Globalisation and World Politics

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Express your understanding of a module through written communication
• Assess the validity of differing perspectives
• Analyse complex empirical information using appropriate methods

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Produce analyses of particular concepts and issues related to globalisation
• Summarise and critically evaluate much of the literature on globalisation

The first part of the course deals with the various theoretical perspectives with regard to the processes of globalization

The second part of the unit examines the impact that globalization processes are having upon domestic and international political arrangements. Globalisation is purportedly unsettling the Westphalian order and, in so doing, challenges the relations between states and society, and our understandings of their respective roles in the international order. We will examine current debates within the globalisation literature concerning the fate of the welfare state. Several scholars argue that the pressures exerted by globalisation will inevitably lead to lower levels of spending by the industrialised states as a result of a reduction in their tax revenues. Others argue that state spending in certain areas brings significant social and economic benefits which are recognised and appreciated by these companies. The lectures therefore evaluate both viewpoints. At the same time, the lectures alert the students to the fact that a very different set of dynamics are affecting the welfare state in the developing world.

The final set of lectures examines the financial crisis, its impact on globalization and the resulting financial architecture that has been put in place.

Teaching and learning methods

2 hours of lectures per week. All will be recorded and posted on Blackboard. Lectures will be delivered either face to face or online only depending upon University and Public Health England Guidance at the time. Total of 24 hours of lectures (2 hours per week X 12 weeks) per module.

Weekly student participation in online discussion boards. 1 hour per week delivered asynchronously. (1 hour X 12 weeks)

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Art Scholte, J. (2005). Globalization– A Critical Introduction. London: Palgrave.

Ravenhill, John (2016). Global Political Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Held, D and McGrew, A., Ed (2003). The Global Transformations Reader. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Clark, I (1999). Globalization and International Relations Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Held, David and McGrew, Anthony (1999). Global Transformations. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Glenn, John (2007). Globalization: North-South Perspectives. Routledge.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External