International Relations and Politics BA (Hons)

Current, relevant and inspiring, this course offers you an exciting opportunity to study the political dimensions of life around the world, recognising the connections between people, locales, ideas and problems.

How do states interact with one another and what implications does this have for individuals?

Should we be concerned primarily with our own well-being or do we have duties and responsibilities beyond our own borders? How can we be secure?

Does democracy still work for us or are there other ways of expressing our voice and finding solutions for shared problems?

At the heart of the course is the belief that individuals can make a difference and effect positive change in the world.

It is shaped around three core themes that we encourage you to explore in greater depth, while exploring a range of topics. These themes include “war, conflict and security”, “democracy and active citizens” and “governance”.

The theme of “democracy and active citizens” encourages you to ask why some states become democratic and others don’t, how politics work in non-democratic countries, what democracy is and whether we still need it, how democracy is practised at local and regional level, and how individuals and groups (active citizens) face today’s crisis of democracy.

The theme of “war, conflict and security” investigates why states go to war with each other and how they manage to avoid doing so, how we engage with security challenges within and beyond our own borders, how war and conflict are regulated through international organisations, and what type of challenges we face in a world in which war between states has become rare.

Governance is the unifying theme for both international politics and domestic politics as you will analyse a range of institutions from the local to the international, and ways of managing social and political problems beyond traditional centralised, top-down approaches of organising.

We provide an extensive range of modules, from Chinese Politics to Terrorism and Active Citizens, allowing you to explore politics from all angles. We work with you to explore contemporary challenges that are covered in various modules and from different angles; for example, environmental politics and climate change, the place of contemporary Britain in a changing world, or the role of the media in shaping our understanding of the world, social and political problems, and the political responses to them.

Taking an integrated approach to academic theory and applying it to real world problems, this course will provide you with the tools to make a difference in your personal and professional life.