Flashcards · 9690 · A Level Topic 3

Unit 3 – People and Development (A Level) flashcards

27 cards on A Level Topic 3, subtopics 3.2.1.1 to 3.2.1.5. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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Great Divergence: The widening gap in wealth and industry between western Europe (and later North America) and most of the world from the nineteenth century.
Colonialism vs neocolonialism: Colonialism: direct political control of a territory and extraction of its resources and labour. Neocolonialism: continued control of formally independent states through debt, trade terms and investment.
How does Weber (1905) help explain why Europe industrialised?: The Protestant ethic: Calvinist values encouraged saving, hard work and reinvestment. Critics note capitalism also grew in non-Protestant settings.
What did Rodney (1972) argue?: In How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, that enslavement and colonial rule moved Africa's wealth and labour to Europe. Critics say it underplays African agency.
What did Pomeranz (2000) argue about the Great Divergence?: That coal and colonial land, not unique values, explain Britain's lead, challenging both Weber and pure exploitation accounts.
Growth vs development: Growth is rising GDP. Development is better lives across life expectancy, living standards, education, health, rights and democracy.

Cultural vs political vs economic globalisation: Cultural: spread of languages, beliefs, popular culture and the internet. Political: spread of democracy, human rights and gender equality. Economic: spread of capitalism, global trade and TNCs.
Global village: McLuhan's image of electronic media shrinking the world into one community.
Positive globalist vs negative globalist vs transformationalist: Positive (neo-liberal, e.g. Ohmae, 1990): a borderless world where markets spread wealth. Negative (e.g. Bello): harmful for most, so "deglobalise". Transformationalist (Held et al., 1999): real but with mixed outcomes.
Cultural imperialism vs glocalisation: Cultural imperialism: one-way domination of local cultures by Western, especially American, media and brands. Glocalisation (Robertson): global and local combine, adapting global products to local cultures.
What did Polanyi (1944) argue?: In The Great Transformation, that markets become "disembedded" from society, and society pushes back to protect itself (the double movement).

TNC vs NGO: A transnational corporation is a profit-making firm operating in several countries. An NGO is a non-profit charity or campaign group independent of states.
Grassroots movement: Collective action organised from below by local people.
Structural adjustment: Loan conditions from the IMF and World Bank requiring cuts in state spending and market reforms.
Arguments for and against development aid: For: Sachs (2005) argues targeted aid gives a "big push" out of the poverty trap. Against: Moyo and Easterly argue aid breeds dependency.
Bilateral vs multilateral aid: Bilateral aid goes from one state to another. Multilateral aid goes through agencies such as the World Bank.

What is Lee's (1966) push-pull model?: Migration follows push factors at the origin, pull factors at the destination and intervening obstacles. Critics say it treats migrants as isolated rational individuals.
Refugee vs economic migrant: A refugee (1951 Convention) is outside their country with a well-founded fear of persecution on set grounds. An economic migrant moves for work. Forced migration is wider than the legal refugee category.
Diaspora: A dispersed population keeping ties with a homeland.
Remittances: Money migrants send to family in their country of origin.
What types of diaspora did Cohen (1997) identify?: In Global Diasporas: victim, labour, trade and imperial diasporas, among others. Real communities often overlap categories.
Digital nomad: A remote worker who moves between countries while working online.

Modernisation vs dependency explanations of obstacles to progress: Modernisation (e.g. Rostow, 1960): internal obstacles such as traditional values. Dependency (e.g. Frank): external obstacles, as the metropolis drains surplus from satellites.
What is Wallerstein's (1974) world-systems theory?: The world economy is divided into core, semi-periphery and periphery. Critics say it is too economic and underplays culture.
What did Mies (1986) mean by housewifisation?: A feminist idea: women's work is treated as cheap or unpaid, which globalisation exploits. Factory jobs may still give women income.
What is Collier's (2007) conflict trap?: War destroys investment and makes more war likely, holding back development.
Sustainable development: Meeting present needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet theirs (Brundtland, 1987).