BA (Hons) International Relations & Chinese

This unit will introduce students to the study of world politics, emphasising that there are different and competing perspectives on how to approach the subject.

In the first term, we focus on the three dominant paradigms (realism, pluralism and structuralism) that defined the discipline of International Relations throughout the 20th Century. We situate those paradigms in the historical context in which they were developed and critically examine both their contribution to our understanding of world politics and their shortcomings.

In the second term, the unit identifies some of the contours of the post-Cold War inter-national environment. In particular, it explores claims that contemporary world politics are defined by processes of globalisation. 

This is an introduction to political theory and an exploration of why central political ideas and concepts influence our understanding of the world around us. Assessed by: one essay and a two-hour unseen examination.

In this module you'll cover the basics of beginner’s level Mandarin within 12 weeks. You'll learn to comprehend and talk in very simple Chinese words and patterns, paving the way for you to further your study of Chinese.
By the end of the module, you should:

• have a basic knowledge of Chinese Pinyin, basic grammar and simple sentence patterns
• be able to recognise around 300 Chinese characters
• be able to approximately comprehend simple, basic and very limited language materials closely related to personal or everyday life
• be able to introduce oneself or make oneself understood by others on very limited simple vocabulary with the help of body language or other means
• be able to copy simple characters or words, fill in information that is closely related to personal life or provide very brief written answers to relevant questions in very simple basic vocabulary

You'll take part in introductory grammar classes, tutorials, drills and conversation classes, and study the written language in simplified forms. Teaching will focus on developing your skills in listening, speaking (through individual and group presentations and role play), reading, grammar and writing.

The main objective of this module is to continue to work on basic sentence patterns, grammar and ways of expressing yourself, helping with your acquisition of basic modern language through attention to the spoken forms of the language and to their written equivalents, so as to gain greater knowledge of Chinese language, culture and social life. You’ll work with written text in both Chinese characters and Pinyin.

By the end of this module, you should:

• have a good command of basic Chinese grammar and sentence patterns recognise around 800 Chinese characters, and have a basic working knowledge of the vocabulary based on those character
• be able basically to understand a brief conversation or exchange that is closely related to personal or everyday life
• be able to describe basic information about yourself and others in very simple Mandarin
• be able to write short messages on familiar topics for general social purposes

You’ll take part in grammar classes, tutorials, drills and conversation classes and study the written language in simplified forms. Teaching will focus on developing your skills in listening, speaking (through individual and group presentations and role play), reading, grammar and writing.

In this lower-intermediate level module, you’ll focus on consolidating your grammar knowledge and expanding your vocabulary with reference to Chinese culture and society. By the end of this this module, you’ll have expanded your vocabulary significantly to around 1000 Chinese characters and 1600 words and expressions, and will be able to engage in everyday conversation as well as give sustained oral presentation on a familiar topic.

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

• understand spoken Chinese and engage in spoken discourse on everyday topics and some simple but formal exchanges
• understand formal texts e.g. news items and reports, extensive Chinese vocabulary and the appropriateness of Chinese structures and expressions in a given context
• understand short passages in written Chinese in relatively formal context as well as on everyday life
• write short descriptions and narrations on your personal experiences or on familiar topics

You’ll learn through intensive linguistic training in small classes at the Confucius Institute and take part in grammar classes, tutorials, drills and conversation classes. Teaching will focus on developing your skills in listening, speaking (through individual and group presentations and role play), reading, grammar and writing.

This intermediate level module is designed to develop your comprehensive reading skills and to enrich your Chinese vocabulary up to 1250 Chinese characters and 2400 words and expressions. Throughout this module you’ll also continue to improve your cross-cultural competency with reference to Chinese culture and society. By the end of this module you should be capable of studying documentary Chinese texts independently and have advanced your oral language skills.

By the end of the module, you should be able to:

• communicate with others more confidently on general social occasions and to converse on common topics
• read descriptive or narrative texts on familiar or real-life topics, be able to grasp the central issue, theme and some important details, and to understand the intention of the author
• write texts of some length on the common topics in everyday life, study or social activities in different formats, to convey or express information in an appropriate manner

You’ll learn through intensive linguistic training in small classes at the Confucius Institute and take part in grammar classes, tutorials, drills and conversation classes. Teaching will focus on developing your skills in listening, speaking (through individual and group presentations and role play), reading, grammar and writing.

This module focuses on the principal debates and issues that have been shaping world politics since the end of the Cold War.

The module provides a detailed review of the main theoretical perspectives contributing to contemporary international relations theory, critically assesses what international relations theory is about, identifies the abstractions and logic it deploys, and interrogates its relation to the outside world.

This module explores the place and the role of international organisations in the international system. The module covers historical, theoretical, legal and policy-related aspects of the evolving nature and roles of international organisations in world politics.

A particular focus is the widening and deepening of international governance that has occurred since the end of the Cold War. This process of global governance is framed as a response to the increased prevalence of transnational concerns and problems that cannot be resolved by individual sovereign states.

The module explores how international organisations, in alliance with states and non-governmental actors, identify and respond to these problems.

Since the end of the Cold War, both the theory and practice of international security have undergone radical changes. In the era of globalisation, security is no longer confined to questions of interstate conflict and cooperation but embraces a plethora of new concerns.

Most significant among these is the prevalence of new wars fought within rather than between states and the range of phenomena such as environmental destruction, transnational criminal activity, development and insecurity, and migration and disease, that these conflicts generate.

Furthermore, the terms by which the institutions of international society engage with these security threats has been rearticulated within a discourse of liberal humanitarianism in which human rather than state security has become the main referent.

This module explores this transformation of the ‘new security agenda’ by means of:

• an exploration of the theoretical and conceptual reframing of security
• analysis of a selection of important challenges framed as security threats.

The module is in two parts. The first part examines and debates a range of competing theories and concepts of security. It considers different meanings of the term ‘security’ and whose security we can talk about. The second part examines some contemporary security threats with implications for international politics.

These will include, among other subjects: inter and intra-state conflict; the role and future of international and regional security institutions; the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; international terrorism and the war on terror; cyber-warfare and transnational crime; and development, resources and conflict.

This module explores the interaction between US domestic and foreign politics. It seeks to understand the way that domestic political dynamics influence foreign policy and the role of the US in the broader international arena. It introduces students to the structure of US government and the main interest groups involved in the foreign policy-making process, examining the broader ideological and political trends that have shaped the way the US acts on the global stage as the world’s only remaining superpower.

Part of the module will take a historical overview, looking at how US foreign policy has developed post-Second War, throughout the Cold War, and into today’s War on Terror, showing how different administrations have responded to perceived international threats, opportunities and challenges, as well as domestic political pressures and concerns.

The module will also examine a number of contemporary issues currently faced by the US, which are likely to shape US foreign policy and security strategy for the foreseeable future: conflict in the Middle East; the threat of Islamist terrorism; the economic rise of China; global nuclear proliferation; the challenges posed by Russia; and the broader issue of global climate change. It will look at how the US responds to these dilemmas, and how these issues figure in domestic political debates and the US’ perception of itself.

This module introduces students to the study of the political dynamics and conflicts currently affecting the Middle East.

It will provide a historical overview of the roots of these contemporary conflicts in that region throughout the twentieth century to the present day, exploring the legacy of imperialism, the rise of Arab nationalism post-Second World War, the emergence of the state of Israel and the implications of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, the Iranian Revolution, the Sunni-Shia conflict, the Arab Spring and the rise of radical Islam. It will also examine the broader implications of these dynamics for the international system.

The module is divided into three parts. The first part, Theoretical and Methodological Overview, offers an introduction to the main theories and debates about the Middle East. We will look at key approaches to the Middle East in International Relations and the Areas Studies, examining major differences and limits of these theories, as well as the effects of the so-called Orientalist debate, and its association with colonialism and state formation in the region.

The second part, Identity and Politics in the Middle East, inquires into the role of identities and ideologies in the politics of the Middle East. We will examine the ideological battle between nationalism, Arabism, tribalism, and political Islam in the twentieth century, discussing how different actors have negotiated between national, sub-national and super-national ties.

In the last part of the module, Hegemony and Political Change in the Modern Middle East, we will explore the geopolitics of the region. We will examine the interaction between the different states in the region (the Gulf monarchies, the Israeli-Palestinian setting, the Arab Republics), international actors and the overall social context of Arab countries.

To gain a more sophisticated (and less prejudiced) knowledge of “rough politics” is particularly vital today, as the age of globalisation seems to be framed by the conflict between the rule of law represented by western democracies, and the violent disorder embodied by the Global South.

In studying this shadowy territory we will touch upon fundamental issues for today's social sciences: the afterlives of Twentieth Century revolutionary politics, the connections between political violence and religion, the nature of informal and illegal economies, the current debates on globalisation from below, the prospects for social rebellion, the construction of new political subjectivities and novel ways of representing the “other”.

We will do all of this by studying the political significance of guerrilla warfare in shaping global politics; the language of martyrdom in religious based terrorism; Al Qaeda´s dependence on mass-murder to advance a populist theology, Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea reinventing the fascination and fear caused by pirates from a bygone age, Colombian paramilitaries enforcing order and disregarding at the very same time the Rule of Law, The Mara Salvatrucha street gang dominating neighbourhoods in El Salvador and Los Angeles, and hackers disturbing the otherwise unalterable profitmaking arrangements of the Internet.

In this lower-intermediate level module, you’ll focus on consolidating your grammar knowledge and expanding your vocabulary with reference to Chinese culture and society. By the end of this this module, you’ll have expanded your vocabulary significantly to around 1000 Chinese characters and 1600 words and expressions, and will be able to engage in everyday conversation as well as give sustained oral presentation on a familiar topic.

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

• understand spoken Chinese and engage in spoken discourse on everyday topics and some simple but formal exchanges
• understand formal texts e.g. news items and reports, extensive Chinese vocabulary and the appropriateness of Chinese structures and expressions in a given context
• understand short passages in written Chinese in relatively formal context as well as on everyday life
• write short descriptions and narrations on your personal experiences or on familiar topics

You’ll learn through intensive linguistic training in small classes at the Confucius Institute and take part in grammar classes, tutorials, drills and conversation classes. Teaching will focus on developing your skills in listening, speaking (through individual and group presentations and role play), reading, grammar and writing.

This intermediate level module is designed to develop your comprehensive reading skills and to enrich your Chinese vocabulary up to 1250 Chinese characters and 2400 words and expressions. Throughout this module you’ll also continue to improve your cross-cultural competency with reference to Chinese culture and society. By the end of this module you should be capable of studying documentary Chinese texts independently and have advanced your oral language skills.

By the end of the module, you should be able to:

• communicate with others more confidently on general social occasions and to converse on common topics
• read descriptive or narrative texts on familiar or real-life topics, be able to grasp the central issue, theme and some important details, and to understand the intention of the author
• write texts of some length on the common topics in everyday life, study or social activities in different formats, to convey or express information in an appropriate manner

You’ll learn through intensive linguistic training in small classes at the Confucius Institute and take part in grammar classes, tutorials, drills and conversation classes. Teaching will focus on developing your skills in listening, speaking (through individual and group presentations and role play), reading, grammar and writing.

This upper-intermediate level module is designed to enable you to reach higher levels of competence in reading, speaking and writing modern Chinese, as well as continue to improve your cross-cultural competency with reference to Chinese culture and society.

By the end of the module, you should be able to:

• describe or narrate events or experiences with some supporting details, and interact with independence in familiar life situations
• demonstrate ability to read and understand texts on Chinese cultural and social topics, and to extrapolate meanings from context
• convey acquired information with competency in oral and written language

You’ll learn through intensive linguistic training in small classes at the Confucius Institute and take part in grammar classes, tutorials, drills and conversation classes. Teaching will focus on developing your skills in listening, speaking (through individual and group presentations and debates), reading, grammar and writing.

This upper-intermediate level module will enable you to acquire the Chinese language skills to read modern Chinese writings, listen to spoken Chinese and express yourself with a higher level of proficiency. Your knowledge of Chinese culture will also be significantly extended.

By the end of the module, you should be able to:

• speak in a variety of different contexts in linguistically, socially, and culturally appropriate ways
• view, listen to and read creative works and respond to them both in the oral and written form
• write short essays in Chinese characters while demonstrating an awareness of Chinese writing conventions

You’ll learn through intensive linguistic training in small classes at the Confucius Institute and take part in grammar classes, tutorials, drills and conversation classes. Teaching will focus on developing your skills in listening, speaking (through individual and group presentations and debates), reading, grammar and writing.

This subject is built around glimpses of, and insights into, the lives of ordinary Chinese people and the rules and rituals that govern their existence. Students will discuss the ways everyday life was governed under socialism and the ways that control is now breaking down with the emergence of a consumer culture, enabling a close scrutiny of the politics of everyday life.

Picking up on themes as diverse and quirky as Mao badge fetishists, hoodlum slang, and taboo’s and tattoos, the subject examines the way a range of people not only live but resist dominant social dismodule.

This subject also employs an array of new critical thinking from Western social theorists to highlight these themes. Students will therefore gain a grounding not only in the politics of everyday life in China but also in Western theoretical engagements with the everyday. 

This module explores the contemporary security agenda in world politics. It addresses both theoretical debates over the nature of security and the range of phenomena currently identified as security threats.

The module takes as its point of entry the emergence in the post-Cold War world of the idea of human security, which challenged the traditional view that the state was the primary referent of security. Contemporary security studies now focus on a broad range of actors – states, individuals, substate groups, transnational NGOs and intergovernmental organisations.

These actors are studied as:

• subjects exposed to a range of security threats
• actors that individually and collectively seek to reduce their vulnerability to risk
• as sources of insecurity themselves

This module is experimental and speculative in nature. Its chief aim is to question the priority accorded to theories and perspectives of the International emanating from the North. It will draw upon different materials (taken from Postcolonial and subaltern studies, historiography, development theory, and the margins of contemporary IR) as well as non-traditional authors.

The module is split in two halves: the first dealing with novel perspectives and new critiques from the perspective of Southern authors; the second applying these tools to a re-evaluation of the traditional theories and perspectives of the North.

Each student is encouraged to embrace this spirit of experimentation to bring materials and ideas from other disciplines and from their own wanderings through the political rather than being reliant on textbook views from on-high. 

Since the end of the Cold War the overwhelming majority of conflicts in the world have been internal – often resulting from nationalist grievances and policies. This module will examine the causes of nationalist conflicts, as well as the various tools and policies adopted by international actors towards them.

After providing an overview of the two main scholarly approaches to nationalist conflict (primordialism and modernism), we will focus on the structural, cultural, political and economic causes of such conflicts and on the forms of international intervention employed to resolve them – ranging from ‘cooperative’ approaches such as diplomacy and peacekeeping to ‘coercive’ measures like economic sanctions and military intervention.

We will also assess the debates surrounding international ‘state-building’ projects and partition along ethno-national lines and methods applied to achieve post-conflict justice and reconciliation.

Throughout the module students will be encouraged to focus on a case study of their own choosing and to apply the more general theoretical and policy debates to their specific case in the weekly discussions and in their assessed coursework.

This course is designed to provide intellectual and analytical tools to understand the phenomenon of political Islam in contemporary world politics. Taking an in-depth perspective and highlighting the complex interaction between history, religion and politics, the module looks at the ideology and discourse of political Islam, examining its historical and intellectual origins as well as the reasons, implications, and effects of its evolution from its emergence in the early twentieth century to the Arab Spring and afterwards.

While offering an analysis of the main ideas and doctrines that have inspired Islamist theorists and movements, it critically examines key historical junctures in the complex development of Political Islam as a political force inside and outside the Middle East. The course will explore the variety and diversity of approaches of main Islamist organisations, from mainstream and domestic groups as the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Nahda and Hamas to the late emergence of global jihadism, al-Qaeda and Daesh. Focus will also be given to the phenomenon of Islamic terror in Europe, and the debates about the social and political dynamics behind recent terrorist attacks.

This module explores the origins and dynamics of conflict in Africa and evaluates interventions aimed at peace and political transformation. It examines the different forms of conflict that emerged on the continent in the post-Cold War period, including genocide, civil war, electoral violence and non-violent protests.

It considers the political significance of the historical characteristics of the African state and social forces, and the influences of regional and international actors. It draws on relevant theoretical debates on the drivers of conflict to inform the analysis of country case studies, and to identify critical issues such as ethnicity, resources, land grabbing, militarised masculinity, corruption and globalisation.

It looks both at international interventions in peacebuilding, and at less visible initiatives by local actors. The course provides an in-depth understanding of recent African experiences and offers insights into the wider problems of conflict and challenges for peacebuilding in the contemporary era. 

Immigration is rapidly emerging as one of the key concerns for public policy makers in the 21st century in Europe and beyond. Net immigration levels to the United Kingdom and Europe have increased dramatically since the early 2000s. This has spawned pressing questions about the impact on labour markets, public service provision, and community coherence. It also raises questions regarding national identity and assimilation.

Whilst British policy-makers in the early 2000s liberalised labour migration regulation, the resulting problems have led to rethinking immigration since. These problems include downward pressure on wage levels, pressure on public services and housing, as well as rising concerns over immigrants refusing to integrate into mainstream society and partake in crime and religiously motivated acts of terrorism. Immigration has thus once again become a highly politicised policy domain. This course examines the politics and economics of immigration in the United Kingdom, with some consideration given to developments elsewhere in Europe.

In addition to the weekly lecture, there will also be weekly discussion- based seminar sessions for undergraduate students.

This module focuses on the political and cultural economy of finance through the empirical lens of the global economy. It seeks to foster a deeper understanding of finance as a technical practice but also as a powerful transformative process that shapes politics and public policy.

*In order to study this module you must have taken Economics modules at levels 4 and 5.

Colonialism and imperialism were among the most important and defining processes of the last few centuries. Western imperialism remade both ‘East’ and ‘West’, and it served to create the ‘modernity’ which we now all inhabit.

This module begins by looking at the colonising process before going on to introduce students to some of the ways in which the non-Western world confronted the violence and inequality of colonialism.

Focusing on specific thinkers and themes, it engages with the political thought of significant intellectuals and political leaders (including MK Gandhi, Nehru, and Fanon), and examines different forms of anti-colonial politics, including nationalism, socialism and ‘third-worldism’.

This course critically examines development assistance as a form of international intervention in low- and middle-income countries. Since the end of World War II, international development assistance has played a key role in fostering geopolitical alliances and shaping political and socio-economic development in recipient countries.

The post-Cold War period saw a proliferation of donors and initiatives aimed at tackling different issues in the countries that formerly belonged to the ‘second’ and ‘third’ world.

What are the motives behind these interventions and, more broadly, what are the determinants of international development assistance? How is development assistance designed, planned and implemented? What is the impact of international development assistance on the ground? These are the questions that this course will seek to address by looking both at the international aid architecture and at specific instances of this mode of intervention.

International Relations has traditionally been occupied with questions of war and peace. This module zooms into the places in between: places of protracted armed conflict, many of which don’t classify as zones of war but are also far from peaceful.

It investigates the emergence of violent political and social orders that need be understood in order to engage in meaningful conflict transformation. The conceptually-driven module draws on interdisciplinary scholarship to equip students with a wide range on concepts, theories and methods that help with analysing armed politics and political violence in a variety of empirical contexts around the world.

Structured in three parts, the module looks at 1) the actors of violent social and political orders, including non-state armed groups in their inter- and transnational context, 2) dynamics of conflict and violence, including cultural spheres of contestation and the transformation of societal relations, and 3) the institutional landscape that emerges in situations of protracted armed conflict, including governance by armed groups and violent economies.

This course explores the intersection between popular music and politics. It starts from the premise that ‘the political’ is a site of contestation whose parameters are constantly being rearticulated by multiple cultural practices, including music.

Three limitations provide the course with a coherent focus. First, while the historical relationship of music and politics extends back to (at least) ancient Greek tragedy, the subject matter is limited to contemporary, i.e. post-World War Two music. Second, while many late 20th century classical, avant-garde and jazz artists have engaged with politics, the course focuses on ‘popular’ music, broadly defined. Third, while music has often been deployed in the service of state power, the onus is on music associated with political movements that have sought to challenge established orders.

The course, then, explores popular music as a conduit for, expression by which, and manifestation of political struggle, protest and contestation.

Whereas it is standard to focus on the popular music/politics nexus exclusively with respect to US and UK experiences this course has a broader purview, exploring this dynamic within and between societies and cultures across the world.

The course also explores the music/politics relationship beyond the obvious messaging of political lyrics. It assumes that the politics of music are communicated through (and limited by) a complex of cultural systems – song structures, album artwork, music videos, fanzines, fashion, concert rituals, the music press, the recording industry, social media etc. which can reinforce, rearticulate and importantly distort or undermine intended political gestures or meanings.

In terms of material to be studied, while academic literature is important, students will be encouraged to listen to and think critically about songs, albums and videos as texts which either implicitly or explicitly engage or challenge the political.

Some of the substantive themes the course will address include: the contribution of folk and soul music to the US Civil Rights Movement; the struggles of Tropicália and Afrobeat with military dictatorships in Brazil and Nigeria; black consciousness in US Hip-Hop and Rap; class and race in Punk and post-punk in the UK and Europe; the feminist politics of the Riot Grrrl movement; transnational anti-globalisation music activism in Latin America and the US; the spatial politics of Electronic Dance Music; the postcolonial iterations of European Rap and Heavy Metal in the Middle East; xi K-Pop and the political economy of hybridity.

This module provides an introduction to the main issues, approaches, and controversies concerning feminist economics. The principal aim of the module is to examine the ways in which feminist economists in their rich diversity challenge mainstream economic theory. The module will explore the feminist critique of economic methods, domestic labour, power, institutions and ecology. The specific contribution of feminist economics will included detailed discussion of the work of Esther Duflo, Sadie Alexander, Elinor Ostrom, Deidre McCloskey, Joan Robinson, Rosa Luxemburg and Amartya Sen. Feminist economics, while universally concerned with issues of power, ranges from free market to Marxist practitioners and beyond.