Question 1a Identify and briefly explain two ways in which a state might attempt to control the power of multinational corporations. (8 marks)

Answers (each get two marks) Two marks for each of two ways identified, such as: • imposing some kind of company tax regime; • publicity or naming and shaming; • employment legislation; • some kind of financial or exchange controls; • planning controls.

Two further marks for each of two brief explanations, such as: • Imposing some kind of company tax regime: a state might, through the government, impose special tax levies on companies to encourage or discourage certain kinds of company actions. • Publicity or naming and shaming: companies can use the media to discourage undesirable actions by creating a climate of negative public opinion. • Employment legislation: legislation can be brought in by governments acting on behalf of the state to force companies to adopt desirable practices and cease undesirable ones.

Question b Using information from Item A and elsewhere, examine some of the evidence for the view that the power of the state is decreasing.

Answers will address a range of issues, though not necessarily to the same depth. Most answers may take the Item as a starting point, but at this level answers will need to go beyond this, possibly to consider the concept of power and its various forms, factors which affect the power of the state including the role of individuals and different groups in society, multi-nationals, globalisation, internet influences, democratisation of decision making, the difficulty in forming meaningful alliances and challenges to the right of the state from various bodies. Answers will identify and briefly analyse reasons or explanations for some of the points considered. There will be some explicit evaluation, for instance in drawing comparisons between European countries and the modern USA. However, not all of the factors mentioned above are necessary, even for full marks.

Postmodern Analysis of the state Michel Foucault saw state power as having a variable sum approach. As power is not concentrated in the hands of particular individuals and is found in all social relationships. However he saw the state’s power as being linked with knowledge hence the phrase knowledge is power

Foucault saw the modern state as being able to create discourses about things such as poverty and unemployment Discourses comes from the power of the state to classify people in certain ways. This means the way you talk about the poor or the unemployed is limited as a discourse ( a way of talking about people has already been created, so the poor are idle, lazy, uneducated etc)

This meant certain social groups, such as doctors, psychiatrists had the ability to be able to decide what was normal or abnormal behaviour Foucault said this meant the state now had disciplinary power to manage individual behaviour and normalise it. And anyone assessed as not conforming would be reformed Therefore the modern state seeks to manage the behaviour of individuals so they conform. And modern politicians do this by convincing voters via their discourses on health, the unemployed, asylum seekers

Foucault sees discipline as an important feature of modern states as techniques of surveillance are used to check on peoples behaviour in places like schools, hospitals and now the streets This requires a certain level of self-discipline by people so they control their behaviour This form of state discipline is better than using physical punishment such as pain to control people. Docile bodies are far easier to manage.

This differs to the other definitions of power as there is no one single group dominating another like elites Foucault points out that power is found in all social relationships other than the state and power is never absolute as people can resist or evade domination by the powerful This is different to Marxist who see power in an economic ruling class; elite theorists who see power as concentrated in the hands of those in key positions; or pluralists who look at the way power is exercised to exclude others.

However Foucault ignores the power exercised through economic power, such as moving production abroad; or the power of military force