18 named examples with their significance, drawn from the Panther database. Read them, then test yourself.
In test mode, tap an example to reveal why it matters.
The examples
1973 Oil Shock(tap to reveal)- Arab OPEC members imposed an oil embargo in 1973, causing oil prices to quadruple and triggering recession across Western economies.
1997 Asian Financial Crisis(tap to reveal)- The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis began with the Thai baht collapse and spread rapidly across East Asia, requiring IMF bailouts with strict conditions.
AUKUS Pact (2021): Indo-Pacific Security and Regional Alliances(2021-present)(tap to reveal)- AUKUS is a September 2021 Australia-UK-US security pact, centred on supplying nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and countering Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Affordable Care Act: Survival Under Attack (2010-present)(2015)(tap to reveal)- Survived NFIB v Sebelius (2012) 5-4. Survived King v Burwell (2015). 50+ House repeal votes. Senate repeal failed 51-49 (McCain). Shows interaction of all three branches. Roberts upheld despite being conservative appointee.
Amnesty International and Universal Human Rights (1961 to present)(1961-present)(tap to reveal)- Amnesty International, founded 1961, has over 10 million members in 150 countries. It documents abuses, lobbies governments, and has contributed to the creation of the ICC and to the release of hundreds of prisoners of conscience.
Amy Coney Barrett and Merrick Garland: The Politics of Appointments(2024)(tap to reveal)- Merrick Garland (Obama nominee, 2016): Senate refused to hold hearings - 8 months from election. Amy Coney Barrett (Trump nominee, 2020): confirmed 8 days before election. ER 2024 praised this contrast as the clearest evidence of political nature of Supreme Court appointments process. Demonstrates Senate partisan control over Court composition.
Andrew Johnson Impeachment (1868): Reconstruction and Tenure of Office Act(1868)(tap to reveal)- Andrew Johnson was impeached in February 1868 for firing Edwin Stanton in breach of the Tenure of Office Act. The Senate acquitted him by one vote (35-19) in May 1868.
BRICS Expansion and the Shift to Multipolarity (2023-24)(2023)(tap to reveal)- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt invited to join BRICS in 2023. BRICS now represents ~45% of world population and ~35% of global GDP. Best contemporary evidence for multipolarity thesis.
Belt and Road Initiative(tap to reveal)- China's Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013, has invested trillions of dollars in infrastructure across more than 140 countries.
Bill Clinton Impeachment (1998-99): Partisan Process and Senate Acquittal(1998-99)(tap to reveal)- Clinton was impeached by the House in December 1998 on perjury and obstruction charges arising from the Lewinsky affair. The Senate acquitted him in February 1999; neither article got a simple majority.
Chad loan (2011)(tap to reveal)- China provided a $1.1 billion loan to Chad in 2011 to fund infrastructure development with no political conditionality attached.
China Confucius Institutes(tap to reveal)- China established over 500 Confucius Institutes in universities worldwide to promote Chinese language, culture and soft power.
China and the Uyghur Crisis: Powerful States and HR Impunity (2017-)(tap to reveal)- Since 2017, China has detained over 1 million Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang in mass internment camps. Evidence of forced sterilisation, forced labour, and cultural erasure has been widely documented by UN bodies, NGOs, and Western governments. Several states (including the US and UK) have described it as genocide. China rejects the framing and uses 'Asian values' and counter-terrorism arguments to deflect criticism.
China's Belt and Road Initiative (2013-present)(2013)(tap to reveal)- BRI spans 140+ countries, $1tn+ investment. Sri Lanka Hambantota port: 99-year lease to China after debt default. Debt-trap diplomacy debate. Shows how economic power can be used as soft/sharp power tool.
China's Rise and the Decline of US Unipolarity (2000-present)(2024)(tap to reveal)- China's GDP: $1.2tn (2000) to $18tn (2024). Military spending tripled since 2010. Now world's largest trading nation. Best evidence for power transition argument. Whether this means bipolarity or multipolarity is key evaluative debate.
China's economic growth (double digit)(tap to reveal)- China sustained average annual GDP growth of approximately 10% between 1980 and 2010, becoming the world's second-largest economy.
China's investment in Africa(tap to reveal)- China became Africa's largest trading partner and infrastructure investor in the 2000s and 2010s through loans, construction projects and resource deals.
China's market reforms (1978-1991)(tap to reveal)- Deng Xiaoping launched market-oriented economic reforms from 1978, creating special economic zones and opening China to foreign investment.