The UK's role in key international organisations, including the United Nations, NATO, the Commonwealth, the Council of Europe and the World Trade Organization, and how membership shapes the UK's place in the wider world.

What this dot point is asking

AQA wants you to know the main international organisations the UK belongs to, what each one does, and how membership shapes the UK's relationships with other countries. You should be able to name the organisation, state its purpose, and give an example of how it affects the UK or the wider world. This Life in modern Britain topic (Paper 2) is tested through short "Describe" and "Explain" questions on individual bodies and through extended "Discuss" or "Evaluate" questions on the costs and benefits of membership. The most heavily examined facts are the UK's permanent seat and veto on the UN Security Council, the difference between the Council of Europe and the EU, and the contrast between NATO and the UN.

Why countries join international organisations

Many problems, such as war, terrorism, climate change, disease and trade, cross national borders and cannot be solved by one country alone. Countries join international organisations to cooperate, pool resources, settle disputes peacefully and increase their influence in the world. Membership is a trade-off: a state gains a louder voice and shared protection, but accepts shared rules and the need to compromise. For the UK, this trade-off is central to the extended questions in this topic, which ask you to weigh the influence and security gained against the loss of complete independence of action.

The United Nations (UN)

The UN Security Council can authorise peacekeeping missions and economic sanctions. As one of five permanent members, the UK helps shape these decisions and can veto resolutions it opposes, which gives a medium-sized country a level of global influence out of proportion to its size. The wider UN system also includes agencies such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF, through which the UK contributes to global health and development. The veto is the single most examined fact in this topic, so it is worth stating precisely.

NATO

NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a military alliance of countries in Europe and North America. Its core principle is collective defence: an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all, set out in Article 5 of its founding treaty. The UK is a founding member and contributes troops, equipment and funding. NATO matters to the UK because collective defence deters aggression that no member could resist alone, and it is the main framework for the UK's military cooperation with allies including the United States. Students should be careful not to confuse NATO (a regional military alliance) with the UN (a global body for peace and cooperation).

The Commonwealth

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 countries, most of them former territories of the British Empire. It promotes democracy, development, human rights and shared values, supports trade and educational links, and runs the Commonwealth Games. Membership is based on cooperation and shared values rather than binding law, so it works through influence and partnership rather than enforcement. For the UK it provides cultural and trade links across the world and a forum that includes many developing nations.

The Council of Europe and the WTO

The Council of Europe is separate from the European Union and has far more member states. It upholds human rights and democracy across Europe and oversees the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights. The UK remains a member of the Council of Europe even after leaving the EU, which is a common point of confusion. The World Trade Organization (WTO) sets and enforces the rules of international trade and helps settle trade disputes between member countries, helping to keep trade open and predictable for the UK economy.