Elections, Campaigns and Democracy

Core Modules

• Introduction to Research Methods

  This module will introduce you to how different methodological and ontological/epistemological approaches can be used to answer research questions in the study of Politics and International Relations and how they inform research design choices. You will be exposed to different types of research questions, and different approaches to using theory and empirical evidence in order to answer them. One of the module’s foci will be the concept of causality and its relevance and meaning from the point of view of different approaches. The module will offer both an introduction to qualitative research methods and quantitative research methods, allowing you to choose which of the two you want to specialise in further.

   

• Elections and Campaigning

  In this module you will examine why people vote for different political parties, and how their behavior is shaped by the mobilization strategies of political parties and institutional arrangements. You will learn how social divisions are translated into political visions, and how the mechanisms of accountability and representation operate in different political and economic contexts. You will develop an understanding of how campaigns shape voting behavior and influence the criteria citizens use in deciding how to vote, see how these patterns have changed over time, and be able to identify the main factors that shape electoral behavior and election outcomes across western democracies.

• Dissertation
  The dissertation is the culmination of your independent supervised research and will be around 10,000 words in length. Your choice of dissertation topic will be made at the end of the spring term, and you will be allocated a supervisor with expertise in your chosen field. You will submit an outline of the project, with an indicative bibliography, to the Programme Director at the beginning of the third term, and your supervisor will arrange a series of progress meetings over the summer period. Your dissertation may be either a critical analysis of a theoretical problem or the result of an empirical project.
• Academic Integrity

  This module will describe the key principles of academic integrity, focusing on university assignments. Plagiarism, collusion and commissioning will be described as activities that undermine academic integrity, and the possible consequences of engaging in such activities will be described. Activities, with feedback, will provide you with opportunities to reflect and develop your understanding of academic integrity principles.

   

You will choose one of the following two modules:

• Advanced Quantitative Methods

  This module will introduce you to advanced quantitative methods that address common problems such as non-linearity of data, multicollinearity in time-series data, causality and experiments. Through the seminar exercises and the assignments, you will gain not only a theoretical but also a practical understanding of quantitative methods and how these can be used in research. In this way, the module is envisaged to set you up for success in your MSc dissertation.

• Advanced Qualitative Methods

  This module expands on the qualitative methods taught in the first term. It explores the ways in which scholars in politics and International Relations engage in qualitative research. Each week we will explore one type of object for analysis and several methods of analysing it. We will explore grounded research, discourse and narrative analysis, case studies, visuals, emotions and archives and we will ask questions about knowledge and power, decolonisation and critical explication.

You must take at least one of the following:

• Analysing Public Opinion

  This module will introduce you to theories as well as trends in research of political participation and public opinion. You will develop knowledge and understanding of different forms of political participation and the role that each of these forms of participation play in advanced industrial democracies. The module also focuses on the interplay between individual attitudes to public opinion and policy change. Throughout the module, the impact of systemic features such as the electoral system and the party system will be highlighted so as to provide an understanding of how context shapes attitudes and behaviours. In this way, the module serves to develop a more critical understanding of the complexities of political behaviour research.

• Strategic Political Communication

  This module looks into how political communication strategies play an important role in shaping and monitoring government actions. The course examines the relationship between media, campaigns, government and citizens’ ad different stages of the political cycle. From the formulation of coherent campaigns to be elected for office and the definition of public problems and agenda setting, to the implementation and evaluation of policies and during crisis.

   

• Political Leaders and Democratic Politics

  This module will introduce you to political leadership in the UK and USA. You will explore the political executives of two established democratic systems, one parliamentary and one presidential, and evaluate the processes through which they are selected. You will examine the role of leaders and the alleged importance of leadership effects in democratic elections, including the appeal of new populist figures. You will look at the two systems in comparison, and examine leadership in non-democratic systems, considering the importance of leadership in general.

Optional Modules

There are a number of optional course modules available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course modules that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new modules may be offered or existing modules may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.

• The Israel Palestinian Conflict: A Global Perspective
• Media, War and Conflict

  In this module you will examine the theories, concepts and issues surrounding the role of media in war and conflict in the early twenty-first century. The post-9/11 global security situation and the 2003 Iraq war have prompted a marked increase in interest in questions concerning media, war and conflict, and you look at the relationships between media, governments, military, and audiences/publics, in light of old, new, and potential future security events. You will develop an understanding of the theories of media effects in conflict situations, covering a number of important themes, including embedding, sanitisation, legitimacy, and terrorism and publicity. You will explore the role of ethics, technology, and professional norms that inform war reporting, analysing a range of media with consideration for conceptual, theoretical and methodological issues in light of ongoing conflicts around the world.

• US Foreign Policy

  In this module you will develop an advanced knowledge of the key concepts, themes and issues in United States Foreign Policy. You will look at both the history of US foreign policy as well as contemporary issues, utilising readings of key texts on a weekly basis to provide you with an in-depth exploration of these issues and how Americans think about foreign affairs.

• Contemporary Political Thinkers

  This module engages with a selection of recent work by major political thinkers from a variety of intellectual approaches The focus is on an examination of some of influential recent work in political theory, along with critical commentary on them. We’ll be looking at issues such as hate speech, shaming punishments, recognition, immigration, multiculturalism, partiality towards compatriots and global justice. The module requires a commitment to read selections from the texts we’ll be analysing, aided by seminars where we’ll be discussing their ideas, arguments and themes.

• Democracy and Citizenship in Europe
• International Security

  This course provides the theoretical foundations and analytical skills to really examine the questions we ask ourselves when watching the news. What are the real implications of bombing Iran? Don’t we have a responsibility to help the people of Syria? How can we watch it and not do anything? What is Russia doing in the Ukraine? It aims to challenge ourselves to consider issues such as balancing the ethics of drones against improving security, the role of gender, and the wider implications of health environmental protection on international security.

• Contemporary Anglo-American Political Theory

  This module provides an overview of some of the key concepts and thinkers in Anglo-American political theory today. Specifically, it examines the themes of freedom, feminism, and democracy, and writers including Berlin, Rawls, Nozick, Sandel and Okin.

• Understanding Defence

  In this module you will analyse the content and sources of change in defence policy during the post-Cold War era. You will look at changes to the objectives of defence policy, military capabilities, force structures and doctrines of the world’s major military powers (the US, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia). In so doing, you will asses the extent to which these reforms have helped the state concerned to meet its central security challenges. In addition, you will develop an understanding of the embedding of defence policies within regional and international institutions and the sources of defence cooperation. You will also see the implications of non-state actors in defence, notably private military companies and non-governmental organisations.

• International Public Policy

  This module introduces you to international public policy as a field of contested policy authority in a globalized world. You will develop an understanding of how, at its core, international public policy is about addressing global collective action problems in policy areas as different as trade, migration, financial regulation, economic development and environment. You will discuss key aspects of contemporary international public policy making, including global public goods and the problem of global commons; the theories and empirics of global public management; the role of international agencies, global networks and global public-private partnerships in producing policy outcomes; and dynamics of policy transfer, diffusion and global best practice. You will look at a number of practical examples from various policy fields and levels, from both Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and non-OECD contexts.

• European Union Politics

  The module will provide you with an introduction to how the world's largest single market, the European Union (EU), operates as a political system. You will develop an understanding of how executive powers are exercised by the Commission and European Council, how legislative powers are exercised by the EU Council and the European Parliament, and how the powers of the European Court of Justice enforce EU law. You will look at policy areas that do not involve direct public spending: the creation and enforcement of the single market, the effect of EU regulation on social and environmental matters, the history and development of the euro followed by its crisis, and the development and challenge of the EU's policies of freedom, security and justice, including asylum, immigration and counter-terrorism.

• Political Economy of Development

  This module explores key development challenges faced across developing countries and is divided into three sections. The first critically examines some of the major concepts, paradigms, and theories, which have attempted to define what development is, how and why it occurs (or does not), and to whose benefit. The second focuses on some of the key development challenges faced by developing countries: economic (poverty, inequality, unemployment), political (democracy, human rights, role of elites), social (religion, race/ethnicity/caste, urbanisation), and natural (climate change, pollution, resource extraction, extermination of species). The final section explores possible remedies to these issues through international cooperation (trade, aid, finance, South-South cooperation), national policies (welfare schemes, laws and regulations), and micro and informal solutions.

• The Political Economy of the Middle East

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the methodological and substantive debates and issues that shape the study of conflict. You look at the conceptual and practical issues and problems involved in conflict studies, and consider the central political issues and conflicts within and among the countries of the Middle East, and how these have historically developed. You will also examine the main international, transnational and domestic forces that affect the conduct of their internal and external affairs.

• International Policy Practice
• The Global Politics of Food Security
• Islam and West Asia in International Relations

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the modern history of West Asia, looking at countries such as Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. You will look at how the politics of these countries can be interpreted, considering events such as the Cold War, the War on Terror, Pan-Arabism, the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Arab Spring, and the rise of the Islamic State. You will also explore the specific constellation of national, societal, and individual-level factors that shape the politics of West Asian countries and sub-regions, such as the Persian Gulf Monarchies and the Levant.