10-2-2-differences-between-countries

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Exam code:9GE0

Priorities Relating to Human Rights

In international meetings, some countries are vocal on the issue of human rights whilst others prioritise economic development
- This could lead to human rights’ abuses, such as child labour
The UK is a world leader in defending human rights and promotes their protection in international forums e.g.
- In 2020, the UK passed a law (The Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020) to allow it to impose sanctions on countries that are abusing the human rights of their citizens
- The UK sanctioned Russia over the war in Ukraine, including the banning of certain Russian imports
Some countries favour economic development over human rights e.g. Singapore
- Singapore:
  - Has one of the world’s highest GDP per capita
  - Is one of the most business-friendly economies in the world
- However, the government limits political and civil rights (as freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly and association) through laws
- It still has the death penalty and has one of the world’s highest execution rates per capita

Top ten superpowers (2022)

Over time, some superpowers and emerging powers have favoured the democratic system, such as India, over an authoritarian regime e.g. China
The degree of democratic freedom allowed in each country varies, including free speech and other human rights
In a country which has freedom of speech, people can share ideas and information freely, without interference from the government
In more authoritarian countries, the government censors information, such as limiting people’s ability to criticise the government on social media

The map of global freedom shows the level of political rights and civil liberties:
- Not free – basic political rights and civil liberties are absent or regularly violated (this accounts for 30% of countries/territories globally)
- Partly free – there are some clear restrictions on political rights and civil liberties
- Free – open political competition is present and a culture of respect for civil liberties

Learn some examples of countries with different degrees of democratic freedom

India and China are set to become the new global superpowers over the coming decades but their systems of government are very different

A country comparison of an authoritarian and a democratic system

Characteristics	China	India
System	Authoritarian	Democracy
Governing party (2022)	Chinese Communist Party	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Are general elections held?	No	Yes – everyone over 18 can vote
Freedom of speech	Limited internet and media freedom – hundreds of websites are blocked or banned in China. China has been described as ‘the world’s leading jailer of journalists’	Freedom of speech and expression is written into India’s Constitution; however, the government have the right to limit this freedom if there was a risk to the security of the State
Human rights	International bodies have criticised China’s record on human rights e.g. it is estimated that China accounts for nearly three-quarters of all the world’s executions each year; 46 offences are eligible for the death penalty	It has made significant progress in protecting human rights; however, there are still major concerns over sexual abuse and other violence against women and children

Levels of corruption vary between countries
One way corruption can be measured is by using the Global Corruption Index (GCI)
It measures the state of corruption and white collar crimes around the world, using 42 internationally recognised variables
The GCI covers 196 countries and territories

Countries score on a 0-100 scale
- 0 corresponds to the lowest risk and 100 to the highest risk of corruption
5% of global GDP is spent corruptly – bribing officials or ‘lost’ money in governments e.g building lavish homes for politicians
Political corruption can hinder economic and social development:
- Limits growth as funds that should be spent on improving healthcare, education or infrastructure are instead funding government officials
- Politicians may exploit their people to remain in power or businesses bribe the government to exploit workers or the environment
- Denying individuals their human rights – some corrupt governments disregard their duties to its citizens, so people may live without essentials e.g. clean water, education or electricity
- Growing inequality between those the government favour (e.g. rich investors, businesses) and the rest of the population