Essential The central political body of global governance.
Wording above is the Pearson specification, unchanged. Tick a line only when you could answer a question on it without notes.
The 30-mark essays (Section C). Marks split 10/10/10 across AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (analysis) and AO3 (evaluation), so an answer that describes without judging gives away a third of the marks. Examiners reward "a clear and consistent line of argument": decide your answer before you write, argue it in every paragraph, weigh the counter-argument as you go, and reach "fully substantiated" judgements. A one-sided essay is capped at Level 2 however much it knows. Structure by theme, never by date and never as a list of examples.
The 12-mark Examine questions (Q1). Marked on AO1 and AO2 only, 6 marks each. There is no AO3, so no introduction, no conclusion and no overall judgement. Write three short, dense paragraphs, each one comparing the two named items directly. An answer that discusses only one of the two named items is capped at Level 1.
Full official mark schemes for every Paper 3 Global question, year by year: open the Paper 3 Global mark scheme viewer.
Is the UN effective at maintaining peace and security?
The Security Council reflects the 1945 victors, which is why reform pressure (adding India, Brazil, Africa) recurs but never passes: the P5 will not give up the veto.
Essential The UN is the spine of the political-governance questions and a constant comparison partner.
Important The main security organisation, with a changing post-Cold-War role.
Wording above is the Pearson specification, unchanged. Tick a line only when you could answer a question on it without notes.
The 30-mark essays (Section C). Marks split 10/10/10 across AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (analysis) and AO3 (evaluation), so an answer that describes without judging gives away a third of the marks. Examiners reward "a clear and consistent line of argument": decide your answer before you write, argue it in every paragraph, weigh the counter-argument as you go, and reach "fully substantiated" judgements. A one-sided essay is capped at Level 2 however much it knows. Structure by theme, never by date and never as a list of examples.
The 12-mark Examine questions (Q1). Marked on AO1 and AO2 only, 6 marks each. There is no AO3, so no introduction, no conclusion and no overall judgement. Write three short, dense paragraphs, each one comparing the two named items directly. An answer that discusses only one of the two named items is capped at Level 1.
Full official mark schemes for every Paper 3 Global question, year by year: open the Paper 3 Global mark scheme viewer.
Is NATO still relevant and effective?
NATO and the UN make a clean pairing: NATO has teeth but no universal legitimacy; the UN has legitimacy but no teeth.
Important A frequent 12-mark comparison partner with the UN.
Essential The Bretton Woods financial institutions.
Wording above is the Pearson specification, unchanged. Tick a line only when you could answer a question on it without notes.
The 30-mark essays (Section C). Marks split 10/10/10 across AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (analysis) and AO3 (evaluation), so an answer that describes without judging gives away a third of the marks. Examiners reward "a clear and consistent line of argument": decide your answer before you write, argue it in every paragraph, weigh the counter-argument as you go, and reach "fully substantiated" judgements. A one-sided essay is capped at Level 2 however much it knows. Structure by theme, never by date and never as a list of examples.
The 12-mark Examine questions (Q1). Marked on AO1 and AO2 only, 6 marks each. There is no AO3, so no introduction, no conclusion and no overall judgement. Write three short, dense paragraphs, each one comparing the two named items directly. An answer that discusses only one of the two named items is capped at Level 1.
Full official mark schemes for every Paper 3 Global question, year by year: open the Paper 3 Global mark scheme viewer.
Do the IMF and World Bank do more harm than good?
The IMF/World Bank criticism is the bridge from Area 1 (dependency, North-South divide) into reform debates and the rise of the AIIB.
Essential A recurring 12-mark target and the heart of the poverty debate.
Important Trade governance and the great-power economic clubs.
Wording above is the Pearson specification, unchanged. Tick a line only when you could answer a question on it without notes.
The 30-mark essays (Section C). Marks split 10/10/10 across AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (analysis) and AO3 (evaluation), so an answer that describes without judging gives away a third of the marks. Examiners reward "a clear and consistent line of argument": decide your answer before you write, argue it in every paragraph, weigh the counter-argument as you go, and reach "fully substantiated" judgements. A one-sided essay is capped at Level 2 however much it knows. Structure by theme, never by date and never as a list of examples.
The 12-mark Examine questions (Q1). Marked on AO1 and AO2 only, 6 marks each. There is no AO3, so no introduction, no conclusion and no overall judgement. Write three short, dense paragraphs, each one comparing the two named items directly. An answer that discusses only one of the two named items is capped at Level 1.
Full official mark schemes for every Paper 3 Global question, year by year: open the Paper 3 Global mark scheme viewer.
Is global economic governance effective?
The G20's inclusion of China, India and Brazil mirrors the wider shift to multipolarity (Area 4).
Important Reliable 12-mark territory; the WTO's decline is a current, high-value point.
Essential How global economic governance deals with poverty, and the theories behind it.
Wording above is the Pearson specification, unchanged. Tick a line only when you could answer a question on it without notes.
The 30-mark essays (Section C). Marks split 10/10/10 across AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (analysis) and AO3 (evaluation), so an answer that describes without judging gives away a third of the marks. Examiners reward "a clear and consistent line of argument": decide your answer before you write, argue it in every paragraph, weigh the counter-argument as you go, and reach "fully substantiated" judgements. A one-sided essay is capped at Level 2 however much it knows. Structure by theme, never by date and never as a list of examples.
The 12-mark Examine questions (Q1). Marked on AO1 and AO2 only, 6 marks each. There is no AO3, so no introduction, no conclusion and no overall judgement. Write three short, dense paragraphs, each one comparing the two named items directly. An answer that discusses only one of the two named items is capped at Level 1.
Full official mark schemes for every Paper 3 Global question, year by year: open the Paper 3 Global mark scheme viewer.
Has global economic governance significantly reduced poverty?
Structural Adjustment Programmes (reduce the state, low taxes, fewer trade barriers, follow Western policy) and the Washington Consensus are the orthodox model dependency theory attacks.
Essential The poverty essay is a recurrent 30-mark title.
Important What stops these bodies working, and the role of NGOs.
Wording above is the Pearson specification, unchanged. Tick a line only when you could answer a question on it without notes.
The 30-mark essays (Section C). Marks split 10/10/10 across AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (analysis) and AO3 (evaluation), so an answer that describes without judging gives away a third of the marks. Examiners reward "a clear and consistent line of argument": decide your answer before you write, argue it in every paragraph, weigh the counter-argument as you go, and reach "fully substantiated" judgements. A one-sided essay is capped at Level 2 however much it knows. Structure by theme, never by date and never as a list of examples.
The 12-mark Examine questions (Q1). Marked on AO1 and AO2 only, 6 marks each. There is no AO3, so no introduction, no conclusion and no overall judgement. Write three short, dense paragraphs, each one comparing the two named items directly. An answer that discusses only one of the two named items is capped at Level 1.
Full official mark schemes for every Paper 3 Global question, year by year: open the Paper 3 Global mark scheme viewer.
Can global governance institutions be reformed to work better?
The rise of the AIIB, BRICS and Belt and Road is reform by exit: states route around institutions they cannot change.
Important The reform-and-effectiveness strand appears in most 30-mark governance titles.
How the architecture of global governance was built and then challenged. Useful for any 'how effective is global governance' essay.
Bretton Woods. The IMF and World Bank are created to stabilise finance and fund recovery, on liberal-economic lines led by the US.
The United Nations. The Charter builds a rules-based order around the Security Council, with the P5 veto baked in.
NATO. A collective-defence alliance for the Cold War, later reinvented for out-of-area intervention and enlargement.
The WTO. Replaces GATT with binding trade rules and a dispute-settlement system.
The G20. Founded after the Asian crisis, it brings emerging economies into economic coordination.
Global financial crisis. The G20 coordinates a response, but the crisis exposes how integrated and fragile the system is.
The AIIB and Belt and Road. China builds rival, no-strings institutions: governance starts to fragment toward multipolarity.
Roll up and down: the arrows, scroll or swipe inside the box, the up and down keys, or click a year above. Full interactive timeline on Panther →
Exam use: the picture makes both sides of the UN debate. FOR effectiveness: 15 members, binding powers, the only body that can authorise force. AGAINST: the five navy seats are frozen in 1945 and any one of them can stop everything.
Each row takes an evaluative demand the specification makes in this area, quoted word for word, and shows the 30-mark question it tends to become. Learn both sides for every row.
| The spec wording | The question this becomes | The two sides in one line |
|---|---|---|
| "Role and significance of the UN" | Evaluate the view that the United Nations is no longer fit for purpose. | Yes: the Security Council veto freezes action whenever a great power objects. No: it remains the only universal forum and its agencies deliver real results. |
| "Role and significance of NATO including its changing role" | Evaluate the view that NATO is still essential to the security of its members. | Yes: Ukraine has renewed collective defence and driven enlargement. No: burden-sharing rows and out-of-area failures weaken the case. |
| "Role and significance of these institutions, including their strengths and weaknesses" | Evaluate the view that the IMF and World Bank do more harm than good in the developing world. | Yes: conditions attached to loans force austerity on the poorest. No: they provide finance and stability no other body can offer. |
| "Significance of how global economic governance deals with the issue of poverty" | Evaluate the view that global economic governance has failed the poorest states. | Yes: the North-South divide persists and the rules favour the rich core. No: poverty has fallen sharply where states joined the open economy. |
| "the use of veto" | Evaluate the view that the veto prevents the UN Security Council from resolving global issues. | Yes: P5 self-interest has blocked action from Syria to Ukraine. No: the veto keeps the great powers inside the system and talking. |
| "The role and significance of the global civil society and non-state actors" | Evaluate the view that NGOs and global civil society have real power in global politics. | Yes: NGOs shape agendas, expose abuses and deliver aid where states cannot. No: they persuade rather than decide, and states keep the final word. |
Twelve mixed questions covering the whole section. Your most recent score is shown in the top bar.