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PIR-20104 - Module Specification
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

For academic year: 2024/25 Last Updated: 23 November 2024

PIR-20104 - War and Peace in IR
Coordinator: Moran Mandelbaum Room: N/A Tel: +44 1782 7 33513
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 5
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office:

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

How can we explain war and peace in global politics? What do IR theories and approaches tell us about the causes and implications of war and peace? What are the conditions for peace at war¿s end? In what ways can we decolonize the study of war and peace in IR? This module introduces students to the complex and fascinating study of war and peace through theoretical and empirical perspectives. The module will allow students to develop critical and analytical skills as they investigate war and peace in IR scholarship and the `real world¿ of global politics through a plurality of approaches and lenses such as historical research, traditional readings of war, critical and feminist approaches, the global political economy of war and peace, war, peace and the environment and more.

Aims
1. To introduce students to the study of war and peace in IR scholarship and global politics.
2. To enable students to engage with the history and empirical cases of war and peace.
3. To enable students to critically unpack the causes of, reasons for, and effects of wars and peace initiatives in global politics.
4. To equip students with the necessary skills for applying IR theory and approaches to empirical case studies.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Engage with and critically evaluate different theoretical, analytical, and historical approaches to the study of war and peace in global politics: 1,2
Critically unpack the causes of, reasons for, and effects of war and peace: 1,2
Critically analyse the relationship between war and peace initiatives: 1,2
Apply IR theory to case studies in global politics: 1
Conduct independent research on one case study of war and/or peace in global politics: 2

Study hours

Active Learning Hours: 10 Hours lectures + 10 hours tutorials
Independent Study Hours: 30 hours preparation for the lectures and tutorials, 30 hours preparation for the first assessment (case study), and
70 hours preparation for the second assessment (research paper)

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Case Study weighted 30%
Case Study: Students apply one IR theory to a case study of war and/or peace


2: Research Paper weighted 70%
Research Paper: students will conduct independent research on a particular case of war and/or peace.


The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 23 November 2024