Private actors and companies

The big idea: A multinational corporation (MNC) is a big company that operates across many countries. It is a non-state actor whose goal is profit — but the largest ones are powerful enough to shape global politics.

Companies are private actors — they are not governments and not charities. Most are small. But a few global giants are so large that states have to deal with them.

• Economic size — some firms earn more than whole countries.
• Jobs and investment — states compete to attract them.
• Data and technology — tech firms shape what billions see and do.
• Lobbying — spending to shape laws and rules.

Powerful, but not sovereign: A company can be huge, but it has no sovereignty. It cannot pass a law, sign a treaty or raise an army. Its power is economic influence, not legal authority.

The clearest example of company power today is Big Tech — firms like Apple, Amazon, Google and Meta.

Case study — Big Tech: The biggest Big Tech firms are worth more than the economies of most states. They hold huge amounts of data, shape public debate through their platforms, and operate in almost every country at once.

Governments compete to attract them, but also struggle to tax and regulate them. A firm that can move its money and offices between countries is hard for any one state to control.

The key point: Big companies gain power from size, data and mobility — they operate across borders that no single state fully controls. That is why they count as global actors, even though they are private and profit-seeking.

So do companies now match states in power? Weigh both sides — this is a favourite exam debate.

States can still act: The EU has fined firms like Google billions for breaking its competition rules. This shows a powerful bloc can discipline even the biggest company — the state was acting on the company, not the other way round.

How companies come up in Paper 1: A Paper 1 source might show a big company shaping a political issue. The idea to bring out is that companies can wield huge economic power, yet they answer to profit, not voters — so their influence is powerful but unelected.

Easy marks to lose: 1. Only one side. Weigh company power against state authority.



2. No real example. Use Big Tech and the EU/Google fine.



3. Confusing influence with authority. Companies influence; only states make law.



4. Fewer than three sources in Q4.