Power and developments
What the specification requires, the knowledge and concepts behind it, the debates it raises and how to use it in an exam.
Specification requirements
- Different types of powerSpecification requirement
- Differing significance of states in global affairsSpecification requirement
- PolaritySpecification requirement
- Different systems of governmentSpecification requirement
- Development and spread of key developmentsSpecification requirement
- How far changing state relationships address contemporary issuesSpecification requirement
Source to checkParaphrased from Pearson’s A level Politics specification, Issue 4 (first teaching September 2026, first assessment June 2028). Requirement detail is entered as each topic is developed.
Current affairs
Security Council straw polls fail to agree the next UN Secretary-General
The selection shows the privileged position of the five permanent members inside the UN. Even an informal poll was redesigned so that their preferences could be seen separately, because any one of them can block the final recommendation.
Russia vetoes a Security Council resolution on its invasion of Ukraine
A permanent member blocked action over its own use of force. The example illustrates the central structural weakness of the Security Council and the realist view that great powers pursue their interests regardless of international institutions.
Current affairsEach card is a single shared record, linked here by its specification references.Open this topic in Current Affairs
Sources
2 sources cited on this pageShowHide
- 1A level Politics specification, Issue 4
Pearson Edexcel · 2026 · SpecificationOpened 4 November 2026 - 2Edexcel AS and A level Politics specification amendments
Pearson · 22 June 2026 · SpecificationOpened 4 November 2026