Last modified: 21 Aug 2025 11:46
This course will examine the causes and the effects of the current climate crisis, while placing a critical lens over the solutions being brought forth. We will also examine different framings of climate security and look at the politics upholding the securities of particular actors, spaces, and knowledges over others. Students will attain a critical understanding of the complexities involved in protecting the planet’s climate, and addressing the many challenges on the horizon if we do not.
| Study Type | Postgraduate | Level | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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Critical Climate Politics and Security will provide students with an overview of the international politics involved in attempting to address the current climate crisis. To do this, there will be a focus on critical theory in order to understand how our relationship with the planet has evolved in modern times, and how the climate been mobilised as one of the most important policymaking space of the 21st century. This will involve engaging with a variety of conceptual and theoretical discourses, ranging from the international political economy of green consumerism to the necropolitics of environmental degradation to justice-based frameworks around energy and the climate. Through a mixture of seminars and student-led tutorials, the course will also focus on a variety of topics, including – and not limited to – the relationship between disaster risk reduction and climate policy; key international gatherings and their impact on environmental and climate health; the critical role of environmental and climate justice movements in articulating new solutions; and just transitions and community-based energy projects. To ensure that the interests of each year’s cohort are reflected in the course, students will also have the chance to collectively choose one of the nine weekly topics covered. No previous experience in climate politics, political science/International Relations is expected or necessary for this course.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 20 | Feedback Weeks | 24 | |
| Feedback |
Word Count: 2000 |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Analyse the nexus between climate change and the politics of security between various key actors in international relations |
| Conceptual | Create | Produce original academic and practitioner-facing outputs around pertinent issues within the politics of climate change |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Evaluate the efficacy of current climate policies, institutions, and regimes |
| Factual | Understand | Locate various actors and their roles involved in determining priority issues in climate politics and security |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 17 | Feedback Weeks | 20 | |
| Feedback |
Word Count: 2000 Students will receive feedback three weeks after submission via TurnItIn. |
Word Count | 2000 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Analyse the nexus between climate change and the politics of security between various key actors in international relations |
| Conceptual | Create | Produce original academic and practitioner-facing outputs around pertinent issues within the politics of climate change |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Evaluate the efficacy of current climate policies, institutions, and regimes |
| Factual | Understand | Locate various actors and their roles involved in determining priority issues in climate politics and security |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 13 | Feedback Weeks | 16 | |
| Feedback |
Word Count: 1500 Students will receive feedback three weeks after submission via TurnItIn. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Analyse the nexus between climate change and the politics of security between various key actors in international relations |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
|
|
||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Create | Produce original academic and practitioner-facing outputs around pertinent issues within the politics of climate change |
| Factual | Understand | Locate various actors and their roles involved in determining priority issues in climate politics and security |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Evaluate the efficacy of current climate policies, institutions, and regimes |
| Conceptual | Analyse | Analyse the nexus between climate change and the politics of security between various key actors in international relations |
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