IB Global Politics Contested Meanings of Development and Sustainability Key Definitions

Absolute poverty refers to a condition where people do not have enough resources to secure the basic essentials for survival, including food, safe water, shelter, and healthcare. It is measured against a fixed threshold such as the World Bank’s $3.00 per day standard.

Climate justice is the framing of climate change as a rights and equity issue, not merely an environmental one: the communities least responsible for historical greenhouse gas emissions are disproportionately exposed to its worst impacts, raising questions of intergenerational and international fairness.

Development refers to the process of improving the quality of life and well-being of people, often measured through economic growth, education, health, equality, and access to basic needs.

Development refers to the process of improving the economic, social, and political well-being of people.

Refers to countries with lower levels of economic and industrial development, typically found south of more developed nations.

Inequality refers to the uneven distribution of resources, opportunities, and power among individuals, groups, or nations.

Multidimensional poverty refers to poverty that goes beyond just income levels, capturing multiple deprivations people face in their daily lives. It includes limited access to education, healthcare, clean water and sanitation, housing, and basic living standards.

Power asymmetry refers to a situation where power, resources, or influence are distributed unequally between actors, giving one side a significant advantage over the other. This imbalance can shape relationships, negotiations, and conflicts. For example, developed countries dominating trade rules over developing countries, employers holding more bargaining power than workers, or a majority group controlling political institutions over minorities are all cases of power asymmetry.

The hypothesis that the terms of trade for primary commodity exporters deteriorate over the long run relative to exporters of manufactured goods, concentrating growth in industrialised economies.

Relative poverty describes a situation where people possess fewer resources than the average in their society, which restricts their ability to take part fully in normal social and economic activities. It highlights inequality within a specific context rather than survival itself.

Social justice is the fair distribution of opportunities, resources, and recognition across a society, with special attention to disadvantaged and marginalised groups.

Strong sustainability holds that certain forms of natural capital are critical and cannot be substituted by anything else. Their loss makes the whole system unsustainable, no matter how much else is gained.

A set of economic policy conditions attached to IMF or World Bank loans, typically requiring liberalisation, privatisation, and austerity in exchange for access to credit.

Sustainability refers to the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Sustainability refers to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Brundtland Commission defines it as: "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Other definitions emphasize the need to balance economic growth, social well-being, and environmental protection.

Weak sustainability holds that natural capital can be substituted by human-made capital. So long as total capital is maintained or grows, the loss of any single natural resource is acceptable.