Tips for the essay:

Think about the way the question is phrased: how do you define_____? Is it a complex word to have a
clear definition for? Think about the long term vs short term, are all the stakeholders experiencing the
same things? Any inequality?

Outline of what I need to know

Example questions for each topic (briefly answer them)
Example outline of a 12 marker question

1. Global interactions and global power → How global power and influence varies spatially
Globalization indices showing how countries participate in global interactions
KOF Index
- Measures different categories of globalization
- To monitor changes in the level of globalization of different countries over a long period
- Calculated with many indices and variables → separated into economic, social and political
- Example: percent of GDP, mean tariff rate, telephone traffic, number of McDonalds
- More powerful in countries like the US, Canada, Australia (more globalized)
Strengths and Weaknesses (as a measure of global interactions)
Pros
- Allows comparing degree and change to globalization over the years and for different countries
- Calculated on the basis of 24 variables
- Includes social indicators
Cons
- Cultural globalization mostly refers to the domination of US cultural products
- The decision making for the weightings of each category is unclear (who decides?)
- Hard to calculate the true number of internet users, and for figures in LICs

Global superpowers and their economic geo-political and cultural influence

- A very powerful and influential nation (US, China)
- Wars: help expand American influence, rapid acquisition of far-flung places (Guam, Samoan
Islands)
- Didn’t ruin their economy during WW2, so they created the UN
- Had permanent seat on the security council
- Created world bank and international monetary fund
- Superpower: a nation or group of nations with a leading position in international politics
- Soft power – a persuasive approach involving the use of economic and cultural dominance to
influence international relations
- Hard power– the use of military power and economic policies to influence countries, institutions
or organizations in the interest of the dominant country (superpower)

Detailed examples of at least two actual or potential global superpowers

CHINA vs USA
 Economic Influence Geopolitical Influence Cultural Influence

Superpower A - China has four of - Access to - Strong sense of

(CHINA) the world’s top ten sealanes their own
most competitive connected to superiority rooted
financial centers eastern ports in history
(Shanghai, Hong - Using its growing - Chinese culture is
Kong, Beijing and military power to widespread and
Shenzhen) pressure familiar
- Home to more - Aid directed to - Chinese diaspora
than 200 unicorns corrupts officials resulted in chinese
(privately held - Interventions to enclaves all over
technology twist the region’s the world
startups) politics in its - Food and martial
- World’s largest favor arts concerning
foreign-exchange traditional culture
reserves maintained by
- 19 free trade chinese
agreements with immigrants are
other countries accepted adn
adopted by other
cultures over a
long period of
time

Superpower B - US created the - Rapid acquisition - Formed unlikely

(USA) World Bank and of far-flung alliances with,
International places(eg. Guam, Saudi arabia,
Monetary Fund - Samoan Islands Israel, South
two largest global etc) Korea
institutions for - Wars: help
economics expand American
- League of influence, rapid
Nations: acquisition of
attempted at far-flung places
having a global, (Guam, Samoan
political entity Islands)
- US didn’t have
economic ruin
during WW2 +
sole country with
nuclear weapons

Powerful organizations and global groups:

G7/8, G20 and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) groups
G7:
- Discuss issues such as global economic governance, international security and energy policy
- Investigating growth, preparing jobs for the future, ådvancing gender equality and women’s
empowerment, climate change issues
 - Small and homogenous membership and promotes collective decisions, however, lacks
follow-through and excludes emerging powers

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) influence over energy policies
global lending institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and New Development Bank
(NDB)

2. Global Network and Flows

How different places become interconnected by global interactions
An overview of contemporary global networks and flows:
Global trade in materials, manufactured goods and services
Overview of international aid, loans and debt relief
International remittances from economic migrants
Illegal flows, such as trafficked people, counterfeit goods and narcotics
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and outsourcing by transnational corporations (TNCs), and ways in
which this network's places and markets
Two contrasting detailed examples of TNCs and their global strategies and supply chains

3. Human and physical influences on global interactions

How political, technological and physical processes influence global interactions
Political factors that affect global interactions:
multi-governmental organizations (MGOs) and free trade zones
economic migration controls and rules
Our “shrinking world” and the forces driving technological innovation:
changing global data flow patterns and trends
transport developments over time
patterns and trends in communication infrastructure and use
The influence of the physical environment on global interactions:
natural resource availability
the potentially limiting effect of geographic isolation, at varying scales

< Possible Exam Questions > → 12 markers

4.1 Global Interactions and Global Power
Global Interactions
Using examples, explain how a country’s global interactions can be measured [12]
Global interactions refers to how cultural traits and commodities may be adapted or resisted by certain
societies. Some examples of global interactions might include tourism, sports, food, and urban
environments. In order to measure these interactions, globalization indices that are on the basis of
multiple variables could show how countries participate in global interactions.
 - The patterns and changes of tourism, sports, food culture and urban environments at a local to
national scale can be measured.
Examples:
- KOF index of globalization
- Is a process that can highlight the integration of national economies, cultures and technologies
- It examines 3 categories, include the economic, social and political aspect of things
- It is calculated on the basis of 24 variables
- Counting the amount of TNCs in a country (companies with a lot of branches spread all around
the world: coca cola, ikea, apple, starbucks. etc)
Case Study:
- Apple vs starbucks
- The 4Ps → how they integrate the cultural aspect in their business
Global Superpowers
To what extent can the influence of global superpowers be measured? [12 marks]
A global superpower is a nation or a group of nations with a leading position in international politics.
Those nations usually utilize their soft power to influence international relations with the use of their
economical and cultural dominance in the world.
- Counties can gain superpower status through economic, military, cultural and technological
dominance over many countries
- Can measure through observing how a nation uses their soft vs hard power
- Cultural influence and diplomacy, military force, economic and trade policies
Talk about:
- Financial flows and TNCs
- Inter-governmental organizations
- Tourism and cultural exchange

Powerful Organizations and Global Groups

Using examples, explain how at least two powerful global organizations use their power. [12]
The world bank
- Vital source for technical and financial support especially for LICs
- Main aim is to provide loans at low interest rates
- Granting interest free credits for a wide range of development projects like education or
agricultural reforms
- To fight poverty, help people, the environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge
- Some of the western economic practices cannot be applied in developing countries
- Worsened the plight of many in the developing world
- Introduced structural adjustment programs (SAP) in Ghana
- They would give them a loan, but in exchange for access to their resources. There are strings
attached that could be used to influence or as a bargaining chip.
- In ghana led to severe unemployment

4.2 Global Networks and Flows

Global Trade
Illegal Flows
Economic Flows
Foreign Direct Investment and Outsourcing
Using examples, explain how FDI and outsourcing networks places. [12]
Foreign direct investment is a firm that owns or controls productive operations in more than one country
through foreign direct investment. It also measures the foreign ownership of productive assets like
factories, mines and land. Meaning that it can be used as one of the measures for globalization. In recent
years, FDI has been growing in Asia, Africa etc. FDI is a driver of development in poor nations, due to an
increase in the transfer of skills, technology and job opportunities. Outsourcing is another method that
could be beneficial to a country due to new offices or factories opening in selected destinations. The main
reason why companies do this is mostly for the cheap labor force. These companies provide more job
opportunities for the local, unskilled workers. China and India are known to be popular destinations for
out-sourcing companies. For example, Apple has their manufacturing functions outsourced to a company
in China known as Foxconn. Although it might be hard to monitor the working conditions of the workers,
the benefits of this is that the company wouldn’t have to pay the medical expenses for workers and their
wages are usually lower → maximizes profits for the company.
Case Study:
US based company producing their goods in Mexico instead
- Save the company money as they would try to reduce cost in terms of labor
Costa Rica (Intel)
- Costa rica was chosen by intel as they offer location-specific advantages
- Already existing tax exemptions for any firms satisfying certain conditions under the free zone
scheme
- High educational level of the labor force, a stable political scenario, relatively corruption-free
environment
- Relatively small sized Costa Rica received a two year total committed investment of about $600
million

TNCs
Using examples, explain how the operations of TNCs connect places. [12 marks]
Transnational corporations are companies that work in more than one country. These are usually big
companies that are able to afford the expansion for better opportunities and to achieve being a global
brand. Examples of TNCs would be Apple, McDonalds, etc. TNCs are also a big part of globalization, as
they enable emerging countries to become more connected globally.
- By moving a companies’ manufacturing sectors to countries that are less developed, not only does
it increase the number of countries with manufacturing positions, but they also provide more job
opportunities
- This helps boost the economy of the selected countries and helps them forges deeper connections
with the outer world
- With the increased creation of jobs and a stable income for more people in the country, economic
growth is inevitable. This leads to a better developed economic base for the country and therefore
increasing the investment in infrastructures, like new roads, better buildings, improved internet
and electrical systems, etc. Ultimately, the friction of time is reduced as a more interconnected
community is formed
- Encourages more trading globally and has reduced the space time convergence
4.3 Human and Physical Influences on Global Interactions
Political Factors
Using examples, explain how political factors can positively impact global interactions. [12]
- Increasing the number of international organizations made up of several countries
- Makes governments more accountable and forces them to pay attention to protecting human
rights
- For example, some orgs: MGOs and free trade zones
- Multi governmental organizations: UN → created at the end of WW2, is made up of 193 member
states, they all have the rights to vote in the general assembly and they are incharge of the
policymaking and representative body of the UN, includes the security, economic and social
councils and many more, they all work together to bolster international peace and security, tries to
promote sustainable and inclusive development and protect human rights
- EU: the edges of the EU might continue to expand further out, the countries pay membership
dues, they can vote on the laws they must follow, any citizens in the countries of EU are allowed
to work and retire in any of the other countries as members in the EU, their goals are to make sure
there is peace and good lives in Europe, things are fair for people and languages and cultures are
respected by all people, strong economies can do business together

Economic Migration
Migration is considered by some a blessing and by others a curse. Discuss the extent to which agree with
this statement in regard to government policy (16)
Shrinking World Transport
Using examples, explain how transport developments over time have led to a shrinking world. [12]

A shrinking world refers to a world feeling much smaller with more accessible goods and services due to
globalization. Space-time convergence is the decline in travel time between two locations as a result of
innovations. There are many factors that drive the growth of technology advances, one being
transportation developments. Some factors that had led transport development to a more interconnected
world would include aspects of physical, economic, political and social factors.

Adaptations of the physical environment in order to overcome geographical challenges has influenced the
flow of goods and services as well as people. Environmental barriers like mountain ranges, rivers and sea
could be obstacles affecting movements and dynamics within a place. However, to overcome the
constraints of space, technology advances could solve the problem of physical challenges. Hong Kong is
considerably a mountainous region. As efforts have been made to pave roads and bridges, the roads were
still heavily congested. Furthermore, the construction of roads might just encourage even more purchases
of private vehicles. Therefore, in 1979, the Hong Kong MTR underground railway system opened up their
first line. As the lines connecting different places in the city continue to expand, the friction of distance is
reduced for Hong Kong citizens. The technological development for transport is crucial in order to
conquer physical obstacles to build a more connected and easily accessible world.

The development of transportation is essential for the world because not only do they boost trade in goods
and services, but also contribute to connections globally. As innovations for transportation continued to
grow, global trade was made possible with the development of carriage by air, sea and more. While planes
have been equipped with more advanced jet engines, and the carrying capacity of passengers have
increased. Goods are able to be transported in larger quantities with reductions in traveling costs.
Containerization is also another development in logistics which changed the way countries now trade
globally. It allowed us to consume goods from different parts of the world, saved time in trading goods
and decreased the space time convergence. These innovations contribute to a more highly connected
network as there is better accessibility to markets and employment. All in all, countries have better access
to a broader market thanks to the development of transportation and logistic management. With better
access, the level of interactions between countries increases, therefore creating a more interconnected
world than ever.

The political influence on transport development and its effects on society strengthens community
cohesion leading to a smaller world. Political decisions as well as agreements made by multi
governmental organizations can control the movement of people and goods and services.

Political: Transportation developments → better and cheaper ways to transport goods in and out of
countries, which benefits trade → borders open and have import tariff levels falling → have important
transnation implications which link neighboring economies together → better access → everywhere →
community cohesion, with community facilities and services

Social: Eg. High-speed train links inevitably benefit the communities they serve while not benefiting
those that are not linked in

Shrinking World Communication

Using examples, explain how a ‘shrinking world’ has been the result of various forces driving
technological innovation. [12]
- Improvements of technology, communication, freedom of trade, cheap labor
Introduction:
- Shrinking world refers to the rapid rate of globalization which results in a more interconnected
world due to technology advances and improved means of communication
- Technological innovation in terms of transportation and communication is driven by physical,
economic and political plus social changes that lead to a global variation to space time
convergence

Body paragraph 1 (Physical changes):

- Physical changes that overcome geographical challenges for transportation and communication
reduces the friction of distance
- Brazil → coastal, but low enabling trade index bc the country’s too big -> bad infrastructures

Body paragraph 2 (Economic changes):

- The rapid growing forces of economic globalization has greatly reduced the cost of transportation
and communication, making a more convenient world possible to drive space-time convergence
- Containerization changed the way the world trades. Allows people to consume goods from
different parts of the world. Due to universal modality, the whole world cooperated to make
 trading more efficient for everyone. Therefore, time is also saved in trading goods, which results
in the reduction of space-time convergence.
- Foreign direct investment increases trade flow and improves the infrastructure of a place. As they
generate employment and taxes,
- For example, the creation of the special economic zones allowed places like HK, Macau and
Taiwan to experience foreign direct investment. This leads to higher economic growth and newly
opened markets in those regions. With improved economic productivity, infrastructures and
transport facilities can further develop, making it easier to transport goods and services over
greater distances per unit of time.
-
Body paragraph 3 (Political and social changes):
- The indirect role of political and social changes in driving innovation contributes to a more
interconnected society
- As there are more people getting access to internet connection, this increases communication with
abroad
- The increased connectivity reduces the

Conclusion:
- KOF index indices also

Physical Environment
“The physical environment has a greater influence than political and technological processes upon global
interactions.”Discuss this statement. [16 Marks]

Example outline of a 12 marker question

-