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Geography a level exam question

Assess the effectiveness of superpowers and emerging nations in playing key roles in international decision-making (12 marks)

(Edexcel A level geography year 2 superpowers)
-Ive done an intro and I know I need to mention economic, military, environmental and political alliances and IGOs, but im struggling :/
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 1
Firstly I would define what these terms are in the question. Make sure you mention the difference in geopolitical power / influence on the global stage between a "superpower" and an "emerging" nation. The question is asking you to examine how differences in political power and influence relate to decision making or international relations, I think you can only describe this when referring to case studies about transboundary geopolitical disputes. Talk about the differences in influences and power, or perhaps political capacity to make decisions, and different levels of influence. You can find that many transnational corporations are very influential, such as manufacturing companies in Southeast Asia, that they can influence local politics and undermine local governance.

One example you could talk about is disputes between the USA and Mexico regarding the Colorado River and water allocations. The USA uses the vast majority of the water in the river for agriculture and irrigation, as well as municipal water supplies for cities such as Las Vegas or Phoenix which are located in the arid region of the Southwestern USA. This means very little of the water reaches Mexico and Mexico receives disproportionate amounts of water than it should. I've just mentioned the beginnings of this case study, you could also mention the Mekong and hydroelectricity generation between China and Vietnam, Oil wars and disagreements in the Gulf of Oman or many other examples about disputes between transboundary cooperations. Some themes you can talk about are economic bases / availability of funding, political influence, scale / size of competitors.

I've just introduced some ideas and themes you could possible mention, I'm no expert but make sure you introduce different case studies as well to demonstrate and explain the points you make. These you tube videos may also be of interest for you too if you need some inspiration or starting places for case studies. :smile:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrrYZl0XJLw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BCY0SPOFpE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GMoUmvw8kU
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 2
Original post by Deggs_14
Firstly I would define what these terms are in the question. Make sure you mention the difference in geopolitical power / influence on the global stage between a "superpower" and an "emerging" nation. The question is asking you to examine how differences in political power and influence relate to decision making or international relations, I think you can only describe this when referring to case studies about transboundary geopolitical disputes. Talk about the differences in influences and power, or perhaps political capacity to make decisions, and different levels of influence. You can find that many transnational corporations are very influential, such as manufacturing companies in Southeast Asia, that they can influence local politics and undermine local governance.

One example you could talk about is disputes between the USA and Mexico regarding the Colorado River and water allocations. The USA uses the vast majority of the water in the river for agriculture and irrigation, as well as municipal water supplies for cities such as Las Vegas or Phoenix which are located in the arid region of the Southwestern USA. This means very little of the water reaches Mexico and Mexico receives disproportionate amounts of water than it should. I've just mentioned the beginnings of this case study, you could also mention the Mekong and hydroelectricity generation between China and Vietnam, Oil wars and disagreements in the Gulf of Oman or many other examples about disputes between transboundary cooperations. Some themes you can talk about are economic bases / availability of funding, political influence, scale / size of competitors.

I've just introduced some ideas and themes you could possible mention, I'm no expert but make sure you introduce different case studies as well to demonstrate and explain the points you make. These you tube videos may also be of interest for you too if you need some inspiration or starting places for case studies. :smile:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrrYZl0XJLw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BCY0SPOFpE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GMoUmvw8kU

thank you for this!
Reply 3
Original post by HiMyNameIsRiley
thank you for this!

No worries. :smile:

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