New DP Global Politics: What to Expect

Since becoming a mainstream IB subject in 2017, Global Politics has swiftly grown in popularity. In May 2023, 7,859 candidates took the Global Politics exams and every year, more and more schools are adding the subject to their choices.

After a delay due to the Pandemic, the second iteration of the Global Politics guide was released in February 2024, to begin teaching in August 2024 and with first assessment in May 2026. When reading the guide, Global Politics teachers will identify some new facets to both delight and even puzzle them. Perhaps, the most significant change is the elimination of the Higher Level Presentations in favour of a new Paper 3.

Don’t forget to join our upcoming webinar, Exploring the New Global Politics Guide, for a deeper dive into the changes and insights to enhance your readines. This article will highlight some of the main changes in the new guide to help you prepare for the new syllabus.

Structural Changes

Before looking at specific changes in the syllabus content, let us take a step back to look at some of the changes to the fundamental aspects of the course.

When looking at the “Nature of the Subject” portion of the guide, we can see the fundamental shift in course construction for the new 2026 syllabus. The IB has devised a model for inquiry to encompass all the different aspects of the course:

IB Global Politics Guide (First Exams 2026), p.7

In recent years, DP subjects have placed an increased emphasis on concepts. Whereas the 2017 Global Politics syllabus centred around 16 fundamental concepts, the 2026 syllabus reduces this to four: power, sovereignty, legitimacy, and interdependence. These four concepts help to make connections between the topics. They are therefore integrated and central to the prescribed content, which also retains some of the other concepts from the 2017 syllabus within the ‘contested meanings’ portion of thematic studies.

In the 2017 syllabus, a separate section existed for the Levels of Analysis. These are now known as Scale (see p. 33 of the guide) and are important when looking at the Context aspect of the Global Politics model for inquiry.

Changes in Prescribed Content

ManageBac has produced a useful spreadsheet to track all content changes between the old and the new syllabus.

DOWNLOAD DP GLOBAL POLITICS SYLLABUS MAP

From the outset, we can see that the IB wants to foster a more integrated approach between the core topics and the three thematic studies. This is reflected in the figure below as well as in the structure of the newly-designed Paper 2 (see later in this article).

IB Global Politics Guide (First Assessment 2026), p.33

While there is still scope to structure the course in a linear manner (with an introductory ‘Core Topics’ unit and subsequent thematic studies units), following an integrated approach will better align with the course’s aims. The IB Global Politics Teacher Support Material suggests several options for structuring the course.

Overall, the new guide allows for greater flexibility in the case studies and examples that teachers choose to include. When looking at the units specifically, we will see many similarities between the new and old syllabi. The Human Rights unit is now Rights and Justice; the development unit is now Development and Sustainability; and Peace and Conflict remains unchanged. The Theoretical Perspectives have now been integrated into the Core Topics.

When looking at the syllabus content starting on page 35 of the new guide, anything labelled “prescribed topics” or “prescribed content” can be addressed directly in examination questions. “Supporting details” are suggested as possibilities for contextual choices by teachers and students.

The Higher Level portion of the course has changed as well. Instead of six Global Political Challenges, there are now eight:

IB Global Politics Guide (First Assessment 2026), p.52

Similar to the 2017 syllabus, no additional content per se is designated for Higher Level. Instead, the Global Politics guide outlines 6 guiding lines of inquiry (p. 51) that can help foster the analysis of global political challenges. Students are expected to focus on the interconnected and complex nature of the challenges; the tensions involved in addressing these challenges; and possible solutions or course of action. (p. 50)

At a minimum, the IB expects students to research at least two case studies and at least two of the 8 different topic areas. (p. 52)

Changes to Assessment

Paper 1

Paper 1 remains largely unchanged. It is still a stimulus-based paper composed of 4 sources that can be a mixture of textual and non-textual inputs. The paper still comprises 4 questions and the nature of the questions is the same. The content for this paper is the global politics core topics.

There has been some redistribution to the number of marks awarded for each question. Question 3 (dealing with the comparing and contrasting of sources) has been modified down to 6 marks. Additionally, the final question (requiring an extended response based on all sources) has increased to 12 marks.

Paper 2

Paper 2 has undergone more significant changes than Paper 1. Both the structure and the number of marks for the paper have changed.

In the 2017 guide, 2 questions tested each of the 4 prescribed topics, each worth 25 marks. Higher Level students had two hours and forty-five minutes to answer 3 questions, each from a different topic. Standard Level students had one hour and forty-five minutes to answer two questions, each from a different topic.

With the 2026 guide, there is no differentiation between Higher Level and Standard Level students. They will all need to answer one question from Section A, where each question centres on one of the thematic studies, and another from Section B, where questions integrate the various themes and core topics. This focus on integration mimics the syllabus designers’ aims for more course integration, as seen earlier.

The mark scheme has changed also. Those familiar with the DP History course might note similarities in the wording of the markbands for Paper 2.

Paper 3

Perhaps the biggest change in the new guide is the addition of a Paper 3 for Higher Level in lieu of two Higher Level presentations previously. This change aligns Global Politics more closely with other Group 3 subjects in the DP.

Paper 3 is based on the 8 Global Political Challenges from the Higher Level portion of the syllabus. The paper consists of 3 stimulus-based questions. In this case, the stimulus is used to promote analysis and discussion with most of the relevant examples coming from the case studies that the students have researched.

In this paper, students will be asked to understand the stimulus, identify and describe a political issue, make a recommendation for a course of action, and synthesised and evaluate their chosen case studies and global political challenges.

Internal Assessment

The Political Engagement Activity has now been classified as a Political Engagement Project and some differentiation between SL and HL has been introduced. Standard Level students are meant to spend a total of 25 hours on the Internal Assessment, whereas Higher Level students should spend 35 hours on the IA.

By changing the name to Project, the IB has also outlined the importance of process and workflow in the Engagement.

IB Global Politics Guide (First Assessment 2026), p.45

The IB also highlights that students will have various passes at the different stages and ultimately produce a report in the 2000 to 2400 word range. An emphasis for all students is placed on active engagement with the support of complementary research. Higher Level students must also carry out further research to formulate and present a recommendation. They are allowed an additional 400 words for this separate section.

The assessment criteria have been thoroughly revised and now focus on: Explanation and Justification; Process; Analysis and Synthesis; Evaluation and reflection; and Communication. Higher Level students are also assessed on their Recommendation. There is a much more holistic nature to the assessment criteria. Some other highlighted changes include:

• Students no longer need to provide reasons why they are interested in the political issue. Instead, they must provide evidence of their positions and biases in relation to the issue.
• There is no longer a requirement for students to cite specific lessons learned from the engagements. Instead, the engagement activities need to be critically evaluated.
• The process of the engagement project is now assessed: this includes evidence of a well-planned and integrated research and engagement process.
• Students are now assessed on communication skills such as whether or not the report is well organised and coherently supports understanding.

Further Support

The IB has published a Global Politics eLearning resource that documents the changes (https://pds.ibo.org/global-politics-EN/#/). Starting in February 2024, Category 3 Subject-specific seminars (SSS) will be made available to help teachers transition to the new syllabus. Category 1 and 2 workshops will be made available later in the year. ManageBac will be hosting a webinar on Exploring the New Global Politics Guide to further guide and support subject teachers as well.