Unit 4: Power, places and networks
Unit 4: Power, places and networks
1. Global interactions and global power
How global power and influence varies spatially
Globalization indices showing how countries participate in global interactions
Global superpowers and their economic, geopolitical and cultural influence
Detailed examples of at least two actual or potential global superpowers
Powerful organizations and global groups: G7/8, G20 and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) groups; Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) influence over energy policies; global lending institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and New Development Bank (NDB)
How wealthy and powerful places exist at varying scales, and how the global map is complex and subject to change
2. Global networks and flows
How different places become interconnected by global interactions
An overview of contemporary global networks and flows: global trade in materials, manufactured goods and services; an overview of international aid, loans and debt relief; international remittances from economic migrants; illegal flows, such as trafficked people, counterfeit goods and narcotics
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and outsourcing by transnational corporations (TNCs), and ways in which this networks places and markets
Two contrasting detailed examples of TNCs and their global strategies and supply chains
The relative importance of different flows, and the suitability of different methods for graphically representing flows and interactions
3. Human and physical influences on global interactions
How political, technological and physical processes influence global interactions
Political factors that affect global interactions: multi-governmental organizations (MGOs) and free trade zones; economic migration controls and rules
Our 'shrinking world' and the forces driving technological innovation: changing global data flow patterns and trends; transport developments over time; patterns and trends in communication infrastructure and use
The influence of the physical environment on global interactions: natural resource availability; the potentially limiting effect of geographic isolation, at varying scales
How processes that influence spatial interactions are interlinked in complex ways that accelerate globalization
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