IB DP Global Politics – HL extension – Global political challenges and Paper 3 Revision Notes

These revision notes condense the HL extension of IB Diploma Programme Global Politics – global political challenges – and the Paper 3 exam. They follow the IB Diploma Programme Global politics guide (first assessment 2026, published February 2024), the course examined from the May 2026 session onwards. All of this content is HL only. For full explanations and a worked case file, read the study guide for this unit first.

Also useful: the Paper 3 practice set, the course hub and the printable checklist.

Key facts

Item	Fact from the guide
Teaching hours	80 hours, HL only (HL total 240)
Extra prescribed content	None – builds on core topics and thematic studies
Three emphases	Interconnection; complexities and tensions in addressing challenges; solution-oriented focus
Topic areas	Borders, environment, equality, health, identity, poverty, security, technology
Minimum research	At least two case studies and at least two topic areas
Entry points	Topic area first, or case first
Sources	Mostly secondary; should show a balance of views
Paper 3	1 h 30 min, 28 marks, 30% of HL grade
Paper 3 stimulus	May be text, data, diagrams or infographics
Other HL weightings	Paper 1 20%, Paper 2 30%, engagement project 20%

The eight topic areas in one line each

• Borders – physical and social borders (class, ethnicity, gender); migration; sometimes the problem is a missing border, as with capital flows.
• Environment – problems cross borders; climate action needs cooperation; resource depletion; growth versus sustainable development.
• Equality – inequality creates power imbalances, instability and exploitation; equality alongside diversity.
• Health – local and national action compared with the WHO and NGOs; epidemics cross borders; health mirrors socio-economic conditions.
• Identity – identities become political; the public/private line; identity in genocide and ethnic violence.
• Poverty – globalisation; state and non-state cooperation; a human rights lens; poverty in conflict.
• Security – military and non-state threats, plus food, water and energy security; rights abuses as attacks on security.
• Technology – social media and mobilisation; cyber power; the need for norms in cyberspace.

Three ways to link the extension to the common syllabus

1. Explicit mention in prescribed content – identity as a cause of conflict; environmental factors of development; conceptions of poverty.
2. Expansion of a prescribed topic – environmental rights as part of human rights.
3. Integration into a topic area – identity as a right, as a sign of political development and as a cause of conflict.

The six guiding lines of inquiry

Paper 3 question 3 is based on these.

#	Line of inquiry (paraphrased)	Evidence to have ready
1	Links to the core topics	Which key concept each case shows best
2	Links to the thematic studies	Which thematic study each case belongs to
3	How interconnected the challenges are	Where one challenge worsened or eased another
4	Different perceptions and responses in different contexts	Two actors who framed the same case differently
5	Frameworks, systems, organisations and mechanisms	Named body or agreement and what it achieved
6	How cases from different areas change perception or response	What your second case taught you about the first

Paper 3 question types

Q	AO	Marks	Task	Marking
1	AO2	3	Analyse the stimulus using knowledge of global political challenges	Analytical markscheme
2a	AO2	4	Analyse an identified political issue	Markbands 1–2, 3–4
2b	AO3	6	Recommend a course of action or solution	Markbands 1–2, 3–4, 5–6
3	AO3	15	Synthesise and evaluate your researched cases	Markbands 1–3 up to 13–15

Questions 2 and 3 use a question-specific markscheme and markbands, applied by best fit.

Method in steps

Case file (for each case)

1. What is happening? Dates, place, actors, stakeholders
2. Data: what exists, how valid, how contested
3. Causes -> impacts (political, social, economic) at each level
4. Responses by different actors; how each interprets the issue
5. Topic areas touched (at least two across your cases)
6. Key concepts: power, sovereignty, legitimacy, interdependence
7. Your judgement: what worked, what did not, and why

Question 1 (3 marks)

Name the challenge in the stimulus
-> link it to topic areas / concepts
-> three distinct analytical points, each tied to the stimulus

Question 2a (4 marks)

Sentence 1: name the political issue and your case
-> causes -> actors and power relations -> accurate context

Question 2b (6 marks) – the recommendation frame

ACTION     what exactly should be done
ACTOR      who does it, and why they have the power to
EVIDENCE   why it should work (your case, a similar case, data)
CHALLENGE  what could go wrong or be resisted
CONSEQUENCE any unintended effect, and how to limit it

Question 3 (15 marks)

Claim -> case A (topic area X) -> case B (topic area Y)
-> compare -> counter-argument / other perspective -> judgement

Worked reminders

• Timing: 90 minutes for 28 marks is about 3.2 minutes per mark. Try 10 / 13 / 19 / 48 minutes for questions 1 / 2a / 2b / 3.
• Weight of question 3: 15 of 28 marks, over half the paper and about 16% of the HL grade.
• Top band for 2b: the guide’s 5–6 band needs challenges, implications or unintended consequences. A recommendation with no downside considered cannot reach it.
• Top band for 3: claims justified and evaluated; diverse perspectives explored and evaluated.

Pairing cases across topic areas

Each pairing below uses two of the guide’s own suggested examples from different topic areas. Pairs like these give you comparisons for question 3.

Case A	Case B	Comparison to draw
Cape Town drought, 2016–2018 (environment)	Ebola in Liberia, 2014–2015 (health)	How states manage a crisis, and what it does to their legitimacy
Disputed claims in the South China Sea (security)	Melting Arctic ice (environment)	When shared spaces lead to cooperation and when to rivalry
Rohingya crisis in Myanmar (equality)	Scottish independence referendum, 2014 (borders)	How identity claims inside a state are handled: exclusion versus a negotiated vote

Must-know distinctions

Pair	Difference
Paper 1 source vs Paper 3 stimulus	A Paper 1 source is analysed for its content; a Paper 3 stimulus mainly focuses you on a topic, and evidence comes from your cases
Topic area vs case study	A topic area is a field of study (health); a case is a specific situation (Ebola in Liberia, 2014–2015)
Actor vs stakeholder	An actor can exercise power; a stakeholder is affected but may lack the means to act
Analyse vs recommend	Analyse (AO2) breaks an issue into its essential parts; recommend (AO3) proposes an advisable action with supporting evidence
Evaluate vs to what extent	Evaluate weighs strengths and limitations; to what extent weighs the merits of an argument and needs a clear, supported conclusion
Analytical markscheme vs markbands	Question 1 is marked point by point; questions 2 and 3 also use holistic, best-fit bands

Quick self-test

1. How many teaching hours does the HL extension have?
2. Name the eight HL topic areas.
3. What is the minimum research requirement?
4. Name the two suggested entry points for an inquiry.
5. How long is Paper 3, and how many marks is it out of?
6. What weighting does Paper 3 carry in the HL grade?
7. Which AO does question 2b test, and how many marks is it worth?
8. What must a 2b answer include to reach the 5–6 band?
9. On what is question 3 based?
10. Give the guide’s example of expanding a prescribed topic to reach the HL extension.
11. A student researches one case touching health, poverty and security. Does this meet the requirement?
12. About how many minutes per mark does Paper 3 allow?

Answers

1. 80 hours.
2. Borders, environment, equality, health, identity, poverty, security, technology.
3. At least two case studies and at least two topic areas.
4. Using a topic area as the entry point, or using a case as the entry point.
5. 1 hour 30 minutes; 28 marks.
6. 30%.
7. AO3; 6 marks.
8. A clear, well-supported recommendation that effectively addresses the issue and considers challenges, implications or unintended consequences.
9. The guiding lines of inquiry for the HL extension.
10. Treating environmental rights as part of human rights.
11. No. It covers several topic areas but only one case; at least two cases are needed.
12. About 3.2 minutes (90 ÷ 28 = 3.21).

Where marks are usually lost

• Summarising the stimulus in question 1 without analysing it or linking it to a global political challenge.
• Not naming the political issue clearly at the start of 2a, so the analysis drifts.
• 2a answers that describe events in order and never explain causes or power relations – this stays in the 1–2 band.
• 2b recommendations that name no actor, cite no evidence, or ignore the obstacles that stop a 3–4 answer reaching 5–6.
• Recommending something outside the actor’s power, such as a city council “ending climate change”.
• Question 3 answers built on one case, or on two cases from the same topic area.
• Case knowledge without dates, named actors or outcomes, which reads as unsupported generalisation.
• One-sided question 3 arguments with no counter-argument, which cannot reach the top band.
• Running out of time on question 3, the question worth most.

Official syllabus

Aligned to the International Baccalaureate Organization, Diploma Programme Global politics guide, first assessment 2026 (published February 2024): the HL extension on global political challenges, the HL assessment outline, Paper 3 external assessment details and markbands, and the glossary of command terms. See also the exam preparation notes and assessment revision notes. For the concepts and themes your cases draw on, use the units on sovereignty, legitimacy, development and sustainability, rights and justice and peace and conflict.