Core Courses

PP5901 International Relations: Theory and Practice (4 Units)

This course will introduce students to the predominant ways in which scholars of world politics go about making sense of the contemporary world. Three main approaches will be emphasized: realism, liberalism, and constructivism. In particular we will explore theories of the balance of power, the balance of threat, the rise and decline of great powers, hegemony, cooperation theory, the role of international institutions in global governance, and the structures and relations of identity between and among states and societies. Major contemporary issues that will be addressed include the relations among China, Europe, and the United States; the global political economy, including trade and development, and the prospects for global cooperation on issues such as climate change.

Students should accomplish several major goals: have a conversational familiarity with the three primary streams of IR theory; have a collection of concepts that will travel well beyond IR and political science; develop some habits of mind for analysing competing interpretations of the world; and have a better knowledge of, and critical perspective on, events in the world.

PP5904 Research Methods in International Affairs (4 Units)

To successfully identify and address the critical questions in international affairs, we need tools both to advance our own analysis and to critically assess what others propose. This course provides an introduction to the principal research methods in international affairs. Students will assess the strengths and weaknesses of alternative approaches, learn how and when to use different lines of attack, and gain experience in critically evaluating published research. By the end of the course, students will have developed for their own use a toolkit that includes small-N case studies, comparative case studies, process tracing, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, basic statistical methods (including regression analysis), and discourse analysis.

PP5913 Comparative Politics (4 Units)

This course introduces students to the foundations of comparative politics, which is the study of the domestic politics that happens within states. From taking this course, students will be able to answer questions such as: what is a state? How do different countries govern? What is the relationship between political institutions, economic development, and governance? How do political institutions change or persist? Why do some states experience conflict and contention among their people? Overall, the module will empower students with theories and frameworks to analyse how different countries around the world work.

PP5914 Global Politics and the Economy (4 Units)

This course provides an introduction to contemporary issues in the global political economy. It examines a wide range of topics including trade, foreign investment, finance, and economic development from micro, macro, and institutional perspectives. These topics will also be interrogated in the context of developed and developing countries and in international relations as well as domestic or comparative politics.

PP5915 International Relations of Asia (4 Units)

Why is Asia the way it is today? What are the forces that shaped it? What are the new drivers that are not rooted in history? What new trends and developments in Asia should analysts look out for? This class provides a historical and contemporary perspective of Asia’s position in the world. It engages in debates surrounding Asia from the onset of the Cold War to the present. It discusses how the regional order in Asia came about, and aims to understand how that order is evolving as new dynamics emerge and power shifts occur.

Enquiries

Aside from the comprehensive information on our admissions page, if you have any other queries or would like to receive a copy of our programme brochure, please submit your request via our query form.