International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies - BA (Hons)

This module provides a broad introduction to International Development studies in tandem with International Relations and other Politics and IR courses. It presents the underlying theories and places these against contemporary globalisation processes and draws on the history of today’s political systems of developing and emerging states in Latin America, Africa, Asia, etc., including the impact of colonisation and the integration of the Third world into the global economy. Special consideration is given to the evolution of capitalism and the social transformations and struggles evident in the Global South, and from a comparative perspective. Issues include the roles of the international institutions, paths of developmental states, political cultures, religion, gender relations and the environment in today’s interconnected world.

The aim of this module is to introduce students to the study of International Relations as an academic discipline. It identifies the key actors in international relations and examines how these have changed or been threatened by the forces of globalisation. It also considers the historical context of international relations in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries and demonstrates the challenges that globalisation poses to the structures and processes of world politics. In particular, students will explore issues as diverse as the development of the Westphalian system, North-South tensions, the international political economy, theoretical approaches to international relations, and international security dilemmas, such as terrorism, nuclear proliferation, the clash of cultures, poverty, human rights, the role of gender, and the environment. At the end of the module students should be able to make informed judgements about current international affairs – and future developments.

This module examines the sources and changing nature of conflicts since 1945, at the global, regional and sub-national levels, and the attempts to resolve them through negotiation, mediation and economic and political integration. It introduces students to the main concepts in diplomatic and peace and conflict studies and provides them with a grounding in the evolving nature of conflicts since the end of World War II as well as the comparative analysis of those conflicts.

This module has two broad purposes. Firstly, it gives students an introduction to the main ideas underlying the study of politics. What are the dominant ideologies that have shaped politics and what are their principal contentions. Secondly, it will explore and systematically compare the principal characteristics of government.

One of the main objectives of the discipline of International Relations is to explain the behaviour of states in the international system. The main goal of this module, therefore, is to better understand the practice of foreign policy through the use of theory. The emphasis is conceptual – and the focus is on interdisciplinary theories of human and state behaviour applied to the study of foreign policy. The Module explores the theoretical core of International Relations and it outlines the different perspectives which can be used to understand the dynamics of the international system and the manner in whcih states orientate their foreign policy decisions.

This module examines theories of peace and conflict, and explores the key debates and works of the leading authors on these subjects. It relates these theories to the dynamics of conflict in the contemporary world, with an emphasis on institutions and organisations working for peace and environmental protection. It analyses the objectives and methods of particular organisations, focusing on their policies, practices and theoretical approaches. The module also provides an introduction to the core practical skills considered essential for anyone working in the fields of conflict prevention, mediation, crisis management, peacebuilding or protecting the environment, as well as the dilemmas they frequently face.

This module enables students to undertake a short period of career-related learning activity as part of their degree programme and to gain credit for their achievements. The activity may be for example current or previous employment activity, a placement, professional training, volunteering activity in the not-for-profit sector or elsewhere, or where available, within a virtual business environment or elsewhere within the University.

This module explores the practice of modern diplomacy. The first half of the module explores the historical emergence and evolution of diplomacy and the classic texts of diplomatic theory, before going on to concentrate on the roles and functions of traditional diplomatic institutions, systems and processes, such as embassies, foreign ministries, diplomatic services and international organisations.

This module will critically examine the democratic role of the mass media, audio-visual and communications services in contemporary national political environments.

This module explores the changing nature of relationships within and among societies both in the ‘North’ and the ‘global south’ from a multidisciplinary perspective. It focuses on contemporary approaches to global and grass-root movements and their strategy-trends in a variety of cultural and political contexts. Case studies of social movements, their development, expression and impact will form the basis for analysis. Themes include indigenous rights, gender and democracy, food sovereignty, international migration and economic power.

In the first decade of the 21st century, the affairs of the Middle East continue to engage a great deal of international attention. Focusing primarily on the Arab Middle East, Israel and the Gulf region, the module concentrates on the internal dynamics of this strategic region, and the external forces affecting it. Students will be expected to analyse how the states of the region relate to each other, and comprehend how political change has been shaped by the interaction between nationalist, religious and political forces.

This module will examine how the nature of power in international relations has changed since the ending of the Cold War. The collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the 1980s was argued by many to be a triumph of the West’s military and industrial might, ushering in what Francis Fukuyama described as the ‘end of history’ – the triumph of western liberal democratic ideas. However, events since then, not least the attacks of 9/11 and the economic collapse of 2008, have highlighted new threats that exist, the increasing role of non-state actors, and the rise of competing economic powers. Using the framework first put forward by Joseph Nye of “soft”, “hard” and now “smart power”, this module will examine how international politics is changing and how the nature of power - defined as the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes you want - has changed dramatically. It will show that power is not static, but that it may now be more complex in nature, as innovation, technologies and relationships change.

This module examines both the theory and practice of strategy. Combining an historical and contemporary approach, it explores how strategy has moved beyond the traditional approach, which concentrated on wars and military campaigns, to focus on a broader definition, embracing such developments as political strategy (for example, election or civil disobedience strategies).

This module will examine the historical origins, political dynamics and policy output of the European Union. It focuses on the reasons for the EU’s establishment, the nature of its politics and its principal policy activities.

This module examines a range of approaches to the cessation of contemporary conflicts and the creation of peaceful, productive conditions for interethnic and international cooperation, using case studies as a basis for discussion and analysis. It explores both the theory and practice of conflict resolution and peacebuilding, including liberal and critical approaches. Students will have the opportunity to develop their skills of independent research through an analysis of a case study of a contemporary conflict and efforts to achieve its resolution.

This core module offers students the opportunity to undertake a work placement for an employer that has a PIR role, enabling students directly to experience and observe operational practicalities of institutions that they have studied from an academic/theoretical perspective. In the process students will enhance their future employability. Students produce a report on their placement; design a research proposal on a topic related to the employer’s role; undertake the relevant research; and write up the findings in dissertation form.

This core module offers students the opportunity to undertake a work placement for an employer that has a PIR role, enabling students directly to experience and observe operational practicalities of institutions that they have studied from an academic/theoretical perspective. In the process students will enhance their future employability. Students produce a report on their placement; design a research proposal on a topic related to the employer’s role; undertake the relevant research; and write up the findings in dissertation form.

This module enables students to undertake a short period of career-related learning activity as part of their degree programme and to gain credit for their achievements. The activity may be for example current or previous employment activity, a placement, professional training, volunteering activity in the not-for-profit sector or elsewhere, or where available, within a virtual business environment or elsewhere within the University.

For this module students must design a research project relevant to their PIR degree programme, undertake the relevant research and write up the findings in a dissertation. They also write a report on the research process.

Research Skills and Employability will be an on-going theme throughout the module.

For this module students must design a research project relevant to their PIR degree programme, undertake the relevant research and write up the findings in a dissertation. They also write a report on the research process.
Research Skills and Employability will be an on-going theme throughout the module.

A politics grounded in interests other than the traditional geographic and class concern is increasingly prevalent, with sex/gender playing a growing role in political identity. On the one hand, women’s political participation has become an important issue internationally with increasing numbers of women elected to positions of leadership and heading governmental and non-governmental organisations. On the other hand, gendered issues and issues of gender have become increasingly political. Overtly: state intervention in reproduction and control of marriage and divorce as well as equality of treatment by and within state institutions continue to be of concern; covertly: conservative, xenophobic and neo-liberal austerity policies have gendered implications as traditional roles for men and women are re-asserted or assumed.
This module covers both theoretical and empirical approaches. It starts by considering the background to the enfranchisement of women and theories of equality and rights; moves on to investigate political practices including elections, representation, policy-making and women’s movements; followed by in-depth discussion of particular issues including the feminisation of poverty, gender and democratisation; women and security, and gendered violence.

This module looks at the alleged ‘crisis’ in contemporary Africa, focusing on problems of economic, social and political development. This module aims to challenge assumptions about the problems of contemporary Africa by examining these problems in detail and by looking at Africa’s place in the world.

This module will provide a historical and critical introduction to ideas and institutions of human rights and will evaluate their relationship with state sovereignty and international conflict.

This module offers an examination of some of the principal challenges of Latin American societies and states today. Case studies illustrate aspects relative to national ‘arrangements’ (leadership, political institutions, political participation, political identities and economic and social integration), these in the presence of the US and the increasing importance of regional and extra-regional relations as well as global concerns for the environment, migration, poverty, indigenous and gender relations.

This cutting-edge module explores one of the most exciting and rapidly expanding fields of contemporary diplomatic studies and an area which has seen a wide variety of innovations in state practice in recent years. As public opinion has come to be seen as increasingly influential and important in world politics, states and other international actors have rediscovered public and cultural diplomacy, a form of diplomatic practice in which states engage with publics both abroad and at home. Due to changes in global communications, this form of diplomacy is undergoing rapid change, which makes it especially interesting and important.
The module examines the changing nature of public and cultural diplomacy in the context of the evolution of global political communications. It explores the nature of international political communication, evaluating key concepts such as propaganda, place branding and strategic communications, and examines the role of culture in world politics more broadly, including media such as film and the internet, as well as key actors such as celebrity diplomats. It explores competing definitions and interpretations of public and cultural diplomacy, along with how their practice has changed in recent decades, especially since the end of the Cold War.