International Relations and Politics

Great Debates in International Relations: Inclusion and Exclusion

Why should we study International Relations? In this module, you’ll get to grips with International Relations (IR). You’ll examine the ‘great debates’ in IR - like who is IR for? What is it meant to do? And how do we know when it is successful? Is IR theory a way of looking at diverse societies across the world? Or has it changed? And how have events like 9/11, decolonisation and the dawn of the Nuclear Age challenged our understanding of IR?

You’ll examine why IR theory is a key to understanding international relations. You’ll ask whether International Relations is just about explaining facts. And you’ll explore whether our subjective moods and feelings influence IR. You’ll gain valuable critical skills, as you consider the relationship between theory and practice.

Political Thought 1: Sovereignty, Rights and the Social Contract

In this module, you’ll dive into political thought and international theory - from Machiavelli to Mill. You’ll gain fantastic critical skills as you analyse key texts on modern political theory, and understand states and international contexts. You’ll explore classic texts, including Hobbes’ Leviathan and Rousseau's The Social Contract. You’ll also analyse key ideas in modern political thought, including:

• natural rights
• sovereignty 
• representation 

Political Thought 2: Progress, Oppression and Liberation

In this module, you’ll dive into the history of modern political thought - from Kant to de Beauvoir. You’ll explore the thinking of:

• Kant
• Hegel 
• Marx
• Nietzsche
• De Beauvoir
• Fanon

You’ll get to grips with key theories of politics - international and national. And you’ll explore issues such as:

• the end of history
• gender
• race

Researching Politics and International Relations

In this module, you’ll develop the practical research skills you need to design and carry out your first piece of social sciences research. You’ll start with the ‘big questions’ of ‘What exists?’ and ‘How can we know about what exists?’ From here, you’ll move on to consider the different research methods and their implications. You’ll take part in hands-on workshops and practical sessions, preparing you to conduct your research for your final-year dissertation.

Borders and Solidarities in World Politics

How do we govern the world, when it’s no longer dominated by states and national governments? How do different types of migration shape the movement of people across the world? In this module, you’ll get to grips with a key part of international relations - borders and solidarities (groups with a common identity or interest). You’ll explore the various forms of borders and solidarities, including:

• movements across national boundaries 
• regional organisations
• trade agreements

And link them to key forces and events, such as: 

• NGOs
• corporations
• colonisation
• refugee movements
• the migrant ‘crisis’.

You’ll gain valuable practical and professional knowledge, as you explore leading issues today, and how global governance or migration shapes our lives. 

Dilemmas of Governing

How much did world leaders rely on history to make decisions? In this module, you’ll get to grips with governing strategy - from the 20th Century to the present day. You’ll choose either the British or Soviet states, and analyse how their leaders managed crises and issues. You’ll also explore the relationship between politics and economics, and apply key approaches to the problems of governing.

Nationalism and Regime Change

In this module, you’ll explore the effect of nationalism, ethnicity and regime change on a country. You’ll get to grips with the different approaches we use to explore them. You’ll gain fantastic analytical skills, as you apply these approaches to real world cases, and explore the implications of their different perspectives. 

You’ll also look at how globalisation impacts the politics and identity of a country. You’ll analyse whether globalisation is a force for good (spreading democracy) or bad (divisive, leading to nationalist resistance). 

State and Society: Europe and the United States

In this module, you can investigate the politics of either Europe or the USA, subject to student numbers and staff availability. 

In the European strand, you’ll explore themes of democracy and citizenship. You’ll look closely at what democracy and citizenship might mean to people living in the UK, France, Germany and in Europe’s post-communist countries. You’ll also look at the future of European states and societies, and how they can adapt to challenges such as migration.

In the American strand, you’ll focus on governmental and political institutions. You’ll also explore explosive issues in American politics, including religion, race and capital punishment.

Contemporary Security Studies

What is security? How can we achieve it? And who should provide it? In this module, you’ll dive into key debates on security, and its definitions. You’ll join policy makers, academics and civil servants as you discuss fundamental issues of security. You’ll explore the different ways we look at security, and the things it protects, for example:

• The nation-state
• The environment
• The economy
• A ‘way of life’

You’ll also look at the implications of security on peace and global conflict, as well as everyday violence and exclusion. 

The Global Political Economy

In this module, you’ll get to know the global economy. You’ll investigate how economics and politics shape world affairs in both trivial and profound ways. 

In part 1, you’ll gain a strong knowledge of the history of the world economy. You’ll develop key analytical skills, as you explore competing explanations of how it functions. You’ll gain the tools you need to understand recent economic changes.

In part 2, you’ll dig into key debates on how the global economy functions today, including: 

• finance
• global production
• trade and international development
• the relationship between the global economy and the environment. 

Work-based Learning in Politics and International Relations

In this module, you’ll have the chance to carry out a work placement closely linked to your International Relations course. You’ll be supported by your module leader to find a placement that meets your needs, and which will support your learning. With a carefully chosen placement, you’ll build on the skills and knowledge you’ve already gained in Year 1, and you’ll also strengthen vital skills for the workplace, like time management, communication and team-working. 

Students have found placements in organisations like:

• Asylum Welcome, working with asylum seekers in Oxford
• Viva, an international children’s charity
• Depaul, working with homeless people and immigrants in Paris.

During and after your placement, you’ll:

• create a placement portfolio, recording what you’ve done and achieved
• craft a CV showing your experience
• give a presentation on your placement.

Dissertation in International Relations and Politics

This module gives you the chance to do independent research on a topic that fascinates you. You’ll have the support of an expert lecturer in International Relations and Politics. You’ll gain fantastic project management and research skills for your future career, as you design and conduct your own research over two semesters. Whatever your topic, you’ll shape your project around your passions, and gain the core skills to succeed in your degree. 

Previous students’ dissertations have tackled topics such as:

• The Brexit vote and national identity
• What motivates young people to engage politically online?
• The role of social media in US elections
• An investigation into gender imbalance in engineering.

Rethinking democracy and public space: Russia and the EU

In this module, you’ll develop key critical skills as you explore the democratic challenges facing Russia and the EU. Both are currently facing enormous social, political and economic transformation.You’ll gain a strong grounding in the key issues of diverse, multi-ethnic states and multinational organizations. You’ll look at core themes, such as:

• the role of the media,
• the role of civil society and political institutions
• in identity, and the formation of states.

In this module, you can choose to study Russia or the EU. You’ll take either Democratic Challenges in Contemporary Russia: State and Society, or Democratic Challenges in the European Union: Integration and Disintegration, depending on staff and student availability.

Ethics, Power and World Politics

What should world leaders do? How much power should countries give each other? And how should states and individuals behave towards each other? In this module, you’ll get to grips with the key questions in world politics. You’ll explore:

• how we determine rights and duties
• how we both enable and restrict dominance
• how issues of race, gender and class interact

in relation to world politics. You’ll choose one of three topics that on international ethics and power - human rights, migration and immigration, or postcolonial perspectives.
 

Managing Global Issues: Environment and Development

How can we solve global problems without a world government? How can we resolve issues in international politics which are beyond the limit of individual countries? In this module, you’ll gain key analytical skills, as you explore competing ideas in how to manage two global issues: the environment, and global development. You can choose to focus either on Global Environmental Politics, or Global Development.

Law, Empires and Revolutions

In this module, you’ll get to grips with capitalism today. You’ll explore what colonialism and the modern world can teach us about its laws and events. You’ll gain a fascinating, alternative history of international relations, as you explore the modern sovereign states system. You’ll also gain the key skills you need to study the relationship between history, international relations and law. 

Each week, you’ll take a crucial world event and analyse it. You’ll look at:

• Arab spring
• struggles for human rights
• extraterritorial obligations
• cross-border protests
• migrants and refugees

You’ll contrast these events with the following historical events which also involved high tension and legal debate:

• colonial trading companies
• slave revolutions
• capitulations
• the Treaties of Westphalia
• the Ottoman empire. 

Freedom and Justice: Contemporary and Feminist Perspectives

In this module, you’ll explore theories of freedom and justice in relation to specific political problems and puzzles. You’ll ask questions like: 

• Is it possible to have universal principles of justice within complex multicultural societies? 
• Do conventional identities limit our freedom? 
• Do freedom and justice require ‘empowerment’? 

You’ll also look at relevant concepts such as rights and equality. You’ll gain valuable critical skills as you explore the different methods we use to explore these concepts, and how they play out in the practical world of politics. 

You’ll be able to choose between two streams, depending on staff availability:

• Contemporary Political Philosophy
• Feminist/Queer Theory

Independent Study

This module gives you the chance to research a topic that fascinates you. With support from a supervisor, you’ll choose, plan and carry out your independent research, gaining in-depth knowledge of your subject. Student projects have included subjects like:

• Is democracy failing in Eastern Europe?
• Did Putin solve Russia’s governance problems?
• Authoritarianism and political stability in North Korea

You’ll build great project management and research skills, which will help you in your future career.

South African Politics: From Apartheid to Democracy

In this module, you’ll trace South African politics - from apartheid to democracy. You’ll gain valuable critical skills as you analyse South Africa’s history, and explore key issues in its post-apartheid political economy.  And you’ll analyse links between the atrocities of apartheid, and the unique challenges in contemporary South Africa.

Violence and the Politics of Peace and Identity

From terrorism to mass protests, how do we make sense of violence and resistence? In this module, you’ll explore the tensions between local and global communities in building peace. You’ll investigate how identity markers such as gender, race, nationality and ethnicity relate to violence and resistance. You can choose to focus on violence, resistance and identity politics, or violent conflict and peacebuilding.

Violence, Militarism and Terrorism

How does violence occur in different societies? How do people’s ideas of violence affect their cultures? In this module, you’ll look at how states manage violence such as terrorism. You’ll also consider how social norms and military values of violence shape our lives. You can choose to specialise in terrorism or counter-terrorism, or critical militarism studies.