Foreign Policy: Leadership, Power and Responsibility

Module title	Foreign Policy: Leadership, Power and Responsibility
Module code	POL2052
Academic year	2022/3
Credits	15
Module staff	Professor Klejda Mulaj (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	175

Module description

In this module you will be introduced to foreign policy as a field of study, one of the most inter-disciplinary subfields of international relations. Most people tend to think of foreign policy as a territory inhabited by diplomats, foreign ministers, and journalists who cover it. It is perceived as the rarefied world of those who represent their state’s interests abroad, attend summits, and send cables back to their capitals. In this module, you will learn that foreign policy is more than summits in exotic locations and the output of foreign ministries. Not only is it important to understand other parts of the government to grasp foreign policy outcomes, but non-state actors increasingly have their own foreign policies. You will be asked to consider how IR schools of thought help us interpret foreign policy decision making, how public opinion and media impact foreign policy in general and in particular decision/s to intervene in the affairs of other states, to name a few.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will introduce you to a broad range of scholarship that addresses the field of foreign policy. This area of study has traditionally been separate from other branches of international relations. This module will encourage you to consider the more theoretical texts in light of recent foreign policy crises

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

1. demonstrate substantive knowledge of the main theories of foreign policy and be able to adopt critical positions adopted towards them.
2. show an ability to identify and discuss the key concepts in relation to decision-making,
3. identify clearly the contention made by the different theories of leadership, power and responsibility and engage in reasoned criticism of such theories.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

4. criticise and construct arguments with regard both to their logical rigour and political plausibility
5. exercise informed judgement concerning the policy implications of abstract political principles.

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

6. present complex arguments with clarity and concision.
7. show an empathetic understanding of the role played by leaders under crisis conditions.

Syllabus plan

The main topics covered comprise:

Theories of foreign policy;

Actors & leadership;

Decision-making; International law;

ethics of responsibility;

Illustrative case studies.

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

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
26.5	123.5

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	16.5	11 x 1.5 hour lectures. Subject knowledge will be communicated in lectures, and developed through private study and tutorial discussion
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	10	10 x 1 hour tutorials
Guided Independent study	123.5	Independent study

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Participation in discussion sections/ presentations of course readings	15 minutes	1-7	Verbal

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Written assignment 1	40	1,500 words	1-7	Written
Written assignment 2	60	3,000 words	1-7	Written
	0
	0
	0
	0

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

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Written assignment 1	Written assignment 1 (1,500 words)	1-7	1st May deadline for submission
Written assignment 2	Written assignment 2 (3,000 words)	1-7	1st September deadline for submission

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Steve Smith, Amelia Hadfield, Tim Dunne eds., Foreign Policy: Theories, Actors, Cases Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Graham Allison and Philip Zelikow, Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis 2nd edn., New York: Longman, 1999.

Walter Carlsnaes, International Relations and Foreign Policy, London: Sage, 2008.

Christopher Hill, The Changing Context of Foreign Policy, London: Palgrave, 2003.

Valerie Hudson, Foreign Policy Analysis: Classic and Contemporary Theory, New York: Rowman & Littlefied, 2007.

Chris Alden and Amnon Aran, Foreign Policy Analysis: New Approaches, Routledge 2012.

Michael Cox and Doug Stokes eds., US Foreign Policy, Oxford University Press, 2012.

Amelia Hadfield, British Foreign Policy, National Identity, and Neoclasical Realism, Roman & Littlefield 2010.

Steven W. Hook and Christopher M. Jones, eds., Routledge Handbook of American Foreign Policy, Routledge, 2011.

Michael Mandelbaum, ‘Foreign Policy as Social Work’, Foreign Affairs January/February 1996.

Alex Mintz and Karl DeRouen Jr. Understanding Foreign Policy Decision Making, Cambridge University Press, 2010.

I. L. Janis, Groupthink, 2nd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1982.

P. Keal, Ethics and Foreign Policy, Allen & Unwin, 1992.

Richard C. Snyder, et al., Foreign Policy Decision-Making (Revisited), Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

Key words search

Foreign Policy, International Relations, International Affairs

Credit value	15
Module ECTS	7.5
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	5
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	23/09/2010
Last revision date	21/02/2012