Compulsory modules

Understanding contemporary world politics 
In a world of rapid change, how does world politics work, and how can we study it? This module introduces you to the history of the contemporary world, and to the main approaches to understanding it. You will explore the rise and fall of the Cold War, the growth of international organisations, and the birth of a twenty-first century new world order; and you will examine key approaches to the study of IR such as realism, liberalism and social constructivism. 

Decolonising World Politics: Power and Inequality 
How can we understand power and inequality in the contemporary world? The world we live in grew from Western dominance. This module will introduce you to the main ways that power, inequality, and insecurity are reproduced, exploring contemporary debates about globalisation, security, capitalism and neo-liberalism. It will examine how the West ignored questions of colonialism, imperialism, race, slavery and dispossession, and ask what happens to the study of world politics when these questions are raised. 

Regional Studies in World Politics: International Relations of the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia 
The non-European world will define the future of world politics, and yet, in the West, its politics are poorly understood and often overlooked. This module will introduce you to the politics and international relations of the regions of the world that are defining the future: China and East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. You will explore the internal and international power dynamics affecting these regions and learn how their politics are reshaping the contemporary world order. 

Becoming a Social Scientist 
This module transitions you to university scholarship and introduces the employability and professional skills that a social science degree provides through a range of action-focused activities, e.g. analysing local council budgets and making decisions about where to invest money. Overall, the module introduces you to vital academic and professional skills and competencies that will allow you to thrive in the first year of your undergraduate studies. 

Optional modules

The Global News Desk 
The global news media define daily political agendas around the world, but how much of it can we believe? How is news made? What is reported and what is left out? In an era of social media and conspiracy theory, this module will engage you with major world politics news stories hitting the headlines and invite you to investigate the realities behind the stories, and critically to reflect on how the news is made and communicated. 

Compulsory modules

Building a better world? 
Is a better world possible? This module explores the origins and functioning of major international organisations, international law, and non-state actors. You will learn about the United Nations, NGOs like Amnesty International, key legal bodies like the International Criminal Court, and the development of Human Rights in world politics. You will debate how these organisations work and the challenges they face, and put your learning into practice and develop your leadership skills by participating in a model UN simulation.  

Social Science Research Methods and Data Analysis 
How can we know the world and the societies around us? This module introduces you to the core social science of designing, implementing, and analysing social and global phenomena. You will learn to identify and analyse data sources that might be used by social scientists in real world situations. From quantitative surveys to qualitative interviews and ethnographic studies, you will explore methodological approaches to understanding society and develop practical researcher skills that prepare you to carry out original research.     

Gender, Identity and Activism in World Politics 
How can we create change in global politics? In this module, you will explore how feminist and LBGTQ+ campaigns challenged the masculine and heteronormative social and global order, and how this changed how we study world politics. You will learn how gender and sexuality can be used to police societies, how activists worldwide contest tyrannies, and how identity can inspire change and hope but also create division. You will devise an action strategy for change inspired by real-world scenarios. 

Social Science at Work 
This module begins to introduce you to possible careers for social scientists and links to the work you are doing in your subject core and option modules asking the question ‘how can we mobilise academic study into the real world?’ You will also be encouraged to prepare for placement work that you may pursue and reflecting on your social media footprint; developing your personal/professional brand and digital networking platforms.   

Optional modules

Foreign Policy 
How do states make foreign policy? Why and how do politicians and diplomats negotiate and take complex decisions? In this module, you will investigate the key concepts explaining the making of foreign policy in different, challenging real-world contexts. You will learn how state decision-makers from different political traditions and regimes devise strategies and understand and pursue their interests, how domestic and foreign policies inter-relate, how states negotiate, why states make bad decisions, and how they could make better ones. 

Work Placement  
This module is designed to give students in their second year the opportunity to contribute to the world beyond the university. The chosen workplace may be, for example, with the local borough council, other government-related institutions, as well as other UK-based public or private sectors (e.g., businesses, risk analysis, PR, Journalism, charity, radio). While on the placement, students will produce a portfolio that they can draw on in future applications and interviews, reflecting on and giving evidence of the activities/outputs completed at their chosen workplace.  

Compulsory modules

Global futures: Environment, Security and Development 
What might global politics look like in the future? This module explores the most pressing challenges reshaping contemporary world politics. You will learn how environmental change and mass migration shape ideas of sovereignty, politics, and conflict; how security is changing in an era of AI and mass surveillance; how states and international society meet and manage problems of global development. You will analyse the causes of and solutions to real-world problems and prepare a funding proposal based on development scenarios. 

Dissertation in Politics and IR - ISP 
This module is your chance to complete independent research on a topic you are passionate about. You will work with a supervisor to put your research skills into practice as you manage, research and write an independent research project. You will be guided to identify a topic, formulate questions, conduct literature searches, apply appropriate methods, and analyse evidence. Students can choose to write a library study or to conduct a fieldwork-based project that may involve working with an external partner. 

Global Challenges: War, terrorism and global violence 
Why does politics turn to violence? By addressing this fundamental problem in international relations, this module explores the challenges caused by war and terrorism.  You will learn why states try to prevent but also turn to war, why terrorist movements world-wide choose violence and how to counter this, and how key conflicts threaten regional stability and global order. You will participate in a crisis simulation, developing leadership skills and learning how to predict, mitigate and manage challenges of political violence. 

Engaged Social Science 
Moving on from the previous skills modules, you will further consider how your degree can link to a range of life skills and careers through engagement with community groups, activists and people working in public and private sectors. You will be supported in your next steps either through transition to the workplace or postgraduate study.   

Optional modules

Genocide and Death in World Politics 
What is genocide, who perpetrates it, and how can it be prevented or brought to justice? This module explores the politics of prejudice, hatred and indifference that underpin genocide and the international laws, truth and reconciliation, memorialisation, and art practices that attempt to bring genocide to justice and to prevent its recurrence. You will learn from genocides including the Holocaust, in Rwanda and Bosnia, and participate in an innovative genocide-prevention workshop that addresses the root causes of mass violence. 

Work Placement  
This module is designed to give students in their third year the opportunity to contribute to the world beyond the university. The chosen workplace may be, for example, with the local borough council, other government-related institutions, as well as other UK-based public or private sectors (e.g., businesses, risk analysis, PR, Journalism, charity, radio). While on the placement, students will produce a portfolio that they can draw on in future applications and interviews, reflecting on and giving evidence of the activities/outputs completed at their chosen workplace.