Group 3 - Global Politics HL and SL
Why Study Global Politics?
Global politics is a course for students who want to understand more about how the world they live in works, what makes it change, or what prevents it from changing. The course draws on a variety of disciplinary traditions in the study of politics and international relations, and more broadly in the social sciences and humanities. Students build their knowledge and understanding by critically engaging with contemporary political issues and challenges that interest them.
The IB Global Politics course
The scope of global politics extends over a wide range of topics and areas of study, many of which will find links with other subjects in the individuals and societies group. Students develop their understanding of political concepts and their knowledge of specific content by exploring and researching real-world case studies and examples.
Developing an understanding of power is critical for analysing how political systems work and how they change. Global politics students encounter the complexity and nuances of power from the beginning of the course. They build their understanding of how power works across multiple and interconnected dimensions, affecting the everyday lives of people around the world.
Entry requirements
We welcome any student with an interest in the subject. However we recommend Grade 5 in IGCSE English would be recommended for SL. Students interested in HL should have a minimum grade 6 in a humanities subject.
Structure of the Course
- The course is available at higher level (HL) and standard level (SL).
- The minimum prescribed number of hours is 240 for HL and 150 for SL.
- Students are assessed both internally and externally.
- External assessment- 2 papers for SL, 3 papers for HL
- Internal assessment - Engagement project
Part one: Core - SL and HL
- Global politics core topics-Understanding power and global politics
- Thematic studies
- Rights and justice
- Development and sustainability
- Peace and conflict
HL extension: Global political challenges
- Extended inquiries focused on global political challenges.
- Students conduct independent research on case studies that connect to the following HL topic areas:
- Borders
- Environment
- Equality
- Health
- Identity
- Poverty
- Security
- Technology
Internal Assessment Engagement Project
- A project focused on the analysis of power and agency at a local or community level, integrating research and experiential learning.
- HL students conduct additional research to inform their formulation of a recommendation to address the identified political issue.
Standard Level (SL)
|
Content |
% of total grade |
|
|
Paper 1 Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes Maximum mark: 25 |
This is a source-based paper focused on analysis skills and whose content is the global politics core topics, and it is composed of four sources and four structured questions. The sources may be text, images, diagrams and infographics. Candidates must answer all questions, referring to the sources and their own knowledge. |
Weighting: 30% |
|
Paper 2 Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes Maximum mark: 30 |
The paper has two sections, and candidates answer one question from each. Section A includes questions from each of the thematic studies. Section B includes integrating questions, which allows and requires candidates to make connections across the three thematic studies as well as the core topics. The ability to synthesise elements from the course prescribed content, key concepts and diverse contexts in an integrated way is particularly important in this paper. Even where the key concepts are not explicitly mentioned in a question, candidates should demonstrate a conceptual understanding of global politics. In their responses, candidates are invited to draw on the complexities of any relevant political concepts, depending on the arguments they put forward |
Weighting: 40% |
|
Internal assessment |
Engagement project Duration: 25 hours Maximum mark: 24 Weighting: 30% For their engagement project, candidates engage with a political issue of their choice at a local or community level through research and experiential learning. As the final deliverable, candidates are required to write a report of maximum 2,000 words. |
30% |
Higher Level (HL)
|
Content |
% of total grade |
|
|
Paper 1 Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes |
This is a source-based paper focused on analysis skills and whose content is the global politics core topics, and it is composed of four sources and four structured questions. The sources may be text, images, diagrams and infographics. Candidates must answer all questions, referring to the sources and their own knowledge. |
20% |
|
Paper 2: Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes |
The paper has two sections, and candidates answer one question from each. Section A includes questions from each of the thematic studies. Section B includes integrating questions, which allows and requires candidates to make connections across the three thematic studies as well as the core topics. The ability to synthesise elements from the course prescribed content, key concepts and diverse contexts in an integrated way is particularly important in this paper. Even where the key concepts are not explicitly mentioned in a question, candidates should demonstrate a conceptual understanding of global politics. In their responses, candidates are invited to draw on the complexities of any relevant political concepts, depending on the arguments they put forward. |
30% |
|
Paper 3: 1 hour 30 minutes |
Paper 3 is a stimulus-based paper and is focused on the HL extension global political challenges. Knowledge of course concepts, content and contexts, as well as additional research of multiple case studies, is required to address the questions properly. The stimulus may include text, data, diagrams and infographics. In a source-based paper, candidates must identify, analyse or explain information or claims from the source. However, the main purpose of the stimulus in paper 3 is to focus candidates on a particular topic or item for analysis or promote discussion. The relevant evidence for the responses will mostly draw from the case studies candidates have researched. |
30% |
|
Internal assessment 35 hours |
Engagement project For their engagement project, candidates engage with a political issue of their choice at a local or community level through research and experiential learning. In common with the SL engagement project, candidates are required to write a report of maximum 2,000 words as the final deliverable. Please refer to the section 'Internal Assessment Details - SL" for further details. As an extension, HL candidates carry out further research to formulate and present a separate recommendation, additional to the report, to address the political issue. The recommendation must be made in response to the specific political issue identified in the report. The recommendation must also be presented as a separate section, in addition to the 2,000 words (maximum) of the report using a total of 400 words or less. |
20% |