IB Global Politics — Study Hub

IB Global Politics has two examined papers at SL plus an engagement project (internal assessment, 30% at SL). Paper 1 is a source-based exam on the core concepts (30% at SL, 20% at HL). Paper 2 is two thematic essays on human rights, development and sustainability, or peace and conflict (40% at SL, 30% at HL). HL students also sit Paper 3, an exam on the "global political challenges" HL extension (30% at HL), and their engagement project is worth 20%.

SL and HL share the same core and thematic studies and sit the same Paper 1 and Paper 2. HL adds a third exam, Paper 3, on the "global political challenges" extension — an HL-only unit where you analyse an unseen stimulus, recommend a justified course of action, and synthesise across a challenge such as borders, the environment or equality. HL also studies more content across the year (240 teaching hours versus 150). Aimnova covers the full SL course and the HL Paper 3 extension.

The course is built around power, sovereignty, legitimacy and interdependence. Power (how actors get others to do what they otherwise would not) is the master concept; sovereignty, legitimacy and interdependence describe how power is held, justified and shared between states, international organisations, NGOs, companies and individuals. Strong answers use these concepts as analytical tools, not just definitions.

Essays reward specific, contemporary examples — ideally from the last two decades — and the ability to explore more than one perspective. For each thematic study you should hold two or three detailed case studies (for example, Ukraine and Syria for conflict, or the Paris Agreement and global inequality for development) so you can build an evaluative argument whatever the question asks.

Master the command terms — especially "evaluate", "examine", "discuss" and "to what extent" — and finish every essay with a justified judgement, not a summary. Explore diverse perspectives and actually weigh them against each other, support every claim with a precise, recent example, and practise the Paper 1 source skills (comprehension, compare-and-contrast, and using the sources with your own knowledge) until they are automatic. HL students should rehearse the Paper 3 skill of recommending and justifying a course of action.