Theories of justice are still being worked on and developed today. You question contemporary theories of justice through applying them to some of the most controversial issues dominating contemporary politics.

International migration is at the forefront of academic and policy discussions. You'll explore the multiple dimensions of human development linked to international migration, and the determinants and dynamics of international migration and its economic and social effects on both sending and receiving countries.

Study one of the most important contemporary societal and political issues that require urgent policy action: climate change. You consider the state of the natural environment and growing concerns related to the climate crisis. You will also explore environmental and climate policies, regarding how they shape and are shaped by individual attitudes, social movements, institutions, parties and international diplomacy.

This module explores key elements of international environmental politics, the actors, means of cooperation, and its consequences. A lot of emphasis is given to the role of international environmental institutions as major actors of international environmental politics. In addition, we will explore climate change and some of its major consequences in international relations, namely, conflict and migration. The module also offers the opportunity to students to learn how to write a policy brief and a policy report. Such transferrable skills are highly demanded in the job market.

This module offers you an introduction to the theory and practice of quantitative data analysis techniques. You will also be introduced to the computer package R, which is widely used by academics and practitioners for the analysis of quantitative data. As the work becomes more challenging, the relevance of the techniques to modern social science research becomes more apparent.   

Master the quantitative methods that are essential for testing hypotheses. You will study hypothesis testing, linear regression models, and more advanced regression models ubiquitous in political science, accompanied by data science and R programming skills.

In this module you focus on conflict resolution in inter- and intra-state issues. You gain experience in the practical as well as in the theoretical aspects of negotiation and mediation, exploring the applicability of various tools and techniques in problem-solving real cases of international conflict, and making use of negotiation and mediation techniques in role playing exercises and other types of simulations.

The course covers topics in comparative political economy, including the relationship between domestic politics, domestic economic conditions and markets, and government economic policy. The goals of the course are to (a) introduce students to contemporary scholarly research on comparative political economy topics, (b) introduce students to strategic models in political science using substantive applications, and (c) stimulate students to form original ideas for promising research projects in contemporary comparative political economy.

This module introduces historical and contemporary traditions within political theory, and applies these theories to pressing policy debates.

In this module you gain an overview of the logic of social science research designs that includes the goals, theories and strategies of social science research, and develop a research agenda for potential use as publication in a peer reviewed journal, MA or PhD dissertation.

On this module you explore a variety of questions concerning public opinion: How do citizens acquire information and convert it into opinions? Can politicians and the media influence public opinion and if so, how? How does political misinformation spread? Why do some people have strong beliefs in false information? Does public opinion matter for public policy?

This module introduces you to key concepts and theoretical approaches to studying and analysing public policy as well as applying these concepts and approaches to real-world public policy areas. This includes the economic, theoretical and normative foundations for public policies, theories of the public policy process and the actors and institutions involved in this process as well as approaches to studying the politics and political dilemmas regarding public policy. You will also be introduced and apply these concepts to real-world policy areas including education, pollution and taxation.

The module “The Politics of Public Policy” provides a comprehensive overview of the key players and institutions that shape the policy-making process. You will study theories and evidence surrounding the creation of policies and explore the impact of political actors, institutions, and strategies on the formation and implementation of public policy. Through the examination of advocacy coalitions, policy networks, and the influence of ideas, beliefs, and interests, you will gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between state and private actors and the role of interest intermediation and lobbying in shaping public policy. The course also focuses on the interactions between legislative and executive branches of government, as well as the influence of international institutions and policy diffusion beyond the nation state. By the end of the course, you will have a well-rounded knowledge of the complex and dynamic politics of public policy and will be able to analyse specific policy processes using the tools and approaches covered in the module.

Politics is about people. Everything – angry tweeting, constitutional design, environmental lobbying, states going to war – boils down to the opinions, decisions and behaviour of individuals, and understanding those is the territory of psychology. Political psychology is a growing and thriving subfield, to which this module provides a wide-ranging introduction. We will apply both the theories and methods of psychology to the behaviour of a range of political actors – voters, leaders, protestors, even terrorists. This is a practical as well as a theoretical module, with heavy emphasis on how we learn about political psychology and with every student designing – and perhaps in their dissertation executing – a research project in the field.

The world of violent non-state actors has received growing attention among academics and policy circles. Given the rise of groups such as the Islamic State, and criminal organisations fighting in Mexico and other locations, the focus on violent non-state actors has become increasingly important. This module focuses on the political science literature on violent non-state actors. We start with a conceptual approach, considering why some groups fit into categories such as "insurgent" while others perhaps fit better in another category such as "terrorist" or "mafia". It also examines why non-state actors resort to violence and crime, what tactics and strategies they use, how they fund their existence, how they undermine the state and what can be done to counter the instability they cause. The module will examine the objectives of these organizations, what their mobilization strategies are and what often constitutes their support base. The module will give a thorough overview of not only the world of violent non-state actors but also the political, economic, geographical and regional environments which help to explain their strength.

This module examines the institutions that govern international relations. It is designed around the following question: Do international institutions promote international cooperation? In particular, the module analyses how formal and informal international institutions can help to overcome the main challenges for international cooperation and promote global governance.

In this module you focus on conflict resolution in inter- and intra-state issues. You gain experience in the practical as well as in the theoretical aspects of negotiation and mediation, exploring the applicability of various tools and techniques in problem-solving real cases of international conflict, and making use of negotiation and mediation techniques in role playing exercises and other types of simulations.

The course covers topics in international political economy, including the relationship between domestic politics, international economic conditions and markets, and government economic policy. The goals of the course are to (a) introduce students to contemporary scholarly research on international political economy topics, (b) introduce students to strategic models in political science using substantive applications, and (c) stimulate students to form original ideas for promising quantitative research projects in contemporary international political economy.

GV948 is a module in political theory. We read classic texts that first formulated our modern ideas of democracy and freedom, as well as more contemporary texts that challenge these ideas. We will discuss democracy from a range of historical, normative, and theoretical perspectives. Questions include: What is democracy? What is democracy’s value? What are the practices that are constitutive of democracy? We will also consider some challenges for democracy, considering contemporary threats to democracy and freedom.

This module offers you an introduction to the theory and practice of quantitative data analysis techniques. You will also be introduced to the computer package R, which is widely used by academics and practitioners for the analysis of quantitative data. As the work becomes more challenging, the relevance of the techniques to modern social science research becomes more apparent.

The objective of this module is to provide a better understanding of democratic political processes in Europe. The first part will be devoted to studying the origins of party systems, the impact of different electoral systems on party competition, and linkages between citizens and politicians in West and East European countries. In the second part, we will analyse the rise of populist and extremist parties, democratic backsliding, and institutional mechanisms that constrain political officials. The module also provides an accessible introduction to research design and methods that political scientists have used to address these topics. By the end of the course students will have a sound knowledge of contemporary European politics and understand the advantages and limitations of comparative research. Specifically, participants will become familiar with important academic debates in political party behaviour, the rise of extremism, democratic backsliding, and accountability mechanisms. Students are encouraged to critically assess the validity of conflicting theoretical claims and arguments on the basis of appropriate empirical evidence. The module will also help students hone their analytical and writing skills. By composing short response papers, a grant application, an essay, and peer review comments, students learn how to tailor their writing to different audiences.

This module presents advanced quantitative methods for political science based on maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), with a particular focus on the generalised linear model (GLM). After introducing the principles of MLE, models for different kinds of outcome distributions, such as binary, ordinal, categorical, count, and event history data, are considered. This module also introduces some advanced methods beyond the GLM. All models and methods are approached substantively, mathematically, and computationally (using R), with applications to political science research questions. Throughout the module, you will also familiarise yourself with the interpretation and presentation of empirical evidence in political science. The module will be particularly useful for you if you aim to pursue a career in academia or in research-intensive environments, for example think tanks, research-related government posts, data science, or survey analytics.

This module explores the dynamic interaction between political and economic processes in Europe, with a focus on political economy topics. Through a comparative lens, we will examine how political systems, economic policies, and social institutions shape and influence each other across European countries and within the European Union. Key themes include: Democratic Systems: What are the tradeoffs between representative and direct democracy? Is one approach inherently superior in fostering political and economic stability?; Corruption: How can we effectively study and measure corruption, and what are its economic and political consequences?; Social Policies and Welfare States: Why do some European countries offer more generous protections against risks like sickness, unemployment, and old age? What trade-offs do expansive social safety nets entail for economic growth and fiscal sustainability?; European Union Politics: Under what conditions do member states choose to delegate authority to the EU or reclaim powers at the national level? The module also examines the EU's capacity to manage crises, analysing its responses to challenges such as the euro crisis, trade disputes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other disruptions. Why has the EU succeeded in some instances and failed in others? Finally, this module provides an accessible introduction to the research design and methods political scientists use to investigate these questions. You will gain practical tools for studying political economy topics in a rigorous and systematic way.

On this module you explore classical and up-to-date knowledge required to understand and undertake public opinion surveys via the four-weeks seminars. Six-weeks lab sessions are designed to develop students’ practical skills in administrating surveys (and survey experiments) and analysing polling data used to study public opinion and political behaviour.

This module introduces the fundamental concepts and logics of poststructuralist political theory, drawing on post-Marxism, deconstruction, structural linguistics and psychoanalytic theory. Students are invited to engage with contemporary debates in critical political theory in order to better probe and grasp the role that discourse and ideology play in our understanding of the contemporary world.

This module introduces key ideas associated with political discourse theory, situating this within the broader field of critical political theory. It critically engages with the conceptual frameworks and presuppositions associated with the work of scholars in critical political and social theory who draw on a wide range of sources, including psychoanalysis, post-marxism, and contemporary continental philosophy. Participants unpack the visions they project and evaluate their prospects for effective and sustained political action and ideological critique in a time of poly-crisis (economic, political, and ecological crises, among others).

Until very recently, it was frequently claimed that human rights were the dominant moral instruments for regulating global politics and law. Indeed, many went so far as to claim that we were living in an age of human rights. Is this still true today? Human rights are increasingly challenged from a variety of perspectives. Indeed, an increasing number of people describe the global human rights project to be in a state of real crisis. With human rights increasingly challenged, it is vitally important that we are able to understand the basis and extent of this challenge, in order to overcome the challenge. This module provides an opportunity to do just that. We will situate the theory and the practice of human rights within the broader moral and political contexts within which contemporary human rights unfolds. We will also connect theory with practice in order to examine key spheres in which the challenge to human rights occurs.