Suspended in 2025/26
IR322      Half Unit
Sovereignty, Rights and Justice: Issues in International Political Theory

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Availability

Combines insights and concepts from political theory and international relations theory, and focuses on modern debates on sovereignty, the rights of states, individuals and peoples, and international justice.

Sovereignty and the norm of non-intervention; the contemporary international human rights regime; the ethics of war and violence; the politics of humanitarian intervention; the politics of international criminal law and the ICC; global social justice. Further details will be provided at the start of the session.

20 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

Students will write one formative essay (1,500 words) due end of week 6; they can use this to develop ideas for the summative essay but students will not be allowed to 'cut and paste' their formative work into the summative essay.  Students will produce a 2 page outline of the assessed essay in Week 10.  This will set out the research question, an overview of the argument, a draft structure and indicative reading list.  Students will receive approval of the research topic and feedback on the outline by the end of Week 11.

A detailed list of references will be provided: Suitable introductions include : Chris  Brown, International Society, Global Polity: An Introduction to International Political Theory (2015) and Anthony Lang, International Political Theory (2014);

Essay (100%, 4000 words)

Students will write an essay of 4,000 words on a topic approved by the course convener due in Week 1 of the LT.  Full details and guidance will be provided on Moodle and in the first seminar.