MSc Research for International Development

The dissertation module, which is taken by all Master’s students, provides them with the opportunity to identify, develop and produce a research based dissertation related to the thematic area of their programme of study. As well as receiving guidance from an academic supervisor, students will also benefit from regular dissertation meetings across the year in which they will receive teaching in the theory and practise of dissertation preparation.

The module will offer an overview of the main research designs and techniques used in development research. It will put emphasis on both the use of secondary sources (text, numbers, images, audio, etc.) and the process of collecting primary empirical material for analysis.

Evaluation Methods in International Development is a module designed specifically to address the distinctive needs of evaluating policy in international development. It aims to equip students with a deep understanding of the theoretical concepts underlying policy evaluation and the practical skills needed to evaluate international development policies. Students will learn various advanced quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches, examining their strengths and limitations in terms of internal and external validity. The module emphasizes practical
applications using open-source computer software such as R and RQDA, based on real-world economic policy issues and case studies from the
Global South and Global North.

This course focuses attention to social movements in relation to civil society and to the development project itself. It examines some current positions on theorising 'civil society' and 'new social movements'.

The purpose of this module is to familiarise students with the main debates in gender and development and to introduce new ways of conceptualising the field, critiquing the concept of gender as generally applied in development, and also development itself. We will study issues relevant to gender and development not usually included within the development paradigm, like the coloniality of gender. We will also discuss how the gender binaries came to be so pervasive globally. Gender here is viewed as a set of normative behavioural prescriptions that apply to men as much as to women and men and masculinities will be treated as an integral part of the field alongside women and femininities. Gender is also understood not simply as an issue of individual male-female relationships but as inherently political.

This module provides an introduction to development practice. It examines some of the key challenges and constraints faced by development practitioners in the light of trends in development theory and policy, as well as some of the tools and frameworks commonly used in the world of development practice.

This module questions and investigates the way that forced migration takes place, is represented and is responded to at the international and national level. It uses multidisciplinary approaches, drawing on anthropological, legal, sociological and developmental perspectives to interrogate the causes and consequences of forced migration, the labelling and control of forced migrant populations, the international legal and policy frameworks that contextualize protection and other responses to them. Drawing particularly on examples from sub–Saharan Africa, it asks what options are open to displaced people in the context of political, humanitarian and developmental responses to them.

The module will offer an overview of the main research designs and techniques used in development research. It will put emphasis on both the use of secondary sources (text, numbers, images, audio, etc.) and the process of collecting primary empirical material for analysis.

This course aims to provide a critical, historically informed and empirically grounded perspective on war to peace transitions. It looks at the historical experience of countries emerging from war as well as contemporary examples. It explores the continuities between war and peace, as well as the moments of rupture, and asks how an appreciation of these continuities and transformations can inform policies and strategies in countries emerging from conflict. It also examines through case study material how liberal peacebuilding is ‘translated’ on the ground as it gets implemented (and resisted) through multiple, state, non state and private actors.

Whether we think about migration, development, geopolitics, or citizenship, all questions of our time seem to revolve around the conceptualisation, functions and effects of borders and bordering processes. Borders are central to processes of social change, and the course identifies different approaches to studying borders’ significance in such processes. Borders have also become a key site of policy and political intervention, and the course explores border management practices related to fostering, preventing or channelling the circulation of commodities and people. Finally, the course reflects on the relation between borders, border management and inequalities. Borders are gendered, racialised and power laden. Yet, they are also sites of agency, resistance and subversion. Borders are privileged sites of analytical enquiry, as they render concrete and reproduce selective opportunities, inequalities and contestations.

The aim of this module is to enable students to understand and evaluate major policy debates on the role of agriculture in development. To do so, the course will consider in some depth the relevant theoretical and empirical literature on: the necessary for structural change in agriculture-dependant societies; the operation of agricultural factor and commodity markets, including international markets; the nature of rural societies and the characterisation of farmers; the nature of food markets and the role of agriculture in improving welfare. Both mainstream and heterodox approaches will be investigated.

This team-taught course aims to provide an understanding of how aid and aid institutions have impacted on developmental prospects and practice. It explores the role, purpose, and complexities of aid in development through an examination of what forms ‘aid’ takes, and how this contributes to development; the role of specific types of organizations involved in delivering aid; the contexts in which aid is distributed; and the complexities and challenges involved. Thematically, the course is divided into three main areas: firstly and exploration of key ideas and themes in aid and development; secondly, an examination of aid at differing organizational levels; and thirdly, an exploration of aid delivery and practice in specific contexts. It will draw on experiences from a variety of contexts to provide a grounding in how aid and development are linked, and how ‘aid organizations’ function.

In this module we explore a wide range of policy processes around the world that shape the dynamics and impacts of international migration. The module provides students with the opportunity to engage critically with the complex configurations of institutions, politics and normative claims that underpin migration-related policy (with an emphasis on contemporary policy developments, although these are situated in an historical perspective). It also challenges students to explore alternative policy approaches. In particular, we consider debates and initiatives relating to international labour migration and migrants’ rights; education, skills and mobility; various forms of economic and political transnationalism; and refugee movements. Students investigate the positions taken by a variety of stakeholders, from migrant associations, NGOs, employers and trade unions, to emigration states, destination states, regional bodies and international organisations.

In this module, we are aiming for a participatory and intellectually stimulating learning experience. The module engages with theories and approaches that are applied in the study of the working poor in the Global South - and to a lesser extent the Global North - and their collective agency and activism through labour movements, social movements and struggles grounded in both productive and reproductive sites of contention. We begin with an exploration of the main approaches to labour and development in an historical context. We then move on to analyse how neoliberalism and globalisation have incorporated the labouring classes of the South through processes such as informalisation and feminisation of work. The module homes in on the strategies and campaigns of trade unions, labour organisations, social movements and environmental campaigns.

This course is intended for students interested in analysing how climate change, especially the discourse and policies around it, might be leading to a new global configuration of social forces around extractivism and energy transitions. Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, this course will focus on how different actors, notably from the fossil fuel sector (oil, gas, and coal), agribusiness, nation-states from the South and the North, as well as civil society organisations and social movements, are trying to influence and navigate the changing global discourse on climate change and energy transition in order to push their agendas and understandings of sustainable development.

The aim of this module is to introduce varieties of thought and practice in governing the environmental consequences of global development. The starting point in this endeavour is to present predominant understandings of environmental governance as portrayed in the predominant literature. We then turn to look at critical understandings of governance, leading to the central question of the module: do we govern environment-development relations, or do they govern us? The module will draw on a range of case studies, from the international climate negotiations, to the governance of common and forests.

This module explores global health in relation to global development. It considers the links between health, illness and poverty; the ways in which poverty, insecurity and inequalities create particular risks and challenges for individuals and communities; the challenges of responding to health crises and issues; and how global health fits within global development discourses, debates and issues. It does so through a focus on three areas. (1) The place of global health within global development, and key social factors impacting on health. (2) Health systems for global health and development. (3) Key issues in global heath.

The growth of cities is a key features of our times. Today more than half of the world population lives in cities, and developing countries have sustained decades of rapid urbanisation. This module will explore the key academic debates on the relationship between cities and development; the key factors driving the growth of cities in developing countries, from colonial times to the present and its implications for development. The module, taught through a weekly 1 hour lecture and 1 hour tutorialin term 1, will expose students to a number of theoretical approaches to the “urban” in developing countries, including political economy and postcolonial narratives. Such theoretical debates will be used to make sense of a range of urban themes/sectors such as housing, crime, informal employment, transport, digital technology and migration.

This course explores feminist and gendered approaches to the study of global political economy. First, the course explores feminist contributions to the study of the world economy and its intersecting inequalities, including during COVID-19 times, and illustrates feminist analyses of the global assembly line. Second, it introduces social reproduction theorizations and illustrates processes of commodification of social reproduction under neoliberalism, by examining the rise and features of global care and reproductive chains. Third, the course explores links between accumulation, gender, and race, by introducing gendered approaches to racial capitalism, coloniality, and indigeneity. It analyses feminist intersectional, anti-racist and decolonial political movements including BLM; and introduces debates on abolition feminism and reproductive justice. Finally, the course illustrates gendered approaches to agrarian change, food, and the ecology. 

This module encourages students to explore the various pathways to peace that scholars, practitioners, communities and people have proposed and realized. The class provides students with A solid theoretical and historical basis to critical peace and conflict studies and moves from the individual, community, national and international level. This class is an experiential and highly participatory module , however, that moves beyond abstract and distant discussions of peace, war and justice. Each week we consider A different motivation, movement and challenge to understanding peace and achieving justice.

This module is collaboratively designed and delivered by SOAS (Dept of Development Studies) and the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance (NMSPG) in Cape Town. Students at each institution will convene in a classroom and lectures will be presented in person in one institution while the students at the other join remotely. The module examines the historical performance of, constraints on, and prospects for African economic development and structural change, within the context of climate change and shifting global geo-politics. It highlights the importance of unevenness and variation in policy and performance, within and between African countries. It looks at inter-sectoral linkages, industrial policy, trade, and financing levels and mechanisms. The module also examines social inequalities, labour, and health & education from a structural change perspective.
Students will be exposed to the leading scholarly expertise and practitioner experience at SOAS and the NMSPG. Students will not merely listen to lectures presented in both institutions but engage actively in group discussions with students in both classrooms, in Cape Town and London.

The module examines the historical performance of, constraints on, and prospects for African economic development and structural change, taking particular note of the context of climate change and shifting global geo-politics. It engages critically with prominent narratives of the impossibility of industrialization on the continent and it highlights how unevenness and variation in policy and performance, within and between African countries, helps shed light on the scope of the possible. It looks at inter-sectoral linkages, industrial policy, trade and the balance of payments, and financing levels and mechanisms. The module also examines social inequalities, labour, health & education, and poverty reduction from a structural change perspective. 

The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of macroeconomic theory with coverage of important theoretical issues, methods and debates, and serve as reference for more applied or specialised modules of our MSc programmes.

This module surveys core theories and techniques in microeconomics. It focuses on the key themes of relative price determination and strategic choice from the perspective of different traditions in microeconomics.

This course is about the economic structures, institutions and policy challenges in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The module starts with a broad economic history of the region since the mid 19th Century and goes on to address selected aspects of economic policy in the contemporary period in areas related to natural and human resources. Among the topics covered are: the oil sector, labour migration and capital flows, problems of industrialization in resource based economies, and population transition. For the purposes of this course, the MENA region comprises the Arab countries, Iran and Turkey.

This course provides an introduction to the post-1950 evolution of the main economies of the Asia-Pacific region (comprising Northeast and Southeast Asia). It looks at macroeconomic issues, with a particular focus on growth, trade and investment flows, and fluctuations in economic indicators since the middle of the 1990s.

The objective of this course is to develop students’ understanding of the main economic relationships that arise between the financial sector and the ‘real economy’ in the course of economic development.

This course introduces students to economic perspectives on environmental and development issues. It covers various macro and microeconomic issues as well as economics of climate change.

This course is one of two core courses of the MSc Global Economic Governance. It is designed to familiarize students with core policy and reform debates on current global economic governance, with emphasis on the following areas: international monetary and financial integration, international production, international trade and international competitiveness, and the role of labour in the global economy.

This course looks at the interaction between China's economic transformation and world development since the late 1970s until the present time. The emphasis is on critically analyzing and assessing this interaction from alternative historical and theoretical perspectives.

The module introduces students to the topic of green finance and its potential contribution to a sustainable economy in the context of climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Specifically, the module supports students in understanding how climate and other environmental risks create potential financial risks in banking and capital markets and analyses the role of financial actors in driving and potentially mitigating these risks.

This core module will be an introduction to concepts in probability theory and statistics and will not have specific adacemic requirements. The purpose of the module is to enable students to take on Statistical Research Techniques in term 2. In addition, it provides the basic knowledge required to study articles engaging in quantitative analysis.

This module explores economic development in post-colonial Sub-Saharan Africa, bringing together macroeconomic and microeconomic perspectives. It presents theoretical and policy-relevant debates that are of interest not only to those who want to learn about Sub-Saharan Africa specifically but also to those who are seeking to develop a global understanding of economic dynamics.

This course examines the political economy of development processes and the specific development policies and strategies undertaken in different regions and countries of the world. The syllabus is designed to provide insights on the historical evolution of development debates, and an overview of the elements of theory and policy that are especially relevant to the study and practice of development.

The lectures cover some key foundational theoretical and analytical content of the political economy of development. They illustrate and explain different interpretations/schools of thought of political economy and development economics and they critically examine the basis of paradigm shifts in development policy making.

This course examines the political economy of development processes and the specific development policies and strategies undertaken in different regions and countries of the world. The syllabus is designed to provide insights on the historical evolution of development debates, and an overview of the elements of theory and policy that are especially relevant to the study and practice of development.

The lectures focus upon a range of specific topics fiercely debated in development policy circles. The topics covered include resource mobilisation (finance, taxation, aid); climate change and the environment, education and health, poverty, and labour markets. Throughout the course, basic theory is combined with applications to developing countries, using examples from Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Latin America. Special emphasis is given to changes occurring over the last 4 decades, often described as the period of ‘structural adjustment’, ‘neoliberalism’, ‘financialization’, and their effects on the policies and prospects of developing countries. 

This module provides a grounding in theories of development broadly through the disciplines of sociology and politics and is a prerequisite to the module Policies and Practices of Development in the second semester.

In this module we explore theoretical ideas and debates on development through an historical perspective. These ideas and debates are better understood when located in the historical contexts and conditions that generate them. This shapes which issues and problems are identified, how they are identified, how solutions to them are sought and by whom.  This approach puts questions of agency at the centre of understanding development ideas and policies.

Building on the theoretical insights of the sister module Theories of Development, this module engages with the multifaceted nature of development and the diverse agencies involved in shaping it. A critical perspective, grounded in insights from both cutting edge and established research, encourages students to challenge established norms and think critically about the impact of development interventions. Overall, this module provides students with a comprehensive view of development policies and practices and to consider alternatives.