Description

Politics and International Relations

Description - summary of the module content

Module description

This module will provide an introduction to world politics and international relations in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. You will require no detailed prior knowledge. However, you should have an interest in the modern world and an enquiring mind. The main focus of the module will be to examine conflict between and within states and the various agencies involved in the resolution, or attempted resolution, of those conflicts. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to examine the relationship between states in the period since 1945. The module will explore the tensions and conflicts between and within states, and their origins. It will also examine the variety of mechanisms that exist to resolve these conflicts, in the form of both intergovernmental organisations and non-governmental organisations.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Describe some of the key issues and events in World Politics and International Relations since 1945
• 2. Show knowledge and understanding of the relationship between states, intergovernmental organisations and non-state organisations, and some of the ways in which they have contributed to and attempted to resolve recent international and domestic issues

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. To a standard appropriate to this level evaluate materials set for the module
• 4. To a standard appropriate to this level show awareness of relevant issues in the wider context of culture/intellectual history

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. With tutor support, take responsibility for your own learning and work independently
• 6. Communicate effectively in a format and using scholarly conventions appropriate to this discipline

Syllabus plan

Syllabus plan

The syllabus is likely to cover: 

• A brief introduction to the emergence of World Politics and International Relations as a discipline
• Recent International Developments and Conflicts
• The Second World War and the post-war world:
• Historical background to particular conflicts
• The theatre of conflict
• Attempts at resolution
• Consideration of States; Intergovernmental Organisations; Non-governmental Organisations
• Systems of government
• Nuclear, chemical and biological weapons
• Terrorism (national and international perspectives)

Case studies used in the lectures will act as templates for student work and will be drawn from a selection of major areas of world conflict.

Learning and teaching

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Assessment

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Re-assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

• Deferral – if you miss an assessment for reasons judged legitimate by the Mitigation Committee, the applicable assessment will normally be deferred. See ‘Details of reassessment’ for the form that assessment usually takes. When deferral occurs there is ordinarily no change to the overall weighting of that assessment.
• Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to take a re-sit exam. Only your performance in this exam will count towards your final module grade. A grade of 40% will be awarded if the examination is passed.

Resources

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Aldred, J. and Mamaux, A. (2015). The Cold War c1945-1991. AQA Oxford History, OUP.
• Lowe, M. (2013). Mastering Modern World History. 5th Ed. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke.
• Murphy, D. and Morris, T. (2008). International Relations 1879-2004.Collins
• Wilkinson, P. (2007). International Relations: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=12914

Module has an active ELE page

Key words search

Politics, war, conflict, resolution, NGO, weapons, terrorism