IB Global Politics Revision Guide
Everything you need to revise for IB Global Politics — the Paper 1 core concepts and the Paper 2 thematic studies broken down, a revision timetable, exam tips for source analysis and evaluative essays, and AI-powered study tools.
IB Global Politics Topics to Revise
Paper 1 — The core
Power, sovereignty, legitimacy and interdependence — the four key concepts, plus actors, systems and theories, tested through source analysis on contemporary global issues.
Paper 2 — Human rights & justice
Contested meanings of rights and justice, the actors that protect and violate them, and debates over universality, enforcement and sovereignty.
Paper 2 — Development & sustainability, Peace & conflict
Development measures and pathways, sustainability and the SDGs; and the nature, causes and resolution of conflict — from peacekeeping to peacebuilding.
Paper 3 — Global political challenges (HL)
The HL-only extension — borders, environment and equality — analysing an unseen stimulus, recommending a justified course of action, and synthesising across a challenge.
Global Politics Revision Timetable (10 Weeks)
Top Global Politics Revision Tips
- Use the four key concepts — power, sovereignty, legitimacy and interdependence — as analytical tools in every answer, not just definitions.
- Answer the command term — "evaluate", "examine", "discuss" and "to what extent" each demand a balanced argument and a clear, justified judgement.
- Explore diverse perspectives AND weigh them — the top-band discriminator is evaluation, not just listing viewpoints.
- Build a case-study bank — two or three detailed, contemporary examples (ideally from the last two decades) per thematic study.
- On Paper 1, always use the sources with your own knowledge on the final question — source evidence plus wider context earns the top band.
- HL: rehearse the Paper 3 skill of recommending a justified course of action and synthesising across a challenge, not just describing it.