International Conflict and Cooperation MSc/Postgraduate Diploma

www.historyandpolitics.stir.ac.uk

This is an exciting programme in the study of conflict and cooperation. It is taught in the evenings in order to accommodate both full-time and part-time students and is specifically designed to facilitate full participation by prospective Chevening Scholars. The aim of the programme is to freely debate ideas and solutions to particular conflict situations that is of interest to students.

Graduates may expect to find employment in organisations that are governmental (FCO, MoD, and the respective ministries in other countries), inter-governmental (EU, NATO, UN, NAFTA, WTO) and non-governmental (Amnesty International, Red Cross, Human Rights Watch).

Programme Objectives

The end of the Cold War and the terrorist attacks on America on 9/11 have shifted the international dynamics of interaction between conflict and cooperation. This, in turn, alters the relationship between dominant policy, power politics and international organisations, particularly in areas where international consensus and understanding are required to address new threats. This programme examines the changing interaction between conflict and cooperation, giving conflict prevention, management and resolution a particular importance and immediacy.

Entrance Requirements

Normally an upper second class Honours degree in Politics, International Relations or an allied discipline, or equivalent qualification.

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of your proficiency such as a minimum IELTS score of 6 (minimum 5 in each skill) or TOEFL 550/213/79 (Paper/Computer/Internet).

Funding

For information on possible sources of funding, visit: www.stir.ac.uk/postgrad/finance

Modes of Study

Full-time:
MSc: 12 months (three semesters, 180 credits)
Diploma: 9 months (two semesters, 120 credits)
Certificate: 3 months (one semester, 60 credits)

Part-time:
MSc: 24 months (six semesters, 180 credits)
Diploma: 18 months (four semesters, 120 credits)
Certificate: 6 months (two semesters, 60 credits)

Programme Start Date

September

Programme Director

Dr Peter Lynch

School of History & Politics

Structure and Content

Core Modules:

• International Conflict and Cooperation Analysis: This module critically evaluates theories and causes of conflict in international relations, issues of war and peace in modern European and world history and attempts at cooperative efforts built around hegemonic and non-hegemonic actors in international affairs.
• International Organisations: This module provides an in-depth analysis of the UN, NATO, WTO, the IMF and the World Bank, regional organisations such as NAFTA and ASEAN and of the EU as an international organisation. It will also consider non-governmental international organisations, such as Amnesty International and the Red Cross.
• Research Skills and Methods A: During the first semester, you will be taught comparative methods in the social sciences, with particular emphasis on the study of political and economic history and international relations/conflict.
• Research Skills and Methods B/Project Design: During the second semester, you will present your own research plan, leading to your research dissertation project, thus achieving both standards of independent intellectual analysis and a spirit of community.

Optional Modules (note that not all optional modules are available at any one time):

• Conflicts and Cooperation in the Balkans: This module examines the rise and fall of Yugoslavia, the ethnic and religious conflicts that marred the wider Balkan region in the 1990s, as well as the role of external actors in the management and, at times, accentuation of conflicts.
• EU-Russian Relations: The focus of this module is the developing relationship between an expanding EU and a new, post-Cold War Russia; the impact of this developing relationship on Russian-German relations and the wider geo-politics and geo-economics of the Eurasian continent.
• Conflict in Independent Africa: This module explores conflict in post-colonial Africa. It will focus on its causes and consequences, the role of international actors in African conflicts (e.g. the Cold War and the Angolan civil war), regional conflicts such as that in the Great Lakes region, border wars (e.g. Nigeria vs. Cameroon), civil wars (e.g. Liberia and Sierra Leone) and genocide (e.g. Rwanda).
• International Conflict and WWI: Origins and Aftermath: The purpose of this module is to explain the role of international disputes, alliances, conflicts and agreements over the question of Ottoman succession in the Balkans and the Near East from 1903 to 1923.
• The Conflict between Christendom and Islam: Christendom has been in abeyance for centuries. Yet in 21st-century Europe (and beyond) it has been revived, in fear of its ancient foe, Islam. This option examines the nature of this millennial antagonism, how and why it has re-emerged and considers the possible consequences.
• Conflict and Geopolitics in the Greater Middle East: This module looks at America’s greater Middle Eastern policy – officially launched in 2004 – in the context of its broader foreign policy in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Gulf area after the end of the Cold War.
• Research Dissertation Project: A research project conducted and reported to publishable standard in a 15,000-word dissertation. The project is supervised by a member of staff and represents a major part of the final MSc assessment.

Delivery and Assessment

Modules will typically be delivered in the evenings by lecture and seminar, although the emphasis will be on student participation and discussion, workshop sessions, as well as a variety of formal and informal presentations.

Timetable

Contact the School for information on your timetable and reading lists.

Career Opportunities

This programme is designed to meet the needs of both current and future practitioners as well as those intending to further their knowledge on a specific subject by pursuing a research degree after the completion of their MSc thesis. On completing the programme, graduates may expect to find employment in organisations that are governmental (FCO, MoD and the respective ministries in other countries), inter-governmental (EU, NATO, UN, NAFTA, WTO) and non-governmental (Amnesty International, Red Cross, Human Rights Watch).

Research Opportunities

The School welcomes applications in research fields where it has an international reputation.

History
In African, American, British, environmental, European, Irish and Scottish history. There are clusters of scholars researching medieval Scotland, the 18th-century transatlantic world, urban history, and environmental history and revolutions and counter-revolutions.

Politics
In the areas of the Balkans and the Middle East, the British Labour Party, devolution and Scottish politics, minority nationalism in European Union, political theory, and the geo-politics of Eurasia, Eastern and Western European politics.

The School hosts regular research seminars and conferences. Funds are available to postgraduates to attend seminars and conferences elsewhere. The School has three postgraduate rooms with networked computers.

Stirling is situated only one hour by public transport from Edinburgh and Glasgow. Edinburgh hosts the National Library of Scotland, the National Archives of Scotland as well as the Scottish Parliament. Glasgow is home to various significant collections such as the Mitchell Library, and the Greater Glasgow Health Board Archive. The University library’s own holdings include the Tait and Watson labour history collections. A local arrangement with the trustees of the Leighton Library, Dunblane, also allows postgraduates to consult items from the 4,000-volume collection dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

For information on research activity of the staff of the School, visit:
www.historyandpolitics.stir.ac.uk/

Research Proposal

Prospective applicants are invited to contact the School so that staff can provide informal advice on the preparation of their application and identify research topics. Thereafter, applicants should supply, along with their application form, a research proposal of up to 2,000 words, explaining in broad terms the research project they hope to pursue.

This should mention some of the main recent literature in the field and potential primary sources, and suggest possible lines of enquiry and methodologies.

RAE Rating

The UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) confirmed the quality of the work being done by our researchers. 85% of the University of Stirling’s research has been judged to be internationally excellent and internationally recognised, with the top 10% of that judged to be world class.

View the full outcomes of Stirling’s RAE performance

Use the online enquiry service to find out more or to request a prospectus.

If you are ready to apply you can fill out an online application form now.