Key Idea: Development is shaped by many actors, each with different power and motives: states, big IGOs/IFIs (World Bank, IMF, WTO), NGOs, companies (MNCs) and ordinary people. The exam skill is weighing who helps, who exploits, and who really drives development — and none acts alone.
📚 The actors at a glance
Who does what
- 3.2.1 Overview — Development is a web of actors — states, IGOs, NGOs, companies, communities — cooperating and clashing.
- 3.2.2 IGOs & IFIs — World Bank/IMF/WTO/UNDP: money, rules, expertise — but conditionality and rich-country dominance. Reform, not abolish.
- 3.2.3 NGOs & civil society — Reach the poorest where states fail; unelected & donor-dependent, so complement not replace the state.
- 3.2.4 MNCs & private sector — FDI, jobs, technology — or low wages, tax dodging, pollution. Help vs exploit depends on terms and regulation.
- 3.2.5 Individuals & communities — Bottom-up, grassroots, empowerment (esp. women). Local ownership makes development last.
⚖️ The debates that come up
- Fund & stabilise
- Conditions hit the poor
- Judge: vital but reform
- Jobs & investment
- Low wages, tax dodging
- Judge: depends on terms/regulation
- States bring scale
- Communities bring ownership
- Judge: combine both
Discuss the view that international financial institutions do more harm than good to development.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
The 15-mark markband (Paper 2)
Bands 1–6
Mostly descriptive; perspectives <strong>not identified</strong>.
avoid
Bands 7–9
Clear knowledge, but perspectives <strong>identified, not explored</strong>.
7–9
Bands 10–12
Well-supported argument; perspectives <strong>explored</strong>.
10–12
Bands 13–15
Balanced, compelling; perspectives <strong>explored AND evaluated</strong>.
13–15
Important: Treating any actor as pure hero or pure villain. Examiners reward students who <strong>weigh both sides</strong> — IFIs, MNCs and NGOs all help AND harm, depending on terms, governance and power. And remember: none acts alone.
Answer in your head first, then tap to reveal.
What are IFIs and why are they debated? International financial institutions (World Bank, IMF, WTO) — they fund and stabilise development but attach conditions and are dominated by rich countries, so their record is mixed.
How can MNCs both develop and exploit? They bring FDI, jobs and technology, but can pay low wages, dodge taxes and pollute — which dominates depends on the terms of investment and whether the state can regulate them.
Why can't NGOs replace the state? They reach the poorest where states fail, but are unelected and donor-dependent, so they complement rather than replace a capable, accountable state.
Why does empowering communities matter? Bottom-up, community-led development fits real needs and builds local ownership, so it lasts; empowering women especially has strong, lasting effects.
What is the balanced view of actors in development? Every actor helps and harms depending on terms and power; development works best when they work in partnership — big resources delivered with local ownership.
Exam Tips
- Weigh each actor's benefits AND harms — never all-good or all-bad.
- IFIs: vital but reform. MNCs: depends on terms/regulation.
- NGOs complement, not replace, the state.
- Bottom-up + top-down = lasting development.