IBDP Global Politics Core Study Guide Notes
IBDP Global Politics
Core Units
Power, sovereignty and international relations
Human rights
Development
Peace and Conflict
Foundational Unit: Power, Sovereignty and International Relations
Key concepts: power, sovereignty, legitimacy, and interdependence.
Case Study: The Russian War Against Ukraine (2014-Current)
Case Study: The US War in (and Departure from) Afghanistan
Case Study: Conflict in the South China Sea
Case Study: China: Hong Kong Protesters & the Uyghurs in Xinjiang
Case Study: Iran Nuclear Deal: JCPOA (2015 - Current)
Case Study: Your Choice A (Kashmir conflict)
Contested Definitions of Power
Power: The ability to effect change; an aspect of relations among people functioning within a social organization.
Conflicting types and theories of power exist.
Power means different things to different people.
State vs. Nation
State: An independent, sovereign government exercising control over a spatially defined area with internationally recognized borders.
Nation: A group of individuals visualizing themselves as a cohesive entity due to shared cultural or historical factors.
Nations are “imagined communities” held together by beliefs of unity (religion, ethnicity, language, culture).
Nations establish insider vs. outsider dynamics.
Nations can spill over into multiple states.
Not every nation has a state (e.g., Kurds, Roma, Palestine).
Some states contain all or parts of multiple nations.
Political Theories and Theoretical Foundations
Realism: Focuses on conflict and competitiveness of states.
States worry about their power relative to other states.
Classical Realism (Hans Morgenthau): Human nature seeks power; leaders desire to dominate rivals.
Structural Realism (John Mearsheimer): States pursue power for survival due to the nature of international relations.
States are trapped and must compete for power to ensure their survival.
Difference: Morgenthau sees power as the ultimate goal; Mearsheimer sees survival as the ultimate goal, with power as a means.
Structural Realism
State's power derives from:
Material capabilities (military and nuclear capabilities).
Latent power (GDP, population size).
Five assumptions:
Global system is anarchic (no controlling rules or central authority).
Every state has some offensive military capability (can cause harm).
States do not know the objectives of others.
Status-quo states: Content with the balance of power.
Revisionist states: Want to change the balance of power.
Objectives cannot be empirically determined easily.
States primarily want to survive.
States are rational actors (develop sound survival strategies).
Two categories within structural realism:
Offensive Structural Realism (John Mearsheimer): States should seek as much power as possible and aim for hegemony.
Hegemony: Leadership or dominance, especially by one state over others.
Defensive Structural Realism (Kenneth Waltz): Maximizing power is not smart; the international system will act against overly powerful states.
Attaining hegemony is not a good idea.
Liberalism: Cooperative view of the world. A host of actors influence outcomes in global politics and share a primary concern for justice, liberty and equality.
Interdependence: Mutual reliance between groups, organizations, geographic areas, and/or states for access to resources that sustain living arrangements.
Often economic (trade), security (defense arrangements), and sustainability (environmental treaties).
Globalization has increased interdependence.
Complex Interdependence: Recognizes that states are not the sole crucial actors in international relations.
Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) like the UN and EU.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Transnational corporations like Amazon and Google.
Capitalism: Ideology of production, exchange, distribution, and consumption based on profit generation.
Neoliberalism: Derivation of capitalism advocating minimum political interference in the market mechanism.
Critical Theories: Disagree with major aspects of other theoretical foundations or the current world order.
Examples: Communitarianism, constructivism, feminism, Marxism, post-colonialism, and environmentalism.
Types of Power
Soft Power: Uses positive attraction and persuasion to achieve foreign policy objectives.
Builds networks, communicates compelling narratives, establishes international rules, and draws on natural attractiveness.
Hard Power: Deployed through coercion: force, threat of force, economic sanctions, or inducements of payment.
Smart Power: Combination of soft and hard power in pragmatic ways to advance international interests.
Associated with America’s foreign policy.
Combines military and economic might with cultural and ideological appeal.
Unilateralism: States act without considering the interests or support of other states.
Multilateralism: Acting cooperatively with other states.
Sovereignty
Nation-state: A territorially bound sovereign state ruled in the name of a community of citizens identifying as a nation.
Stateless nation: An ethnic group or nation without its own state, not the majority in any nation-state (e.g., Kurdistan, Palestine, Catalonia).
Sovereignty: A state’s independence, control over territory, and ability to govern itself.
Use of sovereign power is central to many global political issues.
Some argue globalization erodes sovereign power; others argue states retain significant power in their national interest.
Legitimacy
Legitimacy: An actor or action considered acceptable, providing a basis for governance and exercising power.
Accepted source of legitimacy: Democracy or constitutionalism, where the governed choose their leaders.
Individual state actions can be considered more or less legitimate.
Other actors in global politics can also be evaluated for legitimacy.
Human Rights Unit
Case Studies
Cultural Relativism & Universalism: Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia and FGM in Egypt
History of Human Rights
Key documents:
Cyrus Cylinder: An ancient clay cylinder inscribed with a declaration by Cyrus the Great of Persia in the 6th century BC. It is considered the first human rights declaration, as it proclaims religious and cultural freedom for all people in his empire.
Magna Carta: A charter of rights agreed to by King John of England in 1215. It established the principle that everyone, including the king, was subject to the law. It protected certain basic rights, such as the right to a fair trial and protection from arbitrary imprisonment.
Petition of Right: A major English constitutional document that sets out specific liberties of the subject that the king is prohibited from infringing. Passed by the English Parliament in 1628, it contains restrictions on non-Parliamentary taxation, forced billeting of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, and the use of martial law.
US Declaration of Independence: A statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as independent from Great Britain. It proclaims that all men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights, including the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen: A fundamental document of the French Revolution, adopted in 1789, that defines the individual and collective rights of all men. It asserts the rights to liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.
First Geneva Convention: An international agreement adopted in 1864 that established rules for the treatment of wounded and sick soldiers on the battlefield. It laid the foundation for international humanitarian law.
Interstate and intrastate war:
Difference between intrastate (within the state) and interstate wars (b/w the state):
Intrastate war refers to continued political conflict between armed groups that represent a state,
and one or more non-state groups. This kind of violence usually is restricted within the borders
of one state, but usually has notable international consequences and can cause conflict in
neighbouring states. Interstate war is a war between two or more states wherein both are part of
the international political environment). Both the conflicting states utilise their own national
forces.
Human rights: Basic claims and entitlements one should exercise by virtue of being human.
Essential for a life of dignity, inalienable, and universal.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the UN in 1948 is the beginning of the formal discussion of human rights around the world.
Universalism vs. Relativism
UDHR based on Universalism: A universal human nature transcends traditional boundaries of identity, and universal values are possible.
Criticisms of the UDHR are based on Relativism: Values are culturally and individually determined, making global agreements difficult.
The UDHR developed mainly by Western countries.
Non-Western nations abstained from voting for the UDHR (Byelorussian SSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian SSR, Union of South Africa, USSR, and Yugoslavia).
Key Concepts in Human Rights
Justice: Closely associated with fairness and individuals getting what they deserve. Often approached through the idea of rights.
Liberty: Freedom and autonomy.
Negative liberty: Freedom from external coercion.
Positive liberty: Autonomy to carry out one's own rational will.
Equality: All people or groups have the same intrinsic value; closely linked to justice and fairness.
Multilateralism and Human Rights
An international system has emerged to protect and promote human rights worldwide.
The UDHR, though not legally binding, is used as diplomatic and moral pressure.
The UDHR has questioned the exclusive jurisdiction of states to govern its citizens as per their desires.
In 1966, the international covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights were adopted by the UN.
Established the basis for modern international human rights law.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights aims to ensure global esteem for human rights.
Spotlights human rights violations and persuades governments to improve their records.
The Human Rights Council examines human rights violations but can only make recommendations.
Has received criticism for biases and inconsistencies.
Offers membership to states with a shady history of human rights.
Role of NGOs in Protecting Human Rights
NGOs now have influence over global human rights policy and diplomacy.
Civil society: A public political space that is neither the market nor the state.
Transnational NGOs protect human rights.
Amnesty International: Founded in 1961, has global influence with members in over 150 states.
Human Rights Watch: A New York-based research and advocacy group that utilizes ‘name and shame’ tactics.
The number of members an organization has in a particular country can also influence the country’s overall political outlook toward the issue the organization works on.
NGOs often face problems of political and financial accountability.
Do not have the considerable power of states.
Overreliance on public opinion can be detrimental
Vital in raising awareness about global human rights standards and forcing individuals to take action.
Claims on Human Rights
Indigenous peoples:
No universally accepted definition for “Indigenous”.
Common traits:
Smaller populations than the prominent group in a state.
Own language and traditional practices.
Land tied to cultural beliefs and practices.
Development Unit
Case Studies
Venezuela: Economic and Political “Development in Reverse”
Factors Impeding Development in Haiti
China’s Belt and Road & Development in Africa
The Contested Meaning of Development:
Development: A sustained increase in the standard of living and well-being of a level of social organization.
Involves increased income, better access to basic goods and services, improvements in education, healthcare, and public health.
Well-functioning institutions, decreased inequality, reduced poverty and unemployment, and more sustainable production and consumption patterns.
Focus on issues faced by developing countries.
Key Concepts in the Development Unit:
Globalization: A process by which the world’s local, national, and regional economies, societies, and cultures are becoming increasingly integrated and connected.
Refers to the reduction of barriers and borders, as people, goods, services, and ideas flow more freely between different parts of the world.
Inequality: Refers to a state of affairs where equality between people or groups of people is not realized and the consequent potential compromises of justice and liberty.
Often manifests itself through unequal access to resources that are needed to sustain life and develop individuals and communities.
Sustainability: Development should meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Debate fields: Environmental, socio political, and economic.
Measuring Development: (4 methods)
1. Gross Domestic Product (GDP):
GDP: The monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period.
Pros:
Accurate method of measuring both income and growth.
Cons:
GDP is certainly an accurate method of measuring both income and growth. However, it does not consider vital aspects of a community like equality, destruction, social cohesion, and environment.
Thus, it cannot accurately be used as the only method of measuring development.
2. Human Development Index (HDI):
HDI: A composite statistic of education, life expectancy, and income per capita indicators, which are used to rank countries into certain tiers of human development.
Parts: Life Expectancy, Gross National Income (GNI), Access to Healthcare, Access to Quality Education
Pros:
Composite approach to evaluating the development and progress of a nation and allows analysis of various aspects. It enables researchers and scholars to compare regions and even individual nations.
The HDI has existed since 1990, thus enabling it to measure change with time.
Cons:
However, it does not consider vital factors that affect the world more frequently like environmental concerns, human rights, corruption, and gender equality and the reliability and accuracy of the data it compiles can certainly be questioned.
Thus, as is clear, even the HDI has its advantages and disadvantages.
3. GINI coefficient:
GINI coefficient: Used to determine the income distribution between a nation’s citizens. Value ranges from 0 to 1.
1 represents perfect inequality, 0 represents perfect equality
Highlighted graphically on the Lorenz Curve.
Pros:
Offers anonymity to its respondents and keeps the identities of both wealthy and poor individuals hidden. Moreover, it does not try and factor in the magnitude of a nation’s economy, how it is measured, if it is a rich or poor country or the size of the population.
Cons:
The reliability of a GINI coefficient is directly correlated to a sample size. For instance, tinier states with lesser economic diversity often have low coefficients, while huge states with prominent economic diversity have high coefficients. Additionally, two nations with vastly different income distributions can end up with the same GINI coefficient due to similar amounts of income. Finally, it does not indicate any fundamental structural change in a population and changes in earnings.
4. Happy Planet Index:
Happy Planet Index aims to measure the ability of countries to provide its citizens with long, happy, sustainable lives. Utilizes internationally recognized data on aspects like experienced well-being, life expectancy, and Ecological Footprint.
Political Factors Affecting Development:
Ideologies
History and persistence of conflict
Stability
Accountability
Transparency
Legal Frameworks
Political Culture
Bureaucracy
Vested Interests
Poor Management
Corruption
Economic Factors Affecting Development:
Access to Resources
Increasing Resource Constraints
Infrastructure
Debt
Access to Capital and Credit
Aid
Trade
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
Income Distribution
Informal Economy
Vested Interests
Social Factors Affecting Development:
Cultures
Traditions
Gender Relations
Migration
Institutional Factors Affecting Development:
The UN
IMF
World Bank
WTO
Partnerships between developing countries
Efficacy of local and national institutions
Environmental Factors Affecting Development:
Case Studies
Paris Climate Accords (2015)
Geography
Resource Endowment
Consequences of climate change on people and communities’ lives
Pathways Toward Development:
Models of Development:
Neoliberal Theories (Washington Consensus)
State Capitalism (Russia, China)
Capability Theories (Senator Nussbaum)
Approaches for Developing the Economy:
Trade Liberalization
Export Orientation
Commodity-led Growth
Case Study: Cobalt Mining in The Democratic Republic of Congo
Tourism
Entrepreneurship
Knowledge Economy
Circular Economy
Complementary Currencies
Case Study: Garment Workers in Asia
Approaches for Developing Society:
Ecological Advancements
Care for citizenship skills and engagement
Improving education and healthcare
Changes in roles of women
Indigenous Revitalization Movements
Debates Surrounding Development:
Case Study: The 2022 World Cup
Challenges of globalization, inequality, and sustainability:
Globalization: Wins and losses
Development of standard of living
Realization of human rights
Well-being and opportunities for marginalized groups
Environmental impact
Northern Perspective v/s Southern Perspective
Rising Powers’ Perspective
Developed Powers’ Perspective
Inequality and development: Role of Politics:
Opportunities for and limits of state
IGO and NGO action:
Global regulation of MNCs and cross-border financial flows
Role of local regulation of conditions of work
Power of lobbies
Sustainable development: Role of Politics:
Opportunities for and limits of state
IGO and NGO action:
Progress in global climate change negotiations
Role of regional, national, and local policies for sustainable development
Peace and Conflict Unit
Case Studies:
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Development & Conflict Actors Involved: Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, UNSC, African Union
Arab Spring: Syrian Civil War and Refugee Crisis in Europe
The Global Financial Crisis and The Rise of Golden Dawn: Neo-Nazis in Greek Politics
Contested Definitions of Peace
Peace can be defined as the absence of war.
Peace can refer to a situation wherein there is no ongoing violence, but the cause of the violence has not been resolved yet.
Peace can also refer to something that creates a peaceful agreement, state, and society as per a universally agreed upon model.
Peace is essentially an ‘agree to disagree’ kind of agreement between 2 parties.
IB definition: Peace is often defined as both the absence of conflict and violence and a state of harmonious relations. Peace is the ultimate goal.
The Correlation Between Peace and Balance of Power:
Balance of power: Strengthened international security when the military capability of states is increased such that no one state has the ability to dominate over others.
Contested Definitions of Conflict and Violence
Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK) defines conflict as ‘a positional difference between at least two assertive and directly involved actors regarding values relevant to a society which is carried out using observable and interrelated conflict measures that lie outside established regulatory procedures and threaten core state functions, the international order, or hold the prospect of doing so.’.
Violence
Direct violence
Structural violence
Structural Violence:
Structural violence lays out that there are systematic, fixed methods in which social structures harm or otherwise disadvantage individuals. (Johan Galtung 1969).
Direct violence injures or kills people rapidly and dramatically.
Direct violence is when one physically harms another with the intention of harming. Structural violence is when harm is caused to people as a consequence of injustices in their societies.
Models of Development:
Neoliberal Theories (Washington Consensus):
Advocates for free-market principles, minimal government intervention, and open trade.
Emphasizes privatization, deregulation, and fiscal austerity.
Aims to promote economic growth through market efficiency and competition.
State Capitalism (Russia, China):
An economic system where the state plays a dominant role in the economy.
The government controls key industries, resources, and investments.
Seeks to achieve economic development and strategic goals through state-owned enterprises and strategic planning.
Capability Theories (Senator Nussbaum):
Focuses on expanding individuals' capabilities and opportunities to live fulfilling lives.
Emphasizes access to education, healthcare
Types of Conflict:
Territorial Conflict:
Crimea: Annexation by Russia in 2014. Russia annexed Crimea following a revolution in Ukraine and a disputed referendum.
South China Sea: Disputes over island ownership and maritime rights. Several countries including China, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei have competing claims.
Kashmir: A region disputed between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947, leading to multiple wars and ongoing tensions.
West Bank: Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967, leading to continuous conflict.
Western Sahara: A disputed territory mainly under Moroccan administration, with a pro-independence movement led by the Polisario Front.
Interest-based Conflict:
Weapon Sales: Competition and conflict over arms deals globally.
Positive Discrimination on the Factory Floor: Conflicts arising from affirmative action policies.
Ideological Conflict:
Political Ideologies: Conflicts between communism, capitalism, and other ideologies (e.g., Cold War).
Free market versus state-led economy: Debates and conflict over economic systems.
Identity Conflict:
Myanmar: Conflict involving the Rohingya Muslim minority.
Nigeria: Ethnic and religious conflicts, including Boko Haram insurgency.
Sierra Leone: Civil war in the 1990s fueled by ethnic and resource conflicts.
Justification of Violence:
Humanitarian intervention: NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999, aimed at preventing human rights abuses.
Self-Defense: Ukraine’s defense against Russian invasion since 2014, to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Religiously/Culturally condoned violence: Honour killings in some societies based on cultural norms.
Just War Theory:
Addresses the justification of how and why wars are fought.
Base consists of 3 arguments:
Taking human life can never be condoned
States have an obligation to defend justice and their citizens
In the process of protecting the lives of civilians and upholding essential moral values, there needs to be a willingness to utilise force and violence
To determine if a war is just, there is a series of criteria that need to be met. There is Jus Ad Bellum, that is, the right to go to war and Jus In Bello, that is, the right conduct during the course of the war.
Jus Ad Bellum
Just Cause
Comparative Justice
Competent authority
Right Intention
Probability of Success
Last Resort
Proportionality
Jus In Bello
Distinction
Proportionality
Military Necessity
Fair Treatment of Prisoners of War (PoWs)
No means Malum In Se
Causes of Conflict:
Greed v/s Grievance
Territorial Control
Material Interest
Resource Scarcity
Ideology
Threatened Identity
Perception
Parties to Conflict:
States
Interstate groups
Protest Groups
Individuals
Manifestations of Conflict, including Non-Violence:
Demonstrations: Anti-war protests during the Vietnam War.
Civil Disobedience: The Indian independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi.
Violent Protests: The French Revolution.
Guerrilla Warfare: The Vietnam War.
Terrorism: 9/11 attacks on the United States.
Genocide: The Rwandan Genocide in 1994.
Intrastate War: The Syrian Civil War.
Interstate War: The Iran-Iraq War.
Arms Proliferation: The Cold War.
Nuclear Deterrence: The Cuban Missile Crisis.
Conflict Dynamics:
Galtung’s Conflict Triangle
Positions–interests–needs
Conflict Cycles
Third-Party Involvement in Conflict, Including Humanitarian Intervention:
Weapon Embargoes: The UN arms embargo on South Africa during apartheid.
Financial Freezes: The United States freezing Iranian assets due to nuclear program concerns.
Trade Limitations: The US embargo against Cuba.
NATO Involvement: NATO’s intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s.
UN Peace Enforcement: UN peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Election Observers: The Carter Center’s election monitoring in various countries.
Peacemaking, Including Negotiations and Treaties:
Military Victory
Imposed Settlement
Ceasefires
Truces
Arbitration
Mediation
Peace Treaties
Peacekeeping
Peacebuilding, Including Reconciliation and Work of Justice Institutions:
Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (eg Sierra Leone)
Courts (eg Cambodia, International Criminal Court)
Order for terminology - peacekeeping, peacemaking, peacebuilding