How did international institutions try to govern a connected and contested world?
Topic 9.9 Institutions Developing in a Globalized World: the international institutions that developed to govern a connected world, including the United Nations, the IMF and World Bank, the WTO, NGOs, and regional bodies.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 9.9, explaining the institutions of a globalized world: the United Nations for peace and rights, the IMF, World Bank, and WTO for the global economy, NGOs and multinational corporations, and regional bodies like the European Union, with their powers and limits.
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What this topic is asking
Topic 9.9 covers the international institutions that developed to govern a connected world. It asks you to explain the bodies created to manage global problems that no single state can solve alone: the United Nations for peace and rights, the IMF, World Bank, and WTO for the global economy, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and multinational corporations, and regional bodies like the European Union, along with the powers and limits of these institutions.
What "institutions in a globalized world" means
The United Nations
The central body for peace and rights.
Economic institutions and non-state actors
Bodies and actors govern and shape the global economy.
A set of institutions and actors manages global economic life:
- The IMF stabilizes the international financial system and lends to states in crisis.
- The World Bank funds development projects in poorer countries.
- The World Trade Organization (WTO) sets and enforces trade rules, promoting free trade.
- NGOs. Non-governmental organizations such as the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and Amnesty International deliver aid and advance causes across borders.
- Multinational corporations. Giant firms (Topic 9.5) act as powerful global economic actors in their own right.
These bodies promoted neoliberal globalization (Topic 9.5) but also drew criticism from the anti-globalization movements of Topic 9.8.
Regional bodies and the limits of institutions
States cooperate regionally, but power has limits.
- Regional integration. Groups of states formed regional bodies, most strikingly the European Union, which integrated members economically and politically, with shared institutions and, for many, a common currency.
- The limits of global governance. For all their reach, international institutions are limited: they rely on sovereign states that guard their independence and often put national interests first, and they usually cannot enforce decisions against powerful members. So global problems like war, climate change, and inequality persist despite the institutions built to address them, a key point for any evaluation of their effectiveness.
Try this
Q1. Name the institution founded in 1945 to maintain international peace and security and promote human rights. [Recall]
- Cue. The United Nations.
Q2. Explain one limit on the power of international institutions in the globalized world. [Short explanation]
- Cue. International institutions depend on sovereign states that guard their independence and often put national interests first, and they usually cannot enforce their decisions against powerful members, which limits their effectiveness.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2020 (style)3 marksBriefly identify ONE international institution of the globalized world. Briefly explain ONE function it performs. Briefly explain ONE limit on the power of such institutions.Show worked answer →
A Short Answer Question (SAQ), 3 points, one per bullet.
A. Identify: the United Nations was created in 1945 to maintain international peace and security.
B. Function: the UN works to prevent and resolve conflicts, coordinate humanitarian aid, and promote human rights and global cooperation.
C. Limit: international institutions depend on the cooperation of sovereign states and often cannot enforce their decisions against powerful members, which limits their effectiveness.
Each bullet must be concrete.
AP 2022 (style)6 marksEvaluate the extent to which international institutions effectively governed the globalized world in the period c. 1900 to the present.Show worked answer →
A Long Essay Question (LEQ), scored on the 6-point causation rubric.
Thesis (1): "International institutions like the UN and the economic bodies built real frameworks for cooperation, peace, and trade, but their effectiveness was limited because they depended on sovereign states that often put national interests first."
Contextualization (1): situate the institutions in the postwar drive to prevent another world war and govern a connected economy.
Evidence (2): the UN and human rights; the IMF, World Bank, and WTO; NGOs; regional bodies like the EU."
Analysis (2): explain HOW the institutions enabled cooperation, then add complexity by weighing their achievements against their dependence on states and inability to enforce decisions."
Related dot points
- Topic 9.5 Economics in the Global Age: the economic changes of globalization, including free-market neoliberalism, multinational corporations, free-trade agreements, and the rise of new economic powers.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 9.5, explaining economics in the global age: the spread of free-market neoliberalism, the rise of multinational corporations and global supply chains, free-trade agreements and blocs, and the emergence of new economic powers like China and India.
- Topic 9.6 Calls for Reform and Responses After 1900: the rights and reform movements after 1900, including feminist, civil rights, environmental, and other movements, and the responses they provoked.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 9.6, explaining calls for reform after 1900: feminist movements for women's rights, civil and human rights movements, environmental and economic-justice movements, the human-rights framework, and the responses these movements provoked.
- Topic 9.4 Environment in a Globalized World: the environmental consequences of population growth, industrialization, and consumption, including climate change, pollution, and resource depletion, and the global responses to them.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 9.4, explaining the environment in a globalized world: climate change driven by fossil fuels, pollution, deforestation and resource depletion from population growth and consumption, and global responses from environmental movements to international agreements.
- Topic 8.8 End of the Cold War: the causes and consequences of the end of the Cold War, including the collapse of the Soviet Union, reforms like glasnost and perestroika, and the emergence of a new global order.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 8.8, explaining the end of the Cold War: Gorbachev's reforms of glasnost and perestroika, the fall of the Berlin Wall and Soviet collapse in 1991, economic and military strain, and the consequences for the new global order.
- Topic 9.8 Resistance to Globalization After 1900: the economic, cultural, and political resistance to globalization, including anti-globalization movements, religious fundamentalism, nationalism, and terrorism.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 9.8, explaining resistance to globalization: economic anti-globalization movements, cultural and religious resistance including fundamentalism, the revival of nationalism and protectionism, and political violence and terrorism.
Sources & how we know this
- AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description — College Board (2020)