Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 11 x 1 hour lectures |
| Seminars / Tutorials | 11 x 1 hour seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 2,500-word essay | 40% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours Examination | 60% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Resit opportunities for this module will be available in the Supplementary examination period. F resit: The student will re-sit the module by examination only for a capped pass mark (40). H resit: The student will submit missing coursework elements and/or re-sit by examination in the upplementary exam period in lieu of a missed/failed exam for full marks. Students re-sitting elements of failed coursework are required to select a different essay/assignment title and must not submit re-written versions of the original essay/assignment. |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. discuss the foreign policies adopted by the Soviet Union towards each major part of the world in the Cold War period
2. analyse and discuss the reasons for their adoption
3. analyse and discuss ideological, political, economic, military, social and cultural influences on foreign policy-making
4. analyse why and how the USSR'r foreign policies developed
5. assess how great a change was produced in foreign policy by Mikhail Gorbachev
6. compare and contrast the contending significance of ideology and state interests in the making of Soviet foreign policy
7. assess how large a role its contest with the United States played in the formulation of Soviet foreign policy and the significance of other influences (domestic political, economic, military, social and cultural) on foreign policy
8. analyse the role of intelligence in the making of Soviet foreign policy
9. analyse the role of covert action in its implementation
10. analyse the effect of Soviet foreign policy on the USSR and other states
11. assess the role of ideology in international relations in the Cold War period
12. assess Soviet foreign policy against the background of international relations theory
13. demonstrate, through written work and seminar presentations and discussion, the understanding of the above topics which they have achieved
Aims
This module adds to the Department's provision of teaching in the field of the historical study of international relations. It complements existing provision in this field and enables interested students to gain specialist knowledge of the foreign relations of the Soviet Union in the period when it was most powerful and assertive in international relations - that between the end of the Second World War and its own collapse. It will deepen students' understanding of international politics in the second half of the twentieth century.
Brief description
The module aims to show how what foreign policies the Soviet Union adopted in this period, why it adopted them and with what success it pursued them. The course will cover its relations with every major area of the outside world - Western Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Some consideration will also be given to its relations with Eastern Europe. The course will provide coverage of the Soviet Union'r foreign relations far broader than any other course currently offered by the Department. It is only if Soviet foreign policy is examined in this breadth that its character can be properly appreciated.
Content
- the reasons why they were adopted
- the development of the USSR'r foreign policies
- the contending significance of ideology and state interests in the making of Soviet foreign policy
- how large a role its contest with the United States played in the formulation of Soviet foreign policy; the significance of other influences (domestic political, economic, military, social and cultural) on foreign policy
- the transformation of Soviet foreign policy under Mikhail Gorbachev
- the role of intelligence in the making of Soviet foreign policy
- the role of covert action in its implementation
- the effect of Soviet foreign policy on it and on other states
- the role of ideology in international relations in the Cold War period
- some consideration of international relations theory
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | N/A |
| Communication | Students will learn how to present their ideas both verbally and in writing and how to assert themselves to advantage. They will understand the importance of information and clear communication and how to exploit these. They will know how to use the many sources of information available and how to use the most appropriate form of communication to the best advantage. They will learn to be clear and direct in their and to be direct about aims and objectives. They will learn to consider only that which is relevant to the topic, focus and objectives of their argument or discussion. Seminars will be run in groups where oral discussion and presentations will form the main medium of teaching and the emphasis throughout the module will be on student participation and communication. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | The module aims to promote self-management but within a context of assistance from both the convenor and the fellow students alike. Students will be expected to improve their own learning and performance by undertaking their own research and to exercise their own initiative, including searching for sources, compiling reading lists, and deciding (under guidance) the direction of their essay and presentation topics. The need to conduct a seminar presentation and to meet an essay deadline will focus students¿ attention on the need to manage their time and opportunity resources well. |
| Information Technology | Students will be expected to submit their work in word-processed format. Also, students will be encouraged to search for sources of information on the web, as well as seeking sources through electronic information sources (such as BIDS and OCLC). |
| Personal Development and Career planning | The discussions in particular will help to develop students¿ verbal and presentation skills. Learning about the process of planning an essay and a presentation, framing the parameters of the projects, honing and developing the projects and seeing through to completion will contribute towards their portfolio of transferable skills. |
| Problem solving | Independent project work and problem solving will be one of the central goals of the module; the submission of an essay will require that the student develops independent research skills as well as problem solving skills. The need to research and prepare seminar presentations will also enable the student to develop independent project skills. The ability of students to solve problems will be developed and assessed by asking them to: adopt differing points of view; organize data and estimate an answer to the problem; consider extreme cases; reason logically; construct theoretical models; consider similar cases; look for patterns; divide issues into smaller problems. A final examination will ensure that an assessment of the student¿s ability to work alone can be undertaken. |
| Research skills | The submission of an essay will reflect the independent research skills of the student. The need to locate appropriate research resources and write up the results will also facilitate research skills. Research preparation for a seminar presentation will also enable the student to develop independent project skills. A final examination will ensure that an assessment of the student¿s ability to work alone can be undertaken. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students have the opportunity to develop, practise and test a wide range of subject-specific skills that help them to understand, conceptualize and evaluate examples and ideas on the module. These subject-specific skills include: ¿ Collect and understand a wide range of data relating to the module ¿ Ability to evaluate competing perspectives ¿ Demonstrate subject-specific research techniques ¿ Apply a range of methodologies to complex political problems |
| Team work | Seminars will consist in part of small-group discussion where students will be obliged to discuss as a group the core issues related to seminar topics. Such class room debates and discussions are a vital component of the module. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6