MSc in International Management and International Relations

Study modules

Compulsory modules

• Managing International Organisations
  This examines a range of international organisations and their different purposes. Your studies will focus on multi-national companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the European Union and other similar organisations such as the UN. These institutions influence and relate to the operations of global businesses. You will look at the political, economic and social environments in which international organisations function and the challenges they face. Leading business executives and subject experts are invited in to speak to you.
• International Relations in Theory and Practice
  This module provides students with an advanced investigation into theoretical approaches in the discipline of International Relations, as well as an overview of contemporary debates. The module aims to establish a clear understanding of the role and purpose of theory and its relation to substantive issues in international relations.
• Research Methods
  This module will prepare you to undertake effective research drawing upon a range of secondary and primary data sources in preparation for your coursework. You will be introduced to a range of tools required for research including methodological issues, data collection techniques and study skills. This module prepares you for completing high quality, systematic business and management research.
• Global Political Economy
  This module examines the emerging global political economy through the vantage point of competing for theoretical perspectives and the evolution of these perspectives, resulting from theoretical debates and the progressive encounter with empirical developments. Different theories reveal different aspects and dimensions of the global political economy and they will thus be used to present key historical developments and contemporary issues of the global political-economic order.
• Business Strategy
  In this module, you will be introduced to key ideas in business strategy and will develop an understanding and ability to evaluate key strategic decisions. You will consider the wider economic environment and explore why strategy is important. This will help you to understand how organisations make strategic decisions through the processes of analysis, choice, responsible and ethical management and leadership. You will examine how these decisions impact the wider environment of the organisation and how strategy is implemented.
• Corporate Social Responsibility
  You will develop your understanding of approaches to solving problems when governing in the corporate sector. Your studies will consider current issues and consider the social implications of governance. You will also focus on the impact of globalisation on international management practices. You will be equipped with the knowledge to enhance management decisions involving ethical choices. Finally, you will consider your assumptions about the role of managers and organisations in a complex and challenging context through the exploration of contemporary issues in CSR.
• Leadership and Management
  The module provides opportunities for developing in students a deep understanding of managing and leading. The module takes as its focus theoretical concepts and then investigates their practical application. The student is encouraged to have a command of theory and the development of theory but also to be able to utilise this theory to address the practical issues facing leaders and managers in contemporary, typically international, organisations.
• Consultancy Project or International Study Trip
  You can choose between:
  • Consultancy Project: You will gain practical international project experience by working in a cross-cultural team on a real problem for a client organisation. You will develop problem solving and communication skills as well as the ability to work in cross-cultural teams. Your team will work virtually, face-to-face and with help from tutors.
  • International Study Trip: The purpose of this 10 credit optional Study Trip Module is to give you a hands-on, intensive experience with ideas and practices in international management and international relations through visiting multinational enterprises and international organisations during the international study trip. You meet with leaders of global firms and international organisations, receive presentations from global academic experts, and tour facilities. The programme includes presentations from local and international executives, managers and academics.

Optional modules

• Critical Approaches to Terrorism
  This module will examine how we think about and study terrorism. It will critically consider debates about how terrorism has assumed the significance it seems to possess, how we define and understand terrorism, as well as thinking about the nature of the threat that terrorism poses. The causes of terrorism and the gender politics of terrorism will also be assessed. The module will debate questions around whether states can be terrorists and reflect on the main ways in which states and others seek to counter-terrorism. In each of these topics, the aim will be to take a critical approach, to try to think beyond the mainstream and conventional answers to some of the issues listed above.
• Capitalism: Crisis and World Order
  This module looks at the changing nature of the global political economy from the origins of capitalism to the present day. It explores the hallmarks of key epochs in this period as well as specific issues related to these, including the nature of state power, changing labour relations, the role of finance and the evolution of the global trading system. It also explores contemporary issues such as the financial crisis and the future of global governance.
• Dilemmas of International Ethics
  This module surveys the main traditions and theories of international ethics and asks what guidance they may or may not provide in thinking through important ethical dilemmas in contemporary world politics. Ethical controversies in world politics examined in the module include humanitarian intervention; global economic inequality; global environmental justice; nuclear proliferation and disarmament. With each controversy studied, students will be asked to think about what global responsibilities state and non-state actors have, if any, in connection with the issue. It is the aim of the module to explore the impact of ideas, norms and values in a diverse world and how normative thinking in relation to world politics impacts our day-to-day lives.
• Global Civil Society
  The module is grounded in debates that have emerged within International Relations since the end of the Cold War. The rise of transnational policy issues has illustrated the limitations of a state-centric approach towards IR. Concentrating on understanding 'globalisation from below', this module investigates what kind of a role civil society can play in global politics. Furthermore, as many social, political and economic changes have brought into question the nature of citizenship in contemporary world politics, the possibility of the emergence of post-national forms of citizenship is raised. The module introduces key conceptual and theoretical debates surrounding global civil society and global citizenship and through focusing on a number of more concrete illustrations and case studies, asks to what extent can global politics be transformed and democratised by global civil society actors.
• Global Politics and the Environment
  This module offers a critical, interdisciplinary investigation into the way in which the tensions brought about by the ecological crisis has been addressed globally, looking at institutional, conceptual, ideological, socio-cultural and political-economic facets. It analyses our understanding of global environmental issues in relation to international political thought. It examines the role and efficacy of international regimes as management solutions to global environmental problems. It situates the global environmental crisis within wider structures of modernity bringing in political theoretical and global sociological perspectives. It further analyses the political economy of the environment and examines the dynamics of global environmental governance and resistance.
• International Development
  Since the end of the Cold War one of the key dynamics in world politics, namely the gap between rich and poor, has come into sharper focus. This module examines both the theory and practice of the international politics of development. The first half of the module looks at key theoretical debates and how these have related to practice. Various contemporary issues in development are then explored to illustrate the theoretical debates. These will include the Third World Debt Crisis, fair trade, development assistance, sustainable development and the resource curse thesis.
• Postcolonial Perspectives: Security, Violence and Resistance
  This module sheds light on questions of security, violence and resistance from a postcolonial perspective. It explores how phenomena such as terrorism, migration, violent conflict and racism, as well as political responses to these phenomena, can only be understood in relation to past colonial contexts, including the inscription of racial identities and material exploitation that these contexts entailed. The module discusses how contemporary notions such as 'Islamic extremism', the 'oppressed Muslim woman' or the 'developing/Third world' are used to elevate Western societies to a status of cultural and political superiority. The module aims to provide space for an in-depth reading of some central texts of postcolonial theory, but even more so for exploring their relation to a variety of practical political and cultural sites around questions of security, violence and resistance.
• Violence and Peacebuilding
  This module investigates the occurrence of violence during peace processes. It asks why violence continues despite the ceasefire, how it affects peace processes, and what are the implications for its management? The first part of the module achieves a conceptualisation of violence, peace and peace processes, while the second part of the module examines the sources and manifestations of violence after the war. Uniquely, this module gives students the opportunity to examine the relationships between different 'types' of violence and the existence of a 'culture of violence'. Examples will be taken from contemporary peace processes. In the end, students should be able to critically analyse the causes and manifestations of violence in the context of a peace process and be able to make recommendations for its management.

Final project

• Dissertation

Reflecting the uniqueness of the course, you will be well-positioned to follow a career in international relations, policy development or a management career within the international commercial, third sector and NGO organisations. The course helps you to develop expertise to launch into specialist careers in teaching, law and the media.