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PO-248
International Security
This module provides students with an examination of international security. The module starts with a discussion of strategic studies as a discipline. It discusses traditional (military) security studies looking at traditional concerns surrounding military power and the use of force. Following the evolution in security studies and in understandings of security the module `broaden¿ and `deepens¿ its scope. The module looks at sectors beyond security such as society, the economy, and the environment. It also deepens the account of security by looking at actors below the states, such as groups and the single individual (human security). Finally, the module analyses alternative approaches to security such as critical, feminist, and post-modern approaches to security.
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PO-LX00
European School of Political and Social Sciences, Université Catholique de Lille
This module is delivered at European School of Political and Social Sciences, Université Catholique de Lille, for those students who participate in an Extended MA Programme in Conflict, Development, and Human Rights.
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PO-PX00
University of the Philippines, Diliman
This module is delivered at the University of the Philippines, Diliman for those students who participate in an Extended MA Programme in either Politics or Development and Human Rights.
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PO-PX10
The Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M (Semester of Study Abroad)
This module is delivered at The Bush School of Government and Public Service for those students who participate in an Extended MA Programme in either International Relations or Public Policy.
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POLM03
Understanding Global Politics: Theories and Approaches in International Relations
Approaches to International Relations gives you the tools to understand and challenge how global politics is studied and practiced. You will explore the big theories of the field and discover how each explains power, security, conflict, cooperation, and inequality in different ways. You won¿t just study these ideas in the abstract. You¿ll apply them to urgent global issues, such as why wars break out, how climate change drives new forms of diplomacy, what shapes global poverty, how gender matters in world politics, and how leaders make decisions in crises, from the Cuban Missile Crisis to nuclear proliferation. Along the way, you¿ll tackle some of the discipline¿s biggest debates: the role of states versus non-state actors, the influence of norms and ideas, and how to study a world shaped by both globalisation and deep inequality.
Through lectures and seminars, you¿ll debate, test your arguments, and develop your own critical perspective. By the end, you¿ll be able to use theory to analyse contemporary global challenges and to reflect on who gets what, when, and how in international politics¿and what this means for whose voices are amplified or marginalised. The skills you build will prepare you for careers in policy, diplomacy, NGOs, or further postgraduate research[D.
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POLM05
International Security in the Asia-Pacific
You're about to explore one of the most dynamic and contested regions in global politics. The Asia-Pacific presents a complex and evolving landscape of security challenges¿shaped by deep historical legacies and fast-changing geopolitical tensions[DJ2.1].
In this module, you'll critically examine the many layers of security in the region. That means looking beyond traditional, state-centric concerns to include non-traditional threats like internal instability, environmental stress, and transnational issues.
You'll dive into unresolved legacies from the Cold War¿such as the division of Korea and the status of Taiwan and China¿and assess how these continue to shape strategic competition today. We'll also focus on flashpoints like the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea, and cross-Strait relations, where rivalries and vulnerabilities converge.
As you progress, you'll explore how regional actors attempt to manage conflict and build norms¿through mechanisms like ASEAN and alliance systems. You'll be encouraged to think critically about whether peace and cooperation are truly achievable in this complex environment.
By the end of the module, you¿ll be equipped to:
¿ Evaluate competing security narratives with a critical eye
¿ Understand how domestic and international factors interact
¿ Engage confidently with scholarly debates on regional order and strategic behaviour
This module is ideal if you're looking to deepen your understanding of international security, regional politics, and the strategic dynamics shaping the Asia-Pacific in the 21st century.
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POLM17
Dissertation
Throughout your MA course, you¿ve been developing towards this point ¿ the dissertation. You are emerging scholars with fresh insights and depths of knowledge, and this is the time to put these to work and produce an original contribution to the field that you can be proud of.
Over the late spring and Summer, with the extensive support of a supervisor expert in your area (and building on your existing methodology modules), you¿ll scope out, design, and conduct an independent project of study on a topic of your choosing, pursuing the questions that motivate your interest in the subject. You might be poring over declassified intelligence agency archives looking for evidence of complicity in mass violence, charting the everyday politics of energy and logistics that (quite literally) keeps the lights on, or answering the big questions about where we¿re going in an increasingly precarious twenty-first century ¿ this is a chance for you to truly spread your wings and research what interests you.
Between this extended project, and the accompanying presentation of your findings, this represents the culmination of your studies, building on all the modules you¿ve studied and skills you¿ve gathered. This is a great opportunity to develop detailed knowledge of a particular field, hone competencies that will make you a skilled researcher and policy advocate in the real world, give you skills managing a major research project.
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POX210
POX210 City University, Hong Kong
This module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who partipate in an Exchange Programme
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POX211
POX211 City University, Hong Kong
This Module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme.
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POX212
POX212 City University, Hong Kong
This Module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme.
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POX214
City University, Hong Kong
This Module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme.
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POX215
City University, Hong Kong
This Module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme.
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POX265
POX265 Universitat Mannheim
This module is delivered at Mannheim University, Germany for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme
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POX266
POX266 Universitat Mannheim
This module is delivered at Mannheim University, Germany for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme
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POX267
POX267 Universitat Mannheim
This module is delivered at Mannheim University, Germany for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme
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POX268
POX268 Universitat Mannheim
This module is delivered at Mannheim University, Germany for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme
