Political Challenges and Multiple Crises in the Global Economy
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| POLI3115 | Politics and International Relations | 3 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- POLI3115
- School
- Politics and International Relations
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
The global economy presents a wide variety of political challenges and can create multiple types of crisis for states and the actors within it. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has put the whole system under pressure and revealed its fragility. This module analyses some of these challenges and crises, which range from sovereign default to the global free trade system and the impact of climate change, to help us understand and explain the international political economy. It draws on scholarship from the fields of international relations theory, international political economy, security studies, and economic history to provide students with a more nuanced understanding of global politics.
Target Students
Available to Final Year UG students in the School of Politics and International Relations on single and joint honours plans. Also available to Final Year UG students on the Philosophy, Politics and Economics plan, and incoming exchange students based in the School of Politics and International Relations.
Classes
This module is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars.
Assessment
- 50% Coursework 1: 2,000-word essay
- 50% Coursework 2: 2,000-word essay
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
This module aims to enable students to: (1) think critically about some of the major challenges and crises facing states and other actors within the global economy; (2) understand some of the core ideas and major events concerning the study of international political economy; (3) develop the ability to relate key concepts to empirical evidence.Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
• Demonstrate an understanding of major challenges and multiple crises in the global economy;
• Relate key concepts concerning international political economy to a range of empirical evidence;
• Evaluate different and sometime competing interpretations of international political economy;
• Critically examine international political economy in historical and theoretical situations.
• Gain a greater appreciation of the complexity of the global economy;
Intellectual and Transferable Skills
• Appreciate the complexities that underpin the study of politics in the global economy;
• Identify, investigate, analyse, and synthesise relevant data;
• Analyse and evaluate theoretical and empirical data;
• Seek and use constructive feedback;
• Evaluate competing explanations;
• Exercise critical judgement;
• Apply theory to policy;
• Develop problem solving skills in terms of data and analysis;
• Use a range of sources to conduct independent research;
• Develop self-organisation and time management skills;
• Communicate effectively in writing, to be assessed in the two 2000-word essays, and speech, to be practiced in seminar discussions.
• Undertake independent research analysing evidence and synthesising data;
• Analyse complex written documents from a variety of sources;
Digital Competencies
• Gain experience using the internet as a research tool;
• Build confidence organizing and presenting data.