Island School Global Politics
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  • IBDP Global Politics
    • Pre-IB Course >
      • 1. What is global politics?
      • 2. How is the course assessed?
      • 3. How can we analyse global politics?
      • 4. What political issues do I care about?
      • 5-7. Case Study: What does COVID-19 reveal about global politics?
      • 8. How can I prepare for studying global politics?
    • Unit 1: Power, Sovereignty and International Relations >
      • 1. What is the nature of power? >
        • 1. What is power?
        • 2. How does realism define power?
        • 3. How does liberalism define power?
        • 4. How do critical theories define power?
        • 5. Assessment: Which theory best explains power?
      • 2. How has state power evolved? >
        • 1. How did the nation state emerge?
        • 2. What is sovereignty?
        • 3. How is state sovereignty challenged today?
        • 4. What is the 'social contract'?
        • 5. What gives state power its legitimacy?
        • 6. Assessment: What type of states are more legitimate?
      • 3. Can other groups influence the power of the state? >
        • 1. How much power do IGOs have over states?
        • 2. Are NGOs insignificant global actors?
        • 3. How effective are social movements?
        • 4. How do resistance movements operate?
        • 5. Are political parties legitimate actors?
        • 6. Do informal forums undermine democracy?
        • 7. Assessment: How effective are other groups?
      • 4. Can global interactions improve the world? >
        • 1. Does global governance work?
        • 2. What role do treaties play?
        • 3. Does collective security work?
        • 4. Do alliances reduce or increase tensions?
        • 5. Does economic cooperation lead to interdependence?
        • 6. Is informal cooperation more effective?
        • 7. What drives modern conflicts?
        • 8. Is terrorism a reaction to globalisation?
        • 9. Can domestic conflicts influence global politics?
        • 10: Assessment: Can global interactions improve the world?
      • Unit 1: Exam Questions
    • Unit 2: Human Rights >
      • 1. How have Human Rights evolved? >
        • 1. What are human rights?
        • 2. How significant is the UDHR?
        • 3. How have human rights developed?
        • 4. Assessment: Are human rights a Western construct?
      • 2. Who or what protects our Human Rights? >
        • 1. How do states enforce human rights?
        • 2. Is international monitoring effective?
        • 3. Who enforces humanitarian law?
        • 4. How can civil society help monitor human rights?
        • 5. Assessment: Who should be responsible for human rights?
      • 3. How do Human Rights operate in practice? >
        • 1. Who makes claims on human rights?
        • 2. How are human rights contested locally?
        • 3. How are human rights contested nationally?
        • 4. How are human rights contested globally?
        • 5. Assessment: Does current human rights practice ensure equality?
      • 4. Why are Human Rights so contested? >
        • 1. Are collective rights more important?
        • 2. Are human rights universal?
        • 3. Are human rights too politicised?
        • 4. Assessment: How should we view human rights?
      • Unit 2: Exam Questions
    • Unit 3: Development >
      • 1. Why is development contested?
      • 2. How can development be helped or hindered?
      • 3. Can globalisation help increase development?
      • 4. Can development be made more sustainable?
    • Unit 4: Peace and Conflict >
      • 1. Is the use of violence ever justified? >
        • 1. What is peace, conflict and violence?
        • 2. What forms can conflict take?
        • 3. Is it right to ever go to war?
        • 4. Assessment: On what grounds can violence be justified?
      • 2. What causes conflicts to develop?
      • 3. How do conflicts evolve over time?
      • 4. Can peace be achieved by managing conflicts?
      • Unit 4: Exam Questions
    • HL Extension: Global Political Challenges >
      • Topic 1: Environment
      • Topic 2: Poverty
      • Topic 3: Health
      • Topic 4: Identity
      • Topic 5: Borders
      • Topic 6: Security
    • EA: Engagement Activity
    • EE: Extended Essay in Global Politics
    • News Blog
    • Research Links
  • More

3. How can we analyse global politics?

Activity 1 - What are levels of analysis?


Activity Tasks
  1. Examine - Explore the mind-map image of the issue of ivory poaching on Slide 4 of the Lesson Presentation. Can you explain what the mind-map is showing?
  2. Create - Create a new Padlet Canvas. Call it, ‘What are levels of analysis’? Place the image of the burger in the centre of your mind-map. 
  3. Analyse - Using the six levels of analysis, brainstorm how we could analyse the burger from these different levels of analysis. What political issues could we identify at each level of analysis?
  4. Share - Once you have finished, share the link to your Padlet with the class. What are the most significant political issues you’ve identified, and at what level of analysis do they exist?
Picture

Activity 2 - Which levels of analysis?


Activity Tasks
  1. Recall - Locate and examine your glossaries from the last lesson. You will need to refer to the sixteen key concepts and levels of analysis for this task.
  2. Review - Review Slides 6-9 of the Lesson Presentation. For each picture on the slides, work out what the political issue is, and identify which levels of analysis would be most appropriate for exploring those issues.
  3. Identify - For each image, also decide upon which of the sixteen key concepts is most relevant to the political issue. ​
Picture

Activity 3 - Whose perspective anyway?


Activity Tasks
  1. Create - Either create a new Padlet Canvas or use A3 paper to mind-map. Title your mind-map ‘Whose perspective anyway?’ and in the centre, write down one of the following questions that you would like to examine:
    1. Should Hong Kong be teaching more ‘national education’?
    2. To what extent could Donald Trump be considered an effective President?
    3. Has Japan apologised enough for crimes committed during WW2?
    4. Should countries welcome asylum seekers with open arms?
    5. Whose responsibility is it to solve climate change?
  2. Identify - On your mind-map, note down all the different viewpoints and perspectives that could be taken on your question. Write down the names of all stakeholders that would have an interest in the question e.g. people, groups
  3. Analyse - For each perspective that you have identified, try to describe what their viewpoint might be and why, referring to the different global politics perspectives where relevant: class, gender, ethnicity, religion, language, culture.
  4. Discuss - Whose perspective gets listened to the most? Which perspectives are the most ignored? Why is this?

Activity 4 - What's your perspective?


Activity Tasks
  1. Review - Explore the information on Slides 11-13 of the Lesson Presentation on the political spectrum. Make notes and try to define what the political spectrum is. Why do you think we need it? What purpose does it serve?
  2. Assess - What is your political perspective? Go to this political compass website and answer the questions to find out what your ‘label’ is. 
  3. Share - Once you have finished, plot where you are on the whiteboard political compass your teacher has designed. What's the dominant political perspective in class? Why do you think this is?
  4. Discuss - What do you think are the major influences on your decision making? e.g. family, religion, media etc...
Picture

Activity 5 - Who are political actors?


Activity Tasks
  1. Explore - Examine the information on Slides 14-15 of the Lesson Presentation about political actors. 
  2. Discuss - What are political actors? What is the difference between state and non-state actors?
  3. Read - Read this article about climate change and try to identify as many political actors as you can.
  4. Sort - Examine your list of political actors. Using the information from Slide 15, label each of your political actors according to type. e.g. NGOs, IGOs, MNCs, Criminal Groups, States, Individuals
Picture

Further Reading


OBLIGATORY READING
  1. Political Ideology: Crash Course Government and Politics #35 - this CrashCourse YouTube video is a great introduction to US politics and the political ideologies of the main parties
RECOMMENDED READING
  1. Heywood, A. (2013). Palgrave Foundation Series: Politics. pp. 1-26 - this chapter defines the study of politics and how students can approach political studies. It focuses on domestic politics rather than global politics.
SUPPLEMENTARY READING
  1. Heywood, A. (2013). Palgrave Foundation Series: Politics. pp. 27-55 - this chapter on political ideas and ideologies is a good introduction to some of the political perspectives you are likely to encounter when studying global politics

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next lesson - what political issues do i care about?

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  • Home
  • Explorations
  • MUN
    • ISMUN Blog
  • IBDP Global Politics
    • Pre-IB Course >
      • 1. What is global politics?
      • 2. How is the course assessed?
      • 3. How can we analyse global politics?
      • 4. What political issues do I care about?
      • 5-7. Case Study: What does COVID-19 reveal about global politics?
      • 8. How can I prepare for studying global politics?
    • Unit 1: Power, Sovereignty and International Relations >
      • 1. What is the nature of power? >
        • 1. What is power?
        • 2. How does realism define power?
        • 3. How does liberalism define power?
        • 4. How do critical theories define power?
        • 5. Assessment: Which theory best explains power?
      • 2. How has state power evolved? >
        • 1. How did the nation state emerge?
        • 2. What is sovereignty?
        • 3. How is state sovereignty challenged today?
        • 4. What is the 'social contract'?
        • 5. What gives state power its legitimacy?
        • 6. Assessment: What type of states are more legitimate?
      • 3. Can other groups influence the power of the state? >
        • 1. How much power do IGOs have over states?
        • 2. Are NGOs insignificant global actors?
        • 3. How effective are social movements?
        • 4. How do resistance movements operate?
        • 5. Are political parties legitimate actors?
        • 6. Do informal forums undermine democracy?
        • 7. Assessment: How effective are other groups?
      • 4. Can global interactions improve the world? >
        • 1. Does global governance work?
        • 2. What role do treaties play?
        • 3. Does collective security work?
        • 4. Do alliances reduce or increase tensions?
        • 5. Does economic cooperation lead to interdependence?
        • 6. Is informal cooperation more effective?
        • 7. What drives modern conflicts?
        • 8. Is terrorism a reaction to globalisation?
        • 9. Can domestic conflicts influence global politics?
        • 10: Assessment: Can global interactions improve the world?
      • Unit 1: Exam Questions
    • Unit 2: Human Rights >
      • 1. How have Human Rights evolved? >
        • 1. What are human rights?
        • 2. How significant is the UDHR?
        • 3. How have human rights developed?
        • 4. Assessment: Are human rights a Western construct?
      • 2. Who or what protects our Human Rights? >
        • 1. How do states enforce human rights?
        • 2. Is international monitoring effective?
        • 3. Who enforces humanitarian law?
        • 4. How can civil society help monitor human rights?
        • 5. Assessment: Who should be responsible for human rights?
      • 3. How do Human Rights operate in practice? >
        • 1. Who makes claims on human rights?
        • 2. How are human rights contested locally?
        • 3. How are human rights contested nationally?
        • 4. How are human rights contested globally?
        • 5. Assessment: Does current human rights practice ensure equality?
      • 4. Why are Human Rights so contested? >
        • 1. Are collective rights more important?
        • 2. Are human rights universal?
        • 3. Are human rights too politicised?
        • 4. Assessment: How should we view human rights?
      • Unit 2: Exam Questions
    • Unit 3: Development >
      • 1. Why is development contested?
      • 2. How can development be helped or hindered?
      • 3. Can globalisation help increase development?
      • 4. Can development be made more sustainable?
    • Unit 4: Peace and Conflict >
      • 1. Is the use of violence ever justified? >
        • 1. What is peace, conflict and violence?
        • 2. What forms can conflict take?
        • 3. Is it right to ever go to war?
        • 4. Assessment: On what grounds can violence be justified?
      • 2. What causes conflicts to develop?
      • 3. How do conflicts evolve over time?
      • 4. Can peace be achieved by managing conflicts?
      • Unit 4: Exam Questions
    • HL Extension: Global Political Challenges >
      • Topic 1: Environment
      • Topic 2: Poverty
      • Topic 3: Health
      • Topic 4: Identity
      • Topic 5: Borders
      • Topic 6: Security
    • EA: Engagement Activity
    • EE: Extended Essay in Global Politics
    • News Blog
    • Research Links
  • More