Postgraduate Module Descriptor

POLM088: State-building after Civil War

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Aims

The module aims to provide you with a conceptual and theoretical background to the most common type of armed conflict in the world today: civil wars. It begins by introducing the academic literature dealing with the types, onset, and duration of civil wars and the various motivations of participants. We will then delve into the different measures taken to restore peace and ensure it persists. We will also closely examine the ways various domestic and international actors have attempted to re-build states through institutional design. Drawing on both historical and recent case studies from around the world, you will be able to acquire a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities to peace-making and state-building after conflict and discuss them in relation to a number of past or current conflicts.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Clearly distinguish between civil wars and other types of armed conflict. 2. Have a solid grasp of the main causes and drivers of civil wars. 3. Critically assess the relative success of different ways to end civil wars. 4. Gain a solid understanding of the theories underpinning different approaches to state-building after civil war. 5. Gain in-depth empirical knowledge of a number of past or ongoing civil wars and state-building efforts.
Discipline-Specific Skills	6. Critically engage with the literature on the state, political order, and state-building from Political Science and International Relations. 7. Demonstrate clear theoretical understanding of major approaches to the study of the onset, duration, and termination of civil wars from International Relations and Political Science. 8. Improved understanding of the comparative method in Political Science.
Personal and Key Skills	9. Demonstrate improved analytical reasoning. 10. Synthesize large amount of material and present clear arguments and recommendations. 11. Provide constructive feedback to your peers.

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Outline of course paper	1 page A4	1-10	Written

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
85	0	15

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Policy memo	35	1500 words	1-3, 5, 10	Written
Presentation	15	10 minutes + 5 minutes for Q&A	5-8, 11	Written and oral
Course paper	50	5000 words	1-10	Written

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Policy memo	Policy memo (1500 words)	1-3, 5, 10	August/September assessment period.
Presentation	Essay (1500 words)	5-8	August/September assessment period.
Course paper	Course paper (5000 words)	1-10	August/September assessment period.