This module examines the history, development and functions of the European Union. It provides an introduction to and critical discussion of the European Council, Parliament, Commission, and Council of Ministers. The module engages students in discussion of the economic, social and political philosophy of the EU, as well as the institution's aims and deficiencies. The module also takes a close look at the UK's relationship with the EU, from its applications to join in the 1960s to the Brexit referendum of 2016, and the post-Brexit relationship between the UK and the European bloc today.

1. To foster knowledge and understanding of the history, development and aims of the EU, the institutions of and processes in the European Union. 
2. To enable students to evaluate the powers and responsibilities of the institutions of the EU. 
3. To develop students’ ability to discuss knowledgeably issues and concerns of the EU and to develop a critical point of view on issues of the EU.
4. To foster the analytical skills of understanding, analysis and evaluation through discussion of the UK's complex relationship with the EU.
5. To increase awareness and application of key transferable skills relating to working with others, presentations and discussions and debates and independent research.

This module is designed with both theoretical and applied approaches. The first part introduces students to the way economic thought and theories have been developing in relation to historical change, giving students the ability to situate the development of Economics as a discipline in relation to social and historical changes associated with industrialization and modernity and how those developments have influenced political relationships between countries across time. It will provide students with the critical and reflective skills to be able to appreciate the social, political and ideological nature of contemporary debates within Economics.

The second part will situate students into the political interactions that different economic systems have nowadays and they will undertake the analysis of different countries with regard to how their view of economic policies have been affecting their relationships with other economies.

To these ends students will be introduced to some of the most renowned thinkers in the history of economic thought and the more up to date debates on international politics and economic policies:    

• Mercantilism, the Physiocrats and early modern economic thought
• Political Economy and modern economic thought: Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham, Thomas Malthus,
  etc
• World War I and the Great Depression
• Explanations for (and solutions to) the crisis of the 1920s/30s – Schumpeter, Keynes, Neoclassical Economics, The New Deal
• Post WWII - Keynesian consensus, Marshall Plan, US hegemony
• The Bretton Woods system
• Crises of the 70s, Monetarism, from neo-classical economics to neoliberalism
• The current international economic crisis and post-crash/post-growth economic thought - Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Krugman, Neo-Keynesianism
  etc
• Different economic systems (Anglo-saxon, European, Asian) in practise (UK, US, Japan, China, Soviet Command)
• The opposition of capitalism and socialist/communist economic ideals. Examples of current countries
• Austerity and interventionism in times of crisis vs. free market. France and Germany.
• The end of Western economic domination. BRIC countries and new ways of dealing with economic issues

The aims of the module are to:

• Understand the reasoning behind different currents of economic thought
• Appreciate the relevance of early contributions to economic analysis
• Evaluate the extent to which the contributions of the past influence those of the present
• Reflect on contemporary economic and political situations in light of earlier positioning towards economic policy views
• Ensure an appreciation of interdisciplinarity and start building critical thinking
• Reflect on current debates within the existing economic and political systems

This module introduces students to social scientific debates concerning the relationship between human society, ecology and climate change. In particular the module focuses on the connection between global inequalities, environmental issues and global heating, exploring question such as: What is the relationship between inequality and climate change? How does inequality in the world affect the way different social groups experience and adapt to climate and environmental changes? What is the relationship between the social production of inequalities and human caused, or anthropogenic, climate change and environmental issues? And, how do inequalities affect the way different social actors construct, and try to realise, solutions to the problem of climate change today?

The module explores these questions through an engagement with contemporary social scientific debates concerning ‘the Anthropocene,’ global inequality, and climate justice movements. Part I of the module focuses on the global inequalities and environmental changes produced through colonialism and the development of capitalism, industrialisation and globalisation. The module introduces scholarly and climate justice perspectives from the global South, indigenous people’s movements, and Feminist, anti-racist and world-systems analysis of global inequality, environmental issues and climate change. Part II of the module develops and applies the perspectives introduced in Part I to a critical interrogation of proposed solutions to the contemporary climate crisis, enabling students to explore how critical social scientific perspectives can bring novel insights and contributions to bear on one of the most pressing issues of our time.

Indicative content and key concepts:

Part I Climate Change and Global Inequalities

• An introduction to the science of contemporary climate change and the ‘Anthropocene’ debates for students without a natural science background
• Colonialism, capitalism, industrialisation and the study of global inequality
• An introduction to social and political ecology
• Climate justice perspectives from the global South
• Indigenous Climate Change Studies
• Feminist, anti-racist and world-systems analysis
• Inequality and ecologically unequal exchange; climate debt

Part II - Climate Justice and the Climate Crisis

• Climate change and ecosystem crises
• Carbon democracy, fossil capital and barriers to climate action
• Financialisation and marketisation in climate and environmental policy making
• Carbon dependency and the energy transition
• Climate justice movements: food security, migration, work, housing, inequality, climate debt and reparations 
• Geoengineering, climate justice and climate futures

• To provide social science students with an introduction to social scientific debates concerning the relationship between human society, ecology and climate change  
• To enable students to understand and reflect on the relationship between global inequalities, climate and environmental change
• To equip students with the skills and knowledge to be able to apply social scientific perspectives to debates surrounding the causes, impact and policy responses to contemporary climate change and environmental issues

The module covers both the core ideas in politics and IR that will be needed at higher levels of study and the skills required to evidence this knowledge. It focuses on the key question “what are political ideas, and where do they come from?”. Skills and employability materials are embedded within the module content and through the assessments. Module content includes:

• Introduction to key political theorists and theoretical traditions
• Introduction to key theories and concepts in International Relations

This modules aims to:

• Introduce political theory as the basis for the further study of politics and IR at Levels 5 and 6 through enabling students to acquire knowledge and understanding in appropriate areas of theory and analysis (benchmark 4.12).
• Introduce students to IR theory and to illustrate the links with political theory.
• Embed academic study skills, critical thinking, communication skills and employability as integral to the discipline

This module is designed to introduce students to the concepts, theories, and practices of globalisation through an internationalized overview of world political, cultural, social, and economic history, and to refocus contemporary debates on globalisation to the edges of the world system. This provides a critical approach to understanding globalisation as an historical process, and not a relatively new phenomenon. The module will introduce students to critical analysis of key phases in the evolution of world history in how human development over time has contributed to broader societal change through the discovery of new improving technologies on the one hand but has been a highly uneven process characterised by the unequal distribution of power, violence, discrimination and oppression on the other. The module questions Western and universalized approaches to understanding globalization through an examination of Eastern and Southern-led processes and experiences. It provides an historical and contextually driven approach to contemporary questions surrounding issues of underdevelopment and global inequality, key features in understanding politics and international relations. Students will gain an understanding of global forces that are historically inscribed and approach globalisation through multiple lenses and perspectives. Content will include:

• Key theories of globalisation – World systems theory, dependency theory, and the use of multiple and layered international relations theories to understand globalisation
• Three key approaches to globalisation: Hyper-globalists, integrationists, transformationalists, regionalists
• World economic history: colonialism, colours and early capital
• Silk routes, fur trade, slave trade and early global transformation: Who paid for industrialisation?
• Industrialisation and deindustrialisation: the start of the ‘Great divide’
• South Pacific encounters with globalisation: the persistence of the gift in Polynesian globalisation
• Chinese globalisation: Confucian, communism, and copper
• Indigenous peoples in global perspective: On the margins of the world system
• South Asian forces of globalisation: sweatshops of the world or manufacturing centre of the world?
• Latin American perspectives on globalisation: coffee, Chavez and communism
• International institutions, governance and globalisation

The aims of the module are to:

• Introduce students to the political, social, cultural, and economic historical events and processes that structure and characterize contemporary globalization and global relationships.
• Embed an internationalized, contextually, and historically rooted understanding of the world in approaches to thinking about multiple perspectives and theories in politics and international relations.
• Stimulate students to critically reflect on the complexity of global relationships.
• Facilitate an understanding of the changing nature of international relations over time.
• Enable the development of research, writing, analytical and reflective skills commensurate with level 4 study.

Introductory concepts and theories of comparative government

Comparative methods in political science and challenges of comparison

Comparing systems, and their ability to confront internal and external crises (such as corruption or climate change)

Relationships between branches of government and how bills are made

Comparing political institutions and systems

Electoral systems and their impact

Voting behaviours

Overt and covert systems of power

Participating in and resisting politics 

Political cultures and sub-cultures

Supranational structures within which states operate

The course also considers international elements such as the role of key players in supranational organisations such as the U. N. ; election monitoring and democracy promotion

The overall aim of the module is to introduce scholars to the methodological and theoretical foundations of comparative approaches to political studies to provide the basis for the further study of these and related subjects at Levels 5 and 6.  This module allows students to acquire knowledge and understanding in appropriate areas of comparative government and politics, as well as make elementary critiques.

Part A:      

Preparation for Experiential Overseas Learning will take place at the university of Chester during level 5 and will include:  

• The multiple facets of Global citizenship
• Ethical engagement and practice
• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Intercultural communication

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Theories and models Intercultural competence
• Theories and models of Integration and Multiculturalism

• Critical thinking skills and models of Reflection
• Experiential learning models
• Self-directed experiential learning

Personal and placement-related skills

• Enhanced independence
• Improved command of multicultural behaviour
• Increased knowledge and confidence in their individual facets of personal identity
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development
• Team building and team work

Part B:            Overseas

Students will engage in experiential learning activities overseas for at least 150 hours 

The purpose of this module is to enhance students’ prospects of completing an overseas placement to the best of their ability consequently it aims to:

• To equip participants with appropriate knowledge and skills to study or work in a different cultural, linguistic and/or social environment; enhancing ethical, cultural and intercultural awareness.
• To enhance students understanding of the ethical issues related to living and working abroad.
• To increase students Global Citizenship skills
• To provide an opportunity for students to reflect critically on their experience of living and learning within an unfamiliar culture, to their 'home' culture or ethnic group.

To challenge students to learn about themselves as global citizens in terms of life skills, career choices and academic development outside the classroom.

Preparation for the year abroad will take place in Chester during level 5 and will include:

• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Host-country orientation, study methods– economic, political and social reality of the country
• Orientation specific to exchange – health, education, gender issues
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Practical matters relating to living and studying in the wider world

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Critical thinking skills, experiential learning       and models of reflection

Personal and placement-related transversal skills

• Effective self-motivation and independent resourcefulness
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development

Whilst abroad:

Students will undertake study at one of UoC’s partner universities; it is expected that students will choose a series of modules at the university abroad, which equal a full-time study load. This must be agreed by the host institution and the International Tutor. Students must supply details of their courses/modules on a learning agreement within 4 weeks of arrival at the host university, note students who fail to supply this within 4 weeks may have the opportunity withdrawn.

1. To experience academic life in country outside of the EU, enhancing cultural and intercultural awareness and increasing transversal skills.
2. To reflect on the impact of the experience in their destination on one’s own personal, academic and professional development.
3. To engage with the experience of study at a partner university to gain extensive first-hand knowledge and understanding of the relevant society from the perspective of the resident.
4. To further develop independent learning techniques.
5. To foster critical evaluation.

This module develops critical engagement with international affairs by drawing together the multiple theoretical lenses of international relations with the practice in global politics, enabling a deeper consideration of how the world might be understood, explained (and possibly transformed). The core issues, concepts and theories of the discipline are approached through a series of questions. These questions are used to draw out many other challenging and complex questions and perspectives about global politics, to examine the historical context in which they are located, to consider the broader assumptions that underlie them and the theoretical approaches that structure the many possible responses. In so doing, students are encouraged to think about why the question is important, who is affected and how, and what is at stake in global politics and international relations. Indicative content includes:

• Perspectives on the creation of the discipline of International Relations.
• Realism and Neo-Realism; Liberalism and Neo-Liberalism.
• Critical Theory; Marxism and Gramscianism; Constructuctivism; Feminist international relations; post-structuralism; and Postcolonialism.
• Key questions include: How do we begin to think about the world? How might we conceptualise the world? How might we critique the world? Does the nation-state work? Is democracy a good idea? Does colonialism belong to the past? Why does violence exist? Can we move beyond conflict? What happens if we don't take nature for granted? Can we save the planet? Why are some people better off than others? How is the world divided economically? Who has rights, and what rights do they have? Why is people's movement restricted? Why does gender inequality exist? What can we do to change the world?
• The state of the discipline of global politics and international relations.

This module aims to:

• Introduce students to the methodological and theoretical foundations for the study of Global Politics and International Relations.
• Enable students to apply theories and concepts to historical and current global events, from multiple world perspectives.
• Develop the capacity of students to formulate theoretically sound arguments and to critically engage with the subject content.

This module will introduce students to a range of theories, ideas and processes related to international trade from several perspectives: economic, historical, political and international. Students are shown how international trade and commercial relationships impact, alter and create political and social connections. Student learn how political, social and cultural institutions play a large role in facilitating these arrangements, and how relationships develop and change over time. The exercise of power in international relationships, ad its impact on trade and through the form of economic diplomacy is explored through the module.

The content will include topics such as:

• The origins of international trade
• The creation and role of the World Trade Organisation and other international organisations
• Barriers to trade (tariffs and quotas, political)
• International Trade Agreements and disagreements
• Regional integration areas
• The role of currencies and exchange rates
• Globalisation and finance
• Global crisis and their effects on trade
• Economic diplomacy and trade
• Economic destabilisation and trade
• Changing power in international trade: The rise of China, India, Brazil
• Effects of and constraints of international trade on development and environment

The aims of the module are to:

• Enable student appreciation of the role and relevance of international trade and international politics and their relationship to one another.
• Facilitate student understanding of the economic rationale behind the existence of international trade.
• Ensure student appreciation of the complexity of commercial relationships and their inter-relationship with political systems and with power in the international arena.
• Facilitate an appreciation of the changing nature of international trade over time and in terms of institutions, instruments, agreements and countries' roles.
• Enable application of theory to practice.

This module introduces students to the field of peace and conflict studies in international relations through the study of critical approaches to the study of violence, war, conflict, security and peace. It traces the evolution of the field from orthodox approaches originally rooted in Western political analysis; those developed and practised through international organisations and institutions in international relations; to critical questions about war and militarism; to alternative and indigenous approaches concerned with peace-building, sustainable peace, structural transformation and restorative and reconciliatory justice. In-depth case studies are woven through the module drawn upon from various international relations contexts including the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, North America, Africa and East Asia in order to apply concepts, approaches and theory to practice. 

 Indicative content includes:

• Key concepts and theories of violence, war, conflict, security and peace.
• Critical approaches to security, violence, conflict and peace.
• the origins of peace-building as a synergetic process: peacemaking, diplomacy, peacekeeping and peacebuilding
• the seven pillars in security and peace-building through the institutional remit of the UN, UNDP, WHO, UNESCO, UNICEF and UNHCR
• key theoretical approaches of conflict management, conflict resolution and conflict transformation
• concepts and theories of negative, positive and sustainable peace-building
• structural transformation; reconciliation; restorative justice; inclusivity; rights

The aims of the module are:

• To introduce students to the study of violence, war, conflict, security and peace in international relations.
• To provide in-depth understanding of key concepts, theories and approaches in the study of conflict, security and peace.
• To develop the capacity of students to directly apply these key concepts, theories and approaches to real world examples.
• To facilitate understanding of how conflict and peace is practised.
• To stimulate and facilitate critical engagement of the embodiment of conflict, violence, war, security and peace in global politics.

Pre-placement:

• Structured approaches to researching, selecting and securing a suitable work placement relevant to the student’s interests and career aspirations*.
• Writing an effective CV. Constructing a letter of application.*
• Interview skills.*

 *Note: Students are required to undertake these pre-placement tasks during term 1 level 5, as part of the placement acquisition process and will be supported by the Work Based Learning team and the Careers and Employability department.

 Induction Programme and Placement:

• The organisational context: research-informed analysis of the placement organisation’s aims, structure, culture.
• Self- assessment of needs: identification of the range of transferable skills, competencies and attitudes employees need and employers expect graduates to possess. (Employability Skills: e.g. verbal and written communication, analytical / problem solving capabilities; self-management; team working behaviours; negotiation skills; influencing people; positive attitude, resilience, building rapport).
• Devising a strategy for integrating into the workplace and work based teams
• Completion of online assignment tasks covering sourcing and obtaining placement; health and safety procedures in general; general workplace integrity; placement requirements. 

During and post-placement: Learning effectively in and from the workplace:- 

• Devising and implementing strategies to improve own approach and performance
• Critical analysis/evaluation of approach to skill development and performance in the workplace;
• Influencing the Placement Provider’s appraisal;
• Devising an action plan to develop gaps in transferable skills based on the placement experiences;

This module aims to enhance students’ prospects of gaining graduate level employment through engagement with a University approved work placement**, which will enable them to:

• Develop their understanding of workplace practice and lifelong learning;
• Enhance their work readiness and employability prospects through development of transferable skills;
• Take responsibility for their own learning and acquisition of workplace employability skills;
• Articulate, in writing, their employability skills.

This module on International Political Economy is concerned with the (re)production of power and wealth within the contemporary world order. The module explores complex questions and global challenges that are rooted in an understanding of power, international relations and economy. Students are asked to think critically about how the politics of the international economy is governed and through an evaluation of power and inequality. Such questions include: Why and how does the politics and economics of the world take its current form? In what ways do the structural features of the world economy shape power and visa versa, and with what consequences? In what ways does the international political economy create uneven consequences and shape interactions in the international community?  Case studies will be drawn from across the world and, in particular, from Latin America. Indicative content includes:

• Theoretical Approaches of IPE: Orthodox, Critical and Radical theories.
• The Subject of International Political Economy and its Methods
• The Evolution of the IPE: Empires and mercantilism; economic liberalism; the liberal economic order; Pax Britannica, industrial capitalism and imperialism; Power, Contemporary capitalism and global governance – who does the governing?; contemporary imperialism.
• Bretton Woods Institutions; the Washington Consensus, Post-Washington Consensus and Critique; Dismantling Embedded Liberalism; States, Markets and Institutions.
• Key issues, global challenges and responses in the IPE: Globalization and its discontents; North-South Relationships; International Trade, Finance and Development; Transnational Production; Global Division of Labour; Sustainable Development; International Security, Conflict and Migration; Culture, Indigeneity and IPE; Resistance to the Global norms; Climate change and energy security; the IPE of ideas and knowledge production.

The aims of this module are four-fold:

• To provide an in-depth understanding of the historical development of the IPE.
• To provide a critical analysis of the main institutional and structural contours of the global political economy and the effects of these.
• To offer perspectives and insights that engage with, stand in contrast to and challenge dominant paradigms about power dynamics within the global political economy.
• To provide a sophisticated understanding of global issues and challenges through mainstream, critical and radical theories of IPE.

The indicative major thematic areas that the module will cover can be described under the following headings:

• Operational definitions and practices of sustainability
• Politics in and of the anthropocene
• Sustainability and climate change
• Green political theories
• Green parties - formation, development and change (including relationships with electoral systems)
• Alternatives, ideals and utopias; the role of active citizenship in the spread of concern with sustainability
• Sustainability Policy in practice

The quest to understand the contemporary politics and international relations of the African continent often appears elusive. That this should be so is not surprising since it has frequently been driven by a need to approach the complexities of the continent from an explanatory scheme that is congruent with Westernisation and liberalism and rooted in western epistemological traditions and experience. Instead, this module explores African politics and international relations from "the inside", through the concepts, theories, paradigms and contexts in which the political, economic and social logic of Africa come together and which engage and challenge contemporary thinking and dominant discourses about politics and international relations.

Content will include reference to: 

• A postcolonial "African" critique of the disciplines of politics and international relations, the international system, its origins and nature.
• Africa in, and of, the Global South and at the centre of Critical International Political Economy.
• The Political Instrumentalization of Disorder - Modernity, Tradition, Power, Progress and Legitimacy in Africa.
• The Postcolonial African State - Political Thought and Philosophical Critique; the state as a Matrix; Crisis States, Collapsed States and New States.
• Genesis of State and Society: The Fault lines of Ethnicity, Religion, Social Class and Competition over Resources. 
• The Productivity of Economic and Political Failure: Migration, Trade and the Informal Economies of the African Sub-Regions.
• Conflict, Peace and Justice in Africa - Restorative, Distributory and Transitional approaches.

The primary aims of this module are:

• To provide a critical understanding of the historical, political and economic positionally of Africa, in and of the world, as seen through multiple paradigms, theories, concepts and contexts which shape our understanding.
• To offer perspectives and insights that engage with, stand in contrast to, and challenge, dominant paradigms about politics and international relations, as seen through the lens of 'the other'.
• To develop critical thinking amongst participants about the subject of inquiry.
• To develop research capacity appropriate to the level of study. 

Content will vary according to individual dissertation proposals.

The Dissertation is designed to provide an opportunity for sustained and independent study in the final year of Bachelor degree Political Science programmes. It intends to develop knowledge of, and critical insight into, a topic of the student's choice within the subject area under study. Students are enabled to undertake first-hand enquiry and encouraged to develop an analytical and reflective approach to the subject identified for study. The module aims to encourage the articulation of a critically informed perspective on the subject being studied. It also intends to enable the production of a coherent document of rigorous academic standards.