The West, Civilisations and World Order

Module title	The West, Civilisations and World Order
Module code	POLM144
Academic year	2024/5
Credits	30
Module staff	Dr Gregorio Bettiza (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	25

Module description

The United States and European states form one of the most successful security, economic and political alliances ever in the history of world politics: the transatlantic alliance. So much so that this alliance is often conceptualized as constituted by a deeper sense of community among nations and peoples seen as sharing a common identity generally referred to as ‘the West’. Concerns about the power, role, boundaries, values, hegemony, or decline of the West are ubiquitous among analysts and practitioners of international relations across the globe. The course explores and critically assesses the internal dynamics and external influences of the transatlantic community and the West in shaping and influencing historically the contours of world politics and contemporary world order.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module introduces students to the study of transatlantic relations, the West and world order in international relations (IR). It aims to provide students with a firm grasp and a critical perspective on the key historical developments, theoretical approaches, policy debates, and political controversies on the transatlantic community and the West, and their relationship to world order. The module will familiarise students with the histories and theories of American-European relations, the processes and politics of Western identity formation, controversies surrounding the notion of the West as a civilization, the role of the West in shaping the contemporary (liberal) world order, critiques of Western-centrism in the social sciences and world politics, debates about the Western or universal character of global governance institutions, democracy and human rights, and the future of the West and the contemporary (liberal) world order in an era of rising powers and populism.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

1. discuss the histories, theories, and case studies about the transatlantic relation and the West in international relations;
2. evaluate the internal dynamics and external influences of the transatlantic relation and the West in world politics;

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

3. demonstrate an understanding of the debates and theories about the transatlantic relation and the West as a field of academic knowledge and its applicability to a range of case studies and empirical situations;
4. exercise informed judgment concerning the internal dynamics and external influence of the transatlantic community on world order;
5. exercise informed judgment concerning the role of the concept of the West in scholarly, policy and public debates in world politics;

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

6. exercise informed judgment concerning the role of the concept of the West in scholarly, policy and public debates in world politics;
7. write and present complex arguments clearly and persuasively; and
8. demonstrate critical judgment and confidence in articulating and defending your opinions.

Syllabus plan

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

Part I: The Transatlantic Relation and the West

Introduction
What and Who’s ‘West’?
Transatlantic Relations: History and Theory
Transatlantic Security Relations and NATO
The West and Civilizational Analysis

Part II: The West and World Order

The West and (Liberal) World Order
Western-Centrism in International Relations
Human Rights: Universal Norms or Western Standard of Civilization?
The Future of the West and World Order: Rising Powers and Authoritarianism
The Future of the West and World Order: Populism and the Far-Right
Final Seminar and Reflections

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

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	278	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	22	11 x 2 hour per week seminars including small group work, presentations, discussion, reflection and simulations
Guided independent study	278	Reading (150 hours), preparation for seminar and presentations (50 hours), essay writing (78 hours).

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
General seminar participation and engagement	Throughout the course	1-8	Oral

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
Essay 1	50	3,500 words	1-8	Written
Essay 2	50	3,500 words	1-8	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
Essay 1	Essay 1 (3,500 words)	1-8	August/September re-assessment period
Essay 2	Essay 2 (3,500 words)	1-8	August/September re-assessment period

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Transatlantic Relations

Abelson, Donald E. and Brooks, Stephen (eds.) (2022), Transatlantic Relations: Challenge and Resilience (London: Routledge).

Alcaro, Riccardo, Peterson, John, and Greco, Ettore (eds.) (2016), The West and the Global Power Shift: Transatlantic Relations and Global Governance (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan).

Hanhimäki, Jussi M. (2021), Pax Transatlantica: America and Europe in the Post-Cold War Era (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

The West

Bell, Duncan (2020), Dreamworlds of Race: Empire and the Utopian Destiny of Anglo-America (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).

Hellmann, Gunther and Herborth, Benjamin (eds.) (2017), Uses of 'the West': Security and the Politics of Order (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

Lehti, Marko, Pennanen, Henna-Riikka, and Jouhki, Jukka (eds.) (2019), Contestations of Liberal Order: The West in Crisis? (Basignstoke: Palgrave MacMillan).

O’Hagan, Jacinta (2002), Conceptualizing the West in International Relations: From Spengler to Said (Houndmills, N.Y.: Palgrave).

The West and World Order

Acharya, Amitav (2018), The end of American world order (2nd edn.; Cambridge: Polity).

Buzan, Barry and Lawson, George (2015), The global transformation: history, modernity and the making of international relations (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

Cooley, Alexander and Nexon, Daniel (2020), Exit from Hegemony: The Unraveling of the American Global Order (New York: Oxford University Press).

Ikenberry, G. John (2020), A world safe for democracy: Liberal internationalism and the crises of global order (New Haven and London: Yale University Press).

Mearsheimer, John J. (2018), The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities (Yale University Press).

Vitalis, Robert (2015), White world order, black power politics: The birth of American international relations (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press).

Zarakol, AyÃ?ï¿½e (2022), Before the West: The rise and fall of Eastern world orders (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/search.php?search=polm144

Key words search

Transatlantic Relations, the West, Civilizations, World Order

Credit value	30
Module ECTS	15
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	7
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	10/06/2014
Last revision date	05/09/2023