This unit provides students with a grounding in the principle theoretical approaches to the study of international relations and world order. Beginning with a focus on the historical emergence of traditional approaches such as realism, liberalism and Marxism and their competing perspectives on the causes of war and the conditions for peace, the unit goes on to consider more recent approaches, including feminism, critical theory, constructivism and postmodernism.

The political economic focus within the discipline of international relations considers the way in which societies apply political power to organise their productive forces and resources to generate wealth. The way in which a country ‘orders’ its system of wealth generation is a crucial factor in defining how national political and economic systems mesh with the world system. The unit critically assesses the major theories of how the economic system works, the sources and forces of change and their impact on national and international distribution of wealth. Core components of the IPE include foreign investment, trade, international finance, multinational corporations, states, NGOs and multilateral organisations like the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO. A primary research element of the course is the group presentations of case studies that investigate multi-national corporations, international institutions and processes of globalisation.

In this course we will attempt to discover why and how law and institutions have increasingly become the instrument of choice for states to solve common problems and express common values. The course has both a theoretical and empirical focus. In the first part of the course we will focus on the theoretical approaches to law and institutions in international relations. Questions that we seek to answer here include: What is international law? Why do states create international law and institutions? Why do states comply with international law? Why do they break it? What is the role of power in the creation of law and institutions? After looking at the theory behind international law and institutions we then focus on a number of substantive issue areas in which law and institutions have come to play a central role in enhancing state cooperation, including international criminal law and the ICC, the law on the use of force and the UN, international humanitarian law, human rights law and institutions, terrorism, self-determination, and the environment.  Finally, we will discuss the effect of US hegemony on international law and institutions. 

This unit investigates development of Pacific Basin countries with the focus on how political and economic sovereignty is defined by world systemic change such as the Pacific War, the end of colonial rule, the Cold War, and globalisation. The unit employs a political economic schema to explain the origins of the region’s contemporary identity, in particular how European colonial dominance created a ‘western’ political economic order throughout the region. The unit focuses on those countries referred to as “Tigers, Dragons and Little Tigers”. Their 1990s ‘Miracle Growth’ heralded the dawn of a ‘Pacific Century’ where the world balance of political and economic power was seen as shifting towards the Asia Pacific. A challenge to this scenario has, however, arisen as a result of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the December 2004 Tsunami, the spread of fundamentalist militancy and the competing political and economic influence of China, India, Japan and the US. The unit employs a case study group to assess the character of this challenge and predict future regional dynamics.

Students approved for this option complete a placement of approximately three months at a government or non-government organisation, concerned with international policy issues, under supervision and submit a report on completion.

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A study of the international relations of the Middle East in both its regional and global aspects, including in the 'New World Order'. After a study of the special epistemological issues involved in Middle Eastern studies, the unit investigates three conflict situations - Israel-Palestine, Iran-Iraq and the on-going crisis in the Gulf.

This unit seeks to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the debates surrounding 'globalization' with particular reference to an international (global) 'system' characterized by a North/South divide. We will explore the processes, practices and ideas of 'globalization', and their effects, in historical perspective, paying particular attention to how societies are characterized in global terms according to current and historical measurements of 'development'. Tracing the imperatives behind and effects of Western (European) colonisation and imperialism, we will look closely at the economic, social and political issues facing the Global South vis à vis its relationship with the North. In particular, we will consider political and 'policy' debates surrounding neoliberal development strategies, and the possible ways in which challenges and alternatives to conventional understandings of 'globalization' have been articulated. This unit particularly focuses on introducing students to critical approaches to globalization and development, and, in concentrating on how we conceptualise the so-called 'Third' or 'Less Developed' world, will include specific inquiry into questions of identity, inequality and global poverty.

This unit examines the process of international communication in the context of social, political & economic development. It includes a study of the literature on communication and development and focuses on ways policies are developed to facilitate change. In addition to the theoretical basis for communication, particular attention is given to the role of the media and its effect on public opinion. Finally, theory and practice come together in a series of group presentations which provide practical experience in the development of arguments in support of national development projects.

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The unit will examine communication between individual across cultures. The purpose of the unit is to develop analytical and practical skills which allow for improvement of the interpersonal communication processes in professional, business and institutional settings within an intercultural context.

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This unit examines the field of public international law for environmental protection and conservation strategies and how it affects, and is shaped by, domestic environmental law in civil law, common law and other forms of legal systems. The comparative development of environmental law in the Pacific Region will be a particular focus.

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