IB Global Politics SL study guide
IB Global Politics SL · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
IB Global Politics SL is the Standard Level course in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme's Individuals and Societies group. It suits students who want to analyse how power, institutions, identity and economics shape political decisions across borders, and who are willing to argue positions rather than memorise a fixed body of content. The syllabus is organised around four core concepts - power, sovereignty, legitimacy and interdependence - applied through units on political systems and international relations, human rights, development, and peace and conflict. Assessment combines external written examinations, including source-based questions and extended-response essays, with an internal assessment: an engagement project in which you research a real political issue and connect it to a local or global political action. The IB Global Politics SL study guide has 5 sections and about 1,615 words.
01Power, Sovereignty and International Relations
Domain 1 examines how power is exercised, legitimised and constrained in a system of sovereign states. Extended-response questions here reward precise definitions, named evidence and a judgement tested against explicit criteria, not a description of institutions.
343 words, about 2 min02Human Rights
Domain 2 tests whether you can explain the origins and architecture of human rights and evaluate how well they are protected. The recurring tension is between universal entitlement and state sovereignty.
344 words, about 2 min03Development
Domain 3 asks you to evaluate competing meanings of development and the policies justified in its name. Strong answers separate growth, a means, from wellbeing, the end, and measure both.
304 words, about 2 min04Peace and Conflict
Domain 4 tests analysis of why conflicts begin, how they are fought and what makes peace durable. The key move is separating peace from the mere absence of fighting.
308 words, about 2 min05Political Engagement and Active Citizenship (Internal Assessment)
Domain 5 is the internal assessment: the political engagement activity and its written report. It rewards genuine political participation, precise framing of an issue, and analysis that links your local experience to global concepts.
316 words, about 2 min