Power, development and global issues | Edexcel A-Level Politics
Updated: 7 days ago
For Specification 9PL0
Edexcel A-Level Politics | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time:Â 65 minutes
This Power, development and global issues A-Level Politics revision page examines the spread of liberal economies, the rule of law and democracy, and how relationships between states have changed as power and development have shifted. You also need to assess whether these developments help states address four major contemporary global issues: conflict, poverty, human rights and the environment. This brings together your understanding of different political systems [Different systems of government], changing distributions of power [Polarity and world order] and the wider effects of global interconnectedness [Globalisation and contemporary global issues].
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Explain the development and spread of liberal economies.
Explain the development and spread of the rule of law and democracy.
Analyse how economic, political and power relationships between states have changed.
Explain how changing state relationships can encourage both co-operation and conflict.
Assess how effectively changing relationships between states address conflict, poverty, human rights and environmental issues.
Evaluate whether co-operation and interdependence have fundamentally changed state behaviour.
Revision Notes đź“š
Power, development and global issues A-Level Politics revision: what does the specification require?
Edexcel divides this part of Power and developments into two connected requirements.
First, students must understand the development and spread of:
liberal economies
rule of law
democracy.
Second, students must assess:
the ways and extent to which the changing relationships and actions of states in relation to power and developments address and resolve contemporary global issues involving conflict, poverty, human rights and the environment.
This means the lesson is not simply about whether democracy or free markets have spread.
The key exam question is:
What consequences have these developments, and changing relationships between states, had for major global problems?
Three major developments
The three developments required by Edexcel are closely related but should not be treated as the same thing.
Development | What it concerns | Why it matters globally |
Liberal economies | Greater use of free trade, liberalisation and economic interdependence | Changes economic relationships between states and may promote growth |
Rule of law | Political authority operating through accepted rules and law rather than arbitrary power | Supports rules-based relations, institutions and protection of rights |
Democracy | Popular involvement in government and democratic political institutions | Changes government accountability and may affect willingness to co-operate |
The three can reinforce one another, but they can also develop unevenly.
A state can participate deeply in a liberal global economy without becoming fully democratic. This is one reason you should avoid assuming that economic development automatically produces an identical political system everywhere.
The development and spread of liberal economies
For this topic, the provided Pearson materials link the growth of liberal economic ideas particularly to:
free trade
economic liberalisation
increased global trade
international economic institutions
increased interconnectedness between states.
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme describes economic globalisation as being based primarily on a Western economic model of free trade and liberalisation.
The development of liberal economies therefore connects directly to economic globalisation and interdependence [The process of globalisation].
Free trade and liberalisation
A liberal economic approach places significant emphasis on reducing barriers to international economic activity.
Pearson assessment material associates this development with:
increasing international trade
greater economic interconnectedness
international investment
the growth of transnational corporations
international economic bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organisation (WTO).
This can change relationships between states because their economies become increasingly connected.
The underlying chain of reasoning is:
greater trade and investment → greater economic interdependence → states become more affected by one another's prosperity and stability → increased incentives for economic co-operation.
This economic dimension is developed further in global economic institutions [The IMF and World Bank] and trade and international economic co-operation [WTO, G7/G8 and G20].
Economic globalisation and growth
Pearson's 2023 and 2024 mark schemes identify significant economic growth as one potential advantage of the spread of liberal economic relationships.
They particularly highlight China as a state that experienced major economic growth during a period of increased global trade and economic liberalisation.The argument is:
access to wider markets → increased production and trade → economic growth → increased living standards → potential reduction in poverty.
This provides one of the strongest arguments that the spread of liberal economic relationships can help address global problems.
However, this conclusion is contested, as the benefits have not been distributed evenly.
Liberal economies create deeper relationships between states
Economic globalisation means states increasingly depend upon economic relationships that cross national borders.
The Edexcel glossary defines economic globalisation as growing economic integration and interdependence through intensified cross-border movements of:
goods
services
technologies
capital.
This changes state relationships because decisions taken in one economy can affect others.
Pearson's 2023 examiner report praised candidates who connected free trade with economic interconnectedness and interdependence.
The important point is not simply that states trade more.
It is that:
states' economic fortunes become more closely connected.
This can create incentives for co-operation because disruption to another state's economy can also create costs elsewhere.
Limits to the spread of liberal economies
The spread of liberal economic relationships has not removed economic inequality.
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme identifies several criticisms:
the IMF, World Bank and WTO have been accused of reflecting Western economic priorities
the benefits of economic globalisation have been distributed unevenly
a North-South divide remains
poverty remains particularly concentrated in some areas
large transnational corporations may prioritise profit rather than development
world-systems and dependency approaches argue that poorer states can remain economically disadvantaged.
Therefore:
spread of liberal economies ≠equal economic development.
Economic interdependence may increase overall prosperity without distributing the gains equally between or within states.
The development and spread of democracy
The specification separately requires you to understand the development and spread of democracy.
Edexcel defines a democratic state as a state in which all the people are involved in making decisions about its affairs.
The significance of democratic development for global politics is that the nature of a state's government may affect:
political accountability
relationships with other states
attitudes towards international organisations
protection of rights
willingness to co-operate over global problems.
This builds on democratic and autocratic government [Different systems of government].
Globalisation and democratic values
Pearson's 2024 mark scheme links cultural globalisation to the spread of common values, including democratic values.
Political and cultural interconnectedness can transmit political ideas across borders.
This means democracy can spread not only because governments formally adopt new institutions but because:
political ideas circulate internationally
states interact through international organisations
regional organisations develop shared political expectations
democratic values become associated with wider international norms.
The 2020 examiner report identified the European Union (EU) as an example of a regional body whose shared values include:
democracy
rule of law
human-rights protection.
This provides an important link to the next part of the course, political and economic regional co-operation [Regionalism].
Does the spread of democracy necessarily transform international behaviour?
No.
This is an important qualification.
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme emphasises that democratic and autocratic states can both:
participate in international economic institutions
participate in the United Nations
engage in trade
develop military capabilities
use military force
be accused of violating human rights and international law.
Therefore, the spread of democracy may change political relationships, but it does not remove:
state interests
military rivalry
economic competition
conflict.
A strong answer should therefore distinguish between:
the spread of democratic government
and
the assumption that democratic states will always behave peacefully or co-operatively.
The development and spread of the rule of law
The Edexcel specification explicitly requires the development and spread of the rule of law, although it does not provide a separate definition for the term in the Global Politics glossary.
Within the wider specification, liberalism links individual freedom to being under the law, while liberal democracy combines popular government with limited government and respect for civil liberties.
For this topic, the rule of law should therefore be understood in relation to a rules-based political order, rather than political power being exercised without legal restraint.
In global politics, this connects to:
international law
international organisations
international courts
protection of human rights
states accepting agreed rules and institutions.
The EU and the rule of law
Pearson's 2020 examiner report provides a particularly useful example.
It notes that political regionalism can involve states sharing and protecting common values, with the EU associated with democracy, the rule of law and human-rights protection.
The significance is that relationships between states can move beyond temporary co-operation.
States may develop institutions based upon common expectations about:
political behaviour
rights
legal rules
acceptable standards of government.
This is an example of political relationships becoming more institutionalised.
International law and a rules-based international system
The development of international legal institutions also reflects greater emphasis on agreed rules between states.
The specification requires knowledge of:
international law
the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
the International Criminal Court (ICC)
special United Nations tribunals
the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
These are explored fully in global human-rights law and courts [International human-rights law and institutions].
Their existence demonstrates attempts to regulate political behaviour through legal principles rather than leaving every issue entirely to unilateral state decision-making.
However, the effectiveness of these rules depends heavily on whether states accept and enforce them.
Changing relationships between states
The second half of the topic requires analysis of changing relationships and actions of states in relation to power and developments.
Several important changes can be identified from Pearson's materials.
1. Greater economic interdependence
The growth of free trade and liberal economic relationships has made many states more economically interconnected.
States increasingly participate together in:
trade
investment
the WTO
IMF
World Bank
regional economic organisations.
This may make co-operation more attractive because economic disruption can harm several states simultaneously.
Pearson's materials link this form of interdependence to greater opportunities for:
stability
co-operation
shared prosperity.
2. Greater participation in international organisations
States with very different political systems increasingly operate through common institutions.
Pearson's 2023 materials highlight participation by democratic and autocratic states alike in:
the United Nations
international economic organisations
environmental conferences
regional bodies.
This can create mechanisms through which states:
negotiate
agree rules
address disputes
respond jointly to global problems.
The idea that international relationships are becoming denser and more institutionalised connects strongly with liberal approaches to international politics [Liberalism].
3. Growth of regional relationships
States increasingly act through regional organisations as well as individually.
Pearson material refers to bodies including:
the EU
African Union (AU)
North American arrangements
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Regional relationships can increase:
trade
interdependence
political co-operation
collective influence.
These relationships are examined in depth in regional political and economic co-operation [Regional organisations].
4. Changing distribution of state power
Relationships between states have also changed because states do not possess fixed levels of power.
The rise of:
China
India
other emerging powers
regional actors such as the EU
has challenged older concentrations of international influence.
This develops earlier work on emerging state influence [Great powers, superpowers and emerging powers].
As power becomes more widely distributed:
established powers face stronger challengers
emerging states demand greater influence
international decision-making may involve a wider range of actors
relationships become less dominated by a single state.
5. Co-operation exists alongside hard-power rivalry
Growing economic and political co-operation has not eliminated traditional power politics.
Pearson assessment materials identify:
US military action in Iraq and Afghanistan
Russian military action in Ukraine
continued military development by China
continuing state investment in military capabilities.
States can therefore be:
economically interdependent
members of the same international organisations
while still:
competing for power
using sanctions
increasing military strength
entering conflict.
This tension is central to later comparison of competing interpretations of state behaviour [Realism and liberalism compared].
6. States increasingly face problems they cannot easily solve alone
The Global Politics overview identifies challenges such as:
global terrorism
poverty
economic instability
weapons proliferation
failing states
environmental degradation
and states that these require global co-operation if they are to be resolved.
This is why changing state relationships matter.
The central issue is whether greater co-operation has been effective enough to solve these problems.
Edexcel requires you to evaluate four especially important areas:
conflict
poverty
human rights
the environment.
Changing state relationships and conflict
Conflict provides perhaps the clearest test of whether relationships between states have become more co-operative.
How changing relationships may reduce conflict
Greater political and economic interaction can create mechanisms for peaceful co-operation.
Pearson material identifies:
international organisations such as the UN
regional organisations
economic interdependence
NATO co-operation
international rules
as developments which may reduce conflict or provide ways to address it.
International organisations
States can use international organisations to:
discuss disputes
create collective responses
establish common rules
attempt to maintain peace and security.
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme notes that liberals may argue that international organisations have reduced the likelihood or duration of some conflicts, even though they have not prevented every war.
Economic interdependence
Where states gain substantial benefits from trade and investment, conflict may become more costly.
The argument is:
greater economic connection → conflict threatens shared prosperity → stronger incentive to maintain peaceful relations.
This is one reason economic interdependence can be seen as contributing to global order.
Why conflict remains unresolved
The continuation of major conflicts provides strong evidence that changed relationships have not removed power politics.
Pearson material identifies conflicts including:
Afghanistan
Iraq
Ukraine.
States still possess:
sovereign interests
military capabilities
security concerns
competing objectives.
International organisations may also be bypassed or unable to secure agreement.
Therefore:
More co-operation does not mean conflict has disappeared.
A strong evaluation is that institutional and economic relationships may reduce or manage some conflict without being capable of preventing all wars.
Changing state relationships and poverty
The spread of liberal economies has produced one of the biggest debates in this topic.
How liberal economic relationships may reduce poverty
Pearson mark schemes identify several possible benefits.
Free trade and growth
Reduced barriers to trade can allow:
greater production
access to wider markets
increased economic growth
rising living standards.
China is repeatedly used in Pearson material as evidence that integration into an increasingly global economy can accompany rapid economic growth.
International economic institutions
The IMF and World Bank provide:
lending
advice
economic support.
The WTO provides a framework for global trade.
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme argues that such institutions can contribute to economic stability and growth.
Transnational corporations
Transnational corporations can provide:
investment
infrastructure
employment
training
economic activity.
These may provide opportunities for development in poorer states.
Why poverty remains a major problem
The strongest counterargument is that economic growth has been uneven.
Pearson identifies:
continuing North-South divisions
persistent poverty in parts of sub-Saharan Africa
unequal distribution of the gains from globalisation
criticisms of IMF and World Bank policies
criticisms of transnational corporations
world-systems and dependency approaches.
The critical distinction is:
economic growth ≠equal development.
A global economy may become wealthier overall while:
some states gain more than others
some groups remain excluded
inequalities persist.
This issue is explored more fully in theories and measurements of international poverty [Global economic governance and poverty].
Overall assessment: poverty
Changing economic relationships have contributed to major growth opportunities and can support poverty reduction.
However, their effectiveness is limited by:
unequal access to benefits
continuing structural inequalities
concentration of poverty in particular regions
disputes over how economic institutions operate.
A balanced judgement is therefore:
Liberal economic development can reduce poverty, but it does not guarantee that growth will be distributed equally enough to resolve poverty altogether.
Changing state relationships and human rights
The spread of democracy, rule-based politics and international legal institutions has increased the importance of human-rights issues in global relationships.
How changing relationships may improve human-rights protection
Pearson's 2024 material links globalisation with:
greater awareness of human-rights abuses
development of international legal institutions
international action concerning human rights.
One important example is the International Criminal Court, created in 2002, which can prosecute individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
This demonstrates a major change in international relationships:
treatment of individuals within states can become an issue for international institutions rather than remaining entirely a domestic matter.
Democracy, rule of law and rights
Pearson examiner material links the spread of democracy with stronger emphasis on human rights.
The EU is also presented as an example of states organising around common values including:
democracy
rule of law
human-rights protection.
This can encourage states to treat rights as part of their international relationships.
Limits to human-rights progress
State sovereignty remains a major obstacle.
The specification identifies debates over:
whether international law is accepted and enforced
whether international courts are effective
state sovereignty
selective intervention
alleged Western double standards.
Human-rights institutions therefore face a central problem:
international rules exist, but states remain powerful sovereign actors.
Pearson's 2023 material also shows that both democratic and autocratic states have faced allegations of human-rights abuses.
The spread of democracy and legal institutions has therefore increased human-rights protection without eliminating violations.
Overall assessment: human rights
Changing state relationships have made human rights a more internationalised political issue.
There are now:
international legal standards
courts and tribunals
regional institutions
political pressure for rights protection.
However, enforcement remains inconsistent.
A strong judgement is:
The spread of democracy and rule-based international relations has strengthened the mechanisms available for protecting human rights, but sovereignty and selective enforcement prevent these mechanisms from resolving human-rights problems consistently.
Changing state relationships and the environment
Environmental issues demonstrate especially clearly why states may need to co-operate.
Environmental degradation can cross national borders and cannot necessarily be resolved by one state acting alone.
The specification therefore requires knowledge of:
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
environmental agreements
barriers to environmental co-operation.
These are developed fully in international environmental institutions [Global environmental governance].
How changing relationships can address environmental problems
States increasingly participate in:
international environmental conferences
global environmental institutions
regional environmental initiatives
international agreements.
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme notes that liberals may see the nature of governments and the growth of international co-operation as important in explaining attempts to tackle environmental degradation.
Regional organisations also participate.
Pearson's 2025 mark scheme identifies:
environmental co-operation in North America
ASEAN environmental activity
significant EU participation in climate agreements.
This demonstrates a genuine change from purely independent national action towards multiple levels of environmental governance.
Why environmental problems remain difficult to resolve
The specification identifies several major barriers:
state sovereignty
divisions between the developed and developing worlds
disagreement over responsibility
disagreement over measurement.
Economic priorities can also conflict with environmental objectives.
Pearson's 2024 mark scheme criticises economic globalisation for encouraging:
consumerism
materialism
economic activity with environmental consequences.
This creates an important tension.
The spread of liberal economies may:
increase economic development
while simultaneously:
increasing pressure on environmental resources.
Overall assessment: environment
Changing state relationships have greatly increased the structures available for environmental co-operation.
However, effective environmental action remains difficult because states differ over:
economic priorities
responsibility
costs
sovereignty.
Therefore:
International co-operation is necessary for environmental problems, but the existence of co-operative institutions does not guarantee agreement or successful implementation.
Comparing effectiveness across the four global issues
Global issue | How changing relationships may help | Why effectiveness is limited |
Conflict | International organisations, diplomacy and interdependence provide mechanisms for co-operation | State interests, military rivalry and major conflicts continue |
Poverty | Free trade, investment, economic institutions and growth can increase prosperity | Benefits are uneven and major North-South inequalities remain |
Human rights | Democracy, international law and courts increase rights protection and scrutiny | Sovereignty, selective enforcement and continuing abuses limit effectiveness |
Environment | Global and regional co-operation allows collective action | States disagree over responsibility, costs, development and sovereignty |
This table captures the central evaluative theme of the lesson:
Changing relationships have increased the capacity for collective action, but collective action remains dependent on states whose interests do not always coincide.
Has the spread of liberal values transformed global politics?
There is a strong case that it has produced major change.
Evidence of transformation
Liberal economic relationships have deepened global trade and interdependence.
States increasingly participate in international organisations.
Democratic values have spread internationally.
The rule of law and international legal institutions have become more significant.
Human rights are increasingly treated as an international concern.
States collaborate over environmental issues.
Regional organisations have developed increasingly extensive relationships between members.
These developments fit closely with the idea of complex interdependence, which you will explore further in Liberalism [Liberalism].
But traditional state power remains significant
There is equally strong evidence of continuity.
States still:
retain sovereignty
pursue national interests
maintain large armed forces
compete for power
use hard power
enter conflict
resist international rules when they conflict with state priorities.
Pearson's 2023 material contrasts the growth of liberal institutions with:
Russian military action in Ukraine
the War on Terror
continued use of hard power
state power maximisation.
This means that liberal development and traditional power politics coexist.
Liberal and realist interpretations
Although the detailed theories are studied later, this topic naturally connects to them because the specification requires realism and liberalism to be applied throughout Global Politics.
A liberal interpretation
Liberals emphasise:
complex interdependence
co-operation
common interests
international organisations
rules
the importance of government type.
From this perspective, the spread of liberal economies, democracy and rules-based institutions demonstrates that state relationships can become increasingly co-operative.
A realist interpretation
Realists emphasise:
state sovereignty
competition for power
international anarchy
security
military strength
continuing conflict.
From this perspective, co-operation exists only while states consider it consistent with their interests.
The continuation of major conflicts and state rivalry suggests that the spread of liberal values has not fundamentally removed power politics.
A useful overall judgement
The strongest conclusion avoids either extreme.
It is difficult to argue that nothing has changed.
States are:
more economically interconnected
more involved in international institutions
more exposed to international legal and political expectations
increasingly required to co-operate over transnational problems.
However, it is equally difficult to argue that state interests and power have disappeared.
A balanced conclusion is:
The spread of liberal economies, democracy and rules-based relationships has changed how states interact and has improved their ability to address some global problems. However, the effectiveness of these developments remains limited because sovereign states continue to prioritise competing economic, political and security interests.
How to assess whether changing relationships are effective
A useful exam framework is to ask five questions.
1. What has changed?
Identify the development:
liberal economic integration
democracy
rule-based governance
international institutions
changing distributions of state power.
2. How has this changed relationships?
For example:
free trade → economic interdependence
or:
international law → increased legal expectations between states.
3. Which global issue is affected?
Keep the four specification areas in mind:
conflict
poverty
human rights
environment.
4. What evidence shows success?
Do not simply describe an institution.
Explain what outcome it produced.
5. What limits the success?
Consider:
sovereignty
competing interests
unequal economic development
military rivalry
weak enforcement
disagreement between states.
This produces the chain of reasoning examiners reward:
development → changed state relationship → effect on global issue → limitation → judgement of effectiveness.
Key Words 🔑
Key word | Student-friendly definition | How it may be used in an exam |
Liberal economy | An economic approach associated in Pearson materials with free trade, liberalisation and growing international economic integration. | Use when explaining how economic development and globalisation have changed relationships between states. |
Rule of law | The principle that political authority operates through law and accepted rules rather than arbitrary power. | Use when explaining rules-based government, international law and rights protection. |
Democratic state | A state in which all the people are involved in making decisions about its affairs. | Use when assessing the spread of democracy and whether political systems affect international co-operation. |
Interconnectedness | Mutual reliance between two or more groups. | Use when explaining why changes in one state increasingly affect other states. |
Global governance | The broad and complex process of decision-making at a global level. | Use when analysing collective attempts to address conflict, poverty, human rights and environmental problems. |
Hints from the Examiner Reports đź’ˇ
Examiner hint:Â Use examples to support an argument rather than simply displaying knowledge. The 2023 report praised strong responses for combining relevant subject knowledge with examples that directly supported analysis.
Examiner hint:Â You can organise a response around themes as well as individual events. In the 2023 compulsory theory question, candidates successfully used developments such as increasing interdependence and the growth of international organisations, rather than relying entirely on individual crises.
Examiner hint:Â Depth can be more valuable than trying to mention everything. The 2023 examiner report highlighted a strong response that concentrated in detail on two developments, conflict and the environment. Select evidence you can analyse rather than creating a long list of undeveloped examples.
Examiner hint:Â Keep returning to the exact issue being assessed. Pearson's 2025 report repeatedly praises answers that maintain focus on the wording of the question rather than drifting into related material.
Examiner hint:Â In an extended answer on contemporary global issues, define the issues you intend to assess and develop clear criteria for effectiveness. A strong 2025 response dealt with conflict, poverty and human rights separately, considered counterarguments and used mini-conclusions throughout.
Examiner hint:Â Do not save all evaluation for the conclusion. Stronger extended answers use mini-judgements throughout, then build those judgements into a final conclusion. The 2025 examiner report associated this with sustained AO3 performance.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Assuming a liberal economy is the same thing as a democracy
Why this is incorrect: The specification lists liberal economies and democracy separately. Economic and political development do not have to occur at the same rate.
How to improve: Treat economic structure and political system as separate dimensions, then explain where they interact.
Mistake: Treating increased trade as proof that poverty has been solved
Why this is incorrect: Pearson material recognises significant economic growth but also continuing inequality, a North-South divide and areas of persistent poverty.
How to improve: Distinguish between overall growth and how widely the benefits of growth are distributed.
Mistake: Assuming greater interdependence means conflict is impossible
Why this is incorrect: States that trade and participate in common institutions can still enter conflict or use hard power.
How to improve: Say that interdependence may reduce incentives for conflict rather than claiming it eliminates war.
Mistake: Treating the existence of international law as proof that the rule of law is fully effective globally
Why this is incorrect: The specification explicitly requires debate over whether international law is accepted and enforced.
How to improve: Separate the existence of rules from the ability to enforce them consistently.
Mistake: Assuming democracy automatically produces peaceful foreign policy
Why this is incorrect: Pearson material identifies democratic states participating in warfare as well as autocratic states.
How to improve: Use government type as one influence on international behaviour, not as a guaranteed prediction of it.
Mistake: Listing conflict, poverty, human rights and the environment without evaluating them
Why this is incorrect: Section 4.6 requires the ways and extent to which changing relationships address and resolve these issues.
How to improve: For every issue, give:
a way changing relationships help
a limitation
a judgement of effectiveness.
Mistake: Treating international co-operation as evidence that states no longer matter
Why this is incorrect: International institutions are frequently composed of sovereign states and depend upon state participation.
How to improve: Explain that international organisations may change how states exercise power without necessarily replacing state power.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
State two developments that Edexcel requires students to study alongside the spread of democracy. (2 marks)
Answer:
Liberal economies.
Rule of law.
Award 1 mark for each.
Question 2
Explain one way in which the spread of liberal economies can change relationships between states. (4 marks)
Indicative answer:
Liberal economic development encourages greater free trade and international economic integration. This creates deeper economic interdependence because states become increasingly affected by trade, investment and economic conditions elsewhere. States may therefore have stronger incentives to maintain stable and co-operative relationships.
Question 3
State A and State B have very different political systems but are both members of international economic organisations and rely heavily on trade with one another.
Explain why this provides evidence that economic interdependence can develop between states with different systems of government. (6 marks)
Indicative answer:
Economic interdependence concerns the relationship between states' economies rather than requiring identical political systems. Both states gain benefits from trade and international economic institutions, so their economic fortunes become more closely connected. This may create incentives to co-operate even though their domestic political systems differ.
Question 4
Examine how changing relationships between states may help to reduce conflict. (12 marks)
Indicative mark scheme:
Relevant knowledge may include:
growing economic interdependence
participation in the United Nations
growth of international organisations
regional co-operation
international rules
diplomatic and soft-power relationships.
Analysis may include:
trade increases the economic costs of conflict
international institutions provide opportunities to negotiate disputes
shared rules can increase predictability between states
collective organisations can co-ordinate responses to threats
co-operation can create deeper relationships between governments.
Students should also recognise limitations where relevant, including continuing conflicts, military power and state interests.
For high-level analysis, develop clear chains of reasoning rather than listing organisations.
Question 5
Examine the ways in which the spread of liberal economies may both reduce and maintain global poverty. (12 marks)
Indicative mark scheme:
Relevant knowledge may include:
free trade and liberalisation
increased economic growth
international economic institutions
transnational corporations
investment and employment
growth in China
unequal distribution of economic gains
continuing North-South divisions
criticisms of the IMF and World Bank
world-systems and dependency approaches.
Analysis should explain both directions.
For example:
Increased trade can create growth and employment, helping to reduce poverty. However, if economic gains are concentrated in richer states or particular groups, overall economic growth may coexist with continued severe poverty elsewhere.
Question 6
Examine how the spread of democracy and the rule of law can affect human-rights protection. (12 marks)
Indicative mark scheme:
Relevant knowledge may include:
democratic political values
rules-based government
international law
international courts and tribunals
the ICC
EU emphasis on democracy, rule of law and human rights
international scrutiny of rights violations.
Analysis may include:
greater acceptance of rights strengthens political expectations
international law provides standards against which state behaviour can be judged
international institutions can challenge individuals responsible for serious abuses
regional organisations can reinforce shared political values.
Limitations may include:
state sovereignty
selective enforcement
alleged Western double standards
continuing human-rights abuses.
Question 7
Examine why changing relationships between states have had limited success in addressing environmental problems. (12 marks)
Indicative mark scheme:
Relevant knowledge may include:
international environmental co-operation
UNFCCC
IPCC
environmental agreements
regional environmental activity
sovereignty
developed versus developing world divisions
disagreement over responsibility and measurement
tensions between economic growth and environmental protection.
Analysis should explain why both co-operation and limitation occur.
For example:
Environmental problems encourage international co-operation because their effects cross national borders. However, states remain sovereign and face different economic circumstances, meaning they may disagree over how much responsibility each should accept. This limits the effectiveness of collective environmental action.
Question 8
Evaluate the view that changing relationships between states have made them more effective in addressing contemporary global issues. (30 marks)
Indicative mark scheme:
A strong response should assess several of the four required issues rather than treating "global issues" as a vague category.
Arguments supporting the view may include:
economic interdependence creates incentives for peaceful co-operation
the spread of liberal economies has produced substantial economic growth
international economic institutions can support development
international organisations provide mechanisms for resolving disputes
democratic and legal norms increase scrutiny of human-rights abuses
international courts strengthen human-rights governance
environmental institutions and agreements enable collective action
regional organisations allow states to increase their collective influence.
Arguments challenging the view may include:
major military conflicts continue
states still prioritise sovereignty and national interests
economic gains remain uneven and poverty persists
international economic governance is criticised for reproducing inequalities
human-rights enforcement remains selective
democratic states as well as autocratic states can violate rights or use military force
international environmental agreements face divisions over responsibility and costs
economic liberalisation may increase consumerism and environmental pressure.
AO1:Â Accurate knowledge of liberal economic development, democracy, rule of law and changing state relationships.
AO2:Â Analysis connecting these developments directly to conflict, poverty, human rights and environmental issues.
AO3: Sustained judgements about the extent of effectiveness.
Possible overall judgement: Changing state relationships have clearly increased the capacity for co-operation. States now operate within deeper economic, political and legal relationships and possess far more mechanisms for collective action. However, these changes have been more successful at managing and reducing some problems than fully resolving them. Sovereignty, unequal development and competing national interests continue to limit collective solutions.
Question 9
Evaluate the view that the spread of liberal economies, democracy and the rule of law has fundamentally transformed relations between states. (30 marks)
Indicative mark scheme:
Arguments supporting the view may include:
growing global economic integration
greater dependence on international trade
spread of democratic values
growth of international law
increasing importance of international courts
growth of international organisations
regional co-operation
more extensive rules-based international relationships.
Arguments challenging the view may include:
states retain sovereignty
military power remains central to international politics
states continue to compete for economic and strategic influence
major conflicts continue
autocratic states participate in the global economy without necessarily adopting democratic political systems
international rules are not consistently accepted or enforced
the rise of new powers creates fresh competition as well as co-operation.
AO1:Â Accurate knowledge of developments in liberal economics, democracy, the rule of law and state power.
AO2:Â Analysis showing how these developments alter relationships between states.
AO3:Â Evaluation of whether the changes represent a fundamental transformation or a modification of an international system in which sovereign states remain central.
Possible overall judgement: Relations between states have changed substantially because economic interdependence, international institutions and shared political and legal norms have become much more important. However, they have not displaced sovereignty, national interest or hard power. It is therefore more convincing to describe contemporary state relationships as a mixture of deeper co-operation and continuing competition than as a complete transformation of global politics.
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