Global Systems and Governance revision: AQA specification terms

Globalisation

The process of intensified geographical movements across national borders, primarily involving commodities, people, capital, knowledge, and cultural values, leading to increasing interdependence and connectivity among places and people worldwide.

Interdependence

The mutual reliance of people, organizations, and countries on each other across economic, social, and environmental spheres. This complex web of connections means that actions in one part of the world can have significant and widespread impacts on others, from the global supply chain of a smartphone to international cooperation on climate change

Dimensions of Globalisation

The distinct yet interacting ways in which the world has become more interconnected. The are flows of:

labour -

capital -

information -

services -

products -

Economic Dimension of Globalisation

Integration of economies through trade, investment, and production.

Political Dimension of Globalisation

Cooperation between countries in international organisations and the diffusion of political ideas.

Social/Cultural Dimension of Globalisation

Exchange of ideas, information, and the rise of multicultural societies.

Flows of capital, labour, products, services and information

The dynamic movements that facilitate globalisation.

Capital Flow

The movement of money for investment (especially through Foreign Direct Investment - FDI), trade, and business production across borders.

Labour Flow

Migration of both skilled and unskilled workers between countries.

Product Flow

The global movement of manufactured goods, often as part of complex global production networks.

Service Flow

The outsourcing or provision of activities (like finance or customer support) to customers in different countries.

Information Flow

The rapid and easy spread of data, ideas, and communication via telecommunications and the internet.

Factors in Globalisation

The key forces that have accelerated the process of globalisation.

Technological Globalisation Factors

Advances in transport (e.g., containerisation, jet travel) and communication (e.g., internet, mobile technology).

Economic Globalisation Factors

Trade and Trade liberalisation (reduction of tariffs), rise of Transnational Corporations (TNCs), and development of global financial systems.

Political Globalisation Factors

Formation of trade blocs, political agreements, and deregulation.

Unequal Flows

The geographical reality that the flows of capital, labour, products, and information are not evenly distributed and often disproportionately favour developed countries or specific regions.

Global Marketing

A strategy employed by businesses, often TNCs, to promote and sell products and services worldwide using a consistent brand identity and messaging to build global awareness, while still adapting tactics to local cultural and regulatory contexts.

Patterns of Production, Distribution and Consumption

The spatial organisation of economic activity on a global scale.

Global Inequality

The spatial distribution of varying standards of living across the world, manifested in differing levels of wealth, income, access to services (like healthcare and education), and political rights between and within countries.

International trade

The exchange of goods and services across national borders. It is a major component of economic globalisation, governed by international agreements, and is a key mechanism for the global distribution of products and wealth.

Commodity

A basic good (often a raw material or agricultural product) used in commerce that is interchangeable with other goods of the same type, such as oil, coffee, or copper. Their global price is determined by world markets, and trade in commodities significantly shapes the economies of many developing nations.

Trading relationships

The formal and informal agreements and patterns of exchange that exist between two or more countries or trade blocs, often governed by factors such as geographical proximity, historical ties, and economic complementarity (e.g., a country trading raw materials for manufactured goods).

Access to markets

The ability of a company or country to sell its goods and services in a foreign market. It is heavily influenced by trade barriers (like tariffs, quotas, and technical standards) set by the importing country or trade bloc.

Differential access to markets

The significant variation in the ability of different countries, particularly developing nations, to access global markets due to factors like restrictive trade agreements, tariffs, non-tariff barriers, lack of infrastructure, or political instability. This is a major cause of global inequality.

Transnational corporations (TNCs)

Large commercial organisations that operate and coordinate production, distribution, and sales in more than one country. They are the primary agents of economic globalisation, structuring global supply chains and significantly influencing national economies and political decisions.

Economic development

The process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, or community are improved, typically measured by indicators beyond simple economic growth, such as improvements in literacy rates, life expectancy, and poverty reduction.

Geopolitical events

Political actions or changes that have an international or global dimension, often involving the struggle over the control of geographical entities (territories, resources, strategic choke points) for political or economic advantage (e.g., trade wars, international conflicts, or major diplomatic agreements).

Global governance

The sum of the many ways individuals and institutions (both public and private) manage their common affairs in the international system, often in the absence of a single world government. It involves establishing international law, norms, rules, and cooperative action to address issues that transcend national frontiers (e.g., climate change, pandemics).

Global norms

Widely accepted standards, principles, or values that shape behaviour and expectations on an international scale, providing a social framework for global governance (e.g., human rights, sovereignty of nations, or the non-use of nuclear weapons).

Global laws

The set of rules, norms, and legal customs that states and other international actors feel an obligation to obey in their mutual relations, formally established through international treaties, conventions, and customary practices (e.g., the Law of the Sea).

Global institutions

Formal international organisations, frameworks, or widely accepted practices established across multiple nations to facilitate cooperation, set standards, resolve disputes, and manage shared challenges that transcend national borders (e.g., the World Bank, WTO, or UN).

Global systems

The interconnected networks and processes that transcend national borders, shaping economic, political, cultural, and environmental dynamics on a worldwide scale (e.g., global financial system, global communication networks, or global air circulation system).

Global commons

Areas and resources that are not subject to the national jurisdiction of any single state but are shared by the international community as a whole, requiring collective global governance for their management and preservation (e.g., the high seas, the atmosphere, Antarctica, and outer space).

Sustainable development

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is a guiding principle in global governance, integrating economic, social, and environmental goals.

International Government Organisations (IGOs)

Organisations composed primarily of sovereign states (member countries) established by a treaty or other agreement, working together to manage or address issues of mutual interest (e.g., the UN, WTO, or EU).

United Nations (UN) and UN agencies

The principal, universal International Government Organisation focused on maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, and achieving international cooperation. UN agencies (e.g., WHO, UNESCO) are specialised bodies that carry out specific functions within the UN system.

International Whaling Commission (IWC)

An IGO established by the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry. Its role has evolved to primarily focus on whale conservation.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

A UN agency that is the leading global environmental authority within the UN system, setting the global environmental agenda, promoting the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development, and serving as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.

Antarctic Treaty (1959)

A key international agreement that sets aside the continent of Antarctica for peace and scientific cooperation, prohibits military activity, and suspends all territorial claims while the treaty is in force, effectively establishing Antarctica as a global common governed by the signatory nations.

Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991)

An addition to the 1959 Treaty that designates Antarctica as a 'natural reserve, devoted to peace and science' and establishes comprehensive rules for the protection of its environment, including a 50-year ban on mineral resource activities (except for scientific research).

IWC Whaling Moratorium (1982)

A decision by the IWC that established a worldwide moratorium (a temporary ban) on commercial whaling, which took effect in 1986. It remains a key policy for the conservation of global whale populations.

NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations)

Non-profit, voluntary citizens' groups that are organised on a local, national, or international level. They perform a variety of services and humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to governments, and often play a critical role in global governance by advocating for issues (e.g., environment, human rights) and monitoring the actions of states and corporations.