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Great Power Politics

Module description

In 1814, Lord Castlereagh – then serving as UK Foreign Secretary – used the collective noun “Great Powers” to describe the states of Europe among which he hoped to achieve an accord that would settle the Napoleonic Wars. Since then, the term – and the concept it encapsulates – has been central to both the conduct and the analysis of international relations. But of course, the “great powers” were not called into being by Castlereagh’s 13 February letter. On the contrary, his chosen term reflected a well understood reality: that in matters of international politics, a select group of countries – those with large enough concentrations of relative power to defend and advance their interests – matter disproportionately in determining outcomes.

This module will provide an introduction to great power politics as a domain of contemporary international relations. With a focus on the present – but drawing on lessons from the past and with an eye to the future – it will elucidate and interrogate interactions between the international system’s most powerful states.

No pre-requisite or co-requisite modules are required to register for ‘Great Power Politics’, although prior familiarity with international relations and/or security studies will obviously be relevant. The module will provide a basic introduction to key concepts and debates in the analysis of interstate power politics. Students who complete the module successfully will thus gain a more developed theoretical and empirical knowledge of the power-political dimensions of international relations to inform their scholarly and practical understanding.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will provide you with:

• Theoretical understanding of the causes of great power competition and cooperation, including both the comparison of theories to explore their explanatory utility and the application of theory to contemporary debates in great power relations;
• Empirical knowledge of past and present great power interactions, thereby providing an evidence base with which to assess the competing claims of different explanatory theories as well as the background knowledge that informs our understanding of contemporary problems; and
• Applicable insights for national security strategy/policy.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key issues around great power politics and international relations.
• 2. Apply this awareness to contemporary problems of strategy and statecraft.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 3. Display an understanding of the evolution of international relations and strategic theory, and their utility for contemporary decision-making.
• 4. Exercise informed judgement about change and continuity in international politics.

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 5. Conduct independent research, exercise critical judgement, and write clearly and persuasively.
• 6. Demonstrate the ability to work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task.

Syllabus plan

While the content of this module is likely to change from year to year, to reflect advances in the field, it is envisaged that we will cover all or some of the following topics:

• What are “great” powers, how do we define them, and why does it matter?
• Why do great powers sometimes cooperate yet sometimes compete (and even fight)?  
• What are the causes and consequences of shifts in the interstate balance of power?
• Which states are great powers today, and what does the future hold?
• What does technology (such as nuclear weapons) and geography (such as oceanic separation) do to great power relations?
• What does contemporary great power competition mean for UK/Western foreign and defence policy?

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

(This reading list is indicative– it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list.)

• John J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (New York: Norton, 2001)
• Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 (New York: Random House, 1987)
• Dale C. Copeland, The Origins of Major War (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2000)
• Robert Jervis, The Meaning of the Nuclear Revolution: Statecraft and the Prospect of Armageddon (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990)
• Robert Gilpin, War and Change in World Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981)
• Stacie E. Goddard, When Right Makes Might: Rising Powers and World Order (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2018)
• Paul K. MacDonald and Joseph M. Parent, Twilight of the Titans: Great Power Decline and Retrenchment (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2018)
• David M. Edelstein, Over the Horizon: Time, Uncertainty, and the Rise of Great Powers (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2017)
• David M. McCourt, Britain and World Power since 1945: Constructing a Nation’s Role in International Politics (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2014)
• Michael Beckley, Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2018).

Key words search

International Relations, Strategic Studies, International Security