Global Politics: Is Putin right to fear NATO?

This is an inquiry-based, structured and fully scaffolded series of lessons examining the role of NATO, its past and potential future expansion, and whether Putin is justified in (allegedly) fearing NATO. The tasks include creating a timeline of NATO events and expansion, a comparison of past and present security concerns, Swedish and Finnish ascension, a focus on whether NATO is a tool of US Hegemony, all of which is taken into consideration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There is ample detail on each task, with students constantly linking back to the core concepts of power, legitimacy, sovereignty and interdependence. There is also a task related to the TOK Exhibition.

There are eight tasks which are all differentiated, with all resources provided, including reading and videos. It is very discussion-based, with some research opportunities, so it should take at least four hour-long lessons due to the detail require of some of the tasks.

This lesson is good to go as soon as your download it, and the lesson is easily adaptable and editable as there is no branding or fancy gimmicks on the slides. Links to the videos are in the notes on the slides and are also included in the file. Relevant articles are also provided in an easily accessible format. It will transfer easily to Teams, Google or any other online format but also works as a paper lesson. The Word Doc for students to work on a PPT to guide the lesson and provoke discussion.