Put most simply, GloPo is the study of how humans build and interact through political institutions. As the course title suggests, the focus rests primarily on examining human interaction on an international level. States (countries) are examined both in their interactions with other states and in their management of domestic politics. According to the IB guide, GloPo is designed to:
Explore and evaluate the complex nature of power in contemporary global politics
Examine how [state and non-state?] actors operate within the global system
Undertake a carefully informed analysis of contemporary political challenges underpinned by research skills
Develop a lifelong commitment to active global citizenship through collaboration and agency
In practice, the course revolves around studying theory of political interaction and then applying said theory to more deeply understand case examples. The theories and the case examples form the building-blocks of expressing knowledge in the GloPo context.
There are four key units in the course:
Power, Sovereignty, and International Relations
Human Rights
Development
Peace and Conflict
These units each bring with them new theories to absorb and novel case studies through which they are applied and synthesized.