Exam Board: SQA Level: National 5 Subject: Modern Studies First Teaching: September 2017 First Exam: Summer 2018 This second edition comprehensively covers the changes made to the course content and prepares students to cope with the increased emphasis on knowledge and understanding in the new National 5 exam. - Analyses the USA, China and South Africa - Covers Development Issues in Africa and International Terrorism in depth

The complete resource for National 4 & 5 Modern Studies endorsed by SQA. National 4 & 5 Modern Studies titles from Hodder Gibson provide up-to-date resources for the National 4 &5 syllabus outlines offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority for examination from 2014 onwards. World Powers and International Issues analyses the USA, China, Developing Issues in Africa, Security Issues of Western Countries and Economic Alliances, thus ensuring that students are fully briefed on the relevant topic areas for exam preparation.

Exam Board: SQA Level: National 5 Subject: Modern Studies First Teaching: September 2017 First Exam: Summer 2018 Fully updated to account for the removal of Unit Assessments and the changes to the National 5 exam, this book contains all the advice and support you need to revise successfully. It combines an overview of the course syllabus with advice from top experts on how to improve exam performance, so you have the best chance of success. - Refresh your knowledge with complete course notes - Prepare for the exam with top tips and hints on revision technique - Get your best grade with advice on how to gain those vital extra marks

Since the onset of the Second Industrial Revolution in the second half of the nineteenth century, energy has become a key axis of politics and international relations, particularly for the United States and Western Europe. In Energy and the Politics of the North Atlantic, George A. Gonzalez documents how the United States—thanks to its copious reserves of oil, coal, and natural gas—was able to assume a dominant position in the world system by the 1920s. This energy/economic imbalance was an important causal factor underlying the eruption of World War II. After 1945, and in the context of the Cold War with communism, the United States used its access to both fossil fuels and nuclear power as a means to defeat the Soviet Union and its allies. Driving American foreign policy, Gonzalez argues, is a domestic system of urban sprawl based on the automobile and the energy reserves necessary to maintain it. The massive consumer demand created by urban sprawl underpins US foreign policy in the Middle East, while concerns over access to energy drive the European Union project.

The book explores developments in Russia-China relations in the aftermath of the global economic crisis, arguing that the crisis transformed their bilateral affairs, regional liaisons and, crucially, altered the roles both states play on the international arena. Discussing how Russo-Chinese cooperation has accelerated in energy trade, arms sales and in the Russian Far East, the focus is on how the still mutually advantageous relationship has become more asymmetric than ever, reflecting China’s meteoric rise and Russia’s decline. These dynamics are explored through three perspectives: domestic, regional and global. Domestically, the book traces the role of political coalitions and key interest groups involved in how the two states shape their reciprocal policies. Changes in the regional dimension are examined with particular reference to a new status quo emerging in Central Asia. The book concludes by explaining how the changing relationship is affecting the international order, including the balance of power vis-à-vis the United States as well as Russia and China’s changing attitudes towards global governance.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.