should be used to make substantiated judgements rather than adding a brief evaluation only at the end.
A useful paragraph pattern is:
claim → explanation → consequence → counterargument → mini-judgement
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Treating globalisation as automatically beneficial
Why this is incorrect: The specification explicitly requires study of both its advantages and disadvantages.
How to improve: For every claimed benefit, ask whether there is a related cost or limitation.
Mistake: Treating globalisation as automatically harmful
Why this is incorrect: Edexcel mark schemes identify significant arguments that globalisation can promote growth, reduce poverty, develop human-rights institutions and encourage peaceful co-operation.
How to improve: Use balanced evidence before reaching a judgement.
Mistake: Saying economic inequality proves poverty has not fallen
Why this is incorrect: Inequality and poverty are not identical. Economic growth could reduce poverty while its benefits remain uneven.
How to improve: Distinguish between poverty reduction, unequal distribution of wealth and the complete elimination of poverty.
Mistake: Assuming international organisations have ended conflict
Why this is incorrect: Political globalisation can provide mechanisms for diplomacy, but it does not guarantee state co-operation or eliminate competing interests.
How to improve: Evaluate whether institutions reduce conflict rather than claiming that their existence resolves it.
Mistake: Assuming global human-rights standards are universally accepted
Why this is incorrect: The specification requires students to examine tensions involving sovereignty, enforcement, selective intervention and alleged Western double standards.
How to improve: Distinguish between establishing international rights principles and enforcing them consistently.
Mistake: Describing the ICC or UN without connecting them to globalisation
Why this is incorrect: The question is about the impact of globalisation, not simply the functions of international institutions.
How to improve: Explain how growing international institutions demonstrate political globalisation and then assess their effect on the issue.
Mistake: Treating the environment only as something globalisation solves
Why this is incorrect: Economic globalisation can increase production, consumption and resource use, contributing to environmental degradation.
How to improve: Consider globalisation as both a potential cause of environmental problems and a means of organising responses to them.
Mistake: Covering only one contemporary global issue in a broad essay
Why this is incorrect: A broad question about globalisation's advantages and disadvantages requires sufficient range to support a convincing overall judgement.
How to improve: Use several criteria, such as poverty, conflict, human rights and the environment, unless the wording narrows the question.
Mistake: Leaving all evaluation to the conclusion
Why this is incorrect :High-level AO3 requires sustained evaluation and substantiated judgements.
How to improve: End individual paragraphs with a judgement about how significant that advantage or disadvantage is.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Define economic globalisation. (1 mark)
Question 2
Identify two contemporary global issues that Edexcel requires students to consider when assessing globalisation. (2 marks)
Question 3
Explain one way in which political globalisation may help reduce conflict. (4 marks)
Question 4
Consider the following hypothetical situation:
State A receives major foreign investment after opening its economy to international trade. New businesses create jobs and increase national economic output. However, much of the profit generated by foreign companies leaves State A, and some workers remain on low incomes.
Analyse how the situation illustrates both an advantage and a disadvantage of economic globalisation in addressing poverty. (6 marks)
Question 5
Consider the following hypothetical situation:
Images of serious human-rights abuses in State B circulate internationally. Other governments condemn State B and international institutions begin investigating the abuses. State B argues that international involvement violates its sovereignty.
Analyse how this situation illustrates both the potential and limitations of globalisation in promoting human rights. (6 marks)
Question 6
Examine the ways in which globalisation may both reduce and contribute to conflict. (12 marks)
Question 7
Examine the relationship between economic globalisation and environmental problems. (12 marks)
Question 8
Evaluate the view that globalisation has been more effective in addressing poverty and human rights than conflict and environmental problems.
You must consider this view and the alternative to this view in a balanced way. (30 marks)
Question 9
Evaluate the view that the advantages of globalisation outweigh the disadvantages.
You must consider this view and the alternative to this view in a balanced way. (30 marks)
Answers and indicative mark scheme
Question 1
1 mark for an accurate definition:
Economic globalisation is the growing economic integration and interdependence of economies through intensified cross-border movement of goods, services, technologies and capital.
Question 2
Award 1 mark each for any two of:
poverty
conflict
human rights
environment
Maximum 2 marks.
Question 3
A developed answer could explain:
Political globalisation involves the growing importance of international organisations. Institutions such as the UN provide mechanisms through which states can negotiate, use diplomacy and organise collective responses to disputes. This can reduce reliance on force and therefore help manage or prevent conflict.
Credit other accurate developed explanations.
Question 4
A strong response should identify both effects.
Advantage:
foreign investment creates employment and economic growth
increased incomes and economic opportunities may reduce poverty
Disadvantage:
profits are repatriated rather than remaining fully within State A
some workers remain on low incomes
the benefits of global economic growth are therefore uneven
Analysis:
The scenario demonstrates that economic globalisation can reduce poverty without distributing prosperity equally. Therefore, economic integration may improve living standards overall while still leaving significant inequalities.
Higher marks require this connection rather than simply listing the two features.
Question 5
Possible analysis includes:
Potential benefits:
greater flows of information make abuses more internationally visible
cultural and political globalisation increase international concern
international institutions can investigate or respond to violations
human rights become less likely to be regarded as a purely internal issue
Limitations:
State B invokes national sovereignty
international institutions may struggle to enforce standards without state co-operation
disagreement over external involvement may limit effective action
A strong answer should conclude that globalisation may be effective in raising awareness and creating pressure, while protection depends on whether international standards can actually be enforced.
Question 6
Indicative content may include:
Globalisation may reduce conflict through:
growth of international organisations
diplomacy and collective decision making
development of international rules
political globalisation
economic interconnectedness and interdependence
incentives for states to preserve economically beneficial relationships
Globalisation may contribute to conflict through:
perceived Western cultural dominance
cultural backlash
religious fundamentalism or anti-globalisation movements
uneven distribution of economic benefits
tensions caused by inequality
disagreements surrounding humanitarian intervention
conflict between international involvement and sovereignty
Higher-level responses should analyse why each development affects the likelihood or management of conflict.
Question 7
Indicative content may include:
Globalisation contributing to environmental problems:
increased global production
growing consumption
consumerism and materialism
greater resource use
dependence on resources including oil
environmental degradation
connection between economic growth and global warming
Globalisation helping address environmental problems:
greater political interconnectedness
recognition that environmental problems cross borders
international co-operation
international institutions
common negotiations and agreements
global governance mechanisms
A strong answer should recognise the central contradiction that globalisation can intensify environmental pressures while simultaneously increasing the need and ability to organise global responses.
Question 8
A balanced answer could organise evaluation by issue.
Poverty
Arguments for effectiveness:
free trade and international investment may generate economic growth
greater employment and investment can increase living standards
greater interdependence may spread prosperity
Limitations:
benefits are uneven
continued North-South inequalities
low-paid labour and repatriation of profits
some states and groups remain marginalised
Human rights
Arguments for effectiveness:
greater awareness of violations
spread of universal human-rights ideas
growth of international courts and tribunals
international pressure on governments
Limitations:
state sovereignty
uneven enforcement
alleged Western bias
selective intervention
Conflict
Arguments for effectiveness:
international organisations
collective security and diplomacy
economic interdependence
Limitations:
cultural backlash
inequality
continued state competition
controversial intervention
Environment
Arguments for effectiveness:
environmental problems encourage international co-operation
global institutions and agreements enable collective responses
Limitations:
globalisation increases production and consumption
greater resource use can worsen environmental degradation
sovereign states retain the ability to resist international measures
Judgement: A strong conclusion should compare actual effectiveness rather than simply stating that one issue is "better". Globalisation has created important mechanisms for addressing all four problems, but progress is uneven. It may be particularly effective at generating economic opportunities and spreading human-rights awareness, while the persistence of poverty and enforcement problems limits claims of complete success. Equally, international institutions can manage conflict and environmental problems without fully resolving them. The key distinction is therefore between addressing a problem and resolving it.
Question 9
A balanced response could consider the following.
Advantages of globalisation:
economic integration can increase trade and economic growth
investment can create employment, infrastructure and skills
economic development can contribute to poverty reduction
cultural globalisation spreads ideas and values
greater awareness can expose human-rights abuses
international human-rights institutions can develop
international organisations encourage diplomacy
political globalisation can provide peaceful methods of resolving disagreements
interconnectedness can facilitate collective responses to environmental problems
Disadvantages of globalisation:
economic prosperity is distributed unevenly
transnational corporations may exploit low-cost labour
profits may be repatriated
global economic institutions may be criticised for Western dominance
cultural globalisation can produce Western cultural dominance
cultural backlash can generate conflict
universal human-rights approaches may be criticised as Western
intervention can be selective and controversial
global economic growth encourages consumerism and materialism
increasing production and use of raw materials can worsen environmental degradation
growing international governance can constrain national sovereignty
Judgement: The balance depends partly on the criterion used. Globalisation has produced important economic opportunities, increased international awareness and created institutions through which states can address shared problems. However, many of its benefits are unevenly distributed and some of the processes responsible for economic growth can also contribute to inequality, political resentment and environmental damage. A sophisticated conclusion should therefore avoid claiming that globalisation is wholly beneficial or harmful. Its most convincing achievement may be the creation of a framework through which genuinely global problems can be addressed, while its ability to resolve poverty, conflict, human-rights abuses and environmental degradation remains much more limited. The next stage of the course examines these mechanisms in greater depth through the United Nations [The United Nations] and the institutions of global political and economic governance.
Comments