Differences Between Countries (Edexcel A Level Geography)

Priorities Relating to Human Rights

• In international meetings, some countries are vocal on the issue of human rights whilst others prioritise economic development 

  • This could lead to human rights’ abuses, such as child labour

• The UK is a world leader in defending human rights and promotes their protection in international forums e.g.

  • In 2020, the UK passed a law (The Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020) to allow it to impose sanctions on countries that are abusing the human rights of their citizens

  • The UK sanctioned Russia over the war in Ukraine, including the banning of certain Russian imports

• Some countries favour economic development over human rights e.g. Singapore

  • Singapore:

    • Has one of the world’s highest GDP per capita

    • Is one of the most business-friendly economies in the world

  • However, the government limits political and civil rights (as freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly and association) through laws

  • It still has the death penalty and has one of the world’s highest execution rates per capita

Democratic Freedoms

• Superpowers and emerging powers all have different levels of democracy

Top ten superpowers (2022)

• Over time, some superpowers and emerging powers have favoured the democratic system, such as India, over an authoritarian regime e.g. China

• The degree of democratic freedom allowed in each country varies, including free speech and other human rights 

• In a country which has freedom of speech, people can share ideas and information freely, without interference from the government

• In more authoritarian countries, the government censors information, such as limiting people’s ability to criticise the government on social media

• The map of global freedom shows the level of political rights and civil liberties:

  • Not free - basic political rights and civil liberties are absent or regularly violated (this accounts for 30% of countries/territories globally)

  • Partly free – there are some clear restrictions on political rights and civil liberties

  • Free – open political competition is present and a culture of respect for civil liberties

India and China

• India and China are set to become the new global superpowers over the coming decades but their systems of government are very different

A country comparison of an authoritarian and a democratic system

Political Corruption

• Levels of corruption vary between countries

• One way corruption can be measured is by using the Global Corruption Index (GCI)

• It measures the state of corruption and white collar crimes around the world, using 42 internationally recognised variables

• The GCI covers 196 countries and territories

• Countries score on a 0-100 scale

  • 0 corresponds to the lowest risk and 100 to the highest risk of corruption

• 5% of global GDP is spent corruptly - bribing officials or 'lost’ money in governments e.g building lavish homes for politicians

• Political corruption can hinder economic and social development: 

  • Limits growth as funds that should be spent on improving healthcare, education or infrastructure are instead funding government officials

  • Politicians may exploit their people to remain in power or businesses bribe the government to exploit workers or the environment

  • Denying individuals their human rights - some corrupt governments disregard their duties to its citizens, so people may live without essentials e.g. clean water, education or electricity

  • Growing inequality between those the government favour (e.g. rich investors, businesses) and the rest of the population