IR4577 Order and Crisis in World Politics

Academic year

2024 to 2025 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Planned timetable

11.00 am Mon

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr V Paipais

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Vassilios Paipais

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module explores important moments in the development of international political thought through the lens of the interrelation between the concepts of order and crisis in modernity. Contemporary debates about the crisis of 'Liberal World Order' often obscure the fact that modern politics have congenitally been constructed around a dialectical, constitutive relationship between order and crisis that explains why modernity has been vastly more dynamic than any previous type of social order. In this module, we will examine a series of modern crises such as those of: power politics, war and peace, revolution and reaction, capitalism and imperialism, liberalism, colonialism, neoliberalism, secularism, and populism. These topics will be approached through the international political thought of thinkers as varied as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, Burke, Marx, Lenin, Schmitt, Gandhi, Fanon, Habermas, Foucault, and Agamben, Laclau, and Mueller.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS IR2006

Assessment pattern

3-hour Written Examination = 40%, Coursework = 60%

Re-assessment

3-hour Written Examination = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1 lecture (x11 weeks), 1 tutorials (x10 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours

43

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

267

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • The objectives of the module are to promote critical thinking on a wide and intellectually demanding range of ideas and theories, and the ability to articulate such an approach clearly and concisely in both the written and spoken word.
  • By the end of the module, students should be able to: Understand and explain the ideas of classical and contemporary theorists of modern international political thought.
  • Understand and explain the contextual meaning of key concepts such as: power politics; war and peace; revolution and reaction; capitalism and imperialism; liberalism; colonialism; Marxism; biopolitics; populism.
  • Critically assess rival interpretations of classical modern texts, thinkers, and theories.
  • Critically assess rival interpretations of contemporary texts, thinkers, and theories.
  • Develop independent arguments about the strengths and weaknesses of different international theories in relation to real world issues and problems.