IB DP- Global Politics

by Nandana Surendran

The global politics course explores fundamental political concepts such as power, equality, sustainability, and peace in a range of contexts and at a variety of levels. It allows students to develop an understanding of the local, national, international and global dimensions of political activity, as well as allowing them the opportunity to explore political issues affecting their own lives.

Global politics draws on a variety of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. It helps students to understand abstract political concepts by grounding them in real world examples and case studies, and also invites comparison between such examples and case studies to ensure a transnational perspective.

Developing international mindedness and an awareness of multiple perspectives is at the heart of this course. It encourages dialogue and debate, nurturing the capacity to interpret competing and contestable claims.

The DP global politics course explores fundamental political concepts such as power, equality, sustainability and peace in a range of contexts. It allows students to develop an understanding of the local, national, international and global dimensions of political activity and processes, as well as to explore political issues affecting their own lives. The course helps students to understand abstract political concepts by grounding them in real-world examples and case studies. It also invites comparison between such examples and case studies to ensure a wider and transnational perspective. Teachers explicitly teach thinking and research skills such as comprehension, text analysis, transfer, and use of primary sources. The study of global politics enables students to critically engage with different and
new perspectives and approaches to politics in order to comprehend the challenges of the changing world and become aware of their role in it as active global citizens

All standard level and higher-level students complete a common core under the central unifying theme of "people, power and politics". This consists of four core units:

  1. Power, sovereignty and international relations
  2. Human rights
  3. Development
  4. Peace and conflicts

All standard level and higher-level students also undertake an engagement activity through which they study a political issue of interest experientially. Students complement their experiential learning with more theoretical perspectives from research and submit a written report summarising their investigation.

Higher-level students also examine two contemporary global political challenges, through a case studies approach.

Aims of the Course

The aims of the global politics course are to enable students to:
• Understand key political concepts and contemporary political issues in a range of contexts
• Develop an understanding of the local, national, international and global dimensions of political activity
• Understand, appreciate and critically engage with a variety of perspectives and approaches in global politics
• Appreciate the complex and interconnected nature of many political issues, and develop the capacity to interpret competing and contestable claims regarding those issues.

Curriculum Model Overview

Core units: People, power and politics
Four compulsory units:

  1. Power, sovereignty and international relations
  2. Human rights
  3. Development
  4. Peace and conflict
    Recommended teaching hours- 130/SL, 130/HL

Engagement activity
An engagement on a political issue of personal interest, complemented with research.
Recommended teaching hours- 20/SL, 20/HL

HL extension: Global political challenges
Political issues in two of the following six global political challenges are researched and presented through a case study approach.

  1. Environment
  2. Poverty
  3. Health
  4. Identity
  5. Borders
    6.Security
    Recommended teaching hours- 90/HL

Assessment Model
There are four assessment objectives for the DP global politics course according to the subject brief. Having followed the course at higher level (HL), students will be expected to have learnt the following objectives.

Assessment objective 1: Knowledge and understanding
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key political concepts and contemporary issues in global politics.
• Demonstrate understanding of relevant source material.
• Demonstrate understanding of a political issue in a particular experiential situation.
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding of political issues in two detailed case studies.

Assessment objective 2: Application and analysis
• Apply knowledge of key political concepts to analyse contemporary political issues in a variety of contexts.
• Identify and analyse relevant material and supporting examples.
• Use political concepts and examples to formulate, present and sustain an argument.
• Apply knowledge of global politics to inform and analyse experiential learning about a political issue.
• Apply knowledge of global politics to analyse political issues in two case studies.

Assessment objective 3: Synthesis and evaluation
• Compare, contrast, synthesize and evaluate evidence from sources and background knowledge.
• Compare, contrast, synthesize and evaluate a variety of perspectives and approaches to global politics, and evaluate political beliefs, biases and prejudices, and their origin.
• Synthesize and evaluate results of experiential learning and more theoretical perspectives on a political issue.
• Demonstrate synthesis and evaluation of different approaches to, and interpretations of, political issues in two case studies.

Assessment objective 4: Use and application of appropriate skills
• Produce well-structured written material that uses appropriate terminology.
• Organize material into a clear, logical, coherent and relevant response.
• Demonstrate evidence of research skills, organization and referencing.
• Present ideas orally with clarity.

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