Keele Badge

PIR-20104 - Module Specification
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

For academic year: 2024/25 Last Updated: 16 May 2024

PIR-20104 - War and Peace in IR
Coordinator: Moran Mandelbaum Room: N/A Tel: +44 1782 7 33513
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 5
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office:

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

How can we explain war and peace in global politics? What do IR theories and approaches tell us about the causes and implications of war and peace? What are the conditions for peace at war¿s end? In what ways can we decolonize the study of war and peace in IR? This module introduces students to the complex and fascinating study of war and peace through theoretical and empirical perspectives. The module will allow students to develop critical and analytical skills as they investigate war and peace in IR scholarship and the `real world¿ of global politics through a plurality of approaches and lenses such as historical research, traditional readings of war, critical and feminist approaches, the global political economy of war and peace, war, peace and the environment and more.

Aims
1. To introduce students to the study of war and peace in IR scholarship and global politics.
2. To enable students to engage with the history and empirical cases of war and peace.
3. To enable students to critically unpack the causes of, reasons for, and effects of wars and peace initiatives in global politics.
4. To equip students with the necessary skills for applying IR theory and approaches to empirical case studies.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Engage with and critically evaluate different theoretical, analytical, and historical approaches to the study of war and peace in global politics: 1,2
Critically unpack the causes of, reasons for, and effects of war and peace: 1,2
Critically analyse the relationship between war and peace initiatives: 1,2
Apply IR theory to case studies in global politics: 1
Conduct independent research on one case study of war and/or peace in global politics: 2

Study hours

Active Learning Hours: 10 Hours lectures + 10 hours tutorials
Independent Study Hours: 30 hours preparation for the lectures and tutorials, 30 hours preparation for the first assessment (case study), and
70 hours preparation for the second assessment (research paper)

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Case Study weighted 30%
Case Study: Students apply one IR theory to a case study of war and/or peace
Students will choose a case study of war and/or peace from a given list, or choose independently a case study with the approval of the tutor, and apply to it one/two IR theoretical approaches (800 words)

2: Research Paper weighted 70%
Research Paper: students will conduct independent research on a particular case of war and/or peace.
The second assessment of this module is a 1,700-word research paper. Students are requested to conduct an empirical and/or theoretical independent research on a particular case of war and/or peace. Students can take a theoretical and/or an empirical approach to their case study. The empirical aspect entails critical discussion of the causes of, reasons for, and effects of a particular case of war and peace, whereas the theoretical aspect entails the discussion and application of IR theory to the a chosen case of war and peace. Emphasise in this assessment will be given to the independent research aspect of students¿ work, and their ability to unpack at least one aspect of the chosen war and/or peace case study in a coherent manner.

Please note that for the 2022/23 Academic Year programmes may be adapted to operate in accordance with a flexible, digital approach. This means that there may be some changes made to how modules are delivered and assessed. The latest information will be provided to you by your School in module handbooks. We endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes and details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/student-terms-and-conditions/

Last Updated: 16 May 2024