Global Politics SL/HL

Global Politics SL/HL

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.

The core units of the course together make up a central unifying theme of “people, power and politics”. The emphasis on “people” reflects the fact that the course explores politics not only at a state level but also explores the function and impact of non-state actors, communities, groups and individuals. The concept of “power” is also emphasized as being particularly crucial to understanding the dynamics, tensions and outcomes of global politics. Throughout the course, issues such as conflict, migration or climate change are explored through an explicitly political lens: “politics” provides a uniquely rich context in which to explore the relationship between people and power. Teachers explicitly teach thinking and research skills such as comprehension, text analysis, transfer, and use of primary sources.

The IB DP Global Politics standard level (GP SL) course contains four compulsory core topics (Duration 130 Hours) and an engagement activity (Duration 20 Hours).

The assessment model of GP SL consists of two papers. Paper 1 is a 1.25 hours stimulus-based paper based on a topic from one of the four core units, weighing 30% of the final grade. Paper 2 is a 1.75 hours extended-response paper based on the four core units, weighing 45% of the final grade. The internal assessment is a written report (2000 words maximum) one political issue explored through engagement and research, weighing 25% of the final grade.

The IB DP Global Politics higher level (GP HL) course contains four compulsory core topics (Duration 130 Hours) and an engagement activity (Duration 20 Hours). The HL extension part contains optional topics based global political issues in which two topics has to be taught out of six topics (Duration 90 Hours).

The assessment model of GP HL consists of two papers. Paper 1 is a 1.25 hours stimulus-based paper based on a topic from one of the four core units, weighing 20% of the final grade. Paper 2 is a 2.75 hours extended-response paper based on the four core units, weighing 40% of the final grade. The internal assessment is a written report (2000 words maximum) one political issue explored through engagement and research, weighing 20% of the final grade. The HL extension based assessment consists of two video recorded oral presentations (10 minutes maximum each) of two case studies chosen from two different HL extension topics.