Exploring the IB Global Politics syllabus gives you a strong understanding of the key concepts, themes, and analytical skills you will develop throughout the course. By examining how power, sovereignty, and political interactions operate across local, national, and global contexts, the syllabus equips you to think critically about contemporary political issues. In this post, we'll break down the core topics, assessment structure, and course expectations to help you prepare confidently for your studies.

You will examine the structure, roles, functions, achievements, and limitations of the United Nations, including:

You will investigate the participation of IGOs and non-state actors in global governance, including regional organizations such as the African Union, ASEAN, European Union, and Mercosur . You may also examine treaties, collective security arrangements, strategic alliances, economic cooperation, and informal cooperation.

Key takeaway – Interdependence focuses on how political actors cooperate, compete, negotiate, and depend on one another within systems of global governance.

Global Politics

At its heart, IB Global Politics is the study of political issues and the ways power operates within social organization. A political issue can involve anything concerning the distribution and exercise of power , from international conflicts and human rights to climate change, migration, economic inequality, social movements, and the decisions made by governments and international organizations. You will therefore investigate politics at different levels, including:

For example, climate change could be studied through the effectiveness of international agreements at the global level, the negotiating positions of developing countries at the regional level, national disaster-prevention policies, the experiences of communities affected by extreme weather, or the ability of migrant workers to support their families after a disaster.

These four key concepts form the conceptual foundation of IB Global Politics:

These concepts are intended to provide a conceptual link throughout the course. They connect the core topics and thematic studies and should be used to analyze political issues rather than simply memorized as definitions. The guide also emphasizes that their meanings are contestable , meaning that different stakeholders and political perspectives may interpret them differently.

Sovereignty concerns a state's independence, control over its territory, and ability to govern itself . You will examine:

You will also explore challenges to state sovereignty, including:

Key takeaway – Sovereignty requires you to consider how much control states actually have over their territory, populations, and political decisions in an increasingly interconnected world.

Legitimacy refers to whether an actor or action is considered acceptable by a population . It provides a basis for governance and other forms of exercising power. You will investigate sources of state and government legitimacy, including:

You will also explore why legitimacy can be challenged through political, economic, and social instability, ineffective governance, threats to citizen well-being, excessive force, violence, oppression, and human rights violations . Importantly, legitimacy is not restricted to governments. The syllabus also asks you to examine the legitimacy of non-state actors , considering their representation, interactions, ability to exert influence, and effectiveness.

Key takeaway – Legitimacy asks whether political actors and their actions are viewed as acceptable, justified, or authoritative, and why that legitimacy can be gained, strengthened, challenged, or lost.

Interdependence describes the mutual reliance between groups, organizations, geographic areas, and states . This can involve:

The course emphasizes that globalization has increased interdependence while also changing relationships of power between political actors.

Key takeaway – Interdependence helps you understand why political decisions made in one place can have consequences elsewhere and why states and other actors increasingly depend on one another.

The core topics provide the overarching framework for studying Global Politics. They are intended to be integrated with the three thematic studies rather than treated as completely separate units. The syllabus does not prescribe one particular order for studying these topics, allowing teachers to organize the course around students' interests, contemporary events, political issues, or case studies. The core topics focus on:

The Framing Global Politics topic introduces the systems, actors, stakeholders, structures, and institutions that shape political issues . You will examine a wide range of political actors, including:

The course also distinguishes between actors and stakeholders . Actors may possess the ability to exercise power , while stakeholders can be affected by political issues even when they do not have the ability or resources to act directly . You will therefore consider not only who makes political decisions but also who is affected by those decisions . The topic also introduces systems, structures, legal frameworks, norms, and institutions . These can regulate interactions between political actors, constrain possible actions, or sometimes create political issues themselves . Institutions can include formal organizations as well as social structures of rules and norms.

Key takeaway – Framing Global Politics teaches you to identify the actors, stakeholders, systems, institutions, rules, and relationships involved in a political issue before analyzing how power operates within it.

This topic explores how states exercise authority and how that authority is challenged . You will examine both internal and external sovereignty , as well as traditional and modern understandings of what it means for a state to be sovereign. Issues you may investigate include:

Key takeaway – Sovereignty requires you to examine the tension between state independence and the growing influence of international organizations, other states, non-state actors, and global interdependence.

The Legitimacy in Global Politics topic explores why governments and other political actors are considered legitimate and what happens when that legitimacy is questioned . You will distinguish between the legitimacy of a state and the legitimacy of a particular government , while also examining their relationship with sovereignty. Possible sources of legitimacy include:

You will also examine legitimacy challenges and the ways non-state actors can gain or lose legitimacy. Legitimacy can be established through formal recognition, self-legitimation strategies, recognition from stakeholders, or attempts by opposing actors to undermine an actor's legitimacy.

Key takeaway – Legitimacy is not permanent. You should analyze how political actors establish authority, why others accept or reject that authority, and how political actions can strengthen or undermine legitimacy.

The Interdependence in Global Politics topic examines how states and other political actors interact through global governance, international law, international organizations, cooperation, competition, and networks . You will explore:

You will distinguish between government and governance and examine the differences between national and international law. You may investigate:

Theoretical Perspectives in Global Politics

The course also introduces theories, models, and analytical frameworks that can help you understand political issues. The guide does not prescribe one specific political theory. Instead, educators are encouraged to introduce diverse approaches, including:

You will consider how theories and models can be used to:

You should also consider the biases, limitations, successes, and failures of theoretical models when applying them to real-world cases.

Key takeaway – Theoretical perspectives give you different ways to interpret political events. The goal is not simply to memorize theories, but to understand how different frameworks explain political behavior and where those frameworks may have limitations.

Global politics core

Power is one of the central concepts in Global Politics. It can be understood as the ability to bring about change, but it can also be viewed as something that exists within relationships between people and groups. You will explore how power operates within social and political systems and how contested relationships between groups influence political outcomes . The course introduces several classifications of power, including:

The syllabus encourages you to use these classifications when analyzing real-world examples rather than simply listing or defining them. You should also consider the strengths, limitations, similarities, and connections between different approaches to power.

Key takeaway – Power is about more than who formally controls a government. You should examine who can influence decisions, what resources they possess, how they exercise power, and how relationships between actors affect political outcomes.

The Power in Global Politics topic develops the power concept in much greater depth. You will investigate different definitions and approaches to power and consider the work of thinkers such as Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault, Antonio Gramsci, Eric Liu, Steven Lukes, John Mearsheimer, Walter Mignolo, Joseph Nye, Hanna Pitkin, and Yaqing Qin, for example. The prescribed classifications include:

You will then apply these classifications to real-world cases. For example, military intervention and economic sanctions can illustrate hard power, while cultural influence and economic aid can illustrate soft power. Alliances and collective civil movements can demonstrate relational power.

Key takeaway – The Power topic is about learning to identify different forms and sources of political influence and applying them critically to real-world situations.

Subnational and local interactions in governments global politics

Organized civil society (including non- governmental organizations (NGOs))

Other individual and collective actors Systems—structures and dynamics Legal frameworks, norms and institutions

Economic, political, adv social and cultural exa power

Traditional and modern the notions of state con

Civil society • political organizations,

International and • and study of … regional rights frameworks, including the UN system, the

Development of world • norms in rights and justice, including “Responsibility to protect” (R2P)

Responses to violations of rights and perceived injustices

Understanding power and global politics

The three Thematic Studies provide the major areas through which you will investigate contemporary global political issues:

The three themes are integrated with the core concepts and topics. For example, sovereignty can have different implications when examining rights and justice compared with development and sustainability, while legitimacy may be understood differently in a conflict situation than in a development context.

Thematic studies

The Rights and Justice thematic study explores how rights, justice, liberty, equality, and human rights are understood and contested in global politics.

You will also encounter different approaches to justice, including:

Other areas include individual freedom and the relationship between equality and equity .

Examples include the ICJ, UNHRC, UNHCR, ICC, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Child Rights International Network .

You will also examine situations where rights have been violated , including human trafficking, forced labour, forced relocation, denial of prisoners' rights, restrictions on freedom of speech, and gender discrimination.

Key takeaway – Rights and Justice asks you to examine what rights people should have, who determines those rights, how they are protected, and why governments and other political actors disagree about justice and equality.

The state and national political governments

IGOs, including ICJ, actors United Nations High

Civil society organizations, including advocacy

Marginalized, vulnerable or most affected groups and individuals

Codification, protection and study of and monitoring

International and regional rights frameworks, including UN system and 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Development of world norms in rights and justice, including R2P

Diverse standards and and justice understandings of rights

Claims on individual and collective rights

Rights and justice

The Development and Sustainability thematic study explores how societies pursue development, address poverty and inequality, and balance economic, political, social, and environmental priorities .

Development can be understood through political, social, institutional, and economic dimensions , while sustainability can include environmental, social, and economic dimensions . The syllabus also emphasizes that poverty can involve a lack of opportunities and resources , while inequality can involve economic, political, and social differences and power asymmetries .

Examples include the World Bank, IMF, Inter-American Development Bank, WTO, and International Committee of the Red Cross , as well as communities affected by extreme poverty and structural inequalities.

You will examine different dimensions and measurements of development and sustainability. The guide identifies measures including:

You will also consider factors influencing development and sustainability:

Key takeaway – Development and Sustainability requires you to look beyond economic growth and consider how political, economic, social, institutional, and environmental factors interact to shape people's quality of life and the sustainability of societies.

Transnational and multinational companies (TNCs and MNCs)

Dimensions and Mul and study of assessment of and development and development and glo sustainability sustainability con

Economic, environmental, political, social and institutional factors

Links between development and sustainability

Globalization and development and development and sustainability sustainability

Alternative views on development and sustainability

Development and sustainability

The Peace and Conflict thematic study examines why conflicts emerge, how violence is justified, how peace can be established, and how political actors attempt to resolve or transform conflicts .

The syllabus also introduces different perspectives on peace, including peace as a balance of power, perspectives from different political traditions and religions, feminist approaches to peace, and alternatives such as pacifism .

Possible interventions and international responses include weapon embargoes, financial freezes, trade limitations, NATO involvement, UN peace enforcement, and election observers .

The guide also identifies analytical tools such as Galtung's conflict triangles, positions-interests-needs (PIN), and conflict cycles . Peace processes can include negotiations, treaties, mediation, arbitration, ceasefires, truces, military victories, imposed settlements, truth and reconciliation commissions, courts, forgiveness, and empathy .

Key takeaway – Peace and Conflict is about understanding why conflicts occur, how violence and resistance are justified, how different actors respond to conflict, and whether particular approaches can create lasting peace.

Peace, including positive • meanings and negative

Violence, including direct, structural and cultural

Third parties, including mediation processes, negotiation processes and interventions

Marginalized, vulnerable and most affected groups and individuals, including non- combatants

Types of conflict: inte intra-, non- and extra- state conflicts

Peacemaking, including negotiations and treati

Peacebuilding, includin reconciliation processe and justice institution

Justifications of viole and conflict in conflict, including cultural, legal and religious justification

Legitimacy of non- violent and violent protests

learn about the local manifestations of a glob

engage with primary and secondary sources

explore the dynamics and consequences of decis

Planning and undertaking engagement activities

the engagement allows students to experience the participatory way

the chosen political issue affects a community or stake and experiences, e.g. the beach clean-up is student’s own locality

the engagement involves contact with others who a political issue.

Attenda impact the representation of women in intervi

Prepara strategies employed by NGOs in of wome

Intervi compared with the legitimacy and work effectiveness of an outside military intervention?

Three-w on the local and national development country

Partici of international law when applied to interna

Observa for war crimes and crimes against

Investi influence where the products we need from a in daily life come from and how they sourced

compare the results of the student’s campaign wit

read up on what political factors might explain t society in question

study the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of citi collective “goods” like clean beaches.

Citations (which, if used, must be in the body of

References (which, if used, must be in the footno

With the teacher’s support, students must choose

The teacher should also guide students regarding in preparation for the engagement activities and

Students and teachers must exercise judgement on from one location to another.

Any data collected must be kept in a confidential other person.

Any activity that involves deception, involuntary inappropriate use of information and communicatio be avoided.

Students must avoid conducting research with any independently.

Any activity that creates anxiety, stress, pain o

Using family members or relatives as a source in should choose to do so, this must be declared.

Teachers and students should exercise sensitivity

Students must not falsify or invent data.

A student participating in a Model United Nations element—such as discussing various political disc engagement activities

The student could then identify other elements of school delegation—for CAS.

as part of their global politics engagement proje empowering youth, and canvassing youth support fo

for CAS, document their participation in actual a

Peace and conflict

HL extension

What connections can be established between the global political challenge(s) and the core topics?

What connections can be established between the global political challenge(s) and the thematic studies?

To what extent are the global political challenges interconnected? What are some of the links in how they are studied and/or addressed?

How are the global political challenges perceived and addressed in different contexts?

What are some of the frameworks, systems, organizations and mechanisms put in place for addressing global political challenges?

How can looking at specific cases from different topic areas change the way global political challenges are perceived or addressed?

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IB Global Politics Syllabus + Topics