GP essay question guide
Should national interests come before global cooperation?
National interest and cooperation are not always opposites. A strong answer tests bargaining power, dependence, shared risks, domestic legitimacy, and the distribution of gains.
Unpack this question first: 'Before' asks about priority when the two clash, not whether both matter. Define 'national interests' as more than money: security, jobs and values. Lesson: Reading an essay question: terms and scope
Use this question in writing - Sign in, check the question, then write your response.
Topics: Politics and Governance, Economics, Environment and Climate
Three argument directions
Cooperate for mutual gain
Regional rules and infrastructure can expand markets and solve problems that cross borders.
Qualification: Aggregate gains can hide unequal dependence and domestic losses.
Protect essential capacity
States may need safeguards for security, resilience, workers, or environmental standards.
Qualification: Protection can become permanent rent-seeking and trigger retaliation.
Use accountable compromise
Cooperation is more durable when national institutions explain trade-offs and share gains fairly.
Qualification: Transparency does not remove power differences between states.
A model paragraph
Our own paragraph for this question. Copy its moves, not its words.
National interests should come first when a country's security or essential supplies are at stake, but most of the time cooperation is how a small country protects its interests. Singapore imports more than 90 percent of its food and has few natural resources, so open trade and stable rules matter more to it than to a large country. When it signs a trade agreement, it is not giving up its interest; it is securing it. The hard cases come when the two clash. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some governments restricted exports of masks and vaccines to protect their own people first. Voters understood, but poorer countries were left waiting. Putting the nation first in an emergency is defensible. Making it a habit invites others to do the same, and a small country loses most in that world.
How it is built
- Stand: national interest first only in emergencies.
- Reason and case: Singapore's dependence on trade; pandemic export limits.
- Judgement: cooperation usually serves the national interest, especially for small states.
Six examples to compare
Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone
Singapore and Malaysia deepened regional economic cooperation through a shared investment and cross-border business zone.
Possible essay use
regional cooperation can give a small, land-scarce country room to grow by linking its strengths with a neighbour's land and labour
Limitation
An agreement and its goals are not proof of realised investment, equal gains, or smooth implementation; outcomes should be checked as the zone develops.
Case or source date: 2025-01-07
Source: Ministry of Trade and Industry
ASEAN Concludes Digital Economy Agreement Negotiations
ASEAN Member States concluded negotiations on the Digital Economy Framework Agreement in May 2026.
Possible essay use
ASEAN Member States concluded negotiations on the Digital Economy Framework Agreement in May 2026.
Limitation
Concluded negotiations do not show ratification, implementation, or equally distributed gains among firms and countries.
Case or source date: 2026-05-29
Source: Ministry of Trade and Industry
EU Carbon Border Adjustment Enters Its Definitive Phase
The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism moved into its definitive regime in 2026 for covered carbon-intensive imports.
Possible essay use
The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism moved into its definitive regime in 2026 for covered carbon-intensive imports.
Limitation
The mechanism may reduce carbon leakage but creates reporting costs and trade tensions, especially for developing exporters.
Case or source date: 2026-01-01
Source: European Commission
Nations First or World Together?
The COVID-19 pandemic showed tension between national self-interest (vaccine hoarding) and global cooperation (COVAX). This highlights choices leaders make.
Possible essay use
In February 2021 the UN Secretary-General said 10 countries had administered 75% of all COVID-19 vaccinations.
Limitation
The 75% figure describes the early rollout in February 2021; later in the pandemic supply was less of a barrier than delivery and hesitancy in some poorer countries.
Case or source date: 2021-02-17
Source: Al Jazeera
Trade Wars: Protectionism vs. Free Trade
Governments face a choice: protect local industries with trade barriers or embrace global free trade. This decision impacts jobs, prices, and international ties.
Possible essay use
From July 2018 the US imposed Section 301 tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods, and China retaliated on US goods such as soybeans.
Limitation
Tariff rates changed many times in 2025 and 2026; check the current rates before citing numbers, and note that tariffs under other laws were not affected by the 2026 ruling.
Case or source date: 2018-07-06
Source: ArentFox Schiff
BRI: Global Connector or Power Play?
China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) sparks debate: Is it boosting global development or a play for geopolitical dominance and creating debt traps for developing nations?
Possible essay use
A Griffith Asia Institute tracker estimates cumulative BRI engagement at about US$1.4 trillion by the end of 2025.
Limitation
BRI totals depend on what each tracker counts, and China publishes no official list of projects, so treat the trillion-dollar figure as an estimate.
Case or source date: 2013-09-07
Source: Griffith University