Who are the key global actors and what aims, roles and power do they bring to contemporary global politics?
the key global actors of contemporary global politics (states, intergovernmental organisations, transnational corporations and non-state actors) and their aims, roles and power
A VCE Politics Unit 3 answer on the four key global actors: states, intergovernmental organisations, transnational corporations and non-state actors. Explains the aims, roles and power of each, with current examples such as the United States, the United Nations, Apple and Hamas, and how they shape global politics.
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What this dot point is asking
VCAA wants you to identify the four key global actors of contemporary global politics and explain, for each, their aims (what they want), their roles (what they do) and their power (their capacity to influence outcomes). You should be able to compare actors and judge how much each shapes the global political landscape. Expect questions that ask you to analyse the aims, roles and power of one or more actors and to support your answer with current examples.
The answer
Global politics is the interaction of many actors pursuing competing aims. The study design names four categories.
States
A state is a political and legal entity with a defined territory, a permanent population, a government and the capacity to enter relations with other states. States remain the primary actors because they hold sovereignty: supreme authority within their borders and legal equality with other states.
- Aims. Survival, security, sovereignty, prosperity and influence. These are pursued as national interests.
- Roles. States make and enforce law, conduct diplomacy, wage war, sign treaties and join organisations.
- Power. States command the widest range of instruments: military forces, economies, diplomacy and cultural reach. The United States and the People's Republic of China are the clearest examples of states whose power shapes the whole system.
Intergovernmental organisations (IGOs)
IGOs are bodies created by states through treaty to pursue shared goals. Members are states.
- Aims. To manage cooperation on security, trade, health, development or the environment.
- Roles. Setting rules, providing forums for negotiation, coordinating responses and delivering programs.
- Power. Derived from member states and limited by them. The United Nations Security Council can authorise force, yet the veto held by its five permanent members often paralyses it, as seen in the deadlock over Ukraine after Russia's 2022 invasion. The World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and regional bodies such as ASEAN and the European Union are further examples.
Transnational corporations (TNCs)
TNCs are private firms that own or control production in more than one country.
- Aims. Profit, market share and growth.
- Roles. Producing goods and services, investing across borders, employing workers and shaping supply chains.
- Power. Economic and structural. The largest TNCs have revenues exceeding the economies of many states. Apple, Amazon and the oil firm Saudi Aramco can move investment, set industry standards and lobby governments, giving them leverage over the states that host them.
Non-state actors
This broad category captures actors that are neither states nor created by states, including non-government organisations (NGOs), terrorist organisations and armed groups.
- Aims. Vary widely: humanitarian relief, advocacy, religious or political objectives.
- Roles. Delivering aid, campaigning, or using violence to pursue political ends.
- Power. Usually soft or disruptive rather than territorial. Amnesty International shapes the human rights agenda through reporting; terrorist organisations such as Hamas or Islamic State exert power through violence and propaganda that compels states to respond.
Comparing the actors
States still dominate because they hold sovereignty and the broadest instruments of power, but the other actors increasingly constrain and challenge them. A useful exam move is to rank actors by the type of power they wield and to show how they interact: a TNC lobbies a state, an NGO pressures an IGO, a terrorist group provokes a military coalition.
Examples in context
Example 1. An IGO constrained by its members. The United Nations Security Council is the only body that can lawfully authorise the use of force, yet its veto means a single permanent member can block action. Russia's veto after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine shows how an IGO's power is hostage to the very states it is meant to discipline.
Example 2. A TNC rivalling states. Saudi Aramco's annual revenue dwarfs the GDP of most member states of the United Nations. Decisions it makes about oil production ripple through energy prices, inflation and the foreign policy of importing states, illustrating structural economic power held by a private actor.
Try this
Q1. Identify the four key global actors in contemporary global politics. [4 marks]
- Cue. States, intergovernmental organisations, transnational corporations and non-state actors.
Q2. Explain the aims, roles and power of intergovernmental organisations, using one example. [6 marks]
- Cue. Aims: coordinate shared goals. Roles: set rules, provide forums, deliver programs. Power: derived from and limited by member states. Example: the United Nations Security Council and the veto.
Q3. Analyse the extent to which states remain the most powerful global actors. [10 marks]
- Cue. States hold sovereignty and the widest instruments of power, but TNCs, IGOs and non-state actors increasingly constrain them. Reach a defensible judgement.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of VCAA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
2020 VCAA3 marksExplain one role of the state in global politics. Provide a specific example to support your response.Show worked answer →
Three marks: identify one role, explain it, and back it with a specific example.
A core role is that the state is the primary actor that exercises sovereignty: it makes and enforces law within its territory and represents its population in dealings with other actors, for example by signing treaties, joining IGOs and conducting foreign policy.
A specific example: Australia negotiating and ratifying trade agreements and representing its citizens at the United Nations and in regional bodies. Markers want a clearly named role, a short explanation of what the state does in that role, and a real example, not a generic statement that "states are important".
2023 VCAA7 marksCompare the power of two intergovernmental organisations from the following list: United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Criminal Court (ICC).Show worked answer →
Seven marks for a "compare", so build explicit points of similarity and difference between two IGOs, not two separate descriptions.
Take the UN and the IMF. Compare their sources of power: the UN's power is political and normative (Security Council authorisation of force and sanctions, legitimacy, peacekeeping), while the IMF's is financial (lending to states in crisis, attaching policy conditions that reshape national economies).
Compare scope and limits: the UN is near-universal (193 members) but its Security Council is hamstrung by the veto; the IMF wields decisive leverage over borrowing states but little over wealthy ones that never need its loans, and its conditionality is criticised as intrusive.
Compare effectiveness: the IMF can directly change a borrowing state's budget policy, arguably more concrete power over those states than the UN's contested enforcement. The top band needs sustained comparison (both organisations weighed against the same criteria) and a judgement about whose power is greater and in what domain.
2022 VCAA20 marks'Due to globalisation, states are not the central actors of global politics today.' To what extent do you agree?Show worked answer →
A 20 mark essay built around a clear position. Define globalisation (deepening interconnection of economies, communications and politics) and the claim that it has displaced states from the centre.
Argue a thesis. A strong, defensible line is that globalisation has empowered other actors (TNCs, IGOs, NGOs, non-state actors) and constrained states, but states remain central because they alone hold sovereignty, control territory, make binding law and command military force.
Body: weigh the evidence. For the claim, show TNCs such as Apple rivalling state economies, IGOs such as the EU binding members, and NGOs shaping agendas. Against it, show states reasserting control (border closures and economic intervention during COVID-19, sanctions and security policy over Ukraine) and note that other actors still operate within rules set by states.
The marks sit in the judgement: reach a sustained, evidenced position on "to what extent", using contemporary examples from the last 10 years and accurate key terms, as the Section B criteria require.