International Political Theory MLitt

All International Political Theory MLitt students take two compulsory and two optional modules over the course of the programme. You may, with permission, take modules from other MLitt programmes in the School of International Relations or from another School.

The modules in this programme have varying methods of delivery and assessment. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue which is for the 2018–2019 academic year; some elements may be subject to change for 2019 entry.

Compulsory Modules

• Analysis and Interpretation in International Political Theory: introduces methods and interpretive approaches that can be taken in the study of international political theory.
• Texts in International Political Theory: explores the work of important political theorists with particular attention to the ways in which their thought is relevant for international and global affairs.

International Political Theory-focused options:

• African Political Thought: examines the main ideas of the great Africanist thinkers e.g. Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Nyerere, Nkrumah, Senghor, Cabral, Biko etc and discuss how these intellectuals reacted to the internal and external variables to evolve a body of ideas which together could be viewed as African political thought.
• Global Constitutionalism: explores developments in international politics and law that reveal an increasingly constitutional order.
• Non-Western Political Thought: explores a range of 'classic' and secondary texts that express different elements of non-Western thought, both ancient and contemporary, to understand the underlying assumptions about the body, political community and the world.
• 'Reason of State': Origin, Nature and Career of a Concept: studies the meaning, origins, development and significance of the notion of 'reason of state' in western political thought.
• Political Philosophy and World Order: explores philosophical reflections on the idea of world order through a study of key political philosophy texts.
• Politics After the ‘Death of God’: explores contributions in post-Nietzschean political philosophy and twentieth-century political theology as a way to understand the currency of notions such as tragedy, evil and hope in modern politics.
• Theories of Friendship and Enmity: this module addresses a number of classical texts in western political thought on the themes of friendship and enmity. Relevant passages from Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics and Ethics, Machiavelli's Prince and Discourses, Hobbes' Leviathan and Behemoth, Kant's Perpetual Peace, Schmitt's Concept of the Political and The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy and Derrida's Politics of Friendship will be analysed in some depth with the aim to single out their assumptions about human nature and to derive their implications for politics.
• Topics in International Political Thought: introduces students to key themes in the international realm through a close engagement with the ideas of a single theorist.

Other MLitt options available in the School of International Relations:

• Conflicts, Security and Democracy in the Greater Caucasus: examines the history, languages and culture of the Caucasus.
• Gender and Terrorism: explores gender as a tool for the construction and maintenance of power.
• Identity and Collective Violence: studies the concept of violence as a group or collective phenomenon.
• Ideologies and Social Movements in the Middle East: focuses on prominent ideologies in the modern history of the Middle East, and the role ideas play in the political mobilisation of society.
• Political Economy of Conflict: provides a political economy perspective on conflict in a developing economy.
• Political Order and Violence in the Middle East: examines the causes and consequences of political order and violence in the Middle East.
• Terrorism and Liberal Democracy: explores the development of contemporary terrorism; and the conceptional and definitional issues concerning terrorism.
• Religion and International Politics: investigates the so-called 'global resurgence' of politicised religion.
• Security and Justice Institutions in World Politics: examines the role of different international institutions in governing world politics.
• Social Movements, Revolutions and Authoritarianism in North Africa: investigates the dynamics and outcomes of social protests in the authoritarian regimes of North African region in the post-colonial period.

The final element of the MLitt is a 15,000-word dissertation. The dissertation should focus on an area of international political theory in which you are interested. Each student is supported by a relevant supervisor from the School who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation must be submitted by the end of August.

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MLitt, there are exit awards available that allow suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.