Paper 3 Global Politics · Power and developments
Power and developments - sentence stems
4 point and counter pairs - the opening lines that lock a balanced paragraph.
How to use these. Each pair is the opening line for a balanced paragraph - a Point and a Counter on the same theme. Read both aloud, cover one and recall it. Every paragraph carries both before its interim judgement.
Hard power
Point - the case for
Hard power - military force and economic coercion - is what realists (Waltz, Mearsheimer) treat as decisive; Russia's 2022 invasion is the bluntest current example.
Counter - the case against
But hard power is expensive and provokes backlash - the US toppled regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan yet could not build stable states.
Soft power
Point - the case for
Soft power (Nye) wins cooperation through attraction - K-pop, EU enlargement, a free press - without firing a shot.
Counter - the case against
But soft power decays and cannot compel; it bounces off determined adversaries and is damaged by hypocrisy, as over the Khashoggi killing.
Structural power
Point - the case for
Structural power (Strange) is deepest - the dollar lets the US shape the rules others must play by across finance, security, production and knowledge.
Counter - the case against
But it is diffuse and slow, and rising powers are building rival structures through the BRICS and Belt and Road.
Polarity
Point - the case for
The post-1991 unipolar moment showed one superpower able to act largely unchecked.
Counter - the case against
But the system is shifting to multipolarity as China and others rise, so no single power dominates.