IB DP Global Politics – Core Topic: Interdependence in Global Politics Study Guide

This study guide teaches the core topic Interdependence in global politics for IB Diploma Programme Global Politics. It follows the IB Diploma Programme Global politics guide (first assessment 2026, published February 2024), the course examined from the May 2026 session onwards. It covers every prescribed content row the guide lists under this topic, which sits inside the core topics, Understanding power and global politics. The core is common to SL and HL, so everything here applies at both levels.

Once you have worked through it, fix the key points with the interdependence revision notes and test yourself with the interdependence practice questions. For the whole course, see the IB DP Global Politics hub and the printable checklist.

What this unit covers

Prescribed content (as the guide lists it)	What you must be able to do	Level
Global governance and international law	Distinguish government from governance; compare national and international law; outline the sources of international law	SL and HL
The UN: structure, roles and functions (Charter, General Assembly, Security Council)	Describe how the main organs work and who decides what	SL and HL
Achievements and limitations of the UN	Evaluate the UN using named agencies and cases	SL and HL
Participation of IGOs and non-state actors in global governance	Explain how regional and specialised bodies, NGOs and networks shape rules	SL and HL
Cooperation and competition between political actors	Analyse why actors cooperate, and where cooperation breaks down	SL and HL
Treaties, collective security, strategic alliances, economic cooperation	Distinguish these forms and use one example of each	SL and HL
Global interactions and networks	Explain how links across borders create mutual reliance	SL and HL

Where it is examined. Paper 1 (1 hour 15 minutes, 25 marks) is a source-based paper on the core topics. Paper 2 section B asks integrating questions linking the thematic studies with the core topics, so this content also feeds your essays.

The concept of interdependence

The guide describes interdependence as mutual reliance between groups, organisations, regions or states on access to the resources that sustain their ways of life. It names three dimensions:

• Economic – trade, investment, supply chains and energy.
• Security – defence arrangements, alliances and arms control.
• Sustainability – environmental treaties and shared resources such as the atmosphere or rivers.

The guide adds that globalisation has increased interdependence and often changed power relationships. Interdependence is rarely equal: when one side relies on the other more than the reverse, the less dependent side gains leverage. Keohane and Nye’s distinction helps here. Sensitivity is how badly an actor is hit by a change elsewhere; vulnerability is how costly it is to adjust, for example by finding another supplier. Vulnerability is where power lies.

Global governance and international law

Government and governance

The guide asks you to examine this distinction directly.

• Government is a set of formal institutions with the authority to make, apply and enforce binding rules over a territory. A national parliament, police force and court system are examples.
• Governance is the wider process of steering behaviour through rules, norms, agreements and networks. It can involve states, IGOs, companies, NGOs and experts, and it does not need a single authority at the top.

There is no world government. What exists is global governance: overlapping arrangements that coordinate behaviour without a central ruler. The guide’s examples show the range:

• UN Security Council resolutions – binding when adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
• The climate change agenda – the Paris Agreement (2015), under which each state sets its own nationally determined contribution.
• The Basel Accords – banking standards agreed by regulators in the Basel Committee (Basel III followed the 2008 financial crisis). They are not a treaty; each state applies them through its own rules – governance without government in its clearest form.
• WTO trade agreements – binding trade rules with a dispute settlement system.
• Regional decision-making – for example, EU institutions or the AU’s Peace and Security Council.

National and international law

The guide asks you to compare their scope, nature and dynamic.

	National law	International law
Scope	Applies to people and organisations within the state’s territory	Mainly applies to states and IGOs; some areas (human rights, international criminal law) reach individuals
Nature	Made by a legislature; courts have compulsory jurisdiction; police enforce it	Made largely by state consent; no central legislature or police; most courts need consent to hear a case
Dynamic	Changes through legislation and court rulings	Develops through negotiation, state practice, court decisions and pressure from other actors

Most international lawyers argue that weak enforcement does not make international law “not real law”: states usually comply because reciprocity, reputation and interdependence give them reasons to.

Sources of international law

The guide lists five sources:

1. Treaties – written agreements that bind the states that ratify them.
2. International custom – consistent state practice followed out of a sense of legal obligation.
3. General principles of law widely recognised across legal systems, such as good faith.
4. Decisions of courts – international, regional and national.
5. Scholarly writings by leading legal experts.

The first three create law. Court decisions and scholarly writings are mainly used to identify what the law is.

The United Nations

Structure, roles and functions

The UN Charter, signed in 1945, sets out the UN’s purposes: peace and security, friendly relations among nations, and cooperation on economic, social and humanitarian problems. Two Charter rules frame much of global politics: states must not threaten or use force against another state (Article 2(4)), and states keep the right of self-defence (Article 51).

The Charter creates six principal organs. The two the guide names are:

• General Assembly (GA). Every member state has one vote. It debates any issue within the Charter and approves the budget. Most of its resolutions are recommendations, not binding law, but they carry political weight and can shape new norms.
• Security Council (SC). Fifteen members: five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA) and ten elected by the GA for two-year terms. A decision on a substantive matter needs nine votes and no veto from a permanent member. An abstention by a permanent member is not a veto. Decisions under Chapter VII bind every member state and can impose sanctions or authorise force.

The other principal organs are the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, the Secretariat and the Trusteeship Council (inactive since 1994).

Worked example: tracing a Security Council decision

Question type: Explain why the Security Council can act decisively on some crises but not others. (AO2)

Step 1 – state the rule. A substantive resolution needs nine of fifteen votes and no permanent-member veto.

Step 2 – apply it to a case where it worked. In 2011, Resolution 1973 authorised measures to protect civilians in Libya. China and Russia abstained rather than vetoing, so the resolution passed.

Step 3 – apply it to a case where it failed. In February 2022, Russia vetoed a draft resolution on its invasion of Ukraine. The Council could not act because a party to the conflict held a veto.

Step 4 – show the workaround. The GA then met in an emergency special session under the Uniting for Peace procedure and passed a resolution deploring the invasion – wide agreement, but not binding.

Step 5 – conclude. The Council acts when permanent members’ interests do not clash. Its structure reflects the 1945 distribution of power, which is why its legitimacy is debated.

Achievements and limitations

The guide asks you to examine agencies and programmes through each thematic study. Its three named examples:

• UNDP (development and sustainability). Supports development and governance projects and publishes the Human Development Report, whose Human Development Index widened how development is measured. Limitation: relies on voluntary funding and host governments’ cooperation.
• UN Human Rights Council (rights and justice). Created in 2006; 47 members elected by the GA. Its Universal Periodic Review examines every UN member state’s record. Limitation: states with poor records can be elected, and its findings are not binding.
• International Court of Justice (peace and conflict). Settles disputes between states and gives advisory opinions. In 2019, The Gambia brought a case against Myanmar under the Genocide Convention; in 2023, the GA requested an opinion on states’ climate obligations. Limitation: it needs the states’ consent to hear a dispute, and advisory opinions are not binding.

IGOs and non-state actors in global governance

Regional organisations manage interdependence among neighbours:

• EU – supranational: EU law takes precedence over national law in its areas of competence, and many decisions use qualified majority voting.
• AU – replaced the Organisation of African Unity in 2002. Its Constitutive Act allows intervention in a member state over genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and it suspends members after unconstitutional changes of government.
• ASEAN – founded in 1967; consensus and non-interference protect sovereignty but can slow collective action.
• Mercosur – a South American trade bloc founded in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. It suspended Venezuela in 2016.

Organisations with a specific scope govern through expertise: the IEA (set up in 1974 after the 1973 oil crisis; members keep emergency oil stocks), OPEC (producers coordinating oil policy, working with Russia and others as OPEC+ since 2016), the Commonwealth of Learning (open and distance learning) and Digital Nations (governments sharing practice on digital public services).

Non-state actors take part too. NGOs lobby, monitor and supply expertise: the International Campaign to Ban Landmines helped bring about the 1997 Ottawa Treaty. Companies shape technical standards, and city networks such as C40 coordinate climate policy.

Cooperation and competition

Actors cooperate when the gains from coordination outweigh the cost of lost freedom of action, and compete over power, markets and influence. Most relationships contain both: rival powers can be major trading partners.

Forms of cooperation the guide names

Form	What it is	Example
Treaty	Binding written agreement	Non-Proliferation Treaty (in force 1970); Montreal Protocol (1987) on ozone-depleting substances
Collective security	Members commit to respond together to a threat	NATO (1949), whose Article 5 was invoked only once, after 11 September 2001; OAS (1948)
Strategic alliance	Partnership serving shared strategic aims, often less formal	China’s links with states in Africa and Latin America; USA and Israel; USA and Taiwan; India and Afghanistan
Economic cooperation	Trade agreements, integration, regulating production	WTO agreements; African Continental Free Trade Area
Informal cooperation	Coordination without a formal treaty	Extraordinary rendition; technology harmonisation; cultural exchange

Collective security or collective defence? Strictly, collective security means all members of a system act against any member that commits aggression (the UN model); collective defence means allies defend each other against an outside threat (NATO’s Article 5). The guide groups NATO under collective security, but showing you know the distinction strengthens analysis.

Montreal Protocol – cooperation driven by interdependence. Every UN member state has ratified it, and it has sharply cut the use of ozone-depleting chemicals. No state can protect the ozone layer alone.

NPT – competition inside cooperation. It recognises five nuclear-weapon states and asks the rest to forgo nuclear weapons. India, Pakistan and Israel never joined, North Korea announced its withdrawal in 2003, and non-nuclear states argue the nuclear states have not disarmed as the treaty requires.

Global interactions and networks

Interdependence is built through supply chains, migration, finance, data flows and advocacy campaigns. Networks spread benefits and shocks alike, and they let NGOs, cities and diasporas act across borders without going through states.

Common errors

• Treating interdependence as always positive. It can create dependence, coercion and new inequalities.
• Saying the UN “passed a law”. The GA recommends; only certain SC decisions bind.
• Confusing the ICJ (disputes between states) with the International Criminal Court (trials of individuals).
• Calling the Basel Accords or Paris Agreement targets “enforced” – both depend on states applying them.
• Leaning on old examples. The guide treats roughly the past two decades as contemporary.

Where next

Consolidate with the revision notes, then try the practice set. For context, see the syllabus guide, the assessment revision notes, and the thematic studies Rights and justice and Peace and conflict.

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Diploma Programme Global politics guide, first assessment 2026 (published February 2024). Prescribed topic: Interdependence in global politics, within the core topics Understanding power and global politics.