International Relations & Global Politics

·Major Topics Covered in this Diploma Program include:

Module 1 - Introduction to International Relations

·Understanding International Relations, what IR is (or is not), the vocabulary of IR

·State and non-state actors and structures in International Relations

·Levels of analysis in IR, individual, domestic, international, global

·Key historical contexts and events in IR

Module 2 - Realism and International Relations

·Explaining realism, classical realism, neorealism, assumptions of realism

·Hard power, soft power, coercion, power politics, the national interest

·Anarchy, egoism, the balance of power, bipolar and multipolar systems

·Statecraft, statespeople and rationality, game theory, structure of the international system

Module 3 - Liberalism

·Liberalism in theory and in practice, main themes, harmony, cooperation, balance, anti-conflict

·Liberalism and levels of analysis, interdependence and republican liberalism, internationalism

·Interdependence, peace, democratic and authoritarian states, liberty, ideology, government

·International regimes and alliances, economic, environmental, security and dead-letter regimes

Module 4 - Social Constructivism

·Terminology, meta-theory, epistemology and ontology, learning, knowledge, reality, bias

·History of social constructivism, challenging Realism and Liberalism, individualism and materialism

·Identity, social structures, constructivists and the social world, reality and human rights

·Constructivism and the international system, actors, knowledge, symbols, rules, concepts, an explanation for human and state change

Module 5 - Foreign Policy & Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA)

·State, foreign and domestic policy, foreign policy and trade, diplomacy, military and defence, foreign aid, international environmental policy

·Policies, decisions and events, precedent and past decisions, policymakers, key leaders, military leaders, intelligence agencies, diplomats, corporations, NGOs

·Diplomacy, diplomatic relations, diplomatic immunity, power, alliances, coercion, public diplomacy, the media

·Analysis of foreign policy and foreign policy decisions, the Rational Actor model, the Bureaucratic model, the Psychological Belief-system model, approaches to risk

Module 6 - War and Conflict

·Armed conflict, political groups, interstate war, conventional warfare, the “Rules of War”, total and limited war, civil war or intra-state war

·The causes of war, context and circumstances, a theoretical framework to study war, militarism, nationalism, ideology, religion, ethnicity, territory, control of government, economic gain

·Ethnic conflict, groups, identity, genocide and ethnic cleansing, nationalism-based conflict, ideological conflict, fascism, revolutions, religious conflict, fundamentalism

·How wars have changed, new tactics and technology, justifications for war, realpolitik, pacifism

Module 7 - Human Rights and International Law

·Defining rights and law, state governments, sovereignty and international law, approaches based on religion, philosophy, political revolutions, civil movements, humanism and collective society

·Political rights, economic and social rights, collective rights

·Private and public international law, sources of law, treaties, UN charter, the United Nations, reasons for obeying international law

·International human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, humanitarian Intervention, rights and conventions relating to refugees, the International Criminal Court, crimes against humanity, war crimes

Module 8 - Globalisation

·Globalisation as a process and a condition, globalisation and interconnectedness, IR theories and globalisation

·Economic globalisation, business across international borders, multinationals, outsourcing, supply chains, negative consequences, global division of labour

·Political globalisation, interdependence and cooperation, cultural globalisation, urban culture

·Globalisation and the environment, resource problems, pollution, green technology, climate change, deterritorialisation, internationalisation, liberalisation, technological revolutions

Module 9 - Critical Theories of International Relations

·Aims of critical theories, emancipation, poststructuralism, language, truth and power

·Marxism, Marxist theory compared to communist systems, material conditions, the economy, structures, global capitalism, labour, culture and ideology, imperialism

·The Frankfurt School, social and linguistic affects, power and culture, wealth, knowledge, the educated elite

·Green politics, environmental protection, social progress and economic development, green and sustainable government policy-making, green theorists

Module 10 - Development

·Development as a process, developed and developing nations, development projects, poverty, measurements of poverty, human development index (HDI)

·Orthodox development, money-based, encouraging capitalism, alternative views of development, human-centred empowerment, self-reliance, sustainability, diversity, social inclusion

·Foreign assistance and investment, political, humanitarian and economic reasons, donors, types of aid

·Criticisms of foreign development, loan repayments, heavy debts, exploitation, control, debt-trap diplomacy

Module 11 - Feminism and Gender

·Gender as a social construct, cultural interpretations, gender-based historical and current stereotypes, gendering and gender norms

·Feminism as a theory, sexism, the history and waves of feminism, equality feminism, difference feminism

·Using a gender lens on global politics, analysis and challenging gender norms, gender mainstreaming

·Patriarchy, the instrumentalist and structuralist approaches, law, inequality, philosophy, gender and economics and politics

Module 12 - Postcolonialism

·Conditions in the global South, expressions of poverty, migration and asylum-seeking, basic human needs

·Imperialism and colonialism, empires and colonies, decolonisation

·Postcolonialism, wealth distribution, cultural and economic effects of colonialism, supposed advantages and disadvantages of colonialism

·Challenging the eurocentrism of IR, imperialism and development, modern structures and old-style colonialism, world-systems theory, the core, the semi-periphery, the periphery