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International Relations: Power and Institutions

Module description

This module provides an advanced entry-level introduction to the key debates in the contemporary study of International Relations (IR). The module is designed to introduce students to the broad conceptual, historical, methodological and disciplinary themes that have shaped the study of IR from the end of the nineteenth-century. The module locates key texts, ideas and theories in distinct historical contexts (colonialism, two World Wars, the Cold War), illuminating how academic ideas and social practices are shaped by and shape world affairs.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The main aim of the module is to illuminate why the main concepts and theories in International Relations take the form that they do. This involves exploring the emergence of IR theory in its historical context. It ought subsequently to be possible for students to reflect critically on their own theoretical assumptions and how they shape claims about the future of world politics. For example, the rise of China, can be understood as a modern articulation about long standing views about revisionist powers in modern world politics. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. Demonstrate substantive knowledge of modern IR, the origins of the field, the context in which it developed and the major critical positions adopted towards its development;
• 2. Identify and discuss the key methodological, conceptual and theoretical debates in IR and demonstrate knowledge in relation to the development of IR as a field of knowledge-production;

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 3. Demonstrate advanced critical, historical and analytical understanding of the development of IR as a field of academic knowledge-production;
• 4. Exercise informed judgement concerning the practical implications of abstract political principles and ability to locate arguments within an historical context and to understand the relationship between context and theory;

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 5. Conduct independent research, give well-designed presentations, exercise critical judgment, write cogently and persuasively; and
• 6. Identify spurious conclusions and distinguish rigorous from merely persuasive argument.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

1. The philosophical and historical origins of contemporary IR
2. The Second World War and the origins of ‘realism’
3. The management of Cold War bipolarity
4. The end of the Cold War and the rise of constructivism
5. Poststructuralism and the discursive construction of world politics

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

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

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

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Barry Buzan, and Richard Little, International Systems in World History: Remaking the Study of International Relations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).

Michael W. Doyle, Ways of War and Peace: Realism, Liberalism, and Socialism (New York; London: Norton, 1997).

Timothy Dunne, Milja Kurki, and Steve Smith (eds.), International Relations Theories: Discipline and Diversity. 2nd ed (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).

Naeem Inayatullah, and David L. Blaney, International Relations and the Problem of Difference (London: Routledge, 2004).

David Long, and Brian C. Schmidt (eds.), Imperialism and Internationalism in the Discipline of International Relations (Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 2005).

Ido Oren, Our Enemies and US: America's Rivalries and the Making of Political Science (Ithaca, N.Y.; Cornell University Press, 2003).

Brian C. Schmidt, The Political Discourse of Anarchy: A Disciplinary History of International Relations (New York: State University of New York Press, 1998).

Arlene B. Tickner, and Ole Wæver (eds.), International Relations Scholarship around the World: Worlding Beyond the West (London: Routledge, 2009).

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

Key words search

International Relations, Power, Institutions