Postgraduate Module Descriptor

POLM144: The West, Civilisations and World Order

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

Module Aims

This module will introduce you to the study of transatlantic relations and ‘the West’ in international relations. It aims to provide you with a firm grasp and a critical perspective on the key historical developments, theoretical approaches, policy debates, and political controversies on the transatlantic community and ‘the West’, and their relationship to world order. The module will familiarise you with the histories and theories of the transatlantic relation, the processes and politics of Western identity construction, controversies surrounding the notion of the West as a civilization, debates about the Western or universal character of global governance institutions, democracy and human rights, critiques of Western-centrism in the social sciences and world politics, and the future of the transatlantic community and ‘the West’ in an era of power diffusion and multi-polarity.

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 Skills1. discuss the histories, theories, and case studies about the transatlantic relation and ‘the West’ in international relations;
2. evaluate the internal dynamics and external influences of the transatlantic relation and ‘the West’ in world politics;
Discipline-Specific Skills3. demonstrate an understanding of the debates and theories about the transatlantic relation and ‘the West’ as a field of academic knowledge and its applicability to a range of case studies and empirical situations;
4. exercise informed judgment concerning the internal dynamics and external influence of the transatlantic community on world order;
5. exercise informed judgment concerning the role of the concept of ‘the West’ in scholarly, policy and public debates in world politics;
Personal and Key Skills6. exercise informed judgment concerning the role of the concept of ‘the West’ in scholarly, policy and public debates in world politics;
7. write and present complex arguments clearly and persuasively; and
8. demonstrate critical judgment and confidence in articulating and defending your opinions.

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Transatlantic Relations

Alcaro, Riccardo, Peterson, John, and Greco, Ettore (eds.) (2016), The West and the Global Power Shift: Transatlantic Relations and Global Governance (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan).

Anderson, Jeffrey, Ikenberry, G. John, and Risse-Kappen, Thomas (eds.) (2008), The End of the West? Crisis and Change in the Atlantic Order (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press).

Lundestad, Geir (2005), The United States and Western Europe since 1945: From “Empire” by Invitation to Transatlantic Drift (Oxford: OUP).

 

The West

Bonnett, Alastair (2004), The Idea of the West: Culture, Politics and History (Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan).

Browning, Christopher S. and Lehti, Marko (eds.) (2013), The Struggle for the West: a Divided and Contested Legacy (Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge)

O’Hagan, Jacinta (2002), Conceptualizing the West in International Relations: From Spengler to Said (Houndmills, N.Y.: Palgrave).

 

The West and World Order

Fukuyama, Francis (2006), The End of History and the Last Man (New York: Free Press).

Huntington, Samuel P. (1996), The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (New York: Simon & Schuster).

Ikenberry, G. John (2011), Liberal Leviathan: the Origins, Crisis, and Transformation of the American World Order (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press).

Katzenstein, Peter J. (ed.), (2010), Civilizations in World Politics: Plural and Pluralist Perspectives (New York, N.Y.: Routledge).

Kupchan, Charles A. (2012), No One's World: The West, the Rising Rest, and the Coming Global Turn (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press).