AIR 236 Research Essay
• This exercise involves one essay. The essay word length cannot be more or less than 10% of the set word limit (2,000 words).
• Students are to submit their assignments through the AIR 236 Assignment Submission icon (drop-box) in the Assessment folder.
Questions
Write an essay to answer one of the following questions.
1) Significant contemporary problems are facing the World Trade Organization’s goal of trade liberalisation. What are some of these? Illustrate your answer with relevant examples.
2) Did the impact of the Global Financial Crisis cast doubt on the IMF’s role in promoting financial stability or are crises such as this unavoidable?
3) What are the primary political and economic dynamics which have influenced the development of the G20? Illustrate your answer with relevant examples.
4) “The International Financial Institution’s efforts to address global poverty are inadequate”. Discuss.
5) Has there been a ‘race to the bottom’ in terms of working conditions? Or is it a case that poor working conditions and sweatshops are an unavoidable part of development? Illustrate your answer with examples.
6) Are the criticisms by environmentalists and Green groups of the ecological impact of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) accurate in your view?
7) How significant is the danger of transnational corporations undermining democracy and human rights? Are the anti-capitalist protestors painting a realistic picture? Illustrate your answer with examples.
8) Is it the case that global markets and forms of governance are undermining democracy, or is it the case that some democracies are living beyond their financial means? Illustrate your answer with relevant examples.
9) “The impact of the anti-capitalist movement on the structures of global capitalism has been marginal”. Discuss. Illustrate your answer with examples.
10) Why has reforming the International Financial Institutions been proposed in recent years and what are the primary obstacles to proposed reforms? Refer to one of following institutions: the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and/or the World Bank.
11) In what ways are questions of justice and ethics influencing the structures of global capitalism? Illustrate your answer with examples.
