Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies.
Limited places are also open for exchange students. Please note: this course takes place in The Hague.
Description
This course focuses on the study and practice of global politics in the post-Cold War era. Students will receive a critical introduction to a range of theoretical approaches and contemporary issues and policies that help us to understand the diversity and complexity of our world across space and time. With this in mind, the course emphasizes the connections between the development of international relations today and global history. In particular, we consider how the Cold War (broadly speaking, 1947-1991) impacted upon the conduct and nature of global politics, as well as transforming the study of international relations itself.
We live in a complex world in which political, economic, security, and cultural issues and practices are interconnected. It is therefore important to stress contemporary changes in global politics, such as globalization and regional integration, and consider international relations from a variety of different levels of analysis. While the state remains an important actor in international affairs, power is also concentrated in global and regional institutions, and non-state actors, such as NGOs and Multinational Corporations, increasingly influence global politics. In addition, this course encourages students to adopt a critical and comparative approach to international studies, as it is central to consider how people across the world perceive and shape global politics today.
The course begins with three lectures that consider how we can critically study today’s rapidly changing world, the legacies of the Cold War, and the evolution of International Relations theory. The course continues by tackling a number of key issues and policies in international relations. These issues and policies include: appeasement and containment since WWII, the development of regionalism in Europe, the collapse of communism, development and the legacies of decolonization, globalization and neoliberalism, polarity and universalism, the rise of Great Powers, terrorism and environmental politics. Throughout the course, students will learn and apply key concepts used in the study of international relations. By following this course students will gain a solid and critical understanding of the history and dynamics of contemporary global politics, as well as an appreciation for the major changes and challenges of world politics today.
Course objectives
This module aims to provide a critical examination of key issues and processes related to international relations since the Cold War. By the end of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate an advanced understanding of a number of complex issues and concepts in global politics since the Cold War.
Apply complex conceptual tools to analyze and critique key events and processes in global politics.
Demonstrate appropriate cognitive, communicative and transferable skills, develop the capacity for independent learning, and critique major texts on and approaches in international relations.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the BA International Studies website
Mode of instruction
One two hour lecture per week; tri-weekly tutorials.
Attending all tutorial sessions is compulsory. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform the tutor of the course in advance, providing a valid reason for your absence. Being absent without notification and valid reason or not being present at half or more of the tutorial sessions will mean your assignments will not be assessed, and result in a 1.0 for the tutorial (30% of the final grade).
Course Load
Total course load for this course is 5 EC x 28 hours is 140 hours, broken down by:
12 lectures: 24 hours
4 tutorials: 8 hours
Reading & self-study: 40 hours
Preparing end-term exam: 26 hours
Research & paper writing: 42 hours
Assessment method
Assessment
Research essay
The final exam combines closed questions (eg multiple choice) with short open questions
Weighing
Tutorials 30%
Research Essay 30%
Final Exam 40%
To complete the final mark, please take notice of the following:
the final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average
Resit
If the final grade is insufficient (lower than a 6), there is the possibility of retaking the full 70% of the exam/essay, replacing both the earlier grades. No resit for the tutorials is possible.
Resubmitting the final essay (insufficient grade only) will lead to a deduction of 1 point. The deadline for resubmission is 10 days after receiving the grade for the final essay.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used. For tutorial groups: please enroll in blackboard after your enrolment in uSis
Students are requested to register on Blackboard for this course.
Reading list
Heywood, A. 2014. Global Politics. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave.
Roach, S. Griffiths, M. & O’Callaghan, T. 2013. International Relations: The Key Concepts. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable