Topic outline

  • General

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    • How to select your modules

      Modules are divided into compulsory and optional modules.  You will need to select 120 credits overall consisting of:

      • 30 credits of compulsory modules.
      • At least 30 credits of semi-compulsory politics modules.
      • At least 30 credits of semi-compulsory international relations modules.
      • Any remaining credits from the list of optional modules.
      • You may take up to 30 credits from outside SPIR. To do this you will need to apply to the home school for the module(s) you want to take. For now you should choose 120 credits of SPIR modules in case your outside choice is not approved.

  • You must choose EITHER POL251 International Relations Theory OR POL263 Modern Political Thought I AND POL264 Modern Political Thought II

  • POL251 International Relations Theory (Theorist, Internationalist)

    • POL251 International Relations Theory (POL251A – Autumn, POL251B – Spring)

      Credits: 30
      Semester: 1 & 2

      Assessment: Item 1: 20% Critical Review (1000 words) Item 2: 30% Essay (2000 words) Item 3: 50% Research Essay (3000 words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Jean-François Drolet
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      This is the core second-year module for International Relations students. Through deep, careful and critical engagement with primary texts, it introduces students to key thinkers in and the main currents of International Relations theory: liberalism; realism; the English School; constructivism; Marxism; post-structuralism; post-colonialism; and feminism. The module covers the most fundamental questions in international politics: why do war and suffering persist? Can we hope for a better future? If so, how can we get there? If not, what should we do instead?

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23408 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL263 Modern Political Thought I (Theorist)

    • Credits: 15
      Semester: 1
      Pathway: Theorist

      Assessment: 100% in-person exam in the January exam period.

      Module Convenor: Dr Shreyaa Bhatt
      Overlap: HST5601, HST5313
      Prerequisite: None

      This module consolidates analysis of concepts and ideologies. It enables students to follow through key ideas and debates about equality, power, revolution, democracy, identity and politics in modern political thought. It covers a range of thinkers from exemplars of Liberalism and Marxism to their anarchist, feminist, and anti-racist critics. The module focuses on thinkers from the latter part of the C19th to the early C20th, such as Marx, Dewey, Du Bois, Goldmann, Luxemburg and Sorel (the thinkers covered may change from year to year).

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23376 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • Select your remaining credits from these options, remembering that you must take a total of 120 credits and that you should aim to take 60 credits in Semester 1 and 60 credits in Semester 2:

  • You must choose at least 30 credits from this list:

  • POL243 British Politics (Comparativist)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2520893
      Credits:       30
      Semester: A & B
      Pathway: Comparativist

      Assessment: Item 1: 50% Portfolio 1 (3000 words) Item 2: 50% Portfolio 2 (3000 words)

      Module Convenors: Dr James Strong and Dr Daniel Gover

      This module offers an intermediate-level grounding in contemporary British politics and government. Students will learn about the UK's political constitution, sovereign parliament, electoral politics, public debate, cabinet government, civil service and devolved and local administrations. They will develop a breadth and depth of knowledge, and a range of capabilities, that will prepare them to pursue careers in Westminster, Whitehall and beyond.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23435 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL247 Modernity: Theories of State, Economy and Society (Political Economist, Theorist)

    • POL247 Modernity: Theories of State, Economy and Society (POL247A – Autumn, POL247B – Spring)

      Credits: 30
      Semester: 1 & 2

      Assessment: Item 1: 15% Text Analysis (1500 words) Item 2: 25% Research Essay (2500 words) Item 3: 60% Exam 

      Module Convenor: Prof Ray Kiely
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      The module explores the work of key thinkers who focus on the politics of modernity, with a three part division based on society, the state and the economy. It will look at writers such as Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Spencer, Keynes, Polanyi and Hayek, and how these writers have influenced different perspectives on issues that continue to dominate political debate in the current era, including class, the state. Social and political movements, and national identity.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23437 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL284 Comparative Politics (Comparativist)

    • POL284 Comparative Politics

      Credits: 30
      Semester: 1 and 2

      Assessment: Item 1: Country Report 1500 words 25%, Item 2:Comparative Report 2000 words 25% Item 3: Exam 50%

      Module Convenor: TBC

      Why some countries are democracies and others are dictatorships? Why are ethnic groups politicized in some countries but not in others? Why some countries have many political parties and others just a few?  How governments form and what determines the type of government that take office? How can we explain patterns of representation? This module analyses some of the most relevant contemporary questions by looking at political structures, individuals and collective actors and processes through the lens of Comparative politics.  In this module we are set not to just find out about other countries, but to broaden and deepen our understanding of important and general political processes within these countries.  The course first analyses the main concepts, theoretical and methodological approaches in comparative political science then applies their insights to the analysis of institutions, economic development, regime stability and change, social movements, representation, national identity, religion, ideology and more.



  • POL280 Social Theory (Theorist, Activist)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2520692
      Credits: 30
      Semester: 1 & 2
      Pathways: Theorist, Activist

      Assessment: Item 1: 20% Critical Reflection (1500 words) Item 2: 30% Research Essay (2500 words) Item 3: 50% Examination

      Module Convenor: Dr Giulia Carabelli

      This module provides students with an advanced introduction to central theories and and concepts in Sociology, from nineteenth and early twentieth century theorists through to the present day. This will include consideration of the work of Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Du Bois, Adorno, through to more recent work by Foucault, Butler, Mitchell, Bauman, Stuart Hall and Beck.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23367 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL285 Introduction to Social Science Methodologies (Researcher)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2520627
      Credits:       15
      Semester: 1
      Pathway: Researcher

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Research Log (1500 words) Item 2: 60% Project (2000 words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Mirko Palestrino

      This module provides students with an introduction to social sciences methodologies. The lead questions are: How do we know and research the social and political world? What is the relation between knowledge and power? How do different research questions and methods make different aspects of social and political life legible? By taking a familiar site (e.g., a street, one’s home, Queen Mary University), event (e.g., an election, a festival), or artefact (e.g., a pamphlet, a statue, a picture), the module explores different ways of developing sociological and political knowledge and the role of methods in doing so.


      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23570 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • You must choose at least 30 credits from this list:

  • POL274 Gender and Feminisms in World Politics (Internationalist, Activist)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2519297
      Credits: 30
      Semester: 1 and 2
      Pathways: Internationalist, Activist

      Assessment: Item 1: 30% Blog Post (1500 words) Item 2: 20% Presentation Item 3: 50% Exam

      Module Convenor: Dr Kimberly Hutchings

      This module introduces students to debates surrounding gender and feminisms in the twenty-first century. It covers meanings of gender and feminism, exploring arguments from liberal, radical, socialist, black and global south feminisms, as well as masculinity, queer and trans studies. It examines gendered dimensions of conflict, peace, governance, inequality, labour, care, nationalism, health, sexual violence and political mobilisation in national, transnational and global contexts.

      This module is running for the first time in 2024/25

  • POL283 Global Theory (Activist, Theorist)

    • POL283 Global Theory 

      Credits: 30
      Semester: 1 and 2

      Assessment: Item 1: 30% Critical Review Item 2: 70% Essay

      Module Convenor: Dr Clive Gabay
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      This module takes ten key thinkers whose work emerges from experiences/histories of colonialism and racism to ask how international order(ing) has been understood by those standing outside of or in conversation with the Western canon, thinking globally. Thinking globally means thinking seemingly disparate socio-political phenomena and forces together and in connection (I.e., capitalism, racism, patriarchy, colonialism, etc.). This is a defining feature of the intellectuals and thinkers that will be explored on the module, who include Edward Said, Houria Boutjelda, Suzanne Cesaire and Cedric Robinson.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23532 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL255 Colonialism, Capitalism and Development (Political Economist, Activist)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2519568
      Credits:       15
      Semester: 1
      Pathways: Political Economist, Activist

      Assessment: Item 1: 50% Book Review (2000 words) Item 2: 50% Examination

      Module Convenor: Dr Felipe Antunes de Oliviera

      This module covers both the origin and trajectory of colonialism, capitalism, and development. It simultaneously surveys competing theoretical explanations for the emergence and reproduction of structural inequalities in the world system over the last 500 years. The module analyses a range of theoretical approaches to development – modernization, dependency, uneven and combined development, postcolonialism, and Marxism. It also connects historical inquiry to more recent processes, such as decolonization, Third World Revolutions, global commodity chains, ecological crisis, and the fate of the world’s peasantry.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23406 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL271 Qualitative Methods for Social Science Research (Researcher)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2519814
      Credits:       15
      Semester: 2
      Pathway: Researcher

      Assessment: Item 1: 25% Presentation Item 2: 75% Project (2500 Words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Alexander Stoffel

      This module covers a wide range of qualitative methods designed for critical social science research. It breaks down diverse methodological approaches and turns them into a set of concrete guidelines and tools that you can apply in your own research. Whether you are interested in studying how specific texts or images reproduce wider political ideologies, immersing yourself in the complex mechanisms of a particular case study, explaining how public discourses emerge, spread, and dissolve over time, or tracing transformations in the global economic system, this module provides you with the skills and tools you need to put those research goals into practice.

      This module is running for the first time in 2023/24



  • POL258 The International Politics of Security (Internationalist)

    • The International Politics of Security POL258 (POL258A - Autumn)

      Credits: 15
      Semester: 1

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Review Essay (1000 words) Item 2: 60%  Examination

      Module Convenor: Prof Jef Huysmans
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      This module examines the study of security in world politics, investigating the development of the study of the international politics of security and the key concerns surrounding security today. The module broadly surveys different kinds of security practice and their contemporary significance. It also introduces political questions and contestations that both shape and are resulting from developments in security practice. Overall, the module gives a wide-ranging perspective on the politics of security in contemporary international politics.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23400 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL259 Politics of International Law (Internationalist)

    • POL259 Politics of International Law (POL259A - Autumn) 

      Credits: 15
      Semester: 1

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Case Study (1500 words) Item 2: 60% Essay (2000 words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Andreas Papamichail
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      States spend a great deal of time and effort justifying their actions with law. Yet international relations scholars have often doubted international law's ability to shape state behaviour. This course examines this by paradox by introducing students to the major debates about the politics of international law. These perspectives will be applied to the history of international organisations and (legal) order since 1919, including the development of collective security and humanitarianism at the League of Nations and United Nations.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23397 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL249 Foreign Policy Analysis (Comparativist, Internationalist)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2517381
      Credits:       15
      Semester: 2
      Pathways: Comparativist, Internationalist

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Essay (1500 words) Item 2: 60% Examination

      Module Convenor: Dr James Strong
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      This module introduces students to the study of how states make foreign policy decisions. It considers the social, material, institutional and political contexts for decision-making, and how individual leaders' cognitive and psychological traits influence the choices they make. It thus forms a bridge between the study of leadership, domestic politics, and international relations.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23439 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL272 Quantitative Methods for Social Science Research (Researcher)

    • Credits: 15

      Semester: 2

      Assessment:

      • Item 1: 50% Research Project
      • Item 2: 50% Exam

      Contact: Dr Javier Sajuria

      Description: This module is designed to enhance undergraduate students' understanding and use of empirical methods, mostly quantitative, in the social sciences. Through the focus on substantive and relevant topics, the module will enable students to become more sophisticated users of quantitative readings in political studies. It will also enable them to undertake quantitative analysis in their own research, including their final-year research projects. The skills acquired in this course will enhance students' employability.

      To view the 23/24 version of POL269 which is the closest to this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23370 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only


  • POL273 Unsettling Methods: Creativity in/for Social Science Research (Activist, Researcher)

    • Credits: 15
      Semester: 2
      Pathways: Activist, Researcher

      Assessment: Item 1: 50% Methods Portfolio (2000 words) Item 2: 50% Research Project Assignment (3000 words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Sharri Plonski

      This module is designed with two core goals in mind: On one hand, to introduce students to qualitative methods in the design and production of research in politics and international relations. On the other, to develop a critical toolbox for engaging and challenging methods as a form of colonial epistemological practice, bound up with historical and contemporary modes of domination and erasure. Through a range of relevant topics, students will reflect on dominant knowledge systems and structures, practice ‘doing’ qualitative research, and develop the skills to design their own research projects.

      To view the 23/24 version of POL270 which is the closest to this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23368 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL264 Modern Political Thought II (Theorist)

    • Credits: 15
      Semester: 2
      Pathway: Theorist

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Essay (2000 words) Item 2: 60% In-person exam in the May exam period

      Module Convenor: Prof Lasse Thomassen
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      This module builds on the analysis of concepts and ideologies begun in the first year. It enables students to follow through key ideas and debates about equality, power, revolution, democracy, identity and politics in modern political thought. It covers a range of thinkers from exemplars of Liberalism and Marxism to their anarchist, feminist, postcolonial and postmodern critics. The module focuses on thinkers from the mid- to late-C20th, such as Fanon, Gandhi, Beauvoir, Habermas, Rawls, and Foucault (the thinkers may change from year to year).

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23375 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL263 Modern Political Thought I (Theorist) (only if not taken as compulsory option)

    • Credits: 15
      Semester: 1
      Pathway: Theorist

      Assessment: 100% in-person exam in the January exam period.

      Module Convenor: Dr Shreyaa Bhatt
      Overlap: HST5601, HST5313
      Prerequisite: None

      This module consolidates analysis of concepts and ideologies. It enables students to follow through key ideas and debates about equality, power, revolution, democracy, identity and politics in modern political thought. It covers a range of thinkers from exemplars of Liberalism and Marxism to their anarchist, feminist, and anti-racist critics. The module focuses on thinkers from the latter part of the C19th to the early C20th, such as Marx, Dewey, Du Bois, Goldmann, Luxemburg and Sorel (the thinkers covered may change from year to year).



  • POL256 War in World Politics (Internationalist)

    • Credits: 15
      Semester: 2
      Pathway: Internationalist

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Fact Sheet (1000 words) Item 2: 60% Review Essay (2000 words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Katherine Hall
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      This module examines the study of war in world politics, investigating the practices of war in the modern international system and the key concerns surrounding them today. The module surveys three interrelated issues: the connections between war, violence and politics; war and socio-political change; and war as normative problem.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23403 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL257 The International Politics of the Developing World (Internationalist, Political Economist)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2520979
      Credits:       15
      Semester: 2
      Pathways: Political Economist, Internationalist

      Assessment: Item 1: 50% Case Study (2000 words) Item 2: 50% Examination

      Module Convenor: Dr Felipe Antunes De Oliveira

      Cartel violence in Central America, rapid urbanisation in West Africa, and huge wealth disparities in the 'rising powers' of India and China. What connects these issues? How useful and accurate is it to talk Autumn semester only associates: To be confirmed about 'the developing world' in these contexts? This module introduces students to a number of case studies across what is referred to as the developing world, in order to explore the historical and ongoing relationships between wealth and poverty, the 'international' and the 'domestic'.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23402 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL254 US Politics

    • POL254 US Politics (POL254A – Autumn)

      Credits: 15
      Semester: 1

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Essay 1 (1500 words) Item 2: 60% Essay 2 (2000 words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Richard Johnson
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      The United States remains an important actor in the world and understanding its politics is vital both in comparison to other political systems and in terms of how its own political outcomes emerge. The module provides a comprehensive overview of US politics, starting from its foundations in the Constitution, through the core institutions of US government, and the political process itself. The module covers rival perspectives on understanding US politics and government, as well as core thematic areas such as political culture, informal actors in the political system, the influence of ideas, foreign policy, and an understanding of race, class and gender in US politics and society.



  • POL268 The UK and EU

    • POL268 The UK and the EU (POL268A - Autumn)

      Credits: 15
      Semester: 2

      Assessment: Item 1: 60% Examination  Item 2: 40% Essay (2000 words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Paul Copeland
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      Traditional modules analysing the UK's relationship with the EU begin with two or three sessions devoted to its historical development. Students often find this uninspiring, even though it is essential to understand the evolution of the EU. Academically, such an approach can be misleading, as it is descriptive and not particularly analytical. In response, the first half of the module is designed differently to the more conventional approaches. We begin by studying the most contemporary issue of European Integration: Brexit. Within the module we analyse why the UK joined when it did, the role it has played in the development of the EU, the position it has taken on key Treaty reforms, and why, in the summer of 2016, it took the decision to leave. This approach provides an insight into a very topical EU issue, while enabling students to learn about the history of the EU in a stimulating and engaging approach.



  • POL264 Modern Political Thought II (only if not taken as compulsory option)

    • Credits: 15
      Semester: 2
      Pathway: Theorist

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Essay (2000 words) Item 2: 60% In-person exam in the May exam period

      Module Convenor: Prof Lasse Thomassen
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      This module builds on the analysis of concepts and ideologies begun in the first year. It enables students to follow through key ideas and debates about equality, power, revolution, democracy, identity and politics in modern political thought. It covers a range of thinkers from exemplars of Liberalism and Marxism to their anarchist, feminist, postcolonial and postmodern critics. The module focuses on thinkers from the mid- to late-C20th, such as Fanon, Gandhi, Beauvoir, Habermas, Rawls, and Foucault (the thinkers may change from year to year).