Professor Alan Collins

Alan joined the Department in 1999 and is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations. Prior to this he was a British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he also completed his PhD.

Publications

  1. (in press). W(h)ither the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), w(h)ither Constructivism: fixity of norms and the ASEAN Way. International Relations
  2. (2018). From commitment to compliance: ASEAN's human rights regression?. The Pacific Review, 1-30.
  3. (2014). Escaping a Security Dilemma: anarchy, certainty and embedded norms. International Politics 51(5), 561-576.
  4. (2014). Bringing communities back: Security Communities and ASEAN’s plural turn. Cooperation and Conflict 49(2), 276-291.
  5. The Security Dilemmas of Southeast Asia.

See more...

Teaching

  • MS-X210 MS-X210 City University, Hong Kong

    This module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who partipate in an Exchange Programme

  • MS-X220 MS-X220 United International College

  • MS-X221 MS-X221 United International College

  • MS-X222 MS-X222 United International College

  • MS-X223 MS-X223 United International College

  • PO-118 War and Peace in the Nuclear Age

    In this module you will examine the history of the international system from the end of the Second World War to the present day. It will provide an examination of the origins of the Cold War, how the two superpowers managed their relationship during the Cold War and an analysis of some of the key features of the post-Cold War world. We begin by assessing the rise of the USA and USSR and the emergence of deterrence. The failure of the US policy of containment in Vietnam and the emergence of tripolarity and detente in the 1970s then follows. By the beginning of the 1980s the superpowers relations had worsened and it was the time of the Second Cold War. Yet within ten years the Cold War that had dominated international relations since 1945 would be over. Why did it end, and who won will be questions for you to answer. The module will then examine the challenges facing the international system in the aftermath of the Cold War. Challenges ranging from failed states and military intervention to the rise of China and the re-emergence of Russia, and we conclude by asking, in the post 9/11 era, are we facing a clash of civilisations?

  • PO-232 The Empire Strikes Back: War, Strategy and the Use of Force in the Post Cold War Era

    The module can be divided into two main parts. The first part concerns strategy and war. The module touches upon classics of strategic thoughts such as Clausewitz and Sun-Tzu, it explores the nature of war and the constraints on war and analyses key debates within strategic studies including nuclear weapons and revolutionary warfare. The second part of the module explores uses of forces in the post-Cold War era mainly by `the West.¿ The module discusses humanitarian intervention, the `war on terror¿ and the militarisation of space. The sub heading is "Strategy and the use of force in the post Cold War era".

  • PO-395 Dissertation (PO-325)

    Subject to the approval of the Departmental Dissertations Tutor, students will choose their own area for research. They will be given guidance on research skills and techniques and supervised by a specialist research topic supervisor during the research for, and writing of, their dissertation. Dissertation word length - 8000 words.

  • PO-397 Researching Politics 2

    This module offers students a valuable experience of both individual and collective research - as well as the opportunity to study in depth an important aspect of Politics and International Relations. Students extend and deepen the research undertaken in PO-396 Researching Politics 1 and continue to meet regularly in order to share ideas, opinions and sources. In these meetings, students evaluate, criticise and analyse issues concerning the topic under investigation. Minutes of the meetings are kept and the meetings are conducted with a view to arriving at a common position that will serve as the basis for producing a collectively authored report and presentation. Each student in the group also produces a shorter individual report on their own experience of Researching Politics, in the course of which they reflect on their individual contribution to the groups output. This self-assessment is validated by the other members of the group.

  • PO-M35 Approaches to International Relations

    The module explores a variety of approaches to the study of internation relations. It focuses on key issues which have become central to the sunject, notably the changing states system and the emergence of major non state actors, economic globalisation and security studies. It also examines key theoretical approaches, notably realism, liberalism and Marxism; Neo-realism and neo-Liberalism; and reflectivist critiques of rationalism, including constructivism, critical theory, post-structuralism and feminism.

  • PO-M40 International Security in the Asia Pacific

    At the beginning of a new century the Asia-Pacific is beset with uncertainties. They range from `old¿ problems left remaining from the Cold War, such as the division of Korea and China, to `new¿ problems that have arisen in the post-Cold War era. In either case, these problems give rise to the perception that the Asia-Pacific has many `hotspots¿ that make conflict in the 21st Century a distinct probability. This module will focus on the security matters, broadly defined, of the region. In particular we will examine the internal threats to security that plague the ¿weak¿ states of the region as well as the inter-state rivalries that exist over Korea and Taiwan. The region is not bereft of ways of lessening tensions and thus appreciating the norms of behaviour that underpin the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the region¿s multilateral security forum (the ASEAN Regional Forum - ARF) are also necessary in our quest to assess the likelihood of conflict. With this knowledge at your finger tips you will become well-versed in one of the most dynamic regions in today¿s political world.

  • PO-M60 Critical Security Studies: Issues and Approaches in Contemporary Security

    This MA module will offer students an opportunity to explore a multiplicity of new approaches to the study of international security, and analyse a number of pressing issue-areas within this subject area. The module allows students to engage theoretical debates over the meaning and definition of the concept of security itself and various theoretical approaches to the study of security. The module starts with a traditional understanding of security as `military security,¿ by looking at strategic studies. The module then explores the debate regarding the broadening and deepening of security. The first theoretical part of the module also includes: the Copenhagen School, the Welsh School of Critical Security Studies, post-structuralist approaches and feminist approaches. In the second part, the module will use these theoretical lenses to debate prominent security issues increasingly seen to form part of the broadened security agenda, such as the environment, migration, identity, gender and human security.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • PO-PX20 University of Oklahoma (Semester of Study Abroad)

    This module is delivered at The University of Oklahoma for those students who participate in an Extended MA Programme in International Security and Development.

  • PO-X240 PO-X240 United International College (UIC)

    This module is delivered at United International College, for those students who partipate in an Exchange Programme

  • PO-X241 PO-X241 United International College (UIC)

    This module is delivered at United International College, for those students who partipate in an Exchange Programme

  • PO-X242 PO-X242 United International College (UIC)

    This module is delivered at United International College, for those students who partipate in an Exchange Programme

  • PO-X243 PO-X243 United International College (UIC)

    This module is delivered at United International College, for those students who partipate in an Exchange Programme

  • POX210 POX210 City University, Hong Kong

    This module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who partipate in an Exchange Programme

  • POX211 POX211 City University, Hong Kong

    This Module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme.

  • POX212 POX212 City University, Hong Kong

    This Module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme.

  • POX213 POX213 City University, Hong Kong

    This Module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme.

  • POX214 City University, Hong Kong

    This Module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme.

  • POX215 City University, Hong Kong

    This Module is delivered at City University Hong Kong, for those students who participate in an Exchange Programme.

Supervision

  • Russia and the Ukraine Crisis: An analysis of trade expectations theory (current)

    Student name:
    PhD
    Other supervisor: Mr Robert Bideleux
    Other supervisor: Prof Alan Collins

  • Crypto-Drug Markets: A Unique Challenge to the Global Drug Prohibition Regime? (current)

    Student name:
    PhD
    Other supervisor: Prof Alan Collins
    Other supervisor: Prof David Bewley-Taylor

  • 'Collapse in southeast Asia: A Bureaucratic Politics Analysis of Gerald Ford''''s Foreign Policy.' (awarded 2017)

    Student name:
    MA
    Other supervisor: Dr Luca Trenta
    Other supervisor: Prof Alan Collins

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