IB MYP Individuals and Societies – Superpowers, empires and supra-national alliances Revision Notes

These revision notes condense superpowers, empires and supra-national alliances for IB MYP Individuals and Societies. For full explanations and worked examples, read the study guide first.

The notes are aligned to the International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Individuals and societies, from 2014, which lists “superpowers, empires, and supra-national alliances and organizations” among the on-screen examination topics. They suit MYP years 4 and 5, and there is no SL/HL split. MYP has no prescribed content list – schools design their own units – so your teacher may use other case studies; the concepts and methods here still apply.

Course links: IB MYP Individuals and Societies course hub · printable checklist · practice questions for this unit.

Assessment facts from the brief

• Four equally weighted criteria: A Knowing and understanding, B Investigating, C Communicating, D Thinking critically.
• Each criterion has eight achievement levels (1–8) in four bands.
• On-screen examination tasks: Investigating (26 marks, criteria A and B), Communicating (18 marks, criteria A and C), Thinking critically (36 marks, criteria A, C and D).
• Related concept examples in the brief: causality, globalization, culture, sustainability. Key concepts named: change, global interactions, time, place and space, systems.

For anything else about how your task is marked, your teacher will share the task-specific clarifications.

Definitions

Term	Meaning
Power	Ability of a state to get the outcomes it wants
Hard power	Influence through force or payment (military, sanctions, aid, trade deals)
Soft power	Influence through attraction (culture, values, education); linked to Joseph Nye
Superpower	State that projects power globally across military, economic, political and cultural fields
Great power	Strong influence, but regional or partial rather than global in every field
Hegemony	Dominance of one state, often accepted by others
Unipolar / bipolar / multipolar	One / two / several major powers in the world system
Empire	State ruling other peoples or territories from a central metropole
Formal / informal empire	Direct rule over colonies / control through trade, loans or influence
Decolonisation	Colonies gaining independence, mainly after 1945
Imperial overstretch	Commitments abroad cost more than the economy can support (Paul Kennedy, 1987)
Intergovernmental	States cooperate but keep full sovereignty
Supranational	States pool some sovereignty; bodies above the state make binding rules

Superpower indicators – checklist

Score a state on each; a superpower is high on most, not just one.

• Economic: total GDP, trade, currency use, global companies
• Military: defence budget, nuclear weapons, overseas reach
• Political: UN Security Council permanent seat, alliance leadership
• Cultural: media, language, universities, brands
• Demographic and resources: population, land, energy, minerals

Two calculations you may need:

GDP per capita = GDP ÷ population
Defence spending as % of GDP = defence spending ÷ GDP × 100
Percentage change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100

Total GDP measures the size of an economy (and so its capacity for power). GDP per capita measures average wealth. Do not confuse them.

Key organisations at a glance

	Founded	Members	Type	One strength	One limitation
UN	1945	193	Intergovernmental	Almost every state belongs; forum for all	Security Council veto can block action
NATO	1949	32	Intergovernmental military alliance	Article 5 collective defence deters attack	Depends on members agreeing and sharing costs
EU	1993 (Maastricht)	27	Strong supranational features	Single market; EU law binds members	Members lose some control; UK left in 2020
ASEAN	1967	5 founders; 11 since Timor-Leste joined (2025)	Intergovernmental	Consensus keeps diverse members together	Non-interference limits action on members’ internal crises
AU	2002 (OAU 1963)	55	Intergovernmental	Can suspend members after coups; may intervene in grave cases	Relies on members’ resources and will to act

Extra facts worth knowing:

• UN Security Council: 15 members, 5 permanent with veto (China, France, Russia, UK, US).
• NATO’s Article 5 has been invoked once, after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The Soviet-led Warsaw Pact (1955–1991) was its Cold War rival.
• EU roots: coal and steel community (1951), Treaty of Rome (1957). Single market freedoms: goods, services, capital, people.
• ASEAN founders: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand.
• AU headquarters: Addis Ababa.

Method in steps

Explaining the rise or decline of an empire or superpower (Criterion A/D)

1. Name the change and its timing (for example, “the Soviet Union broke up in 1991”).
2. Group causes: economic, military, political, ideological, pressure from the governed.
3. For each cause, give specific evidence (event, date, figure).
4. Link causes to each other (“the cost of the war in Afghanistan deepened economic problems”).
5. Judge which mattered most, and say why.

Comparing two organisations (Criterion A/C)

1. Choose a shared criterion: purpose, sovereignty, decision-making, effectiveness.
2. Make a point about each organisation on that criterion.
3. Use a comparison word: whereas, both, unlike, more than.
4. Finish with a short judgement.

Evaluating a source (Criterion D)

1. Origin – who, when, where.
2. Purpose – why, for whom.
3. Value – what it can reliably show for this question, because of its origin/purpose.
4. Limitation – what it cannot reliably show, because of the same origin/purpose.

Worked reminders

• A fictional alliance has a budget of 500 million dollars. A member pays 85 million dollars. Its share is 85 ÷ 500 × 100 = 17%.
• Territory falls from 3.5 to 1.4 million km². Change = (1.4 − 3.5) ÷ 3.5 × 100 = −60%.
• The Soviet Union’s decline combined long-term causes (economic stagnation) with short-term triggers (reforms from 1985, the events of 1989), ending in 1991.

Must-know distinctions

• Superpower vs empire: a superpower is judged by reach and influence; an empire by rule over other peoples. A superpower need not hold colonies.
• Supranational vs intergovernmental: the EU can make law that binds members; the UN General Assembly and ASEAN mainly rely on agreement.
• Alliance vs organisation: an alliance (such as NATO) is a pact for a shared aim, usually defence; an organisation (such as the UN) is a wider body with many functions.
• OAU vs AU: the OAU (1963) stressed non-interference; the AU (2002) allows intervention in grave cases such as genocide.
• Hard vs soft power: sanctions are hard power; a country’s films being watched worldwide is soft power.
• Size vs wealth: total GDP vs GDP per capita.

Quick self-test

1. Define superpower in one sentence.
2. Name the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
3. In which year was NATO founded, and what does Article 5 say?
4. Which treaty created the European Union?
5. Name the five founding members of ASEAN.
6. Which organisation did the African Union replace, and when was that organisation founded?
7. State the difference between formal and informal empire.
8. Fictional Tarnia has GDP of 600 billion dollars and spends 18 billion dollars on defence. What percentage of GDP is this?
9. A fictional alliance grows from 8 to 14 members. What is the percentage increase?
10. Give one example of soft power.
11. What does “imperial overstretch” mean?
12. Why is the EU described as having supranational features?

Answers

1. A state able to project power in every region of the world across military, economic, political and cultural fields.
2. China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
3. 1949; an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all.
4. The Maastricht Treaty (in force 1993).
5. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
6. The Organisation of African Unity, founded in 1963.
7. Formal empire is direct political rule over colonies; informal empire is control through trade, loans or influence without annexation.
8. 18 ÷ 600 × 100 = 3%.
9. (14 − 8) ÷ 8 × 100 = 75%.
10. For example, a country’s films, music, language or universities attracting people worldwide.
11. When an empire’s or great power’s commitments abroad cost more than its economy can support.
12. Members pool sovereignty: EU institutions such as the Commission, Parliament and Court of Justice make and enforce rules that bind member states.

Where marks are usually lost

• Calling a state a superpower on one indicator only, usually GDP.
• Mixing up total GDP and GDP per capita when judging power.
• Wrong or invented dates for organisations; if unsure, leave the date out rather than guess.
• Saying NATO is a UN body, or that every EU member uses the euro.
• Listing causes of decline without linking them or judging which mattered most.
• Describing a data trend in words only, with no figures or percentage change.
• Value and limitation points that could apply to any source.
• One-sided answers on debated questions, such as whether China is a superpower.
• Comparing organisations one after the other without a shared criterion.

Next steps

• Go back to the study guide for anything you got wrong.
• Try the practice questions.
• Practise sources with the source-evaluation exam preparation and the criteria in practice revision notes.

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Individuals and societies, from 2014. The assessment facts above are taken from that brief; the organisation facts are standard history and politics. Tarnia and the alliance figures are fictional.