Remember, this is part of the optional Globalisation and Migration topic. In Paper 2 Section C you answer only one of the three global issues.
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Unlock This CourseCountries do not act alone. They make friends, make deals and sometimes fall out. These links between countries are called geopolitical relationships. They matter because they decide how easily goods, people and tourists can cross a border.
Key terms:
The earlier lesson on WTO, IMF and TNCs covered the global institutions. This lesson looks at the links between individual countries.
Members of a trade bloc cut or remove taxes (tariffs) on goods sold between them. The European Union is an example. Goods move easily between its member countries, so businesses can sell to a much bigger market and prices for shoppers can fall.
Two countries can agree their own deal, for example to lower tariffs on cars or farm produce. A deal gives businesses certainty, because they know the rules before they invest or sign contracts.
Countries outside a bloc often face tariffs or extra paperwork. So a country with good relationships can sell more goods and attract more TNCs, and one with poor relationships can find trade slows down. Governments sometimes use sanctions, which means banning or limiting trade with a country they disagree with, to put pressure on it.
Governments use their relationships to decide who can come and go.
When relationships break down, rules can tighten quickly. A country may stop giving visas to people from another country, which can reduce migration. When people are fleeing conflict, relationships also matter, because neighbouring countries and allies may agree to share the responsibility for helping them.
Easy or visa-free entry for tourists makes a country simple to visit. A costly, slow visa process puts visitors off.
In the Schengen Area, a large group of European countries have removed routine passport checks between each other. Travel between them is quick, so short trips and tours across several countries are easy.
Governments can advise their citizens not to travel to a country that is unstable or unsafe. Tourist numbers can then fall fast, and so can the income of hotels, guides and shops.
Alliances and friendships help here too. Friendly countries may agree more flights between their cities, or let each other's citizens enter without a visa. That gives tourism a boost.
This example uses invented countries, written for practice. Norland and Estavia are neighbours. In 2010 they join a trade bloc and sign a visa agreement.
Trade: tariffs on goods between them are removed, so Norland's fruit growers can sell to Estavia more cheaply. Migration: Estavian builders can get work visas quickly and move to Norland, where there are more building jobs. Tourism: visitors no longer need a visa, so more Estavians take short breaks in Norland, and hotels and restaurants earn more.
Now imagine the two governments fall out. Norland adds tariffs, stops giving visas and warns its citizens not to travel to Estavia. Trade falls, fewer migrants arrive, and tourist numbers drop. The same relationship that helped all three can harm all three when it breaks down.
(a) State what is meant by a trade bloc. [1 mark]
(b) Explain how a visa can help a government to manage migration. [2 marks]
(c) Explain how the relationship between two countries can affect the number of tourists who travel between them. [3 marks]
(a) A group of countries that agree to trade with each other more easily, for example with lower taxes on goods (1).
(b) The government decides who is given a visa (1), so it can control how many migrants come in and what jobs they do (1).
(c) If the countries have a good relationship, they may allow visa-free travel (1), which makes visits simple and cheap, so tourist numbers rise (1). If the relationship breaks down, a government may warn people not to travel, so fewer tourists go (1).
For an "explain" question, link each point with a word such as "so" or "which means". First say what the government or relationship does, then say what changes as a result.