Key Idea: Actors don't act in a vacuum — they act inside systems. This topic is about political systems (democracy → authoritarian), the structures of power in the world (unipolar/bipolar/multipolar), the dynamics (cooperation ↔ conflict), and the rules, norms and institutions that shape how actors behave.
📚 The micros at a glance
Systems, structures, dynamics, rules
- 1.2.1 Political systems — Democracy (power shared & checked) → hybrid → authoritarian (power concentrated).
- 1.2.2 Political structures — How power is spread in the world: unipolar (one power), bipolar (two), multipolar (several).
- 1.2.3 Political dynamics — Relationships shift both ways over time: cooperation ↔ competition ↔ conflict.
- 1.2.4–1.2.6 Rules & institutions — Legal frameworks, political norms (how expectations spread) and institutions that shape and constrain behaviour.
⚖️ The debates that come up
- Unipolar / bipolar / multipolar
- Each has risks
- Judge: stability is contested
- Relationships shift both ways
- Neither is permanent
- Judge: dynamics change over time
- Norms & institutions shape behaviour
- But the strong can break them
- Judge: rules matter but unevenly
With reference to a source and one example you have studied, explain the difference between a unipolar and a multipolar system.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Important: Treating systems, structures and dynamics as fixed. Examiners reward students who show political relationships <strong>shift over time</strong> (cooperation ↔ conflict), and who use the right term — polarity (structures), systems (democracy→authoritarian), norms and institutions (the rules).
Answer in your head first, then tap to reveal.
What is a political system? The way a state organises power — from democracy (power shared and checked), through hybrid regimes, to authoritarian (power concentrated with few checks).
What is polarity? How power is spread among states: unipolar (one dominant power), bipolar (two), or multipolar (several great powers balancing one another).
What are political dynamics? The way relationships between actors shift over time — from cooperation to competition to conflict and back — nothing is permanent.
What are norms and institutions? Norms are shared expectations of how actors should behave; institutions are the rules and bodies that shape and constrain behaviour — they matter, but the powerful can break them.
Why do systems matter for actors? Because actors act inside systems — the structure, dynamics and rules shape what each actor can do and how much power it really has.
Exam Tips
- Systems (democracy→authoritarian) ≠ structures (polarity) ≠ dynamics.
- Relationships shift both ways over time.
- Norms and institutions shape — but don't always bind — the powerful.
- Use the right term for the right idea.