University of Essex

GV214-5-AU-CO:
International Relations: Theories and Approaches

The details

Year: 2025/26

Department: Government

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Autumn

Level: Undergraduate: Level 5

Status: Current

Start date: Thursday 02 October 2025

End date: Friday 12 December 2025

Credits: 15

Last updated: 16 July 2024

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: (none)

Key module (requisite for): GV312, GV517

Key module for

BA L900 International Development,
BA L250 International Relations (Including Foundation Year),
BA L258 International Relations,
BA L259 International Relations (Including Year Abroad),
BA L260 International Relations (Including Placement Year),
MPOLL268 International Relations,
MPOLL269 International Relations (Including Placement Year),
MPOLL370 International Relations (Including Year Abroad),
BA LR59 International Relations and Modern Languages (5 Years Including Foundation Year),
BA LRF9 International Relations and Modern Languages,
BA L903 Global Studies,
BA L904 Global Studies (including year abroad),
BA L905 Global Studies (Including Placement Year),
BA L908 Global Studies (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA L225 Politics and International Relations,
BA L226 Politics and International Relations (Including Year Abroad),
BA L227 Politics and International Relations (Including Placement Year),
BSC L222 Politics and International Relations,
BSC L223 Politics and International Relations (Including Year Abroad),
BSC L224 Politics and International Relations (Including Placement Year),
MPOLL234 Politics and International Relations,
MPOLL235 Politics and International Relations (Including Placement Year),
MPOLL236 Politics and International Relations (Including Year Abroad),
BA L910 Global Studies with Politics,
BA L911 Global Studies with Politics (Including year abroad),
BA L912 Global Studies with Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA L913 Global Studies with Politics (Including Foundation Year),
BA R110 International Relations and Language Studies,
BA R111 International Relations and Language Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA L215 Politics with Business,
BSC LL25 Politics with Business,
BSC LL20 Politics with Data Science

Module description

This module provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the study of international relations (IR). Topics covered will include interstate and civil wars, intervention and peacekeeping, international institutions, international trade, international finance, income inequality, and human rights.

Module aims

The aim of this module is:

To introduce participants to analysing actors, interactions, and institutions.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to:

Gain knowledge of major theories of international relations.

Learn about the empirical approaches to study interactions among states and between states and non-state actors.

Explore dilemmas policy-makers face in interacting with domestic and international audiences.

Module information

No additional information available.

Learning and teaching methods

This module will be delivered over 2 hours per week.

Bibliography

Carr, E.H. and Cox, M. (2016) The twenty years’ crisis, 1919-1939. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Available at: https://link-springer-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/chapter/10.1057/978-1-349-95076-8_8.
John R. Oneal, Bruce Russett (1999) ‘The Kantian Peace: The Pacific Benefits of Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations, 1885-1992’, World Politics, 52(1), pp. 1–37. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25054099.
Alexander Wendt (1992) ‘Anarchy is what States Make of it: The Social Construction of Power Politics’, International Organization, 46(2), pp. 391–425. Available at: https://www-jstor-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/stable/2706858.
Gourevitch, P. (1999) We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: stories from Rwanda. London: Picador. Available at: http://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=110236&titleID=870479.
Morgenthau, H.J. (2006) Politics among nations?: the struggle for power and peace. 7th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Tickner, J.A. (1988) ‘Hans Morgenthau’s Principles of Political Realism: A Feminist Reformulation’, Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 17(3), pp. 429–440. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298880170030801.
Thucydides (2012) The history of the peloponnesian war. Cleveland: Duke Classics. Available at: http://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=110236&titleID=784964.
Waltz, K. and Walt, S.M. (2018) Man, the State, and War. anniversary edition. New York: Columbia University Press. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5552924.
Paul Collier, Anke Hoeffler (2004) ‘Greed and Grievance in Civil War’, Oxford Economic Papers, 56(4), pp. 563–595. Available at: https://www-jstor-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/stable/3488799.
James D. Fearon (1995) ‘Rationalist Explanations for War’, International Organization, 49(3), pp. 379–414. Available at: https://www-jstor-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/stable/2706903.
Galtung, J. (1969) ‘Violence, Peace, and Peace Research’, Journal of Peace Research, 6(3), pp. 167–191. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/002234336900600301.
Barbara F. Walter (1997) ‘The Critical Barrier to Civil War Settlement’, International Organization, 51(3), pp. 335–364. Available at: https://www-jstor-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/stable/2703607.
Mac Ginty, R. and Firchow, P. (2016) ‘Top-down and bottom-up narratives of peace and conflict’, Politics, 36(3), pp. 308–323. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0263395715622967.
Barbara Koremenos, Charles Lipson, Duncan Snidal (2001) ‘The Rational Design of International Institutions’, International Organization, 55(4), pp. 761–799. Available at: https://www-jstor-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/stable/3078615.
Autesserre, S. (2019) ‘The Crisis of Peacekeeping: Why the UN Can’t End Wars’, Foreign Affairs [Preprint], (January/February). Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=133503992&site=ehost-live.
Walter, B.F., Howard, L.M. and Fortna, V.P. (2021) ‘The Extraordinary Relationship between Peacekeeping and Peace’, British Journal of Political Science, 51(4), pp. 1705–1722. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S000712342000023X.
Marx, K. and Engels, F. (2020) The Communist Manifesto. Newburyport: Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6275623.
Hayek, F.A. von (2014) The road to serfdom: text and documents. The definitive edition. Edited by B. Caldwell. New York: Routledge. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/261567.
Polanyi, K. (2001) The great transformation: the political and economic origins of our time. 2nd edition. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Available at: https://search-ebscohost-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=715728.
Feldstein, M. (2012) ‘The Failure of the Euro: The little currency that couldn’t’, Foreign Affairs, 91(1), pp. 105–116. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23217153.
Hennessy, A. (2013) ‘Informal Governance and the Eurozone Crisis’, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 21(3), pp. 429–446. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2013.831605.
Goldstein, J.S. and Pevehouse, J.C. (2014) International relations. 10th ed., Pearson new international edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/reader.action?docID=5174239&ppg=313.
Weiss, J.C. and Wallace, J.L. (2021) ‘Domestic Politics, China’s Rise, and the Future of the Liberal International Order’, International Organization, 75(2), pp. 635–664. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S002081832000048X.
Keck, M.E. and Sikkink, K. (2018) ‘Transnational advocacy networks in international and regional politics’, International Social Science Journal, 68(227–228), pp. 65–76. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/issj.12187.
Lahiri-Dutt, K. (2022) ‘New directions in research on women and gender in extractive industries’, The Extractive Industries and Society, 9. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2022.101048.
Sarah, Babb and Alexander, Kentikelenis (no date) ‘Markets everywhere: The Washington consensus and the sociology of global institutional change’, Annual Review of Sociology, 47. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-090220-025543.
Gabor, D. (2021) ‘The Wall Street Consensus’, Development and Change, 52(3), pp. 429–459. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12645.

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam	Description	Coursework weighting
Coursework	Multiple Choice Test 1	30%
Coursework	Multiple Choice Test 2	30%
Coursework	Essay	40%

Exam format definitions

Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Prof Han Dorussen, email: hdorus@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Alexandra Hennessy, email: alexandra.hennessy@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff: Dr Alexandra Hennessy and Professor Han Dorussen

Contact details: Module Supervisor: Dr Alexandra Hennessy, Prof Han Dorussen / Module Administrator: govquery@essex.ac.uk

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: Yes

Available to Outside Option: Yes

Available to Audit: Yes

External examiner

No external examiner information available for this module.

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: Of 111 hours, 62 (55.9%) hours available to students:
1 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
48 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).

Further information

Department website: Government

Disclaimer: The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its Module Directory is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to programmes, modules, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements, industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to modules may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery or assessment of modules and other services, to discontinue modules and other services and to merge or combine modules. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications and module directory.

The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.

Module Directory

GV214-5-AU-CO:International Relations: Theories and Approaches