Developing a program

Teachers should use the Study Design and this advice to develop a teaching and learning program that includes appropriate learning activities to enable students to develop the knowledge and skills identified in the outcomes in each unit.

Global Politics is a study of how key global actors interact in contemporary international relations. The course focuses on the challenges to the power and sovereignty of states as a result of the forces of globalisation, ethical issues and global crises. Students identify and describe specific global actors and evaluate their aims, roles and power through case studies of actions that have taken place in the twenty-first century. Case studies are an important resource when contextualising and elaborating on the key knowledge and key skills. The Study Design states that for all Areas of Study students must use examples and case studies from within the last 10 years. This is to ensure the teaching and learning program in Global Politics remains contemporary and relevant. It may be helpful to contextualise case studies with information that is prior to 10 years, however, only analysis and evaluation from the last 10 years should be assessed. It is possible to link and to use case studies across Areas of Study and teachers can plan the teaching and learning program with this in mind. For example, Unit 4 - Areas of Study 2: Global crisis, the two crisis chosen can be used as an issue that requires multilateral resolution in Unit 3 - Area of Study 1: Global Actors. In analysing the crisis of armed conflict, teachers might develop the learning program as follows:

• Unit 3 - Area of Study 1: Global actors - Contested borders, United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court and prosecuting war crimes, human rights NGOs (such as Amnesty International), global terrorist movements.
• Unit 3 - Area of Study 2: Power in the Asia-Pacific – the chosen state’s response to a particular armed conflict.
• Unit 4 - Area of Study 1: Ethical Issues - human rights (responsibility to protect), people movement (Syrian migrant crisis) and arms control can all be relevant to armed conflict.

It is important when developing a teaching and learning program that it includes the scope of study, rationale, aims, introductory paragraph to each Area of Study, outcome statement, key knowledge and key skills. The teaching and learning program should explicitly teach all key terms and concepts and provide opportunities to apply them to contemporary issues and case studies. A glossary of terms can be found in this Advice for Teachers.

Unit 3: Global actors

Area of Study 1: Global actors  focuses on the study of power dynamics of the global political system by assessing the influence, interaction and competition between key global actors. When developing a learning program, avoid spending too long studying each global actor in depth and focus on the aims, roles and power of global actors. It is necessary for students to understand the distinction between states and nations and why the concept of sovereignty is essential to the survival of a state and thus a state’s national interests. Regional groupings may include the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or European Union (EU), however it cannot include the G8 or G20 as these groups are based on economic standing not geographical proximity of the member states. Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs) exist to maintain global governance and they often have the power to demand action from member states yet at the same time their legitimacy relies on their member states accepting the power of the IGO. This relationship shows the complexity of how power is not necessarily one-directional as state sovereignty may be challenged but also how states can challenge the authority of IGOs. Non-state actors must be specific global actors, such as Amnesty International, Greenpeace, organised religions or terrorists, and not a study of the type of non-state actor in general. If a global terrorist movement is selected as one of the two non-state actors, it must operate in at least two states. Consider the reasons for the growth in non-state actors and their role in challenging the power of the state and placing pressure on states and IGOs. Only one Transnational Corporations (TNC) should be studied by assessing how it influences other global actors. Some current examples for possible investigation include: Royal Dutch Shell Group, Glencore, ExxonMobil Corporation, Samsung Electronics and Apple.

Area of Study 2: Power in the Asia-Pacific focuses on effective use of various types of power of a specific Asia-Pacific state (Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan or the United States of America) in pursuit of its national interests within its region and globally. This means it is possible to look at Chinese aid in Africa, the USA’s influence in the Middle-East or Australia’s economic arrangements with the European Union. Teachers can make connections between the content studied in Unit 3 and Unit 4. The national interests of the state can be varied, however for the purpose of this study it is important to stay within the parameters of national security, economic prosperity, regional relationships and international standing. Students should be able to identify and explain relevant factors that shape each national interest. For example, the current Chinese government is pursuing the ‘Chinese Dream’ that is linked to economic prosperity and international standing and it would be possible to include the Chinese Dream as part of the study of those national interests.

Unit 4: Global Challenges

Area of Study 1: Ethical issues and debates requires the study of TWO global ethical issues by examining the responses of global actors to the issue and three debates relating to the ethical issue. International law includes customary international law, treaties, declarations and other formal written agreements. Students will need to analyse at least two international laws and/or as many as appropriate for that ethical issue and within the time constraints of the learning program. It is not necessary for the international law, be it customary international law or a written legal document, to have been created within the last 10 years, however evidence and actions by global actors responding to the international law must be within the last 10 years. For the responses and debates students are required to include a realist and a cosmopolitan perspective and therefore important that they can articulate and provide arguments from both perspectives for each debate. Crucial to the responses of global actors is evaluating the effectiveness of the response. Students need to relate the ‘effectiveness’ to a particular perspective in order to accurately evaluate the response.

Area of Study 2: Global crises focuses on the complex global crises that require multilateral action in order to be effectively resolved. It is important that two crises are studied equally. In developing a program for this area of study it is important to remember that it is possible to use case studies and global actors that have been utilised in other Areas of Study. For example, Economic Instability:

• Unit 3 - Area of Study 1: Global Actors - Regional groupings (EU), the International Monetary Fund, Transnational Corporations.
• Unit 3 - Area of Study 2: Power in the Asia-Pacific – the chosen state’s response to economic instability.
• Unit 4 - Area of Study 1: Ethical Issues and debates - human rights (economic challenges) and development can relate to economic instability.

In terms of studying a particular crisis, it is possible to look at the causes, responses and challenges from a macro or micro perspective. For example, a macro perspective considers the causes of armed conflict whereas a micro perspective would examine the causes of the armed conflict in Syria. The macro perspective works well for climate change and economic instability where it is possible to discuss theories instead of specific events relating to the crisis. It is possible to take the macro approach for armed conflict and terrorism but it may be easier to examine a specific armed conflict or terrorist groups/states.

Each Unit involves at least 50 hours of scheduled classroom instruction over the duration of a semester. Consistent with this, time allocations are suggested as a guide for teachers of Units 3 and 4.

Unit 3: Global actors​

Unit 4: Global Challenges