POL299 (POL299A – Autumn, POL299B – Spring) - International Relations Theory
Credits: 45
Timetable:
Contact: TBC
Module Convenor: TBC
Overlap: None
This is the core second year module for BA International Relations. It is concerned with the most significant questions that confront all students of international politics: how do we explain the persistence of war and suffering in international politics? Can we hope for a better future? If so, how might we get there? What can we really know with any certainty about international politics?
The course explores these questions by examining the different traditions of thought about the character and possibilities of international politics. In Semester A, the module covers the dominant mainstream traditions: liberalism, realism, and ‘social’ theories (the English School and constructivism). In Semester B, we move onto ‘critical’ traditions: Marxism, Poststructuralism, Feminism and Postcolonialism, and we end by asking what the point and purpose of international relations theory might be.
Assessment: Critical review (1500 words) 15%; Comparative essay (2500 words) 25%, and Research Essay (4000 words) 60%.
Level: 5
