Global politics is unique in the IB program for how many approaches to analysis it uses. But each of these approaches are equally relevant and useful, even though they are different. In general you'll also ways be making insight loops (linking key words and course terms) to build insights, but you can use a variety of tools to build them.

Use this list of the 7 areas of the course to explore, to really dig into how things work in the world of Global Politics and why. Draw on all 7 areas if you can to build insightful, meaningful explanations and earn marks on your exam questions and in your assignments.

The 7 Areas of IB Global Politics

The following is a list of the ways we make sense of things in Global Politics

Contexts

• Use examples, cases and case studies to explain what's going on. 
• Sometimes it's useful to use two contrasting cases. Explain the similarities and then explain some of the differences. Draw on your insights from comparing and contrasting to make sense of w...

 In the IB Global Politics course we talk about “political issues”. GP students need to understand what political issues are, but it’s not a simple thing.

You need to identify one for your Engagement Activity, for example. And HL students need to find one in their case studies to develop their oral presentations. The course guide definition is confusing though, so I’m going to clarify it for you.

The IB Definition

The Global Politics course guide defines a political issue as:

“Any question that deals with how power is distributed and how it operates within social organization, and how people think about, and engage in, their communities and the wider world on matters that affect their lives.”

That’s a hard definition to operationalise. One: it’s so long. Two: When you study politics, you see power dynamics everywhere. Almost anything can be explained as a power conflict. But let’s break down this definition before we simply it.

The IB says that a political issue is:

1. A questi...

Choosing your EE Research Question in Global Politics can be particularly challenging. This article will tell you how.

The GP guide says that you are to “deeply analyze an important, contemporary global political issue.” If you aren’t sure what is considered a political issue in Global Politics, this page makes it really simple to understand what a political issue is (and what to do with one).

The 3 Tests of a Good Global Politics EE Research Question

Test 1: Is it Contemporary?

One rule you need to remember for Global Politics is that your issue needs to be contemporary means it is something that happens during your lifetime (so during the past 18 years). It also can’t be the same political issue that you’ve used for another assessment component (i.e. the EA or an extension presentation). .

Test 2: Can you be more specific?

Keep focused on a tightly defined question. Not broad. The most common feedback I give to my students (and those I help online) is that you want to tighten...

Here is a step-by-step structure you can follow to write your IB Extended Essay in Global Politics. This post is up-to-date and it includes a lot of helpful links.

Before we get started

First, here are a few key points and other helpful links you’ll want to use:

• Be careful about choosing your research question. You’ve got a lot of options, but it shouldn’t be a small GPC-based issue, like you would use for your HL Extension Presentation (i.e. Catalonian Independence as a Border Issue .) Here is a lot more advice about choosing a perfect Global Politics EE Research Question.
• Cite all of your sources --preferably using MLA. I expect to see at least 5 cited sources on an average page. Make sure you are really sure about when and how to cite. Here’s a good guide from Purdue to help you. Easybib works too.  
• The EE should be in 12-point, preferably Arial or Times New Roman. And it should be double spaced, with numbered pages.
• Anything over the 4000 word limit won’t be read by your...

Art Quotes

"Art is what you can get away with." (Andy Warhol)

• "Art is meant to disturb, science reassures." (Georges Braque)
• "The only end of writing is to enable the readers better enjoy life or better to endure it." (Samuel Johnson)
• 'Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of art." (Oscar Wilde)
• "We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth." (Pablo Picasso)
• "Without music, life would be a mistake." (Friedrich Nietzsche)
• "By words one transmits thoughts to another; by means of art, one transmits feelings." (Leo Tolstoy)

Definitions of Art

• "Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced." (Leo Tolstoy)
• "Art
...

Here are the TOK Essay prescribed titles (for the May 2019 session). You'll have 1600 words to answer your title.

I've recently given a free webinar to go through the titles and give you a sense of how to handle them (i.e.things to watch out for with each title).

We had about 300 people attending at the same time, from around the world. (You're welcome to watch a recording of it you like. It's online here (Members). If you're not yet a member, you can still watch it if you sign up for TOK Mastery)

The TOK Prescribed Titles

1. “The quality of knowledge is best measured by how many people accept it.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.

2. “The production of knowledge is always a collaborative task and never solely a product of the individual.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.

3. Do good explanations have to be true?

4. “Disinterestedness is essential in the pursuit of knowledge.” Discuss this claim with reference to two area...

HL Global Politics students are required to do two oral presentations are (in total) worth 20% of your final mark in the course.  (10% for ET1 and 10% for ET2)

That’s a lot.

And, as you may have noticed, there are quite a lot of boxes you’re trying to tick in this time. This article will help you go step-by-step as you prepare your extension presentation and help you to cover all of your bases, within the tight (10 minute) time limit.

You aren’t required to follow this structure, but it works pretty well.  

How to think about the extension task 

Think of your entire presentation as an explanation of how your particular (small) case is an example of the Global Political Challenge (GPC) you’ve chosen to explore (more on these below).

 For example, if you’ve chosen to look at the GPC “Borders” and your chosen political issue is The Catalan Referendum of 2017, your presentation will use Global Politics ideas (concepts, key terms, perspectives and related cases) to show us how inter...

Here is a list of all of the key words you should know for each of the Section 5 chapters. Learning all the key words is a really important part of the business course, so take time to make sure you can quickly, accurately define each of these.

Written by Tim Woods

Tim’s passion for supporting students led to him creating IBMastery in 2009. Since then he’s helped many thousands of IB students and teachers around the world. Tim is now available for personal tutoring every day, to help you get your best possible marks in IB. Click here to work with him.

Here is a list of all of the key words you should know for each of the Section 4 chapters. Learning all the key words is a really important part of the business course, so take time to make sure you can quickly, accurately define each of these.

Written by Tim Woods

Tim’s passion for supporting students led to him creating IBMastery in 2009. Since then he’s helped many thousands of IB students and teachers around the world. Tim is now available for personal tutoring every day, to help you get your best possible marks in IB. Click here to work with him.

Here is a step-by-step structure you can follow if you’re doing your Extended Essay in Business Management.

Before we get started  

Here are a few key points and other helpful links you’ll want to use:

• Be careful about choosing your research question. Here is a lot more advice about choosing a perfect EE RQ, see The Research Triangle
• Cite all of your sources --preferably using MLA. I expect to see at least 5 cited sources on an average page. 
• The E.E. should be in 12-point, preferably Arial or Times New Roman. And it should be double spaced, with numbered pages.
• Anything over the 4000 word limit won’t be read by your marker. (I’ve noted below how many words I recommend for each section and which sections don’t count in the word count.)
• About 18% of your EE marks now come from your reflections, so those are also important. Here’s how to do them: How to Write IB EE Reflections so be careful with those too.
• And finally, when you’ve almost finished your first draft and you...