Brief description
It is important for students of international politics to understand that theory is not external to us, rather, we live our lives within theories. We cannot begin to think intelligently about the social world without an understanding of contested issues and concepts such as human rights, trade, revolutions, nationalism, federalism, gender and genocide. To this extent, the subject matter of IPTT does three things: first, it builds on the Part One introductory modules in International Politics; second, develops a number of theoretical issues raised in other Part Two modules; third, seeks to bring an overall coherence to the academic study of international politics.

Aims
The subject matter of international political theory - who gets what, when, where and how on a global scale - is open to a number of contrasting interpretations. One of the overall aims of the course is to help students engage critically with these rival paradigms, and the way in which ideas shape the practices of global politics. This enables us to answer key questions like: How do we choose between competing theories? How do we evaluate the contribution of theory to practice? How useful is international political theory today?

Objectives

• to demonstrate an honours level understanding of key theories and concepts in the course through assessed oral contributions, a written essay, and a written examination paper

• to think critically about the relationship between theory and practice in world politics

• to examine the tensions or contradictions which are embedded in many international political theories.

10 ECTS Credits