Module POL3120 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3120: War and Public Opinion
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
You will able to demonstrate knowledge of the complex and dynamic relationship between public opinion and foreign policy. You will learn the important role that public opinion plays in guiding the foreign policy choices of democratic states. You will be exposed to multiple competing theoretical approaches will be able to articulate similarities and differences to these competing approaches. Particular emphasis will be placed how to read and evaluate quantitative data analysis. This is a quantitatively oriented course. There are no quantitative prerequisites (the instructors will give all relevant training to perform well in the course, but you should be prepared to engage with quantitative work). Taken together, this class will help your skills in applying theory to data, and subsequently using data to inform theory.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. use substantive and methodological knowledge to critically analyse public opinion data about international affairs, foreign policy, and war; 2. demonstrate knowledge in basic and advanced methodologies and tools of analysis used by public opinion researchers; |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. analyze a broad spectrum of research designs applicable to the study of politics and international relations; 4. synthesize competing theories in order to apply them to novel social science problems; |
Personal and Key Skills | 5. demonstrate critical thinking skills, particularly as they relate to evaluating empirical (quantitative) evidence; 6. demonstrate writing skills to facilitate more powerful communication; and 7. work independently, within a limited time frame, to complete a specified task. |
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.
Thomson, Catarina. “Public support for Economic and Military Coercion and Audience Costs” (2016) British Journal of Politics and International Relations” Vol 18 (2): 407–421
Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce, “Testing Novel Implications from the Selectorate Theory of War,” World Politics 56(3) 2004 368-388.
Lake, David, and Robert Powell, “International Relations: A Strategic-Choice Approach” (1999) Princeton University Press. Chapter One: International Relations: A Strategic-Choice Approach David A. Lake and Robert Powell 3-38
Baum, Matthew A. and Philip B. K. Potter. 2008. “The Relationship Between Mass Media, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: Toward a Theoretical Synthesis.” Annual Review of Political Science 91-109.