Power, Sovereignity, International Relations Unit and Peace & Conflict

Unit 1: Power, Sovereignty, International relations

2017-03-31T16:09:24+03:00

Key concepts: power, sovereignty, legitimacy, interdependence

Learning outcome	Prescribed content	Possible examples (Intended as a starting point only: for many topics, local and current examples will be more appropriate than the ones listed, and many more examples are listed than are expected to be covered during the course)
Nature of power	Definitions and theories of power	John Mearsheimer, Joseph Nye, Antonio Gramsci, Steven Lukes
Nature of power	Types of power	Hard versus soft; economic, military, social, cultural; individual versus collective; unilateral versus multilateral
Operation of state power in global politics	The evolving nature of state sovereignty	Terminology (eg state, nation, nation-state, stateless nation) The Westphalian conception of state sovereignty Present-day status of sources of state sovereignty, eg possession and use of force, international law and norms, recognition by other states due to economic and balance of power considerations, consent (or lack thereof) of the governed through political participation Present-day challenges to state sovereignty, eg globalization, supranationality, humanitarian intervention, indigenous rights
Operation of state power in global politics	Legitimacy of state power	Democratic states, eg unitary states, federal states Authoritarian states Fragile/failed states
Function and impact of international organizations and non-state actors in global politics	The United Nations (UN)	The UN, eg Charter of the United Nations, UN principal organs (General Assembly, Security Council, etc) and subsidiary organs and agencies
	Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)	World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Union (EU), African Union, Arab League, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
	Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), multinational corporations (MNCs) and trade unions	NGOs, eg International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), Greenpeace, BRAC MNCs, eg Unilever, Philips, IKEA, Lenovo, Tata Trade unions, eg International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
	Social movements, resistance movements and violent protest movements	Social movements, eg Occupy, Avaaz Resistance movements, eg Arab Spring, Orange Revolution in Ukraine Violent protest movements, eg Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Hezbollah, Naxalites
	Political parties	USA’s Republican and Democratic parties, Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD), Communist Party of China (CPC)
	Informal forums	G20, The Group of Seven (G7), The Group of Eight (G8), G2, World Economic Forum (WEF), World Social Forum (WSF)
	Legitimacy of non-state actors	Representativeness Means of exerting influence Efficacy
Nature and extent of interactions in global politics	Global governance	UN Security Council resolutions, climate change agenda, Basel accords on financial regulation, WTO trade agreements, regional decision-making
	Cooperation: treaties, collective security, strategic alliances, economic cooperation, informal cooperation	Treaties, eg Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Montreal Protocol Collective security, eg North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization of American States (OAS) Strategic alliances, eg China’s alliances in Latin America and Africa, USA–Taiwan, USA–Israel, India–Afghanistan Economic cooperation, eg bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, regional economic integration, facilitation and regulation of international production Informal cooperation, eg extraordinary rendition, technology harmonization, cultural exchange
	Conflict: interstate war, intrastate war, terrorism, strikes, demonstrations	Interstate war, eg Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, South Sudan Intrastate war, eg Syria, Ukraine, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic Terrorism, eg Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Boko Haram Strikes and demonstrations: local examples

Unit Plans

2018-03-01T16:37:25+02:00

Syllabus linkage/ Key terms: Power, Sovereignty, Legitimacy, Interdependence, Globalization

Purpose of the unit: To define a political issue, levels of analysis ( Community, Local, National, Regional, Internationl, Global) and to address essential questions on nature of power, operation of state power in Global politics and Non-state-actors, Communities in Global Politics by using the key concepts and theories on power and and the role of the states in Global politics. To make the difference between variety of actors in Global politics and to understand the basic theories: Realism, Liberalism, Critical approaches in the contect of the current world
Inquiry based learning/ the snow ball method used throughout the course: Students create their own reserach questions (concerning the syllabus and the current international relations), which they are supposed to investigate in pairs. Critical approach on the questions, peer feedback. The big ideas: political issues and the linkage to the syllabus.
TOK-linkage: Ways of knowing and Areas of knowlegde. How can we say that political truth exists? What is the difference between social studies approach on knowlegde and humanities approach. Which ways of knowing do you use in political thinking?
Content and skills: Political issues like how to define power? Who has power in current societies? Authoritarian states versus democracies; reflections on the current world. Non-state actors in Global Politics; NGOs, IGO´s and MNCs role in the current political world. The role of the social media and communities in Global Politcs. Linkage to the IB learner profile: communicative skills, critical thinking, collaboration, caring
Overall plan of activities: The snowball method, inquiry based learning, debates, group discussion, presentations will all be common ways of learning throughout the course. Open access to Google Drive and Pedanet materials. You tube lectures and Ted talks on the Main theorists ( Meyersheimer, Nye,Waltz)

Assessment: Formative and summative assessment: Two Practice essays written, peer feedback ,teacher feedback. Two Paper one practices, peer feedback and teacher feedback. Open discussion on what students have learned and also self-assessment in Manage bac
Reflection: Key concepts are really vital for deepen the understanding. Political Issues defined more clearly. Theories understandable and interesting. Youtube lectures on those.

Global State of Democaracy, Nov. 2019

2019-12-04T09:23:37+02:00

https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/chapters/the-global-state-of-democracy-2019-CH1.pdf

Power points

2019-03-05T13:57:39+02:00

Peace and Conflict power point New-4.ppt: Peace and Conflict power point New-4.ppt
NGOs & MNCs-2.pptx: NGOs & MNCs-2.pptx
State in Flux.pptx: State in Flux.pptx

Links: Power, Peace and Conflict

2019-03-05T09:21:28+02:00

Establishment of NATO

Is France a flawed democracy

EU election results in 2019

Compulsory voting

Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Brexit

Northern Ireland conflict ; "The troubles"

Northern Ireland conflict

Libya in 2019

NATO intervention in Libya ( 2011)

Top Conflicts in 2019

Macron: "For European Renewal"

Interest Conflict: Fracking in the UK

Markband for Paper 2

2018-01-15T11:10:21+02:00

– 2 –

The paper is marked using the generic markbands below, and the paper specific markscheme that

follows. The markscheme for this paper is the same for HL and SL.

Markbands for paper two

Marks

Level descriptor

The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1–5

The response reveals limited understanding of the demands of the question.

The response is poorly structured, or where there is a recognizable essay structure

there is minimal focus on the task.

There is little relevant knowledge, and examples are either lacking or not relevant.

The response is mostly descriptive.

6–10

The response indicates some understanding of the demands of the question.

There is some evidence of an attempt to structure the response.

Some relevant knowledge is present, and some examples are mentioned but they are

not developed or their relevance to arguments is not clear.

The response demonstrates limited understanding of the key concepts of the course.

There is limited justification of main points.

Counterclaims, or different views on the question, are not considered.

11–5

The demands of the question are understood and mostly addressed but the

implications are not considered.

There is a clear attempt to structure the response.

The response is mostly based on relevant and accurate knowledge of global politics,

and relevant examples are given and support arguments.

The response demonstrates some understanding of the key concepts of the course.

Many of the main points are justified and arguments are largely coherent.

Some counterclaims, or different views on the question, are considered.

16–20

The demands of the questions are understood and addressed, and most implications

are considered.

The response is well-structured.

The response demonstrates relevant and accurate knowledge and understanding of

global politics, and relevant examples are

used in a way that strengthens arguments.

The response demonstrates a good grasp of the key concepts of the course.

All or nearly all of the main points are justified and arguments are coherent.

Counterclaims, or different views on the question, are explored.

21–25

A very well structured and balanced response that addresses the demands and

implications of the question.

Comprehensive knowledge and in-depth understanding of global politics is applied in

the response consistently and effectively, with examples integrated.

The response demonstrates a very good grasp of the key concepts of the course.

All of the main points are justified. Arguments are clear, coherent and compelling.

Counterclaims, or different views on the question, are explored and evaluated.