Political Psychology of International Relations MSc

Master

In Birmingham

Price on request

Description

  • Type

    Master

  • Location

    Birmingham

Our students gain an in-depth understanding of the psychological underpinnings of International Relations and the empirical tools to engage with timely issues and puzzles in international politics.

Facilities

Location

Start date

Birmingham (West Midlands)
See map
Birmingham B15 2TT

Start date

On request

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Reviews

This centre's achievements

2020

All courses are up to date

The average rating is higher than 3.7

More than 50 reviews in the last 12 months

This centre has featured on Emagister for 4 years

Subjects

  • International
  • Psychology
  • Politics
  • International Relations
  • Conflict

Course programme

This degree comprises the following modules:

Compulsory core modules Dissertation

MSc students to submit a 13,500 word dissertation (not applicable to Diploma Students)
60 credits

Political Psychology of Conflict and Cooperation (20 credits)

This fascinating module engages students in theoretical and empirical applications of political psychology that address stimulating debates in International Relations. With a particular focus on processes of conflict and cooperation at the international level, this module cements your interdisciplinary training and provides you with an overview of fascinating puzzles and central debates in political psychology. This includes the psychological processes of decision making for political actors, elites, social groups, and mass publics in environments that generate conflict and cooperation. We will also examine the role of emotions in crises, identities of religion, nationalism and gender, and the psychological processes behind extreme politics like radicalization, terrorism and political violence. While the course is grounded in political psychology and IR, we also draw on insights from political communication, sociology, and social neuroscience. As part of this module we engage in the design and implementation of a political psychology research project

Fear, Cooperation and Trust in World Politics (20 credits)

In this cutting-edge module, our students develop an informed appreciation of how fear, cooperation and trust shape the contours of world politics. The module explores the obstacles to building cooperation and trust, using a series of case studies. It also investigates whether these obstacles can be overcome through institutions, norms, and personal diplomacy between leaders. A key focus of the module is to introduce students to trust-building strategies and techniques, including the potential for face-to-face diplomacy to build trust and transform conflicts. The module is taught through interactive role-play scenarios in which students take on the role of policy advisors and diplomats in crisis and multilateral negotiation situations (for example, the Cuban Missile Crisis, US-China relations, nuclear non-proliferation, and global climate change).

Fundamentals in Quantitative Research Methods (20 credits)

This module introduces students to the principles and practice of data collection, collation and analysis. Teaching and learning exercises demonstrate the value of research skills in relation to both textual and numeric data. The module develops understanding of different stages of the research process. The importance of ethical practice in research development, collection, collation, analysis and dissemination is stressed throughout.

Foundations in Qualitative Research (20 credits)

The module builds on Fundamentals in Quantitative Research Methods as students progress to a deeper level of understanding of social research in practice. Two large-scale studies (research materials, datasets) are employed to build research skills.

Secondary research skills (using textual and numeric data) are explicitly explored as a base from which to conduct informed and appropriate data handling/analysis. An introduction to multivariate analysis will be provided, up to the level of multiple regression and analysis of variance. Techniques for analysing textual data will also be covered.

Optional Modules

You can choose an additional 40 credits of modules from the POLSIS optional modules list

The optional modules listed on the website for this programme may unfortunately occasionally be subject to change. As you will appreciate key members of staff may leave the University and this necessitates a review of the modules that are offered. Where the module is no longer available we will let you know as soon as we can and help you make other choices.

Political Psychology of International Relations MSc

Price on request