Postgraduate Module Descriptor

POLM088: State-building after Civil War

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

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

State-building and civil wars – key concepts and dilemmas
Origins of civil wars: security dilemmas
Origins of civil wars: identities and interests
Civil war onset and duration
Ending civil wars: negotiation, peace-keeping, partition
Constitutional design for divided societies
Strengthening institutions and maintaining political order after civil war
Promoting democracy in weak states
Case studies and student presentations

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	278

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled learning and teaching activities	22	11 x 2 hour weekly seminars.
Guided independent study	60	Complete weekly reading assignments.
Guided independent study	188	Research, and drafting of policy memo, paper outline, and final paper
Guided independent study	30	Research and preparation for in-class presentation

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

PRIO data on armed conflict: https://www.prio.org/Data/Armed-Conflict/

Uppsala conflict data program: http://ucdp.uu.se

ETH Zurich international conflict research data: https://icr.ethz.ch/data/

Political violence at a glance: http://politicalviolenceataglance.org

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.