Global Politics: How do Economic Factors Influence Development?

This is an inquiry-based, fully scaffolded lesson sequence, fully aligned with the new 2026 Global Politics syllabus. It explores how economic factors shape development outcomes and interact with political and social systems, drawing on detailed case studies of Zimbabwe and Venezuela. Students analyse how policies, resource dependency, and mismanagement affect legitimacy, sovereignty, and inequality, while developing the analytical and evaluative skills required for Paper 2.

The lesson begins by identifying key economic influences such as trade policy, FDI, and macroeconomic stability before applying these to real-world contexts. Through a structured sequence of tasks, students investigate and compare the economic collapses of Zimbabwe and Venezuela, considering how similar economic pressures can produce different political and social outcomes. The sequence concludes with a guided reflection linking to the four Global Politics core concepts: Development, Inequality, Sustainability, and Globalisation.

The 2025 edition includes a new essay-planning task for Paper 2 Section B, integrating Units 1 and 3 through the question “To what extent do transnational corporations exercise greater influence over development than institutions of global economic governance?”

The lesson is EAL-friendly, differentiated, and highly scaffolded, with clear modelling of analytical writing and comparative reasoning. Sentence stems, visual prompts, and step-by-step tables make it accessible for mixed-ability classes while still challenging higher-level students.

This resource includes a ten-page student document and a fifty-slide PowerPoint, both fully editable and ready to teach immediately. All readings, examples, and model answers are included. It is discussion-based, concept-driven, and designed for easy use on Teams, Google Classroom, or in print, requiring no additional preparation.