PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · Key Concepts in International Relations
Discuss the changing nature of modern state with reference to transnational actors.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
eae R1 modern state = sole authority over security &economy → transnational actors unsettle it → state now shares space it once held alone * R2 modern state historically supreme within its borders → cross-border actors work independently of governments → line staked: state reshaped, not replaced
Body flow
Thiel: transnational actors = agents with trans-societal goals, apart from state control (MNCs, NGOs, terror/criminal, diasporas) → MNCs / Nye: loss of control over currency & trade → transfer mispricing + treaty shopping → extraterritoriality → diluted labour/health regulation → NGOs / Simmons: agenda-setting, negotiating outcomes, conferring legitimacy → aid agencies bypass governments → suspected as Western agents (China, Russia, India) — terrorist /non-state actors: security dilemma + distorted policy → FDI deterred → Scholte: states pushed into post-sovereign governance (Basel, OECD, FATF) → Cooper: European “postmodern states” within security communities
Counter-view
realist rejoinder, Buzan → state still the principal security provider → only body with both capacity to act and authority to define a threat
Conclusion routes
-s R1 state transformed and constrained, but not displaced → remains central * R2 authority now shared, sovereignty reshaped → state adapts via post-sovereign governance rather than dissolving
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
