Identity (DP IB Global Politics: HL): Revision Note

Identity in global politics

A set of topic areas is presented for the study of global political challenges to facilitate your explorations. These should not be seen as fully discrete or disconnected topics, but rather as overlapping areas of study that can contribute to understanding and addressing global challenges.

You can conduct an in-depth study of two of the topic areas-for example, security and health-or you may choose to explore the interconnections of multiple topic areas based on a selected case study.

• Identity refers to how individuals and groups define themselves and others - through nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, language, culture or class

• Identity shapes political behaviour: it influences how people vote, organise and make demands of the state

• Identity can be a source of solidarity and community, but also a driver of exclusion, discrimination and conflict

• In global politics, identity is central to debates about sovereignty, self-determination, minority rights and the legitimacy of political systems

Why is identity a global political challenge?

• Identity shapes which groups hold political power and which are excluded

  • States built on narrow definitions of national identity routinely marginalise minorities

• Identity-based conflicts are among the most intense and difficult to resolve

  • They involve fundamental questions of belonging, recognition and survival that cannot easily be negotiated

• The principle of state sovereignty frequently conflicts with minority rights and self-determination

  • States resist international scrutiny of how they treat their own populations

• Identity politics is increasingly transnational

  • Diaspora communities, international social movements and digital platforms mean that identity conflicts cross borders regardless of political boundaries

• Globalisation has simultaneously destabilised settled identities- through migration, cultural change, and digital communication - and provoked nationalist backlash against perceived threats to traditional ways of life

Key terms and concepts

A useful analytical lens: sovereignty vs self-determination

• One of the most productive ways to read an identity case study is through the tension between state sovereignty and self-determination - the principle that peoples have the right to determine their own political status and governance

  • It won't be the right lens for every case, but it has analytical traction on most of them

• Self-determination is enshrined in Article 1 of the UN Charter (1945) and in both major international human rights covenants (1966)

• Yet self-determination is one of the most contested principles in international law - it directly challenges state sovereignty and territorial integrity

• The tension arises because:

  • States resist any international right that might justify the secession of minority groups from their territory

  • Minority groups - particularly those facing persecution - argue that they cannot be bound by a state that denies their existence

  • The international community applies self-determination inconsistently: Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence was recognised by over 100 states; Catalonia's 2017 referendum was not recognised by any

Key distinctions in self-determination

• Internal self-determination - autonomy within an existing state; the right to political participation, cultural recognition and self-governance short of full independence

• External self-determination - secession and the creation of a new independent state; accepted in international law primarily in the context of decolonisation or systematic human rights violations

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

• Adopted at the UN World Summit in 2005, R2P holds that when a state fails to protect its citizens from mass atrocities (e.g. genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, war crimes) the international community has a responsibility to act

• Its application is deeply contested

  • The Russian veto on the UN Security Council has blocked action in Syria

  • ASEAN's non-interference principle has limited responses to Myanmar

Analytical model: How identity escalates politically

Identity does not operate as an isolated political force - it sets in motion a cascade of consequences that can escalate from formation to full-scale conflict and beyond

Identity formation

Groups develop a shared sense of belonging based on ethnicity, religion, language or culture; collective identity becomes the basis for political claims and demands

Identity mobilisation

Political leaders or movements use identity to organise support and define "in-group" vs "out-group"; identity politics emerges and minority groups face exclusion or marginalisation

State response

States manage diversity through inclusion (multiculturalism) or suppression (assimilation, repression); minority communities either integrate or face systematic discrimination

Identity-based conflict

When identity groups feel excluded, threatened or stateless, conflict can escalate into civil wars, separatist movements, ethnic cleansing or genocide

International attention

Global actors respond through humanitarian intervention, sanctions or recognition of new states; tension emerges between state sovereignty and the international responsibility to protect (R2P)

Post-conflict identity

Peace processes must address identity through power-sharing or constitutional protections; long-term stability depends on inclusive political settlements that recognise diverse identities

Current and recent identity challenges

• With those concepts and the sovereignty/self-determination framework in place, the contemporary world presents five major identity challenges:

  • Nationalist and ethno-nationalist conflict

    • Nationalism holds that a nation (a group with a shared identity) should have its own state or political recognition

    • When states are defined in narrow ethnic or religious terms, minorities are excluded from full citizenship and political participation

    • Ethno-nationalism has driven some of the most destructive conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries, including the Rwandan genocide, the Balkan wars and the persecution of the Rohingya

      • E.g. the rise of ethno-nationalist politics across Europe, the Americas and Asia has intensified debates about who "belongs" to a nation; the electoral success of far-right parties in Hungary, Italy and India

  • Statelessness and contested citizenship

    • Stateless people have no recognised nationality

    • They are denied basic rights, including access to education, healthcare, employment and the ability to travel

    • Statelessness is often the result of deliberate political choices

    • States may strip citizenship from minorities as a tool of exclusion and control

    • Approximately 4 million people are stateless globally; the Rohingya represent the world's largest stateless community

      • E.g. the Bidoon in Kuwait; residents stripped of citizenship in the Assam National Register of Citizens process in India

  • Indigenous rights

    • Indigenous communities worldwide continue to face dispossession, cultural erasure and political marginalisation

      • E.g. ongoing land rights disputes and forced assimilation policies affecting First Nations peoples in Canada and Australia

  • LGBTQ+ identity and rights

    • The legal and social status of LGBTQ+ people varies enormously across states — from full legal equality in some contexts to death penalties in others

    • Some states frame criminalisation as the protection of traditional or national values, presenting LGBTQ+ rights as a form of cultural imperialism

    • International human rights frameworks increasingly recognise LGBTQ+ rights, but enforcement mechanisms are severely limited

      • E.g. Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act (2023), which introduced severe penalties for same-sex relationships

• Diaspora and transnational identity

  • Diaspora communities (people living outside their ancestral homeland) frequently maintain strong political ties to their countries of origin

  • They can influence host-country politics (through voting, lobbying and advocacy) and home-country politics (through remittances and political pressure)

  • Diaspora communities are often caught between identities, navigating their adopted country's culture and their cultural heritage simultaneously

Identity at different levels

Actors and stakeholders

• When researching a case study on identity, students should identify a range of actors and stakeholders

  • Nation-states

    • Define citizenship, manage diversity, and either protect or suppress minority identities

    • May themselves be the agents of identity-based persecution

  • Ethnic and religious minorities

    • Assert rights, seek political representation, and pursue autonomy or independence

    • May organise politically within states or through diaspora networks internationally

  • International organisations (UN, UNHCR)

    • Promote minority rights, manage identity-related conflicts, and protect stateless populations

    • The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP, 2007) provides a key but non-binding framework for indigenous identity rights

  • Regional bodies (EU, ASEAN, AU)

    • Develop frameworks for minority protection and conflict resolution

    • ASEAN's non-interference principle frequently limits regional responses to identity-based persecution within member states

  • Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

    • E.g. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Minority Rights Group International

    • Advocate for marginalised groups, document human rights abuses, and provide legal and humanitarian support

  • Diaspora communities

    • Maintain transnational identities and influence both home and host-country politics

    • Can be powerful advocates for minority rights in international forums

  • Media and social platforms

    • Shape and amplify identity narratives; can fuel polarisation and hate speech or promote cross-cultural understanding

    • Social media has been directly linked to anti-Rohingya violence in Myanmar (UN Fact-Finding Mission report, 2018)

Example case studies

• The following examples illustrate the kinds of case studies students could develop for this topic area

Links to earlier course content

• The identity topic area connects to all four areas of the IB Global Politics course

Links to the other HL topic areas

• A case study on identity will frequently connect to other HL topic areas - identifying these links is essential for question 3