Postgraduate Politics And International Relations 2022-2023

This course lays the foundations for, explores, and critically analyses the main theoretical paradigms and debates in International Relations, and engages with the complexity of debates on concepts in IR. The theoretical topics to be covered include debates on the international system, cooperation, world order, conflict, development, representation and identity. Students will also be introduced to some of the main debates in epistemology and methodology that apply to the discipline.

Introduces students to the key theories and themes in the disciplinary study of International Political Economy. Topics covered include global inequality and wealth distribution; financialization and crisis; precarization of work; global regulation of trade, labour, and money; gender, and the environment in the international political economy.

This is a compulsory element on the MSc International Relations programme.

​The dissertation in IPE enables students to develop in-depth knowledge of a topic of interest. Under close supervision by an expert on the topic selected, students have an opportunity to frame, develop, research and write a substantive and original thesis on a topic of their choosing.

This core module considers the contribution of strategy, as the mechanism for the application of power and force, to national, regional, and international security. It explores what strategy is (the pursuit of continuing advantage) and how to think clearly about it. Topics addressed include the nature of strategy, deterrence, arms control, strategic stability, nuclear policy, and emerging technology and future warfare.

This course provides the theoretical/conceptual underpinning for the PIR component of the MRes in Social Science.  It examines some of the central theoretical approaches in the study of political science and international relations which will be used to critically approach an analysis of a number of contemporary issues. Issues to be addressed will include, but are not confined to, the debates surrounding: participation and disaffection; political engagement; the politics of memory; nationalism and the extreme right.  Upon completion of the course, students should be able to apply these theoretical approaches to the analysis of issues within their own field of interest.

History and politics of energy since WW2. Nuclear Power politics – rise, fall and non-rise?. Renewable energy politics, rise and stagnation or triumph?  EU politics of liberalisation and interventions such as the EU ETS. Environmental politics and oil; conserving nature and extracting oil Arguments about regulations on oil and gas, planning arguments, arguments about oil spills, protests (eg Brent Spar). The politics of natural gas. The case of ‘fracking’. The course will discuss how economics and politics interact. No prior technical or econometric knowledge is required for this course.

Since the end of the Cold War the world has seen a resurgence of religious movements in the public sphere and, particularly since 9/11, religion has increasingly been viewed in policy debates as an issue of domestic and international security. In the ever increasingly globalized era, religious identifications criss-cross national boundaries and identities posing a dilemma for the established norms of the secular nation-state, political theory and actors. This course will examine some of the emerging theories associated with the rise of political religion, and the potential for conflict and peace that emerge.  Utilizing diverse case studies ranging from religious Zionism, to political Islam to national Hindu movements the course will critique and employ contemporary theoretical frameworks to gain understanding of the current phenomena of religion in the international political domain.

We live in an era of campaign activism, public protest and movement politics. While traditional politicians are maligned, political activism is on the rise, from the signing of online petitions to street rallies and public marches.  This course examines the history of political activism and campaigning with a focus on how protest turns to power. Combining theoretical understanding and empirical investigation, it analyses how and why political activism takes place, and the factors that determine campaign success or failure.  How do individual campaigners, groups and movements mobilise support? How do they effect change? How is the art of political activism and campaigning evolving?

This course explores the role of political protest in societies marked by deep divisions among identity groups. Reviewing historical cases and with a focus on contemporary examples, it asks why groups resort to protest to secure political change. It investigates state responses: why the government might agree to reform or resort to coercion and violence. The course draws on theories of peace and conflict and looks at examples of protest movements in deeply divided places including Bosnia, Iraq, Lebanon and Northern Ireland.

Topics:

Oil and Security – how oil crises have occurred since 1973, with a focus on the energy demand and supply pressures and the political factors triggering the 1973 and 1979 oil crises. OPEC and IEA. The factors underpinning the oil crisis of 2008 and its relationships to world economic crisis. The role of China in oil politics.

Natural Gas, the EU and Russia. How conceptions of (natural gas) energy security are constructed and implemented in the EU and Russia –Nuclear Power and energy security;– eg Iran .

Climate Security

International terrorism and counterterrorism dominate both contemporary scholarly debates in International Relations (IR) and policy discussions. This course examines these debates by focusing, on the one hand, on the (individual and/or structural) causes and different manifestations of terrorism and, on the other hand, on debates on how to respond to terrorism not only effectively but also without violating humanitarian principles and international law. Overall, the course aims to provide students with an overview of current research on international terrorism and counterterrorism in IR and its neighbouring disciplines and to enable them to develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of core aspects of the issue. 

The focus of this module is the key approaches, institutions, and contemporary issues in global security relating to the rise of China. Set in the context of broader global security issues, this module offers students an introduction to Chinese security policy and approaches to international relations. It lifts the vale on a very misunderstood, controversial, and increasingly critical feature of global security and world affairs. It will explore debates on China's rise, China's growing involvement in international politics, and global security.

This course explores the role of political parties as a channel of political activism and linkage from the general public to the policy making process. It will examine direct forms of activism and influence-making through political parties, primarily party membership. In addition, however, less conventional forms of activism and influence-making via parties will be explored. These can involve populist parties, and take non-conventional forms such as blockades, burning of books, etc.

This course is about activism as communication. It studies how activists pursue their causes by persuading publics of their ideas. It studies how they bring these ideas and causes into being. In particular this course is about contemporary activism, which means activism in the digital age(s). It puts technologies of communication at the centre. It focuses on how media enable activisms to campaign in different ways. It studies these issues around the globe.

The Strategic Studies dissertation is a compulsory element of the MSc Strategic Studies, Strategic Studies & International Law and Strategic Studies & Management degree programmes.

This is a compulsory element on the MRes Political Research programme.

The project will take the form of a traditional dissertation in that a research question will be set, theory that is relevant to the empirical topic under consideration will be selected and utilised to answer the research question, and an appropriate methodology will be used to answer the research question. There will be a discussion of the evidence and theory discussed and a cogent conclusion reached on the basis of the argument that is developed.

Students conduct independent research supervised by the coordinator or other staff members teaching on the programme into an area of political activism and campaigning. The dissertation is expected to apply the foundational theories and concepts learned in the programme’s component courses and to design a case-study driven research-based project.  Students are expected to demonstrate skills in research design, methodology, analysis, critical thinking and writing appropriate to the postgraduate level. The exact research design will be decided in consultation with the supervisor and will reflect the interests of the individual student.