HIGHER PAST PAPER QUESTIONS SQA 2019 With reference

HIGHER PAST PAPER QUESTIONS SQA 2019 With reference to a world power you have studied: To what extent does a world power that you have studied have international influence? (20) SQA 2015 With reference to a world power you have studied: Analyse the ability of this world power to influence other countries. (12)

influence /ˈɪnflʊəns/ noun: influence; plural noun: influences the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something, or the effect itself.

AN ANXIOUS COUNTRY The job of the US President, like the job of all national leaders, is to protect that country’s economic interests and defend its national security. Donald Trump has tapped into an isolationist mood in the country. He stands for radical, confrontational solutions to what he sees as two connected problems; terrorism and immigration. Mr Trump's slogan “America First" feeds off this anxiety about America's future and its role in the world. Trump’s foreign policy, to date, seems to be based not on a thought out plan, but on reacting to events in a haphazard, volatile and short term manner.

AMERICA FIRST But if there is a vision of American influence Trump’s world view is that of betrayal. He sees other nations, with perhaps the exception of Israel, which is almost completely dependent on the USA for its survival, as out to damage America. Other nations and international organisations are to be viewed with at best suspicion. He seeks to restore the USA to the position of an unrivalled superpower. And he seeks to use his powers as Commander in Chief to dominate decision making. He appears to be the only voice that matters. Trump’s Foreign Policy

AMERICA ALONE The former French ambassador to the US, Gerard Aroud, compared President Trump’s administration to King Louis XIV’s court, calling Trump a “whimsical, unpredictable, uninformed” leader. “When they say ‘America first’, it’s America alone, basically, this president and this administration don’t have allies, don’t have friends. It’s really [about] bilateral relationships on the basis of the balance of power and the defence of narrow American interest. ” Louis XIV

CLIMATE CHANGE President Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation. The agreement aims to limit global warming to 1. 5°C. After China, the US is the world’s second biggest emitter of carbon dioxide gas. Trump believes global warming is a hoax invented by the Chinese to attack US manufacturing. Since the 1980 s, the size and ferocity of the fires that regularly sweep across California have trended upward: Fifteen of the 20 largest fires in California history have occurred since 2000. Scientists say, primarily because hotter air means drier plants, which burn more readily. Trump and climate change

TRADE WARS Relations between the US and China are probably about their lowest since President Nixon visited in 1972. Both countries are seeking global dominance in an international trade war. Both countries have introduced tariffs on each other’s imports. President Trump has threatened ban Tik. Tok and We. Chat in the US. In July 2020 President Trump ordered the Chinese consulate in Houston to close over concerns about economic espionage. US/China Relations

TRIGGER HAPPY President Obama was no slouch when it came to using military force. But the Trump Presidency has shown an even greater willingness to use force rather than diplomacy. In Iraq and Syria, the United States is dropping bombs at unprecedented levels. Islamic State has been severely weakened, Trump has also escalated U. S. military involvement in non-battlefield settings — namely Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan. USA and Syria

NATO The USA is a founder member of NATO. It is the leading power within NATO, supplying the most finance and the most troops. NATO was founded in 1949 with the expressed aim of defending western Europe against a military invasion by the Soviet Union. Its 1949 aims were summed up in the immediate post-war phrase “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down. ” Today, the threats to the West are different; Russia is mistrusted but there is also global terrorism. Trump has threatened to withdraw the USA from NATO as he believes the USA pays too much. NATO Trump and NATO

US/RUSSIA The two countries have important shared interests to advance — combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, global terrorism and Islamic Jihadism and further reducing nuclear weapons. They have difficulties to manage, notably over Ukraine and Syria. Putin appears to be keen to undermine democracy in America and the UK, to sow discord within NATO and to destabilise the EU. Trump appears to have no issue with any of this. Trump’s relations with Putin

IRAN In January 2020, President Trump ordered an airstrike which killed Iranian military General Qasem Soleimani. The US Department of Defence called General Soleimani, and his troops, a "foreign terrorist organization". Qasem Soleimani

ISRAEL/PALESTINE Late Republican Senator Jesse Helms used to call Israel "America's aircraft carrier", when explaining why the US was supportive of Israel. Trump has said his controversial decision last December to recognise Jerusalem as Israel‘s capital was a “wonderful thing” as he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also presented a united front against Iran. Trump in Israel

STILL THE ONE The USA is still THE military power. Even Russia now concedes this. China may be advancing economically but it is still some way from being a military power, even if it wanted to be. American voters are tired of war, financial hardships and the bickering and gridlock of American politics. But they are angry at what they see as a weak US response to terrorism, especially terrorism on US soil. Barack Obama, for a variety of reasons, struggled to move on from the legacy of George W Bush. Donald Trump has said and now done many things, not all of them that well thought out. How Trump’s Foreign Policy Affects the World