AP Comparative Government Unit 5 Cheatsheet: Political and Economic Changes and Development

Economic globalization = interconnected economic networks and worldwide markets that are less constrained by national borders, with reduced (but not eliminated) state control over trade, capital, and labor flows.

• Deepens cross-national connections among workers, goods, capital
• Challenges regime and cultural stability

IMF, World Bank, WTO membership promotes economic liberalization:

• China & Nigeria: citizens expect children better off than parents
• Mexico: middle class growth

Multinational corporations (MNCs) dominate global markets, creating conflicts over labor, environment, land rights, taxation.

Globalization backlash: civil society demands, student protests, social media restrictions, nationalist/populist groups blame government for cultural and economic change.

IMF & World Bank: exert influence through preconditions for financial assistance. Structural adjustment programs require privatization, reduced tariffs, reduced subsidies.

Import substitution industrialization (ISI): raise tariffs, encourage local production to reduce foreign dependency.

International and supranational organizations (ECOWAS, EU, WTO) constrain member states through treaties and rules they have agreed to, pressuring policymakers to liberalize trade, though states formally retain sovereignty and can withdraw (e.g., Brexit).

Government environmental solutions:

• Move factories, implement green tech with subsidies
• Expand infrastructure & environmental regulation
• Mandate hybrid/battery-powered autos

Trade liberalization effects: lowers consumer costs but may harm domestic industry; increases FDI, affects exchange rates, population movement.

Tariff trade-off: reducing = lower prices but industry loss; raising = protection but higher prices.

Austerity measures: budget deficits force funding cuts to state programs.