Global Politics Review Notes

The review sessions are strategically designed to cover topics that will be helpful for the final test.
The instructor will not provide the exact questions but will cover related concepts.
Students should analyze their Paper Two to understand their grades based on the rubric.
The most important feedback comes from understanding the rubric itself, not just the instructor's comments. Students should understand the difference between responses that fully meet the question's demands versus those that only partially address them.
Grading is based on a specific rubric that assesses how well students address the question theoretically and practically.
The course focuses on case studies and the practical application of theory to global political issues.
Paper Two questions require explaining an aspect of the political system using concepts and case studies to evaluate ideas like human rights or sovereignty.
Concepts in global politics are theoretical ideas used to explain how the world works, tested through examples.

The review sessions aim to connect concepts back to Paper Two, emphasizing its significance, as Paper One is over 60% of Paper Two. All of academic and professional life should be viewed as Paper 2.
The review for the day will focus on the concept of power.
Students should revisit their earlier work to analyze their growth in understanding global politics, as the facts remain the same, but the analysis should be more profound.

Power is defined as the ability to achieve goals.
Almost every case study involves understanding how actors achieve or fail to achieve specific goals.
Power is fundamental to explaining human rights enforcement, global governance, and the actions of state and non-state actors.
The discussion of power is inspired by the death of Joseph Nye, the originator of the term "soft power."
Joseph Nye coined the term "soft power" in the 1990s to explain influence through persuasion and culture rather than coercion.
Before Nye, the concept existed but lacked a specific term to define it.
Nye's death has prompted reflection on the state of soft power and international cooperation in a world that may be moving away from liberal ideals.

The review includes key terms related to power: soft power, hard power, smart power, rising power, declining power, unipolar, bipolar, multipolar, liberalism, global governance, unilateralism, and multilateralism.

Soft Power: Achieving goals through persuasion and influence, emphasizing cooperation and agreements.
Hard Power: Achieving goals through force and coercion.
Rising Power: A country gaining power and challenging the existing world order, seeking to expand its influence.
Declining Power: A state decreasing its share of global power, creating a vacuum for others to fill.
Unipolar: A world order dominated by one superpower.
Bipolar: A world order dominated by two superpowers.
Multipolar: A world order with multiple centers of power.
Unilateralism: Acting alone without consulting others.
Multilateralism: Acting in cooperation with others.
Liberalism: emphasizes cooperative, collaborative approaches to global relations.
Realism: focuses on competition and self-interest in international relations.

The US military is often seen as the standard for global military power, exemplifying a unipolar aspect in military terms.
Economics demonstrates a multipolar system with various models, such as the US (capitalist), China (state-controlled), and Russia (resource-based).

Understanding the terms is essential for analyzing global politics, but the real challenge lies in applying these terms to construct arguments about world events

A video from VW (a German news source) discusses the implications of power in the world today, focusing on power shifts.
The video presents a theoretical argument about the current state of global politics.
The argument presented in the video is that the liberal international order established after World War II is ending, and authoritarian approaches are increasing.
The video suggests that multilateral institutions are becoming powerless due to divisions among their members.
Students are asked to analyze the video's argument and consider case studies that either support or contradict it.

China's One Belt One Road: Supports the argument by showing China's growing influence and challenges to the established order but also faces disputes over trade and support.
Romanian Elections: Opposes the argument, as voters supported a pro-EU candidate, indicating continued support for liberal and cooperative approaches.
South China Sea Conflict: Supports the argument by demonstrating China's ability to disregard international norms and expand its territorial claims despite opposition from the US and international bodies.

For essay preparation, students should focus on key themes in global politics and develop arguments supported by case studies.
Themes include soft versus hard power, liberalism versus realism, the effectiveness of global governance, the roles of state and non-state actors, changing power trends, and the relationship between power, sovereignty, legitimacy, and human rights.
Review should involve outlining potential arguments for each theme and identifying relevant case studies to support different perspectives.
The lessons on China are particularly important for review, as they address the country's rise and its impact on the global order.

The exam is an essay, so the focus should be on building an argument supported by examples.
Final essay questions will be pulled from the following themes and will ask you to make an argument about them:
- Soft versus hard power
- Liberalism versus realism
- The effectiveness of global governance
- The difference between state and different type of Nazi actors
- Changing trends in power, world order
- How power is used to maintain or violate human rights
- Relationship to empower sovereignty, legitimacy, and or interdependence