Power, Places, and Networks

I. Global interactions and global power

1. Globalization indices showing how countries participate in global interactions

2. Global superpowers and their economic, geopolitical and cultural influence

3. Powerful organizations and global groups:

   • G7/8, G20 and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) groups

   • Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) influence over energy policies

   • global lending institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and New Development Bank (NDB)

II. Global networks and flows

1. An overview of contemporary global networks and flows:

   • global trade in materials, manufactured goods and services

   • an overview of international aid, loans and debt relief

   • international remittances from economic migrants

   • illegal flows, such as trafficked people, counterfeit goods and narcotics

2. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and outsourcing by transnational corporations (TNCs), and ways in which this networks places and markets

III. Human and physical influences on global interactions

1. Political factors that affect global interactions:

   • multi-governmental organizations (MGOs) and free trade zones

   • economic migration controls and rules

2. Our “shrinking world” and the forces driving technological innovation:

   • changing global data flow patterns and trends

   • transport developments over time

   • patterns and trends in communication infrastructure and use

3. The influence of the physical environment on global interactions:

   • natural resource availability

   • the potentially limiting effect of geographic isolation, at varying scales