Politics MA

During each of the first two semesters, you will study four modules built around the two principal themes of the course: national politics and the international political order. During the third semester, you will complete an independent research project on a subject of your choice and a professional development module designed to enhance your employability post-graduation.

Modules

• Critical Thinking – 15 credits

  The aim of the module is to enhance students' critical thinking and to highlight academic good practice. Issues considered are: evidence collection, methods of analysis, research ethics, academic writing, the nature of academic argument, and presentation strategies. The central aim is to encourage a critical approach towards research and to the selection of evidence and modes of presenting results.

  Compulsory

• Threats to Global Security – 15 credits

  This module seeks to provide students with an informed understanding of the key threats that are posed to Global Security. Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a widening in the number of the threats affecting individual, group, state and international security. To this end, the threat of major armed conflict between states that was a dominant feature of much of the twentieth and nineteenth centuries has been replaced by a range of new threats that include crime, economic inequality, poverty, environmental pollution, diseases, natural disasters, state collapse, non-state actors, terrorism and the re-emergence of racial and religious tension. In examining these issues, the module focuses on the theoretical and practical policy challenges that are posed to global security and ability of states and international organisations to respond to the challenges.

  Compulsory

• Dictatorship and Democratic Breakdown – 15 credits

  Democracies, Karl Popper noticed, are countries, the “governments of which we can get rid without bloodshed”. He went on to observe that in these, “the social institutions provide means by which the rulers may be dismissed [peacefully], and the social traditions ensure that these institutions will not be easily destroyed by those who are in power”. The question in this module is if the currently existing democracies have ‘social traditions’ that are strong enough to withstand those who may want to destroy them; or are we witnessing a period of what the political scientist Larry Diamond has called, ‘Democratic regression”? The module looks at histories of earlier democratic breakdowns to answer the question: when is democracy in danger of withering away? It also covers theories of democratic breakdowns in history, philosophy and above all comparative government. In addition, it compares and contrasts democracies and asks, if dictatorships are more efficient than democracies. Lastly, it looks at when dictatorships fall – and why they rarely do so.

  Compulsory

• Resilience in the International System – 15 credits

  In recent years, resilience has become a dominant policy paradigm in International Relations (IR). Leading Western governments and international organizations have proposed resilience as a solution to the complex problems of an interconnected and globalised world, from counter-terrorism and economic development to public security and climate change. In academia, too, resilience has been referred to as a "pervasive idiom of global governance" (Walker&Cooper). But, what exactly distinguishes a resilience approach to governance, development and security from earlier frameworks? What are the ethical and political implications of resilience thinking both at the individual and the government level? Do resilience-based approaches offer more effective and legitimate policy answers than traditional politics and IR? This module tries to answer these questions by looking at both the theory and practice of resilience in International Relations. It engages critically with the scholarly debate on resilience and investigates the rise of resilience thinking in several policy fields, including international development, armed conflict and disaster risk reduction.

  Compulsory

• 21st Century Populism – 15 credits

  This module focuses on the phenomenon of populism and its diverse manifestations in the 21st Century. The world has witnessed a rise of populist parties and leaders across the globe, primarily on the right but also on the left. Populism has now become an intensely researched topic and widely debated theme. This module examines the rise of populism in Western and Central Europe, The United States, Latin America and the Middle East. It offers students the opportunity to learn the theory and history of populism, and compare and contrast populist political movements, parties and leaders from around the world. In addition, it provides students with an insight into the complex relationship between democracy and populism, including the question of why populists have been successful in established democracies.

  Compulsory

• International Security Praxis – 15 credits

  This module invites students to interact with international security practitioners, seeking reflection upon how academic knowledge and ideas translate into ‘real world’ security practice. Is what is learnt in the classroom, and from the academic literature, reflected in the views, experiences and policies of individuals and organisations working in the field of international security?

  Compulsory

• Changing Character of War and Terrorism – 15 credits

  This module is designed to provide the foundations of the theory and the praxis of war. Students attending this module will be introduced to the key concepts of, and will be encouraged to critically assess, past, present and future issues of violent conflicts, defence policies of great powers and relate them to the global political context of the 21st century. Particular emphasis will be devoted to the study of political, criminal and terrorist violence and how these relate to key debates about the changing character of war. The module is structured around workshops where students will be exposed to a wide variety of political, diplomatic, economic, social and legal problems connected to war in order to understand how war affects, directly or indirectly, every aspect of global affairs.

  Compulsory

• Gender and Social Change in 20th Century Britain – 15 credits

  This module aims to provide students with a critical understanding of the issues surrounding the history of gender in twentieth century Britain, through both the prisms of theory and advanced historical skills. This module examines how the twentieth century was a period of profound change for both men and women in Britain. The gendered norms established in the Victorian era gradually gave way to more permissive and progressive understandings of gender and sexuality, and Britain became an increasingly diverse society in terms of ethnicity and race. The century was dominated by profound periods of instability and upheaval, including two world wars, the financial calamity of the Great Depression, and the Cold War. Women gained the right to vote, equal pay was established as a legal requirement and by the end of the century questions of race and sexuality had become profound political questions.

  Compulsory

• Dissertation - 50 credits

  This module is designed to enable students to complete a project entailing independent study, using appropriate research techniques and source materials. It may consist of one or several of the following criteria: a critical evaluation of literature, a reassessment of evidence, an evaluation of particular approaches or techniques, a reflection on a practical experience, or a limited piece of original or applied research.

  Compulsory

• Leading Diverse Workforces - 10 credits

  This module aims to provide students with a framework of knowledge and understanding of how to effectively lead and develop people in a strategically diverse and inclusive way whatever the Master’s degree of specialisation they elect to follow. Students will explore for example, the influence and impact of leadership theories, culture, wellbeing, and approaches to developing better equality, diversity and inclusion strategies and practices that can be used creatively within a leadership role in different types of organisational scenarios.

  Compulsory