Global Systems

• Interdependence = Each country depends on others and so what happens in one place will increasingly have impact is on others. Best illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021.
• Four main types of interdependence:

  • Economic Interdependence
  • Political Interdependence
  • Social Interdependence
  • Environmental Interdependence
• Economic Interdependence

  • Trade = nations participate in international trade and get more access to other products and serves. They rely on other countries to supply their needs
  • Advances in technology = competing businesses may bring innovations which can increase product quality
  • Employment = jobs are generated in a new area and often lost elsewhere
  • Economic Migration = In 2019, migrants account for more than 20% of population in 48 countries - in UAE, migrants from the Philippines work in construction and engineering and send remittances home to family relying on them
• Economic Interdependence (2)

  • TNCs and Investment = TNCs operate in several countries and outsource services to foreign businesses. Companies from industrialised nations invest in developing countries, attracted by the lower cost of land and labour
  • Supply Chains = components for a single product may be manufactured in different countries e.g. cars, components are brought together from different countries and assembled in one place, and then distrubuted globally
  • Industrialisation = globalisation has helped coutnried e.g. India industrialise, but also led to deindustrialisation in Europe
• Political Interdependence

  • Intergovernmental Organisation = Global systems supported by organisations that have been established to provide stability between nations
  • Security and Stability = Argued that globalisation will lead to greater political stability as nations may co-operate wit each other more and work together for goals
  • World peace = Some argue that wars are less likely to happen because of interdependence. 1999 Thomas Friedman 'Golden Arches' theory
• Intergovernmental Organisation

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank facilitate international capital flows
  • World Trade Organisation (WTO) oversees international trade and seeks to establish barrier-free trade
  • United Nations (UN) leading organisation for global governance
• Thomas Friedman, Golden Arches (1999)

  • Suggests no two countries that both had McDonalds had fought a war against each other since it got a McDonalds
  • This is because their economies and cultures are interlinked
  • Has been disproved on numerous occasions.
• Social Interdependence

  • Advances with technology and communications facilitates international exchange and interdependence of societies
  • Health = the World Heath Organization (WHO) taken lead combating COVID-19 by organizing response - national level has a different response
  • Eduction = increases participation in student foreign exchange programmes. Studying at foreign universities benefits both students and institutions
  • Culture = social ties can be strengthened through migration e.g. large Indian diaspora settled in the UK has strengthened UK's relationship with India
• Environmental Interdependence

  • 'Global commons' = countries are environmentally interdependent due to the impact of shared use of resources such as ocean and atmosphere
  • Climate change = concerns over the climate have led to more international agencies e.g. UNFCCC and UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
  • Unsustainable practices = practices challenge environmental interdependency due to their unsustainable nature and because their impacts effect multiple countries e.g. air pollution, acid rain deposition and deforestation
• Unequal Flows of People = Globalisation means workers are able to move more freely around the world. Main flows are from developing countries to HDEs
• Positive Effects of Flows of People

  • Reduces unemployment in places where there is a lack of work
  • Addresses skill and labour shortages
  • Reduces inequality and foreign workers earn higher wages in HDEs
  • Remittances sent back to developing countries help growth
  • Migrants increase workforce, pay taxes and spend money which promotes growth
  • Some workers return home with new skills
• Negative Effects of Flows of People

  • Developing countries lose younger, more talented worker
  • Loss of skilled workers impacts productivity, growth and development
  • Developing countries become overly dependent on remittances
  • Migrant workers and families may put pressure on health and education serviced
  • Families may get seperated
  • Movement of labour contributes to risk of disease
  • Migrants may be segregated in an area
• Uneual Flows of Money

  • Remittances = money sent home by migrants
  • Loans = developing countries borrow from the World Bank to fund projects to improve quality of life, these need to be paid back and can only be done so if invested well
  • FDI = investment from TNCs in developing countries raises incomes and reduces poverty
  • Growth of TNCs = capital investment and taxes have stimulated economic growth
  • Loss of profits = repatriation of profits by TNCs to home countries undermine benefits the developing county can get
  • Foreign Aid = helps LICs in times of need
• Unequal flows of ideas = ideas generally flow from wealthier HDEs to developing countries that want to emulate the success enjoyed by richer nations. Many of these are ideas associated with global capitalism
• Privatisation

  • Benefits = Dismantling state ownership of corporations can benefit consumers in LDEs by lowering prices
  • Disadvantages = profits are retained (rather than re-invested) causing greater inequality and potentially inhibiting economic growth
• Deregulation

  • Benefits = Reducing government regulation and intervention can encourage enterprise
  • Disadvantages = Deregulation can lead to more relaxed social and environmental laws in LDEs, causing social injustices and environmental degradation
• Free Trade

  • Benefits = Allows global markets to develop and thrive and may help LDEs attract investment
  • Disadvantages = Free trade may not always be beneficial to some LDEs, they may be disadvantaged. LDE (infant) domestic industries may be outcompeted by free trade so some protection may be needed
• Multi-Culturalism

  • Benefits = Enables developing countries to integrate into the global economy and to access markets
  • Disadvantages = Citizens may see it as a dilution of their culture and even a threat to their national sovereignty and identity
• Unequal Flows of Technology

  • Information and Data Flows = Access to mobile and internet services is transforming people's lives in less developed economies e.g. 'village phone' microfinance model in Bangladesh, supported by the World Bank and enables people to purchase smart phones
  • Technology Manufacture = access to technology in LDEs is limited as technology is unaffordable. This is unfair as technology is often based on developing countries and the low wages of employees
• Indicators suggest globalisation is reducing global inequality through the transfer of capital and income from richer to poorer economies.
• Globalisation may be increasing inequalities within countries as richer members of society benefit more from changes in jobs and technology
• Due to globalisation, developing countries are closing the gap with their rich world counterparts, and the development continuum has been condensed
• The fastest growing economies continue to be in Asia, and although countries in sub-Saharan Africa have a large gap to make up in living standards, some are now growing more quickly than most developed countries
• Between 2014 and 2019, Bangladesh had an average GDP growth rate of 7.22%, compared to Japan which had a growth rate of 1.06%
• The Gini Index is a statistical measure that is used to indicate levels of inequality of income distrubution within a country - aggregates inequalities in people's incomes into a single measure, giving a coefficient score between zero and one, the higher the score meaning higher income inequality.
• There is usually more income inequality in LDEs than in wealthier countries. South Africa has one of the highest scores with 0.63
• HDEs have also seen an increase in inequality, including the UK, Canada and Sweden
• Wealthier countries wield more power, enabling them to steer global systems to their own advantage
• Unequal Power Relations in Global Systems

  • HDEs have more wealth and military power that they provide to LDEs in return for geopolitical support
  • Wealthier have close relationships in groups like G7, G20 and the OECD, co-operating in these groups can lead them to be more influential and drive political systems
  • HDEs have more influence in governance through intergovernmental organisations, which provide support, but led by HDEs they use them to their own advantage
  • LDEs have less influence and limited power to intervene, they are constrained in responses
• G7 - 'Group of Seven' - intergovernmental organisation made up of the world's seven largest advance IMF economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US
• G20 - international forum for the governments of 20 major economies, includes the G7 countries and the EU as a single member, established in 1999 to give a voice to major developing economies
• OECD - Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development - group of 34 of the richest and most important countries globally
• Geopolitical issues arise for a variety of reasons, but are usually rooted in political or economic conflicts between two countries or two groups of countries. May be based on resource shortage, territorial disputes, or cultural differences.
• US permanent position on the UN Security Council may have shielded Israel from wider UN criticism for policies disadvantaging Palestinians
• Russia annexing Crimea

  • In 2014, the annexation was considered to be an exertion of power by a military superpower, invading Ukrainian territory
  • Putin calculated the response and that it would not escalate into armed conflict in the west
• Background to the annexation of Crimea

  • Crimea was once part of Russia but was ceded to Ukraine during the Soviet era
  • When the USSR collapsed in 1990s, Russia continued to use Sevastopol, a port on Crimea's cost, leading it from Ukraine
  • Following independence, Ukraine supported Russia
  • In 2014, a revolution took place in Ukraine, 'Euromaidan' movement overthrew the pro-Russian government
  • Geopolitical shift to the 'West' prompted Russia to take control of Crimea
  • 114 UN member states do not recognise the annexation
• Response from the West to the annexation of Crimea

  • Russia's membership of the G8 was suspended
  • EU and USA imposed trade sanctions on Russia as a result of the annexation
  • Trade sanctions have had a negative impact on the Russian economy, but those imposed by the EU were limited as the EU heavily depends on Russia
  • To counterbalance the shift in power, possible the US will strengthen Black Sea naval presence at Romania and Turkey
• Analysts argue the political battle between Russia and the West is a feature of increased 'nationalism' that is actually slowing down globalisation
• China's Investment in Africa

  • China aims to extract a range of raw material and metals to support infrastructure in China
  • Joint project with Ethiopia to build the Grand Renaissance Dam to provide HEP
  • Development of the Mombasa port in Kenya with a $14 billion road and bridge link to Nairobi and to South Sudan oil fields
  • Modernising Benguela railway linking DRC's resources to Angola ports
  • New airport in Luanda, Angola
• Belt and Road Initivative (BRI) = President Xi Jinping launched an infrastructure development plan to boost trade and stimulate economic growth across Asia into Europe and Africa. Involves building a network of overland road, rail and pipeline corridors, and maritime routes through ports and shipping lanes