How effectively does the world respond to a significant world issue?
The responses of individual countries and international organisations to a significant world issue, including the UN, NATO, the EU and NGOs, and an evaluation of how effective these responses are.
An SQA Higher Modern Studies answer on international responses to a world issue, covering the responses of individual countries and international organisations such as the UN, NATO, the EU and NGOs, and an evaluation of how effective these responses are.
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What this dot point is asking
The SQA wants you to describe how individual countries and international organisations respond to a significant world issue, and to evaluate how effective those responses are. This supports -mark "evaluate the effectiveness" essays and -mark analyses of single organisations such as the UN.
The answer
Responses by individual countries
The United Nations
NATO, the EU and NGOs
Evaluating effectiveness
Examples in context
In response to humanitarian crises, the World Food Programme delivers emergency food while the World Health Organization coordinates disease control, showing the UN system saving lives at scale. Yet Security Council action on major conflicts has repeatedly been blocked by the veto of a permanent member, leaving the UN unable to halt the fighting itself. NGOs such as the Red Cross often fill the gap on the ground, but depend on donations and safe access. Setting these successes against the structural limits is exactly the balanced evaluation the markers reward.
Try this
Q1. Describe two ways international organisations respond to a world issue. [4 marks]
- Cue. UN peacekeeping or humanitarian aid, NATO military responses, EU aid, or NGOs delivering emergency relief.
Q2. Evaluate the effectiveness of international responses to a significant world issue. [12 marks]
- Cue. Responses save lives but are limited by the UN veto, funding, lack of cooperation and the scale of the problem.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA Higher 202020 marksEvaluate the effectiveness of international responses in tackling a significant world issue you have studied.Show worked answer →
A -mark essay: up to marks for knowledge and understanding and up to for analysis, evaluation and a sustained conclusion. You must write about responses to one named issue.
KU marks come from accurate detail on the responders and what they actually do: the UN (peacekeeping, World Food Programme, World Health Organization, Security Council resolutions), NATO (collective defence), the EU (aid and coordination), NGOs (Oxfam, the Red Cross), and individual states (aid, sanctions, taking refugees).
Analysis and evaluation marks come from judging effectiveness: lives saved and suffering eased, set against the veto, funding gaps, lack of cooperation and the scale of the problem. A sustained judgement is the discriminator.
SQA Higher 202212 marksAnalyse the role of the United Nations in responding to a significant world issue.Show worked answer →
A -mark analysis question, roughly half KU and half analysis. Markers reward developed explanation of what the UN does and why it succeeds or struggles.
KU should cover Security Council resolutions and peacekeeping, plus humanitarian work through agencies such as the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.
Analysis marks come from explaining why the UN can be effective (legitimacy, global reach, coordination) but is often limited by the veto of a permanent member and by reliance on member states for funding and troops. A clear judgement on overall effectiveness is the discriminator.
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Sources & how we know this
- SQA Higher Modern Studies Course Specification — SQA (2018)