Course summary

The MA Politics course is designed to give students insight into the ideas, individuals and institutions that shape our world. The course examines the most pressing issues facing us today including democracy and populism, gender and social change, terrorism and international security. Students are invited to apply theory to real-world events to better understand their own environment and the nature of the global order. Students are given insights into the perspectives and motivations of policy and decision makers, as well as the impact of policy on individuals, communities, social movements and states. Course information The study of Politics is the study of power: who has it, how they got it, how they use it and how it can be controlled and held accountable. The MA Politics course examines the most pressing issues facing us today including democracy and populism, gender and social change, terrorism and international security. Students are invited to apply theory to real-world events to better understand their own environment and the nature of the global order. Students are given insights into the perspectives and motivations of policy and decision makers, as well as the impact of policy on individuals, communities, social movements and states. The course offers an interdisciplinary postgraduate programme that goes well beyond the range of topics typically associated with a pure Politics syllabus. It builds on the expertise of the School of Humanities’ Politics staff in the fields of comparative politics and political theory and broadens the offer by drawing on the skills and experience of the School’s History and International Relations staff. Politics modules include advanced topics covering urgent contemporary issues through up-to-date research and analysis, such as Democracy and Democratic Breakdown, 21st Century Populism and The Changing Nature of War and Terrorism. Experts from the fields of History and International Relations support other core modules in War and Terrorism, Security in the Developing World, Threats to Global Security and Gender and Social Change in 20th Century Britain.