Politics and International Relations (BSc)

The subfields of international relations and political theory have a long history of cross-fertilization. Scholars in one field have often developed the ideas and debates that emerge in the other field in interesting ways. Despite this cross-fertilizatio...

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...

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...

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...

The fact that children have human rights, i.e. children’s rights, and that these rights should underpin any decision, law and policy that is relevant to children, have been enshrined in international law instruments, like the UN Convention on the Rights o...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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

Politics is often about conflict, but sometimes that conflict takes place within legislative bodies and other times in the streets. Most of what we study in political science courses focuses on conflict within the electoral framework, but this course asks...

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 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...

This module builds upon the material learnt in the first year in STAT1003. It aims to increase your knowledge of social science research strategies and methods of collecting data (both quantitative and qualitative). It does this by covering the whole rese...

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...

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...

The fact that children have human rights, i.e. children’s rights, and that these rights should underpin any decision, law and policy that is relevant to children, have been enshrined in international law instruments, like the UN Convention on the Rights o...

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...

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...

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 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...

Politics is often about conflict, but sometimes that conflict takes place within legislative bodies and other times in the streets. Most of what we study in political science courses focuses on conflict within the electoral framework, but this course asks...

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,...

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...

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...