The Superpowers questions/sample answers on the Edexcel 2021 assessment materials.

These are just the 12 mark questions...

SAMs

Assess to what extent the superpowers’ rising demand for physical resources has led to both environmental and political challenges. (12)

The world’s superpowers make huge demands on the world’s physical resources, especially fossil fuels and minerals. These demands arise both internally within a country and internationally. The former may cause some political challenges within democratic countries such as the USA, but they are likely to be less within more autocratic countries such as Russia and China. Internationally, the challenges are more likely to be greater politically especially where there are competing demands for the same resources.

Some fossil fuel supplies are in politically unstable areas, or are transported through areas where there is conflict. There is a risk of disruption to energy supply (as happened to Ukraine when the Russian firm Gazprom threatened to raise prices excessively in 2014), and of environmental damage (such as the nuclear explosion at Chernobyl, USSR, in 1986). There have also been disputes over natural gas supplies to Western Europe, and in the case of new oil and gas resources in the Caspian Sea there are worries about disputes between Russia and the newly independent states of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. A pipeline could pass through Azerbaijan and Georgia to link these resources to Turkey and the Mediterranean without having to pass through Russia, which would lose Russia export opportunities and control over distribution of these resources.

Ore minerals also have a number of geopolitical challenges including aspects of trade, interdependency, access to rare (but needed) minerals and wider environmental consequences. Several of these can be examined in the context of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) which are vital in the manufacture of smartphones, tvs and renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines. Although they occur in many locations, REEs are usually found in minute quantities and are difficult to extract. Places where they are concentrated enough to be considered worth mining are few and this is why they are known as ‘rare’. Global production is over 200,000 tonnes pa. China contains over 50% of the world’s reserves of REEs and supplies over 70% of current global production. Their mining often involves large-scale scarring of the landscape, including deforestation.

REEs are at the centre of a 21st century power struggle. China, which effectively controls global production of REEs, has been accused of resource nationalism by its critics, by threatening to potentially ‘starve’ the USA, Japan and the EU of their supplies. These countries have expressed concerns to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that Chinese export restrictions are an attempt to conserve supplies for its own high-tech, green and military industries. High-tech, high-end manufacturing is at the core of China’s latest economic development plan. Their energy security depends on greater use of renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines, and their increased military power assets are a key part of China’s global political strategy.

So, it is clear that the rising demand for both fossil fuels and rare minerals is creating a range of environmental and, perhaps more significantly political, challenges.

June 2018

Assess the view that Figure 1 gives an accurate summary of the relative strength of these emerging powers. (12)

Student answer

The development indicators shown in Figure 1 are effective at showing quantitative results but often due to different sources or misinterpretation they could be inaccurate or misleading. It is worth pointing out that the nations in Figure 1 are the five BRICS.

The first criterion, population, refers to demographic size, a key pillar of being a superpower. China is considered an up-and-coming superpower along with India both with large populations fueling their production and economic output. However, as seen in India, with a large population, it is not an indicator of strength as poverty is still rampant in the country as shown by the GDP per capita. A population of 1.3 billion is not too powerful while slums like Dharavi in Mumbai continue to exist. However, China’s population is what contributes to its power and the lowest valued country, South Africa at 55 million, illustrates that their population is smaller than the other four.

GDP per capita is accurate for summarising the average wealth of a nation but it doesn’t take into account income inequality which is high in all five of these countries. The Gini coefficient would be better to assess internal relative economic strength, as can be seen with China and India, where a large population can significantly skew and reduce GDP per capita figures.

Military spending may be a good indicator when assessing the military power. Along with the largest military spending in the Figure, China also has the largest army in the world showing the correlation between military spending and strength. Additionally, South Africa and Brazil, being the smallest in terms of military spending, have low levels of hard power. However military spending may be insignificant in the modern age. Although China spends over $150 billion more than Russia, Russia possesses more nuclear weapons which may be seen by many as more powerful overall.

These indicators in Figure 1 lack anything to show any political factors governing freedom of speech, levels of democracy, both of which highlight soft power. However, the indicator of sanitation access may be accurate in determining power. Brazil and China, with the highest figures both correlate with similar GDP per capita figures showing economic stability and human welfare, both of which should be a country’s priority before asserting superpower status.

Lastly, the film production is an accurate indicator to assess cultural power, a form of soft power. Bollywood in India is the second largest film industry in the world after Hollywood and India does have the largest levels of cultural power, also due to its large Indian diaspora around the world.

In conclusion, the strength of both hard and soft power respectively is shown by military spending and film production for each of China and India. However, sanitation levels may be more of a development indicator and not a strength indicator, and total population may be seen as a poor indicator overall.

June 2019

Assess the reasons why the growing resource needs of superpowers and emerging countries result in tensions. (12)

The concept of spheres of influence is a useful one when considering tensions between powerful countries. Many countries consider an area beyond their actual border as a region they should have some say over. As emerging powers such as Russia and China become more powerful, and the world becomes more multipolar, it is likely that these spheres of influence might overlap, leading to increased tensions. This situation is more likely too when considering the growing needs for a range of resources such as land and fuels.

When the Cold War ended in 1990, the Russian economy collapsed and its economic and political power weakened dramatically. It has taken two decades to recover. Russia considers its western border with Europe its sphere of influence and a more powerful, confident Russia led by Vladimir Putin has come into conflict with the EU and NATO to the west. Russia’s invasion of parts of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 has created a region of tension from the Baltic to the Black Sea, with Russia determined to prevent Western influence spreading further east. Putin said in the case of Ukraine that he was taking back land that was in fact Russian, and was populated by Russian-speaking people.

The quest for natural resources, especially oil, has created areas of tension and overlapping spheres of influence. This is the case in the Arctic Ocean where the USA and Russia are both keen to exploit oil and gas, but there is uncertainty over which countries have the right to exploit which areas. China has expanded its operations in the South China Sea by constructing artificial islands to ‘stake its claim’ over disputed areas — some of which might contain oil and gas. These small land areas are also strategic in shipping routes in that area. The Middle East contains 60% of the world’s known oil reserves and is a constant source of tension. Since 2012 Russia has been involved in the Syrian conflict which has made already complex middle eastern politics even more challenging.

Tensions can also arise from economic change. China has been accused of widespread patent infringement and producing counterfeit goods. This infringes international Intellectual Property law and is a cost to companies that have designed products, such as Apple, and developed new technologies. It has led to international trade tension between China and the USA in particular.

In theory, global IGOs such as the United Nations (UN) exist in order to reduce tensions by bringing countries together to work out their differences diplomatically. In reality, the UN is not very effective. Its key decision-making body, the Security Council tends to divide along east–west lines, leading to stalemate between the USA, France and the UK on one side and China and Russia on the other.

In conclusion, the growing resource needs of superpowers and emerging powers does seem to lead to increased tensions. As countries gain economic and political power, they begin to exercise their perceived ‘rights’ over a nearby sphere of influence which increases the chances of tensions with other countries. The search for natural resources can also create tensions, as in the Arctic and South China Sea. While there are international organisations that could reduce tensions, such as the UN, they tend to be least effective when the world’s most powerful countries are in conflict.

Autumn 2020

Assess the role of TNCs in developing the economic importance of superpowers. (12)

Transnational corporations (TNCs) are large companies that produce or source goods and services internationally and market them worldwide. They are important drivers of the global economy and dominate international trade. Many TNCs, such as McDonald’s, Coca Cola and Apple are household names and each of these are based in the United States where many TNCS have their headquarters and R&D facilities. It is also interesting to note that of the world’s top arms sellers, six of the top ten are American in ownership (e.g. Lockheed and Boeing) and three are Chinese. Although this can be stated to be representing military power, they are also economic indicators as there is so much trade in such products today.

TNCs have enormous economic power and have been the driving force behind the globalisation in recent decades, and can therefore be viewed as developing the economic importance of superpowers. It could also be argued that by outsourcing and offshoring, companies inevitably become even more transnational, with mergers and acquisitions of foreign companies automatically leading to the creation of even larger TNCs. This expansion could also be viewed as spreading the economic importance of superpowers like the USA and China.

It is often argued that TNCs locate manufacturing plants in developing countries in order to exploit weak labour and pollution laws. The US-Mexico border region has experienced massive recent economic growth, due largely to investment on the Mexican side of the border by US, European and Asian TNCs. This investment mainly comprises branch plants (or maquiladoras) which manufacture a wide range of goods including clothes, chemicals and electronics and then export them across the border to the USA. Here, TNCs are a clear source of investment, reinforcing economic power. The main attractions of this border region are low labour costs and proximity to US markets. Another main factor here has been the creation of the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA), now called the USMCA. This is an example of free trade between nations which is encouraged by national governments and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as it facilitates corporate global production lines and further TNC activity and economic power.

As stated above, two of the most publicised aspects of globalisation have been off-shoring and outsourcing. In practice, most off-shoring means transferring production from developed countries to developing countries where labour and other costs are lower and where access to foreign markets is easier. Outsourcing involves sub-contracting production to another company, which provides goods and services sold under the TNC brand. Through off-shoring and out-sourcing, TNCs from the superpowers have in effect created more home-grown TNCs in order to undertake the work. For example, companies such as Apple and Primark subcontract the work out to other companies who may in turn operate across regions such as south east Asia. These new companies are part of the global production network (GPN) of the original superpower TNCs and hence are evidence of the spread of economic power of developed world TNCs.

In conclusion, the role of TNCs within the global economy and the development of economic power of nations such as the USA and China are highly significant. The importance of TNCs as drivers of globalisation cannot be overstated. They have had an impact on rapid industrialisation in emerging economies such as China, India and Mexico. It is also clear that they themselves have increased in size, number and influence in recent years, so indeed it could be argued they are responsible for the growing economic importance of the global superpowers that are the USA and China.