Contemporary World Politics and Global Issues - Study Guide
What the exam tests
Contemporary World Politics and Global Issues tests post-Cold War change, globalisation, security, environment and global governance. Questions often ask you to evaluate a global problem using more than one perspective.
Core rules
- The Cold War was a bipolar rivalry between the US and USSR; the Non-Aligned Movement offered a third path. The USSR collapsed in 1991, producing a unipolar moment and later debates about multipolarity.
- Globalisation is economic, technological and cultural integration; it is not only trade liberalisation, and it can produce inequality and cultural resistance.
- Security now includes non-traditional threats: climate change, pandemics, cyber-attacks, terrorism and migration.
- The UNFCCC (1992), Kyoto Protocol (1997) and Paris Agreement (2015) form the climate regime. Paris uses nationally determined contributions, not centrally imposed targets.
- CBDR-RC - common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities - is central to India's climate equity argument.
Worked example
Question: Is India's climate position consistent with equity? Reason: India emphasises historical emissions, per-capita emissions and development space. CBDR-RC supports differentiated obligations, while India has pledged renewable capacity and reduced emissions intensity. A balanced answer notes India's vulnerability and its growing absolute emissions, not just per-capita figures.
Traps
Do not say the Paris Agreement imposes binding emissions targets on every state in the same way; do not treat globalisation as only economic; do not reduce security to military threats; do not ignore common but differentiated responsibilities; do not confuse the UNFCCC with the WTO.