Politics Modules

The Politics modules listed below will be offered in academic year 2012-2013. Please note that the modules listed may be subject to change and that final module selection will depend on academic approval of your module choice at both the point of application and the academic advising session before Matriculation.

Level 4

PO41009 - Russian Politics in Transition

30 credits, Semester 2
This module picks up the narrative change in the "Russian Space" which ended in the level 3 module, the Collapse of the Soviet Union. Here, the impact of the Yeltsin and Putin periods of power in Russia are explored and the dramatic changes in it political and economic structures are examined.

PO41004 - International Peacekeeping

30 credits, Semester 2
This module will introduce you to the theories and concepts of international peacekeeping. It will provide you with a clear sense of what peacekeeping is – and what it is not.

PO41002 - US Foreign Policy Since 1945

30 credits, Semester 1
This module covers a broad range of US foreign relations since 1945. The module will answer questions about who makes policy and why? It will also look at the democratic control of US foreign policy and at how it adapts to changes in the international environment.

PO42003 - Scottish Politics

30 credits, Semester 2
This module will provide a context within which contemporary political developments in Scotland can be understood. It will include a historical overview of the governance of Scotland, along with an examination of the governmental institutions of Scotland and their relationship with bodies such as the UK government and the EU.

PO42001 - Gender, Power and Sexuality

30 credits, Semester 2
This course aims to introduce you to a rapidly expanding area of social sciences – critical studies on gender and sexuality. Inspired by important contemporary research in women's studies, critical theories of masculinity, lesbian and gay studies, and sexual politics, the course treats gender and sexuality as social construction that needs to be explored, analysed and understood in a critical way.

PO41008 - Crisis Simulation

30 credits, Semester 1
The crisis game module involves the development of a complex 'real life' simulation of an international crisis (the Balkans has occupied central stage in this up to now). Throughout the module you will develop an in depth knowledge of the politics and diplomacy surrounding a particular international conflict. Then, having been assigned a role as a small group (e.g. the principal countries involved, the UN, NATO, the EU etc.) you will act out the crisis over on a fixed day at the end of the module directed by 'controllers' who will complicate your role as much as possible!

PO42009 - Surveillance in a Post-9/11 World

30 credits, Semester 1
This module is concerned with the increasingly controversial issues of privacy and security in a world more and more obsessed with surveillance as part of the so-called 'war on terror'. This ever-growing 'surveillance culture' is mostly driven by governments, but it has an important 'private' dimension as well. It is also, controversially, not always just directed at the scrutiny of actions and behaviour, but of attitudes and beliefs as well.