International Relations

Since the end of the Cold War one of the key dynamics in world politics – the gap between rich and poor – has come into sharper focus. In this module, you’ll examine both the theory and practice of the international politics of development. 

You’ll start by looking at key theoretical debates and how these have related to practice. You’ll go on to explore contemporary issues in development that illustrate the theoretical debates, such as fair trade and sustainable development.

Why do people move? Why is their movement restricted? And how are forms of migration control changing through the shifting use of borders?

In an age in which movement across international borders – of capital, goods, information and technology – is increasingly central to life across the globe, the movement of people is subject to more restriction than ever.

This module will introduce you to the current critical debates in International Relations and Security Studies around migration and borders. This will include a focus on unequal relationships of race, class and gender and how these are reproduced through categories of ‘forced’ and ‘unforced migration’, the continuing effects of colonialism, and the diffusion of bordering practices into local spaces of everyday life.

Humans dominate Earth, over-exploiting resources and causing global ecological crises such as biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change. This age has also seen a widening gap between the extremes of global poverty and wealth, sparking social injustice and ecological breakdown. How do we make sense of these interlinked crises?

In this module, explore the global quest for sustainability and social justice. Take a critical, interdisciplinary investigation into the global ecological crisis and its global social impacts, reflect on the global ecological crisis through political theory and aspects like race, class and gender, and examine the ways sustainability and social justice have been addressed.

You’ll investigate questions of security, the global political economy of sustainability and sustainable development, and dynamics of global environmental governance and resistance to understand the causes of interlinked social and ecological crises and how we might resolve these.

In this module you’ll focus on the politics of Ukraine; its context in the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the complex politics of the post-Soviet order and its relations with Russia and global geopolitics. You’ll take a historical approach to the topics covered to understand how the Ukrainian state and Ukrainian politics have evolved over time. Explore the political, social and economical factors of the Ukrainian state and through critical analysis of its history you’ll develop an advanced understanding of international relations and the nature of war in the 21st Century.

In transitions from civil war to peace, why does violence often continue, even when ceasefires are in place? How does violence affect peace processes, and how can continuing insecurity be managed? 

In this module, you’ll explore concepts of violence, peace and peacebuilding, as well as studying examples from peace processes and post-war societies, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Rwanda, South Africa and Northern Ireland. You’ll be assisted to critically analyse the causes of violence in the context of peacebuilding and to make recommendations for its management.

You’ll survey the main traditions of international ethics and apply them to important ethical dilemmas in contemporary world politics – including humanitarian intervention, global economic inequality, environmental justice, nuclear proliferation and disarmament.

You’ll critically consider debates about how we define and understand terrorism, as well as thinking about the nature of the threat that terrorism poses. You’ll also explore causes of terrorism and the gender politics of terrorism. We’ll encourage you to take a critical approach and try to think beyond mainstream and conventional answers to some of these issues.

This is your chance to undertake a programme of study that you choose yourself, in consultation with a member of staff. Previous examples of independent study have focussed on:

• International Energy Security
• Oil and the Global Economy
• Human Rights and Foreign Direct Investment.