War and Diplomacy

In this module you will gain a foundation in the history of international relations from the Peace of Westphalia (1648) to the present day, in order to understand the making and evolution of the international system. This systemic approach will be complemented by a focus on political, economic, military, social, and cultural shifts and challenges, as well as on major international political actors. Each session will deal with a specific historical period and a theme or issue of major relevance. The module will typically cover the following topics and themes:

• the modern international system from its birth in the mid-17th century until its first implosion during the Napoleonic Wars;
• the alliance system that emerged following the fall of Napoleon;
• the world-spanning British Empire; the complex and multi-layered alliance system of German chancellor Otto von Bismarck;
• the declines of China and Russia and the rise of Japan from the mid-19th to the early 20th century;
• the diplomatic escalation leading up to the First World War;
• the experiment of the League of Nations during the interwar period, and the renewed attempt to create an organisation for world peace after the Second World War with the United Nations;
• the far-sweeping post-war decolonisation process in Asia and Africa;
• the Cold War;
• the post-Cold War order.

By the end of the course you should be equipped to assess whether the modern international system has been marked by order or, rather, disorder.

Diplomacy and Foreign Policy are central to the understanding of international politics. The structure of the international system induces a constant need for political dialogue and negotiations. Besides war, diplomacy is the common language states are using to interact on the world stage.

Complementing the first core module on Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, which provides theoretical understanding of the subject, this module applies these theoretical tools to contemporary diplomatic and negotiation issues and great power politics (PPR.430 is NOT a prerequisite though). Indeed, the teaching and learning strategy of Diplomacy and Foreign Policy is designed to give students both theoretical and practical understanding of contemporary issues in diplomacy and foreign policy. Academic teaching will thus be complemented by guest lectures (e.g. by a practitioner) and in-class activities such as mock negotiation exercises.

The syllabus is likely to draw upon the following: Nuclear weapons and foreign policy, Arms control and diplomacy, International climate negotiations, South-North relations and development, and some in-class mock negotiation exercises.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

Alongside having a passion for the past, researching and writing a quality piece of history requires close engagement with the historian’s craft. What does good history look like? How can we be sure we are at the cutting edge of our discipline? What does it meant to write well?

In this core module, you will be guided through the process of conducting advanced historical research, reflecting upon the skills that you have and how they can be applied to extended pieces of research. Spanning both Michaelmas and Lent term, this module will take you from an introduction to postgraduate study through to laying the foundations for your dissertation, developing your understanding of the discipline of history, and your identity as an historian. The module culminates with a conference, where you will present your work to peers and members of academic staff, receiving feedback to develop your own and the opportunity to help your peers develop their projects.

This module will be assessed by a portfolio of work developed throughout the course, including a feasibility study.

Diplomacy and Foreign Policy are central to the understanding of international politics. The structure of the international system induces a constant need for political dialogue and negotiations.

This module introduces students to ways of conceptualizing diplomacy and foreign policy in the 21st century:

• Why do states rely on diplomacy?
• What are the current forms and features of diplomacy and foreign policy?
• Is diplomacy the only form of international dialogue besides war?
• How do states (and statesmen) negotiate?
• How has diplomacy evolved throughout history?
• Does ‘global governance’ exist?

The teaching and learning strategy of Diplomacy and Foreign Policy is designed to give students both theoretical and practical understanding of contemporary issues in diplomacy and foreign policy. Academic teaching can be complemented by lectures and in-class activities carried out by practitioners (e.g. diplomats, civil servants, etc.).

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

This module serves to consolidate postgraduate research and learning support by enabling students to engage with theories, methods, and skills relevant to your studies. The module is core for all PPR PGT politics students and complements core subject and discipline-specific provision in religious studies and philosophy. Through this module we aim to equip you with the ability to reflect upon the processes and implications of research project planning, design and execution in Politics, Philosophy and/or Religion.

The first part of the module examines the principles of research, including different disciplinary traditions of knowledge production. It goes on to set out the process of structuring a research project and explores how to develop and apply theory. The second part of the module examines a range of methods for conducting research, including interviews, surveys, and case studies. The final section covers questions of ethics and goes through how to write up and present research. Through the module, students will design research projects, develop writing and critical evaluation skills, and have the opportunity to present their research ideas as part of the annual MA conference. The module involves a combination of lectures, small group discussion, and presentations covering the following areas:

• The academic research process.
• Project planning, design and process management.
• Ethics in postgraduate research.
• Resource identification and review processes.
• Data acquisition techniques and issues.
• Analytical and interpretative approaches.
• Academic conventions (e.g. making an argument, writing, referencing).

Assessment is by 5,000 word research proposal.

In this module you will gain a foundation in the history of warfare from the medieval world to the present day, allowing you to understand and gain specific insights into the evolution of and ‘revolutions’ in military affairs. Within this longue durée approach, you will be equipped to question how warfare has been affected by political, economic, social, technological, and cultural factors, as well as influential military figures, thinkers, and powers. Each session will deal with a specific historical period and a theme or issue of major relevance, and the module will typically cover the following topics and themes:

• early medieval forms of warfare such as that of the Vikings;
• knights and soldiers in the High Middle Ages;
• the series of conflicts that constituted the Hundred Years’ War in the Late Middle Ages;
• the rise of the fiscal military state in the early modern period;
• the concept of a nation in arms through the Napoleonic Wars and such 19th century conflicts as the Franco-Prussian War;
• the idea of total war through the lenses of the First and Second World Wars;
• the Cold War and nuclear strategy;
• the ‘hot’ decolonisation wars of the Cold War, and more recent counterinsurgency campaigns like that in Afghanistan.

Two of the most important developments of twentieth century international history were the decline of Britain's global influence and the simultaneous rise of the United States as a world power. Somewhat remarkably, these processes occurred without a major conflict arising between the US and Britain. Instead, relations between the two countries in the decades following the Second World War became increasingly intertwined, resulting in what is commonly referred to as the Anglo-American 'special relationship'. This module explores relations between Britain and the United States from World War II through to the War on Terror, and the role the US-UK relationship has played in international politics during this era. Has there in fact been a 'special relationship' between the US and Britain during this period? If so, what are the motivating factors for the two states in pursuing this relationship and the broader forces binding them together? You will address these questions and others exploring how US-UK relations have developed in the realms of diplomacy, defence, economics and intelligence.

In recent years, the history of the body has emerged as an important framework for re-thinking the relationship between individuals and the state in war. While histories of war have for a long time focused on the political causes, course, outcome, and legacies of wars, ‘new’ military histories now seek to better understand how warfare has been experienced ‘from below’ – both by those mobilised as combatants as well as by civilians who came directly into contact with the apparatus of war. This module embraces such developments in the history of war, using a focus on the body which will enable students to re-evaluate the impact of conflict on those who participated in it. Structured around four broad themes—medicine, the body, sexuality, and the mind—this module will consider the bodily legacies of warfare in a wide range of times and places. The module thus ranges from topics such as the role of the military in the emergence of clinical medicine in the 18th century to the medical impact of widespread disability on medical and social care practices following the American Civil War; or from the long history of rape as a ‘weapon of war’ to the surprising story of the use of methamphetamines by the German Wehrmacht in the Second World War. Drawing on a large range of sources, including diaries, memoirs, medical texts, engravings, photographs, and wartime propaganda, this module will thus give students the opportunity to explore the changing ways in which people experienced conflict and its aftermaths through their bodies.

The course aims to explore a variety of approaches to conflict management in contemporary conflicts, by third parties and parties in conflict, and critically assesses their effectiveness and potential. The course draws its theoretical foundations from peace and conflict research but is aimed at enabling students to learn to assess the scope for conflict management and peace- building in practice. The module includes both academic literature as well as policy relevant papers.

The focus of the course is on analysing peace processes and practical problems of conflict prevention, conflict management and peace-building in a range of contemporary international, internal, ethnic, community and environmental conflicts.

Students will be divided up into groups of two or three, and each group will take responsibility for identifying and investigating a specific approach to conflict management in a conflict of their choice. The choice of cases will vary with the interest of students. In recent year topics included Afghanistan, Chechnya, Georgia, Kashmir, Kosovo, Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Liberia/Sierra Leone, Timor Elste, conflict prevention and the emergent global climate change negotiations, and peace-building in contemporary Africa and Asia.

The course is taught in 10 2-hour lecture seminars, with the first half devoted to the lecture and the second half dedicated to substantial presentations by the student / group.

This module revolves around different aspects of Asian Security and looks at some of Asia’s trouble spots. The course will also examine the politics of intervention in these conflicts, and the attempts made to manage and prevent conflicts, and transform these conflict zones into more peaceful situations. The case studies that this module looks at include Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China.

The module aims to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the different facets of contemporary Asian conflicts and how international organisations and Western and Asian governments have attempted to deal with these challenges in recent times. Conceptually, the course will examine the principles of state failure; terrorism, ‘New Wars’, the New Security Agenda, nationalism and sub nationalism, international conflict prevention; peace keeping; and global governance. The course also covers topics like the rise of Islamism and Hindu nationalism in contemporary South Asia. This module provides students with an overview of the key security concerns of South-Central Asia.

• To firstly identify trouble spots in contemporary Asia and the different layers of conflict in each case study;
• To analyse the politics of intervention;To examine the basis of political identities, the nature of nationalism and sub nationalism and their implications for the nation state, regional stability, security, peace, cooperation and development;
• To identify methods of conflict resolution for these violent conflict zones and to look at the politics of reconstruction.

Assessment is by 5000 word essay.

In this module you will explore the ascent of Russia as a great power, examining first how Peter the Great’s desire to open a ‘Window on the West’ helped to lay the foundation for tsarist Russia to become a European great power, and then how nineteenth-century Russia sought to balance its role in European politics with ‘imperial’ expansion to the south and East. You will then explore the role of the USSR in the international political system, before examining how Russia’s contemporary international presence can be understood in terms of both the Soviet and the Tsarist past.

Gaining a broad historic overview of key themes and developments, you will also have the opportunity to study particular events in depth in order to relate them to broader patterns of change (eg Seven Years War, Napoleonic Wars, Crimean War, Russo-Japanese War, First World War, Great Patriotic War; etc).

Major Approaches to the Study of International Relations will explore the development of International Relations (IR) theory in the 20th and 21st centuries and examine it in the light of major historical developments and contemporary events. The module aims at providing the students with the necessary skills and background knowledge to engage critically with the world that we live in. To do so, the module pays special attention to the unequal power relations and Western dominance in the study of IR and politics, and to how they have become embedded into our institutions, theories and methods. The module will also introduce students to theories and debates in human and environmental sustainability.

Learning Outcomes

• compare and contrast the major international relations theories and apply them to contemporary international relations, security and sustainability issues and problems;
• understand the different historical contexts behind these theoretical developments and see how they change and develop over time;
• understand the different political implications of the main IR theories and how these interact with different political movements;
• better understand specialised debates in international relations, security and foreign policy, including a knowledge of specialised terminology;
• put into historical context, understand and criticise debates about international relations, security and sustainability;understand the larger theoretical framework in which international relations are positioned;
• provide space to engage in critical discussions about power, gender and race in IR, and help in developing a more critical eye to the challenges and possibilities of different approaches to and visions of IR;
• obtain an introductory knowledge of environmental sustainability.

Whether global, national, ethnic or ethical, conflicts frequently involve religion. Between themselves, in their relations with secular states and ideologies, and even at the level of sects or denominations, religions engage in conflict arising from deeply held beliefs and values, as well as in struggles for power, status and legitimacy. Understanding how and why religious groups contribute to global and regional conflicts and civil wars – from terrorist attacks, through historically embedded disputes in Israel/Gaza and Northern Ireland, to Christian/Muslim violence in Nigeria, Uganda and India – is vital for development, humanitarian intervention, international relations, diplomacy and conflict resolution.

This module provides the knowledge and skills to help students understand and analyse why conflict happens within and between religious groups, and to assess the positive and negative contributions that religions make to wider struggles – from local disputes through to global terrorism.

Week 1: An Historical Introduction to 'Religion and Conflict' Week 2: Religion and Secularism in the West

Week 3: Religion and Secularism in India Week 4: Religion and Ethnic Conflict

Week 5: Conflict, Religion, and International Relations Week 6: Religion and Violence

Week 7: Religion and Protest: Mohandas Gandhi Week 8: Religion and Protest: Martin Luther King Week 9: Religion and Society: Islam in Britain Week 10: Consolidation Lecture

The module is designed to introduce students to key concepts and issues in scholarship on religion and conflict: e.g. on the relationship between conflict and violence, religion and ethnicity, the ‘clash of civilizations’, intra-religious as well as inter-religious conflict, jihad and martyrdom. Equal attention will be given to the importance of context – historical, social, geographical and political. Analysis and debate about religion and conflict will be situated in particular cases, from the UK and Europe, the US, the Indian sub-continent and sub-Saharan Africa. Lecture podcasts and online discussion activities will be complemented by online talks by experts and short films. There will be plenty of opportunities for online interaction with peers and tutors.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

This module covers a range of geospatial technologies which are now available to historians, and is an opportunity to develop the practical and critical skills which will allow you to apply them to your own research. In doing so, you will also be exposed to many of the ongoing trends and debates within the growing field of Digital Humanities.

You will be introduced to the ‘spatial turn’ in the humanities, identifying its theoretical bases and technical requirements, as well as some of their limitations and practical implications. Topics include Spatial Theory and Thinking, Geographical Text Analysis, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

You will explore cutting-edge research in the field in a number of case studies, and engage with them critically. In addition to this theoretical component, you will have the opportunity to develop essential capabilities in GIS, including how to find, load, edit, visualise and analyse different kinds of data. You will learn how to combine texts and records with contemporary and historical cartography, sensor data, and satellite and aerial photography. This will allow you to visualize your own data in 2 and 3 dimensions, perform spatial statistical analyses, transform it into interactive time lines and visualisations, or produce high quality maps for presentations and publications. In doing so, you should acquire an important set of transferable digital skills and build an awareness of the opportunities, challenges and limitations of working with this medium.

The traditional historiography of the Cold War focused predominantly on the two superpowers, i.e. the United States and the Soviet Union, and the European theatre of the conflict. In this module, in contrast, you will gain a different, less Euro- or Western-centric view of the Cold War. Studying the impact of the East-West struggle in the Third World – Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America – you will explore how the course of the Cold War was affected by wars, conflicts, and crises in the Global South. You will learn that the Global Cold War was not only dominated by the two superpowers, but was also heavily influenced by Third World actors and lesser Cold War powers such as the People’s Republic of China.

The study of the Global Cold War is currently the most dynamic field in Cold War History and, probably, even in International and Military History more generally. As a result, you will be able to engage with a vast body of international literature, which is based on multi-lingual and multi-archival research around the world. Meanwhile, you will have the opportunity to analyse a vast array of documents, and carry out primary sources-based research. This is rendered possible by the availability of specific Cold War History document collections, national collections of diplomatic documents, as well as digital archives and document collections.

This module is designed to provide PGT level students interested in any aspect of historical research which appertains to the period c.1450 to c.1750 with the essential 'tool-kit' of skills, particularisms and themes which will underpin their study. Its syllabus will be varied across each student year-cohort, given the availability of teaching staff and their areas of expertise, but perhaps, more importantly, will be tailored to support and foster the research interests of individual students within any year. The notion of periodisation remains controversial within itself, and so part of the module will involve identifying what it is that distinguishes 1450-1750 from the eras earlier and later in time, to question the terminology of 'early-modern' and 'pre-modern' (and thus 'modern' and 'modernism'), and the Renaissance. We will also discuss the themes and issues which characterise early-modern history and through these, explore the types of evidence produced and how historians can access, use, interpret and analyse them.

Indicative topics may include:

Mobility and settlement;Adventurism, exploration and global links;Demographic change;The crisis of faith;The Scientific Revolution;The climatic crisis and its implications;Gender and power;Material Culture;Personal testimony, archives and manuscript;The dissemination of print.

This module examines, reflects on, and critiques the historical contexts of a range of colonial legacies and institutionalized inequalities in contemporary British society. These will be examined through a critical engagement with the ‘Atlantic’ in its myriad forms: as geographic space and living organism, as periodization, as diasporic identity, as the birth of modernity, as the site of millions of deaths of captive Africans, and as Anthropocene. It then introduces the ‘Global South’ in geographic, economic, epistemological, and theoretical terms and engages students to consider what Global South paradigms and perspectives can expose when applied to critical examination of contemporary colonial legacies and how they can subvert the power of the (North) Atlantic. The module invites students to ‘apply’ the theories, concepts, and perspectives they have engaged with in the course to contemporary social issues with a vision to create a fairer and equal society for the future.

What are the legacies of colonialism and empire that continue to pervade British society? In what ways does ‘the Atlantic’ perpetuate dominant readings of the past and simultaneously obscure others? How are Eurocentric and Global North epistemologies and framings of ‘the past’ shaping the narratives of our present? How can we incorporate Global South paradigms and perspectives to create change?

Students will address these questions and others exploring how ‘the Atlantic’ has powerfully shaped contemporary colonial legacies, and also how it can be the site for disruption, subversion, and social change when considered from Global South perspectives.

Indicative topics will typically include:

Colonial Legacies I: Beyond Race, Class, and Gender

Colonial Legacies II: The Role of the Atlantic and the Birth of the Global South

The Atlantic as Space and Place

The Atlantic as Time and Method

Diasporic Atlantics I: The Black Atlantic

Diasporic Atlantics II: The Brown Atlantic

Geographic Atlantics I: South/North Atlantic

Geographic Atlantics II: Waste, Modernity, and the Anthropocene

Reconfiguring a Global South Atlantic

This course examines the changing character of war and security in a time of rapid and disruptive technological and geopolitical/ecological change. The course combines analysis of contemporary policy documents with the interdisciplinary insights of intellectuals – such as Zygmunt Bauman and Paul Virilio – who have examined how war has changed in the modern age.

Students are introduced to a range of concepts that are currently significant in the debates about the future of war – concepts such as ambiguous war, the gray zone, unrestricted warfare, the third offset strategy, and the three block war.

While the course is grounded in broader debates from social and political thought about war and modernity, it explores a range of evolving and inter-related case studies that are central to understanding how war is changing: cybersecurity/artificial intelligence; cities and urban war; drones and the future of robotics; climate change and ecological insecurity.

Assessment is by 5,000 word essay.

In this module you will explore a crucial period in the history of warfare, from the twelfth to the fifteenth century, when episodic conflicts gave way to near continual war. In Europe, ‘chivalric’ ideals were first established, in order to limit noble bloodshed and protect non-combatants, and then overturned, as the killing of nobles on the battlefield and the systematic terrorizing of civilian populations became standard strategy. Western crusaders conquered swathes of the Holy Land and led expeditions to North Africa, before the revanche of the Abode of Islam under the Ayyubids and then the Mamluks, while the Mongol Empire emerged to confront the powers of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Military technology was transformed, with the invention of the trebuchet and then the gun, and new and potent battle tactics were developed, most famously the arrowstorm of the Hundred Years War. In this module, you will encounter a range of topics, perspectives and approaches to warfare across the medieval world, and be able to develop skills in identifying and assessing both new interpretations and primary sources, such as participant accounts, government records, and battlefield archaeology.