Undergraduate Course: Contemporary Issues in International Relations (PLIT10105)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Contemporary Issues in International Relations takes a recent topic one emerging in the news or in the academic literature and provides students with the tools to situate it within the larger academic literature, the political context and methods of analysis.
Topic for 2025-26: Autocracy and Resistance in the 21st century
Electoral autocracy has become the most widespread and resilient form of authoritarianism. The course will examine the rise of ¿electoral authoritarianism¿, critically examining how Political Science and IR have engaged with this phenomenon, the challenges it presents for international actors, and the strategies used to resist its rise, and push for change. We¿ll read a wide range of sources including blogposts, podcasts, and academic literature, and invite experts and activists to join us in class and via Zoom. |
| Course description |
The substantive content of this course changes each year depending on topical issues and will be taught by experts on the issue itself or on particular approaches/methods from amongst permanent and postdoctoral staff. Students will learn substantive information about the topic itself but perhaps more importantly they will acquire the generic skills to analyse any phenomenon: how to place it within a larger context, where to look for information about context, the types of variables (whether social, economic, cultural, or political) to consider when analysing the phenomenon, how to identify wider theories and concepts to analyse the phenomenon and how to acquire evidence that would support one theoretical interpretation over another.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 4 Politics/International Relations courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Section for admission to this course **
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| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
90 %,
Practical Exam
10 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The course will be assessed by:
Essay 1 40%
Essay 2 50%
Tutorial Participation 10%
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| Feedback |
Students will receive written feedback on their written coursework. Feedback on their Short Paper will be designed to help improve the quality of their Research Paper. Students will be provided face-to-face feedback on their tutorial participation. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate comprehensive understanding of contemporary debates on the chosen event, from both a theoretical and empirical perspective
- have specialist in-depth knowledge of specific areas and issues in relation to the chosen event
- critically engage with key explanatory theories, concepts, institutions and issues in the study of the chosen event
- deploy and justify the use of case studies to deepen our understanding of international relations
- engage in critical thinking, reflection and debate for academic and non-academic consumption.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical thinking and analysis
Team work
Effective written and verbal communication
Effective research and analytical skills
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sara Dorman
Tel: (0131 6)50 4239
Email: sara.dorman@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ian McClory
Tel: (0131 6)50 3932
Email: Ian.McClory@ed.ac.uk |
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