International Relations (BSc)

To introduce the theoretical underpinnings of the democratic state; to outline theoretical and practical changes and challenges to the democratic state both today and in the future; to draw links between theoretical ideas about the democratic state and de...

Although a ‘common sense’ view of world politics is often presented in non-academic contexts, there is little agreement among experts on what international relations is, and how we should think about the discipline. This module enables students to critica...

For many people, the phrase “American political thought” either has an obvious meaning – some version of liberal democracy, surely – or it is a contradiction in terms – America has politics, but seems to exercise little thought. This module sets the recor...

After briefly considering the relevance of the traditional Chinese world order to contemporary Chinese political life, the module then focuses on two core themes: (1) Chinese domestic politics; (2) China’s external relations. Units on Chinese politics wil...

Reading and discussing an exemplary document from each period ( Lectures on each topic).

The aim of this module is to familiarise you with several important, but competing, theories of justice. Such theories give guidance on important questions of distributive justice (who ought to get what, when and why?), and provide, to varying degrees, gr...

Most states claim to be democratic. This module looks at the theory of democracy, including foundational questions about political inclusion, participation, and equality. As a result, students will develop a greater understanding of what democracy require...

Less than a century ago democracy was a relatively rare form of government. Today it is typically seen as the only legitimate type of political regime. Indeed, the language of democracy has assumed such usage that even dictators employ supposedly democrat...

• To take a deep and critical look at the contested nature of development and to evaluate the development achievement. • To study in depth the mainstream economic development ideology from the early 1980s to the present, focusing on the Washington and po...

A sample of topics addressed in this module includes: a) theoretical approaches to the subject; b) the redefinition of the notions of sovereignty, borders, citizenship, and national identity; c) the role and mobilization of diasporas as transnational poli...

Have you ever considered what it takes to be a political leader? Have you ever wondered why political leaders make the decisions that they do? Have you ever thought about the types of dilemmas that leaders face every day as the seek to enact forms of demo...

This module involves the ethical evaluation of public policies. Note that it is not primarily concerned with how public policies are made and implemented, nor with non-ethical assessment of them, such as how effective they are in achieving their aims. The...

This module provides an overview of ethical challenges associated with the use of force for political purposes. Drawing on historical and contemporary ideas and information, we consider whether, how and why ethical principles influence strategic and tacti...

It is the first time in history that we can approach the problem of European security architecture in terms of governance, rather than hegemony or the balance of power. The proliferation of European and global institutions concerned with addressing differ...

How can we understand the role of gender in political systems? Why is it important to acknowledge the intersections of gender with race, class, sexuality and disability? What can/should be done about male over-representation in legislatures worldwide? Why...

The module will look at the main issues and trends, concepts and definitions on globalisation within the discipline of international relations.

The European integration project has achieved a point, at which fundamental questions concerning its near and long-term future need to be urgently addressed. Unfortunately, the current debates are often hindered by the loud and dominant voices of extremis...

The module provides a wide overview of the key theories and issues related to contemporary international security. The module includes eight theme-based lectures, preceded by general introductions and finishing with revision and assessment. Each theme-bas...

This module will develop understanding of how to quantitatively analyse data in the social sciences, building on the foundations from the research methods modules in the first year. It will be focused around the common methods for data analysis that are n...

Migration is both a political topic that is growing in importance under contemporary conditions of global transformation and an issue that raises important (and difficult) questions for political theory. This module is designed to address these questions ...

Equal opportunity In line with the University’s Equal Opportunities Policy, individuals are treated on their relevant merits and abilities and are given equal opportunities within the module, School and University. The aim of the policy is to ensure t...

An introduction to political thinking, focusing on major thinkers and themes and exploring how to engage in political theorising. Pre-requisite for PAIR3015

This module provides an overview of the politics surrounding efforts to safeguard and promote human health worldwide. Drawing on ideas and information from within and beyond the discipline of International Relations, it incorporates five overlapping persp...

This module provides a theoretical and empirical overview of the role played by information, communication, and media within the politics of the modern state. Students are introduced to canonical as well as marginal and emerging perspectives on media poli...

The framing of this module is that Machiavelli has seriously misled modern political thinking by permitting a wedge to be driven between morality and politics. Even if that was not Machiavelli’s intention, that has been the consequence of his ideas. Thus,...

This module introduces key theories and models in the study of public policy and seeks to encourage a critical appreciation of the main trends in contemporary public policy-making. It links policy theory with practical skills of analysis and advocacy.

This module will introduce students to the practice of qualitative research in politics and international relations. Students will learn and apply key skills involved in gathering and analysing qualitative data, and reflect on the strengths and limitation...

All over the world the ideal of democratic government has higher support than at almost any time in human history. Yet many citizens of democracies are very frustrated with the way the democracy they live in works. It is one thing to recognise the contemp...

The development of Strategy and its implementation, for good or ill, has had enormous impact on shaping the world. It has a fascinating history, traceable from the Hebrew Bible and ancient Greece to the widespread overuse of the word today to cover actio...

Migration is both a political topic that is growing in importance under contemporary conditions of global transformation and an issue that raises important (and difficult) questions for political theory. This module is designed to address these questions ...

This module focuses on the European Union (EU) as a system of public policy-making and aims to provide students with a working knowledge of the history of European integration, the main EU institutions, the EU policy process, main theoretical debates as w...

The researching and writing of an 8,000-word dissertation provides you with the opportunity to integrate and hone a variety of skills acquired and extended during your studies, and to significantly deepen your knowledge of a topic of your choice. In m...

The human sciences are evolving fast to incorporate new forms of data and powerful new analysis tools. Advances in machine learning have allowed huge improvements in our ability to predict individual characteristics and preferences, while our interactio...

For many people, the phrase “American political thought” either has an obvious meaning – some version of liberal democracy, surely – or it is a contradiction in terms – America has politics, but seems to exercise little thought. This module sets the recor...

This module will develop the skills of the student as a social researcher to conduct in depth analyses of secondary, large scale datasets, leading up to the use of these techniques in the final year dissertations and ensuring that students have appropriat...

After briefly considering the relevance of the traditional Chinese world order to contemporary Chinese political life, the module then focuses on two core themes: (1) Chinese domestic politics; (2) China’s external relations. Units on Chinese politics wil...

This module explores the relationship between cinema and political theory. More specifically it addresses cinema as a distinct medium of political theorizing or political education. The module explores this topic through critical engagement of SOME of the...

Reading and discussing an exemplary document for each period; lectures on each

The aim of this module is to familiarise you with several important, but competing, theories of justice. Such theories give guidance on important questions of distributive justice (who ought to get what, when and why?), and provide, to varying degrees, gr...

Most states claim to be democratic. This module looks at the theory of democracy, including foundational questions about political inclusion, participation, and equality. As a result, students will develop a greater understanding of what democracy require...

Less than a century ago democracy was a relatively rare form of government. Today it is typically seen as the only legitimate type of political regime. Indeed, the language of democracy has assumed such usage that even dictators employ supposedly democrat...

The module will reflect on who or what constitutions the "South" in internal relationships, to take a deep and critical look at the contested nature of development and to evaluate the development achievement, and to study in depth the mainstream economic ...

A sample of topics addressed in this module includes: a) theoretical approaches to the subject matter; b) the redefinition of the notions of sovereignty, borders, citizenship, and national identity; c) the role and mobilization of diasporas as transnation...

Have you ever considered what it takes to be a political leader? Have you ever wondered why political leaders make the decisions that they do? Have you ever thought about the types of dilemmas that leaders face every day as the seek to enact forms of demo...

This module involves the ethical evaluation of public policies. Note that it is not primarily concerned with how public policies are made and implemented, nor with non-ethical assessment of them, such as how effective they are in achieving their aims. The...

This module provides an overview of ethical challenges associated with the use of force for political purposes. Drawing on historical and contemporary ideas and information, we consider whether, how and why ethical principles influence strategic and tacti...

It is the first time in history that we can approach the problem of European security architecture in terms of governance, rather than hegemony or the balance of power. The proliferation of European and global institutions concerned with addressing differ...

How can we understand the role of gender in political systems? Why is it important to acknowledge the intersections of gender with race, class, sexuality and disability? What can/should be done about male over-representation in legislatures worldwide? Why...

This module provides an introduction to recent debates within international political theory on the issue of global justice. It addresses questions such as: What obligations do individuals have to those affected by poverty or ecological degradation on t...

The module will look at the main issues and trends, concepts and definitions on globalisation within the discipline of international relations.

The European integration project has achieved a point, at which fundamental questions concerning its near and long-term future need to be urgently addressed. Unfortunately, the current debates are often hindered by the loud and dominant voices of extremis...

Migration is one of the fundamental issues for 21st century politics. The module focuses on the philosophical arguments concerning: 1. Open borders and a human right to freedom of movement 2. The unilateral right of states to exclude migrants 3. Democ...

This course introduces key theories and models in the study of political behaviour and political psychology and seeks to encourage students to develop a critical appreciation of how people develop their political beliefs and preferences, and how this affe...

This module provides an overview of the politics surrounding efforts to safeguard and promote human health worldwide. Drawing on ideas and information from within and beyond the discipline of International Relations, it incorporates five overlapping persp...

This module provides a theoretical and empirical overview of the role played by information, communication, and media within the politics of the modern state. Students are introduced to canonical as well as marginal and emerging perspectives on media poli...

The framing of this module is that Machiavelli has seriously misled modern political thinking by permitting a wedge to be driven between morality and politics. Even if that was not Machiavelli’s intention, that has been the consequence of his ideas. Thus,...

This module introduces key theories and models in the study of public policy and seeks to encourage a critical appreciation of the main trends in contemporary public policy-making. It links policy theory with practical skills of analysis and advocacy.

All over the world the ideal of democratic government has higher support than at almost any time in human history. Yet many citizens of democracies are very frustrated with the way the democracy they live in works. It is one thing to recognise the contemp...

The development of Strategy and its implementation, for good or ill, has had enormous impact on shaping the world. It has a fascinating history, traceable from the Hebrew Bible and ancient Greece to the widespread overuse of the word today to cover actio...

Migration is a topic at the centre of political concerns on scales ranging from local to global. The central question that this module addresses is this: How should transnational migration be governed? It does so by focusing on the key normative deb...

This module focuses on the European Union (EU) as a system of public policy-making and aims to provide students with a working knowledge of the history of European integration, the main EU institutions, the EU policy process, main theoretical debates as w...