Certificate in Politics and International Studies
Key information
- Start date
- Duration
- 1
- Attendance mode
- Full Time
- Location
- On Campus
- Course code
- M1CE
Structure
Guided options List C
The purpose of this course is to examine the effects of political factors on economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It aims to familiarise students with various theories of economic development, specifically the role of the state and government intervention, and then to guide students in tracing these theories against the empirical evidence from a range of examples from states in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It will thereby enable students to acquire a nuanced and empirically grounded perspective on the reasons for wide variations in economic development.
The amended module focuses on major concepts, theories, methodologies and academic approaches to the study of nationalism, national identity and nationhood. It begins with an examination of the historical contexts and socioeconomic conditions under which nationalism emerged in the West and subsequently spread across the globe. By familiarising students with the key concepts, theories and approaches to the study of nationalism, the module aims at enabling students to understand the processes which appear to make nationalism a powerful mobilizing and homogenising force and also point to its contingent, shifting and fluid nature. The module focuses on understanding the political contestations underlying the notion of nationalism in various regional contexts
The purpose of this module is to introduce you to the different theoretical and conceptual approaches to the study of international organisations (IOs), and to explore both the cross-cutting, and organisation-specific, contemporary debates and issues that surround them. The module will begin with a focus on the various approaches to the study of IOs and global governance, some of the theoretical lenses through which we can understand their importance to world politics, and a historical examination of their role in the international security regime governing the use of force. The module will then move to an examination of individual IOs and regimes, including those governing human rights and international criminal accountability, as well as international trade, finance, development. We will conclude with an exploration of, and comparison to, regional organisations, as well as a look at how we might understand the future of regional and global approaches to the governance of migration.
The course shall examine debates in the discipline of politics about the role of “culture” in politics – as practices of meaning-making in politics; as a series of everyday practices and rituals with implicit (or overt) political content; and as cultural products (art, films, etc.) both whose making and content reflects a specific politics. To do so, the course will require two activities outside class: A visit to a diasporic enclave in London – as the basis of a discussion of questions of identity-making, immigration, and the political economy of “cultural” practices (restaurants, specific shops catering to specific communities, etc.). And a selection of a film, or art piece, or theatrical production – to discuss what politics goes into the production of such artwork; the ways in which the overt and implicit politics that such artwork espouses can be critically understood and explained. The course will also examine the role of meaning-making and semiotics in social movements and political mobilisation, in the production of hegemony, and critically assess outdated and problematic “national culture” paradigms.
The climate crisis is clearly one of the primary existential threats facing the human species. But how we understand the roots of the climate crisis, its current and future impacts on world politics, and its possible solutions, is inherently contested terrain. Nothing less than the future of life on earth, and competing conceptions of the ‘good life’ and how we should organize our societies, is at stake. This course will investigate the global politics of the climate crisis, starting with scientific debates regarding the possible severity of climate change (how bad could it get?), and then moving through questions about climate governance, the political economy of climate change, the energy and food system transitions, migration, geoengineering, possible global futures, and activism. We can hardly hope to exhaust such a complex topic in the span of 10 weeks. Instead, we will cover some key topics and hear from a wide range of perspectives. The goal will be to give students a basic grounding in the science, politics, and economics of climate change; to enable them to critically engage with a multiple perspectives on the key causes and possible solutions to the climate crisis; and to help them think through its implications for their own lives and futures.
This second year undergraduate class will focus on the variety of ways in which performance is enacted in politics, broadly construed. It will augment more conventional approaches to politics by demonstrating the ways in which performance either attempts to soften and legitimise or conversely challenge and subvert institutions, interests, and power.
This module introduces electoral and party politics in modern democracies. It will involve the discussion of a wide range of theoretical approaches to the study of parties and elections and assess their applicability to non-western cases.
International Relations as a discipline has historically given little importance to religion as an explanatory category in modern international politics. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks and with the advent of the 'war on terror' there were increasing efforts to address this gap - however this reintroduction of religion by way of counterterrorism leads only to a very limited engagement with religion (one disproportionately focused on Islamic terrorism). Where other types of religious political movements and actors are analysed, religion is often either reduced to simply an identity category or seen as a displacement for other, more Worldly, concerns - it is rarely taken seriously on its own terms. This course seeks to provide a more holistic approach to the role of religion in contemporary world politics. The course will engage with a number of religious traditions from across the World in order to interrogate questions of secularism, violence, religious nationalism, civil society, soft power initiatives, and conflict resolution. What role does religion play in addressing the major crises of the present day? The course will also address methodological questions raised by the engagement with diverse religious traditions, as well as the uses of religion as an analytical category more broadly. We will ask whether the significance of religion can be easily fit into existing IR models or whether taking religion seriously requires a more radical departure.
This module introduces students to the phenomenon of war and demonstrates its ubiquity across time and space in human affairs, and develops an account of war as a constitutive force in the production of world politics past, present and future.
Guided options List B
This module focuses on the domestic politics of sub-Saharan Africa since Independence and particularly the question of the state. Because of the sheer number and diversity of African states the module is structured thematically but the readings allow students to follow up regions and countries of particular interest.
This module will impart a solid grounding in the dynamic evolution of the Chinese state and Chinese nationalism, China's self-identified problems of weakness and underdevelopment, the difficult choices made by political elites over the course of three quite different regimes of the 20th and 21st century. Throughout the academic year, this module will stress how this legacy offers both the opportunity and constraint for the present politics of China.
International Relations of South Asia will give students a broad and comprehensive introduction to this subject. Beginning with conventional IR theory disciplinary frames, it will explore inter-state relations in the South Asian region including the history of conflict between India and Pakistan, the nature of Indian dominance/hegemony over the South Asian region, the place of Afghanistan in conceptualisations of ‘South Asia’, as well as the security perspectives of smaller states in the region including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Other topics in the course will examine non-conventional security issues including questions of economic and environmental security posed by the sharing of international rivers and climate change, as well as the human security issues provoked by ethnic and other forms of conflict in the region.
This course examines the international politics of sub-Saharan Africa since Independence organised around four main themes. The first concentrates on the emergence of African states, the nature and analysis of that statehood and the degrees of conflict and cooperation between African states. The second theme looks at the insertion of African states into the international order, including the economic order and their participation in international politics. The third theme assesses the period after the end of the Cold War and concentrates on three main sub themes: firstly the nature of conflict within Africa and the emergence of a greater degree of outside intervention in that conflict; secondly the attempt, also largely by outside agencies, to effect long-term fundamental change within African societies; thirdly the ways in which African states have changed regional organisations to meet a new international environment. The last theme raises the question whether new developments in global politics (e.g. the growth of China) are fundamentally changing the international position of African states.
This course is designed to provide students with a theoretically informed and comparative introduction to key issues in the contemporary international relations of East Asia. East Asia is defined as the states of the Northeast Asia (in particular, China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan), and the two main external actors, the United States and Soviet Union/Russia who played a key role influencing the region’s international relations. East Asia presents fascinating case studies in the study of international relations by bringing together the world’s three largest economies (US, China, Japan), three of the UN Security Council’s permanent members (US, Russia, China) and two divided nations (China/Taiwan and the two Korea).
This course, which brings into undergraduate Year 3 an MSc course, is the only such course on this side of the Atlantic and the only other such course outside Columbia. It brings a properly political scientific appreciation of postwar, independence and post-independence thought in Africa as enunciated by leading political figures and public intellectuals.
This course is designed to provide students with a broad introduction to the conceptual, historical, and sociological factors that contribute to democracy and authoritarianism in India. While India is the main focus for building in-depth knowledge and within-country comparisons, the course places Indian cases in comparative frames with a range of countries within and beyond South Asia. Throughout, the emphasis is placed on analyses of political processes rather than a description of events. At the end of the course, students should have a good understanding of academic work on the South Asia and an ability to write well-structured and well-researched papers on selected subjects in the field.
This module will impart a solid grounding in the dynamic evolution of the Chinese state and Chinese nationalism, China's self-identified problems of weakness and underdevelopment, the difficult choices made by political elites over the course of three quite different regimes of the 20th and 21st century. Throughout, this module will stress how this legacy offers both the opportunity and constraint for the present politics of China.
Building on the grounding in the dynamic evolution of the Chinese state and Chinese nationalism, established in Government and Politics of China I, this module will consider the contemporary reform era. Starting with an intensive discussion of the structure of the party-state, the contrast between urban and rural China, and then considering important questions of public policy: the environment, public health, the ongoing problem of corruption, and current prospects for the intensification or easing of authoritarianism.
This module provides an overview of the dynamics that shape state-society relations in the modern Middle East and North Africa since the late Ottoman period. It is a ten-week introduction that is followed by a second module that deepens this exploration using further in-depth country cases. Over the course of both modules, we will compare ruling regimes, economic programmes, ideological struggles, group identity categories, and modes of collective action and expression in relation to key developments across the region in the modern period. The module is organised thematically whilst maintaining a chronological integrity that follows the sequence of historical developments in the region.
This module follows on from Government and Politics of the Middle East I in providing an introduction to the dynamics that shape state-society relations in the modern Middle East and North Africa since the late Ottoman period. In this second ten-week module, students will examine processes relating to the second half of the twentieth century and lasting until the present day, and will deepen their knowledge with more in-depth country cases. Over the course of both modules, we will compare ruling regimes, economic programmes, ideological struggles, group identity categories, and modes of collective action and expression in relation to key developments across the region in the modern period. Both modules are organised thematically whilst maintaining a chronological integrity that follows the sequence of historical developments in the region.
This module examines the historical processes by which African economic and political systems emerged and became intertwined with external actors through colonialism, the slave trade and struggles for decolonisation and the ways in which independent African states formed and sought to cooperate with each other to overcome the legacies of slavery and the remnants of colonialism. It covers their approaches to: a) security, considering post-colonial African conflicts, and the means by which African states and political movements sought to negotiate the global Cold War; and b) International political economy, considering how African states sought to overcome marginality and dependence and to pursue their own development priorities as well as to make more just international economic structures.
This module considers controversies in Africa's contemporary international relations, considering the changing nature of peacekeeping and intervention since the end of the Cold War, discussing attempts made by non-African agencies, under the rubric of ‘humanitarian intervention’ and 'development', to effect fundamental changes within African security systems, state economic policies, governance systems and social organization, as well as 'African solutions to African problems': Continental, regional and unliateral African states' actions to try and re-take ownership of their own security and development. The module also discusses recent developments, including the revitalisation of Pan-Africanist and resource-nationalist projects, the effects of the ‘Global War on Terror’, the growing influence on the continent of China and other non-Western powers, all of which raise debates about whether African positions and roles in the international system are changing in any fundamental sense.
This interdisciplinary course provides an in-depth introduction to the international politics of western Asia and, to a lesser extent, North Africa. The course thus investigates both the factors involved in the making of international politics in the area, and the way we can comprehend them. To that end, it introduces students to the discourse of “Orientalism”, theories of international relations such as (neo)realism and social constructivism and other approaches that are relevant to an in-depth enquiry into the complex interactions within the region. Beyond this conceptual focus, themes such as Islam, gender, democracy, civil society, globalisation, fundamentalism, terrorism, revolution etc. are also covered in close juxtaposition to the post-colonial development of the regional state system.
This interdisciplinary course provides an in-depth introduction to the international relations of the Middle East with a particular emphasis on the foreign policies of major states. It links the study of international relations as a subject matter with the inter-state conflict (e.g. the Persian Gulf Wars, the conflict in Israel/Palestine etc.), foreign policy of major regional states (Iran, Turkey, Iraq etc.) and “global” politics. The course thus investigates both the factors involved in the making of international politics in the area, and the way we can comprehend them.
This module introduces students to politics in Southeast Asia in order to familiarize them with the broad contours of political change in the region, academic debates explaining these changes and ways of thinking about current and future political trends. The course covers mainland South East Asia, including Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
This module introduces students to politics in Southeast Asia in order to familiarize them with the broad contours of political change in the region, academic debates explaining these changes and ways of thinking about current and future political trends. The course covers maritime and island South East Asia, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor Leste, and the Philippines.
Guided options List A
Introduction to Global History provides students with a broad understanding of the development of the modern world system. Beginning with 1492, it traces how the world became increasingly integrated and connected – economically, politically, militarily and socially. The course begins by asking what we might mean by ‘global history,’ and then considers global phenomena including empire, slavery, colonialism and revolution, through primary and secondary sources. We take a global look at the twentieth century, moving through the world wars, decolonization, the movements of 1968 and the contemporary rise of China in a globalized and capitalist age. In short, the course seeks to “narrate the world’s past in an age of globality” (Geyer and Bright), and to show how and where that past interacts with the present.
This is a core module in both the BA Politics and BA International Relations degrees and provides a general introduction to methods of political analysis. The module provides the foundation for further study of Politics and International Relations, covering such areas as philosophy of social science, scientific methods, theoretical and methodological debates and skills key to critical reading, writing and analysis. Substantive areas of coverage include debates over structure and agency, politics and policy, historical methods, qualitative and quantitative approaches to the study of politics and international relations, measurement, inference and interpretation, the use of evidence in argumentation, narrative and language. The module is designed to complement other foundational modules in the Department of Politics and International Studies.
This module provides a general introduction to the study of Comparative Politics, a subfield of political science. Its distinct characteristics are the use of comparative methods to examine political issues and focus on politics within countries (as opposed to International Relations that looks at politics between countries). This module not only covers major concepts and theories in the study of Comparative Politics, but also offers empirical analyses of the government and politics in a select group of countries. The module covers a wide range of issues, including the formation of the nation-state, democratisation, authoritarianism, political culture, political development, comparative political economy, nationalism, class and ethnic politics, politics of religion, and political institutions. The module will also discuss some debates in Comparative Politics that have been important in the policy-making community in recent decades, such as state-building, role of the state in economy, the concept of social capital, and the effort to promote democracy around the world. Although paying attention to countries in Asia, Middle East, and Africa, examples from Western countries will also be referred to in a comparative format.
This module is the second part of the core module in the BA Politics degree and provides a general introduction to the study of Comparative Politics. Comparative Politics is a subfield of political science. Its distinct characteristics are the use of comparative methods to examine political issues and focus on politics within countries (as opposed to International Relations that looks at politics between countries). This module not only covers major concepts and theories in the study of Comparative Politics, but also offers empirical analyses of the government and politics in a select group of countries. The module covers a wide range of issues, including the formation of the nation-state, democratisation, authoritarianism, political culture, political development, comparative political economy, nationalism, class and ethnic politics, politics of religion, and political institutions. The module will also discuss some debates in Comparative Politics that have been important in the policy-making community in recent decades, such as state-building, role of the state in economy, the concept of social capital, and the effort to promote democracy around the world. Although paying attention to countries in Asia, Middle East, and Africa, examples from Western countries will also be referred to in a comparative format.
Introduction to Global History provides students with a broad understanding of the development of the modern world system. Beginning with 1492, it traces how the world became increasingly integrated and connected – economically, politically, militarily and socially. The course begins by asking what we might mean by ‘global history,’ and then considers global phenomena including empire, slavery, colonialism and revolution, through primary and secondary sources. We take a global look at the twentieth century, moving through the world wars, decolonization, the movements of 1968 and the contemporary rise of China in a globalized and capitalist age. In short, the course seeks to “narrate the world’s past in an age of globality” (Geyer and Bright), and to show how and where that past interacts with the present.
Introduction to Global History 2 provides students with a broad understanding of the development of the contemporary world system, tracing moments of global crisis and instability, as well as activist responses to them, in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and seeing how each reverberates in global politics today. The module covers topics as broad as women's emancipation, fascism, decolonisation, and the energy crisis through primary and secondary sources. This is one of two Introduction to Global History modules, organised broadly chronologically. The first one runs roughly to the 1920s. This second module looks at the last century of global history.
This module is a core module in the BA International Relations and provides a general introduction to the discipline of International Relations and to major themes in world politics. Major theories and approaches to world politics are covered, including Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Marxism, Feminism, and Postcolonial Approaches. Topics to be covered will include issues of war and peace, power, global political economy, public health, environmental politics, justice and human rights, empire, and the crisis of liberal international order. The course pays particular attention to the relationship between the discipline of International Relations as a field of knowledge and its application and/or relevance to the experience and interests of actors in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
This module is a core module in the BA International Relations and provides a general introduction to the discipline of International Relations and to major themes in world politics. Major theories and approaches to world politics are covered, including Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Marxism, Poststructuralist, Feminism, and Postcolonial Approaches. Topics to be covered will include issues of war and peace, power, global political economy, identities and ideologies, environmental politics, technological change, justice and human rights, empire, and the crisis of liberal international order. The course pays particular attention to the relationship between the discipline of International Relations as a field of knowledge and its application and/or relevance to the experience and interests of actors in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
This is a core module in both the BA Politics and BA International Relations degrees and provides a general introduction to methods of political analysis. The module provides the foundation for further study of Politics and International Relations, covering such areas as philosophy of social science, scientific methods, theoretical and methodological debates and skills key to critical reading, writing and analysis. Substantive areas of coverage include debates over structure and agency, politics and policy, historical methods, qualitative and quantitative approaches to the study of politics and international relations, measurement, inference and interpretation, the use of evidence in argumentation, narrative and language. The module is designed to complement other foundational modules in the Department of Politics and International Studies.
The module provides the foundation for further study of Politics and International Relations, covering such areas as philosophy of social science, scientific methods, theoretical and methodological debates and skills key to critical reading, writing and analysis. Substantive areas of coverage include debates over structure and agency, politics and policy, historical methods, qualitative and quantitative approaches to the study of politics and international relations, measurement, inference and interpretation, the use of evidence in argumentation, narrative and language.
Introduction to Political Economy moves through four stages. First, we ease our way in through some big scene setting questions. Second, different conceptual tools are explored for you to use and reuse, including liberalism, Marxism, gender analysis, and racial politics. Third, we examine how capitalism was built over the past half century, a story of bankers, bureaucrats, and barons who often made a mess of it. Fourth, all these insights are mobilised for dissecting hot current issues, such as the climate crisis (literally hot), the global financial crisis and its fallout, the politics of trade competition, socio-economic inequalities, consumerism, technology, the politics of work, and macro conversations on the future of capitalism. Bonus features include: a field trip to the City of London, one of the world's financial hubs; a film screening; and social drinks (let’s extract SOAS resources for ourselves like true capitalists).
The module is organised around debates in four areas: (1) a set of scene setting questions to introduce the material; (2) conceptual frameworks, derived from the scholarly tradition of political economy and world politics, including liberalism, Marxism, gender-based approaches, and racial capitalism; (3) the post-WWII history of governing the capitalist system, including attention to finance, trade, development, and energy and the environment; and (4) contemporary issues transfixing the world economy, including the global ecological crisis, the global financial crisis and its fallout, the politics of trade regulation, socio-economic inequalities, new concerns around technology, the political economy of work, and macro debates on capitalism and its possible futures. Students are asked to think critically about how the politics of the economy is conceived, governed, and experienced, in particular through evaluating dynamics of power.