PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · Key Concepts in International Relations
“Some feel Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are a vital new road to economic growth, whereas others feel they perpetuate underdevelopment.’ Discuss.
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
| a a R1 growth thesis (Friedman, Bhagwati) vs underdevelopment (Frank, Myrdal) » R2 growth # development; structural dependence obscured by GDP gains
Body flow
pro-growth: FDI, employment, knowledge transfer → BUT Frank's trap: wealth extraction → Myrdal’s backwash → Nye’s sovereignty mechanisms (mispricing, extraterritoriality) → Stiglitz: political autonomy lost → Wallerstein’s core-periphery: unequal exchange entrenched
Counter-view
glocalisation (Appadurai), post-sovereign governance (Basel, OECD) as partial corrections — insufficient without structural control
Conclusion routes
es R1 growth alone is hollow; development requires ownership, autonomy, equity » R2 MNCs generate growth within a structure that perpetuates underdevelopment
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
