Paper 3 Global Politics · Regionalism and the EU
Regionalism and the EU - 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.
Supranationalism
Point - the case for
The EU is uniquely supranational - a single market, the euro, an elected Parliament and a binding court - giving it real collective power.
Counter - the case against
But that depth means a loss of national sovereignty and democratic control, the grievance that drove Brexit.
Economic gains
Point - the case for
A larger shared market brings growth and lets members bargain at the WTO as a bloc the size of the US or China.
Counter - the case against
But other blocs - USMCA, ASEAN - deliberately stay intergovernmental, keeping sovereignty while still gaining trade.
A collective voice
Point - the case for
Pooling sovereignty gives smaller states a bigger collective voice in global politics.
Counter - the case against
But pooled sovereignty binds members against their will, which many electorates reject.
Globalisation
Point - the case for
Regional blocs shield members from global market forces - a counterweight to the superpowers.
Counter - the case against
But they also deepen globalisation by tying members into larger, freer markets, so they are not simply a defence against it.