Diplomacy and International Governance MRes

What you'll study

You will learn from the most influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators, exposing you to the latest theories and developments from across your discipline.

Modules

Our MRes Diplomacy and International Governance programme covers a wide range of topics; to give you a taster we have expanded on some of the modules affiliated with this programme and the specific assessment methods associated with each module.

• Compulsory

Concepts and Controversies in Diplomacy and International Governance

Concepts and Controversies in Diplomacy and International Governance

This insightful module will look at the latest controversies and debates affecting diplomacy and international governance, alongside the evolution of the international system. You will develop an understanding of how the Vienna convention influences diplomatic relations, whilst considering the role of institutions and actors in contemporary international governance. Diplomatic negotiation and international bargaining is also a key aspect of this module, as well as the study of international diplomacy and governance in the 21st Century.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module you should be able to:

• Critically evaluate the concepts and theories of diplomacy as the exercise of political influence that includes strategies, tactics and techniques
• Critically evaluate the concepts, theories and controversies of contemporary international governance
• Analyse the processes of diplomatic policy-making including alternative models of how policy evolves
• Critically evaluate the importance of assessment, advocacy, bargaining and persuasion as dynamic features of the study of diplomacy
• Critically assess the concepts and ethics of diplomacy in a professional environment
• Identify appropriate sources pertaining to the study of diplomacy and international governance
• Formulate research questions and research strategies for studying diplomacy and international governance
• Demonstrate oral communication skills appropriate for professional use
• Demonstrate research management and self-learning skills, as well as enhanced communication and ICT skills
• Manage research, resource materials, data and referencing, and research findings relating to the study of diplomacy

Assessment

• 100% coursework

Foreign Policy Analysis

Foreign Policy Analysis

Introduction: What is foreign policy analysis? Explaining foreign policy: the system level. Explaining foreign policy: the nation-state level. Explaining foreign policy: the level of the individual decision-maker. Interests, norms and ethics: the critical evaluation of foreign policy. Case 1. US foreign policy. Case 2. UK foreign policy. Case 3. Russia foreign policy. Case 4. China foreign policy. The Future of Foreign Policy Analysis I: Resilience and International Crisis Management. The Future of Foreign Policy Analysis II: Interplay of International Institutions and Global Arena.

The aim of this module is to the aim of this module is for you to understand the conceptual tools of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA), acquire specific knowledge relevant to an understanding of the foreign policies of key state actors in the global arena, and develop awareness of the issues and policy contexts that shape these policies.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module you should be able to:

• Situate the analysis of foreign policy within the field of International Relations
• Identify and deploy the key concepts and terminology of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA)
• Identify and evaluate key issues shaping the formulation and implementation of foreign policy
• Apply this knowledge to specific cases of foreign policy decision-making and compare these cases in a systematic manner
• Locate FPA information and evidence from primary and secondary sources
• Identify the main approaches to the study of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) and Comparative Foreign Policy (CFP)
• Critically assess foreign policy practice
• Employ critical judgement in relation to case studies of US and UK foreign policy
• Locate and use appropriate evidence base in a critical essay
• Reflect on their own learning and use constructive feedback from the module tutor, and peers

Assessment

100% Coursework consisting of:

• 40% Essay 1
• 60% Essay 2

Collaborative Research Project

Collaborative Research Project

This module focuses on research in a real-world context. On completion of the module, you will have completed a full rapid cycle of teamwork-based empirical research originating from a problem set by a real organisation, community, business or similar. You will spend the module identifying appropriate approaches and research methods, planning and executing the research and disseminating the results back to their external project partner.

This exciting module will encourage you to learn and apply concepts related to team roles, collaborative working and shared leadership. You will be expected to apply social science and design research methods, whilst utilising their critical thinking and reflection skills.

You will also engage with the project by developing your practical research skills and project management skills, and will discover how to successfully manage stakeholder expectations, while giving practical consideration to research ethics and sustainability issues.

This hands-on module acts as a springboard for those wishing to gain an introduction to the issues related to real-world research, in preparation for an MRes Dissertation or subsequent PhD.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module you should be able to:

• Work in diverse and interdisciplinary research teams
• Understand and be able to undertake a project and team based real-world research process
• Apply critical enquiry, reflection, and appropriate methods to identify, frame, and resolve issues and problems related to research initiatives.
• Identify stakeholder issues, values and worldviews, while collecting and analysing evidence-based information and knowledge to develop appropriate research insights, practices and outputs.
• Identify, structure and reflect on key issues and propose solutions to undertaking research in creative ways using appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Enhance their appreciation for diversity and divergent individual and disciplinary perspectives
• Be able to provide structured, reflective and critical feedback to peers and other stakeholders
• Plan and implement a real-world and team based research initiative including identifying problems, objectives, resources, timing, and appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Effectively communicate research ideas, methods and results to diverse stakeholders, using multi-channel, state of the art data, media and technologies
• Make informed, critical and reflective decisions in time-limited situations

Assessment

• Coursework (100%)

Foundations in Qualitative Research

Foundations in Qualitative Research

The content of this module is developed around current practice in qualitative research in a range of disciplinary fields. Content is drawn from the intended learning outcomes and is linked to the module assessment.

The programme content covered includes:

• How to become a skilled qualitative researcher
• Epistemological and theoretical issues related to qualitative research
• Design issues for qualitative studies
• Selecting an appropriate research method (action research, case study, critical discourse analysis, ethnography types, gender theories, grounded theory, participant observation, textual analysis)
• Analysing and interpreting qualitative data
• Issues and debates related to conducting qualitative research
• Evaluation of qualitative research studies
• An examination of ethical considerations
• Scholarly academic writing skills and information communication technologies
• The future of qualitative research in solving research problems

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of qualitative research paradigms, principles and practices
• Undertake an original and independent piece of qualitative research using a wide range of ontological and epistemological perspectives and methods
• Present a rationale for the application of qualitative research to interdisciplinary research problems
• Employ a range of qualitative approaches to record and analyse qualitative data
• Solve complex research problems through qualitative approaches
• Critically evaluate the characteristics of qualitative research
• Analyse, interpret and critically evaluate qualitative data
• Conceptualise and design qualitative research approaches for various research settings
• Employ qualitative approaches to research and evaluate their use and value in research
• Implement qualitative research projects for various disciplinary settings
• Demonstrate awareness of relative activities elsewhere and always apply a self-check against the best practice
• Find and evaluate scholarly sources
• Engage in critical reasoning, debate and argumentation
• Demonstrate effective communication and argumentation of the research findings with appropriate references
• Demonstrate effective project management skills and show commercial awareness of the managed task
• Demonstrate a positive attitude towards qualitative research approaches
• Demonstrate qualitative problem-solving skills in a variety of research settings

Assessment

• Coursework (100%)

Major research project

Major research project

The aims of this module are to give you an opportunity to research a related subject in detail, and present the findings in a format that best suits your academic strengths and future career goals.

The module will create an opportunity for you to put into practice real research skills and knowledge by leaning about a specific area, understanding the current problems through investigating the related state of the art and proposing solutions to push the frontiers forward in your chosen subject area.

Detailed experimentation (where possible), critical analysis of your results and effective presentation of the findings are three key milestones of this module.

You have a choice of project pathways:

• A research project suggested by you or your academic supervisor, which will be mutually agreed and carried out within the University, with or without links to the external organisations
• A University-based research project that is set by an external organisation and supervised by your University supervisor in collaboration with tan external organization representative
• A research project that involves direct collaboration and placement/visits to an external organization (subject to a suitable placement position being obtained)

Learning objectives

On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

• Articulate a clear, coherent and original research question, hypothesis or business problem in a suitable subject area
• Synthesise relevant sources (e.g. research literature, primary data, obtained results) to construct a coherent argument in presenting their findings to their research objectives
• Analyse data collected by an appropriate method during their research project
• Critically evaluate data collected in context with the state of the art available in public
• Engage in critical debate and argumentation in written work
• Apply principles of good scholarly practice to their written work
• Perform an appropriate literature review using library databases or other reputable sources
• Determine the most appropriate research methods for a particular subject area
• Plan a research project and produce a realistic gantt chart demonstrating their intended timelines
• Synthesise information from appropriate sources
• Demonstrate rational use of research methods and available tools
• Select and use appropriate investigative and research skills
• Demonstrate effective project planning skills
• Find and evaluate scholarly sources
• Engage in critical reasoning, debate and argumentation
• Demonstrate effective researching to reach the set objectives
• Demonstrate effective presentation and report writing skills
• Successfully manage a project from idea to completion
• Demonstrate commercial awareness or the impact of knowledge transfer in a business or research environment

You should also be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The importance of research project planning
• The importance of researching the state of the art and understanding the subject area using literature review or other means such as software programmes, standard specifications etc.
• Theoretical as well as practical perspectives of the research objectives
• Methods of data analysis and their suitability for the intended project objectives
• The most effective methods of presentation of the collected and analysed data to relate it to the project objectives
• The ethical implications of research

Assessment

• Final Project Report/Thesis (60%)
• Final Presentation (20%)
• Interim Project Report (20%)

Quantitative Research Methods

Quantitative Research Methods

By the end of this module you will be able to make informed assessments of the design and construction of quantitative data sources and their implications for analyses. The module will carefully guide you through the best methods to appropriately prepare and analyse quantitative data using statistical software; and apply and interpret a range of forms of statistical analysis competently, including descriptive, inferential and multivariate techniques.

The module will focus on concepts, methods and skills central to quantitative social research, including data collection approaches and concept operationalisation. Building on a grounding in ideas relating to probability sampling, sampling error and statistical inference will extend from comparisons of means and simple cross-tabular analyses to a discussion of multivariate analysis approaches, including linear and logistic regression, but also introducing other techniques relevant to specific analytical goals (e.g. factor analysis, ANOVA, principal components analysis, cluster analysis and hazard models).

Teaching methods will mostly consist of practical classes and workshops. You will gain hands-on familiarity with existing, high profile quantitative sources, including longitudinal studies, and the practicalities of handling data from such sources. This module can act as a springboard for those wishing to gain more specific and advanced quantitative skills in subsequent training, in preparation for an MRes Dissertation or subsequent PhD.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module you should be able to:

• Critically reflect on and provide well-grounded analysis of the appropriate type of quantitative analysis required for a specific research project
• Understand the validity and robustness of the findings reported upon in research
• Critically reflect upon the presented results and the extent to which these support conclusions drawn in research
• Translate research question into research model into quantitative analysis strategy
• Perform basic quantitative methods (such as correlations, Chi-2, factor analysis, regression analysis)
• Recognizing, and addressing commonly found quantitative research related issues in current scholarly work
• Be able to determine the extent to which research presented is appropriately researched
• Be able to challenge quantitative research presented
• Select and use appropriate quantitative research approaches
• Demonstrate effective research strategy decision-making

Assessment

• Report (40%)
• Assignments (60%)

Research Design, Practice and Ethics

Research Design, Practice and Ethics

The aims of this module are to prepare you for research planning, design and execution cycles when carrying out research. You will discover how to implement good research practices and adopt professional research ethics. The module will also equip students with the relevant skills, knowledge and understanding to embark onto a professional research career in industry or academia.

Research execution stages will be discussed in detail. These include choosing the best research methods, executing the most efficient, professional and ethical research process and achieving set objectives.

Students will discover the best possible data collection methods and will understand how to perform critical analysis of data including comparison against the state of the art available in the public domain.