Global Politics

Course Overview

 ‘Studying and understanding International Relations holds the key to all of our futures’

[The Independent]

Global Politics is an exciting course that explores essential political concepts, as well as enabling students to explore and gain an understanding of issues that affect their own lives. It is offered at Dartford Grammar School in the Sixth Form at Higher level only in the IB Diploma.

The course examines fundamental ideas of power, liberty and equality, in a range of contexts and at a variety of levels, allowing students to develop an understanding of the local, national, international and global dimensions of political activity. Global politics draws on a variety of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. It helps students to understand abstract political concepts by grounding them in real world examples and case studies, encouraging critical engagement with a variety of perspectives and approaches to global politics.

Developing international mindedness and an awareness of multiple perspectives is at the heart of this course. It encourages dialogue and debate, nurturing the capacity to interpret competing and contestable claims – key transferable skills that will support student development towards a multitude of future opportunities.

“I was highly impressed by your students”

(Professor Joseph Nye, Dean of JFK School of Politics at Harvard and Foreign Policy advisor to the Obama administration)

What do students say?

 ‘It’s current and constantly changing’

 ‘I know the subject will benefit me in the future’

 ‘By far the most exciting subject I study’

 ‘It’s unique and eye-opening’

 ‘It helps you understand the world you live in’

Where will Global Politics take me?

Global Politics offers the development of a wide range of transferable skills that are essential to a multitude of analytical degrees and that are much sought after by employers.Over 50 DGS students went on to study a politics related course at university in 2018. These include courses such as Politics, International Relations, PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics), Political Science, HSPS (Historical Social and Political Studies), Political Thought and various Combined Honours courses. Of course there are a range of academic subjects for which Global Politics played an integral role, including Law, History, Medicine and Social Sciences.

Popular Destinations for 2018 were Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick, Durham, UCL, Kings, Edinburgh, Exeter, Nottingham, Leeds, Loughborough, and Reading.