The International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum is increasingly popular in both national and international secondary education settings. The "Theory of knowledge" (TOK) course is cast as the prime example of the international globalised values the IB Diploma represents. This article argues that such a positioning is contested within the TOK curriculum document, leading to confusion and tension in the positioning of teachers, students and learning. Two constructions of TOK are identified through discourse analysis, each of which positions teachers, students and learning differently. One construction serves primarily political goals, while the other serves pedagogical purposes. The tension between these positions may cause confusion for teachers and students, although techniques of tension reduction are identified. Further, this article argues that, in practice, both the pedagogical and political purposes of TOK may be achieved despite the tension in the curriculum document, if the personal pedagogical ideology of the teacher coincides with the political positioning of TOK. (Contains 1 table.)