MSc Diplomacy and International Governance degree

With a multi-talented group of students you will work on a brief from a real company looking to solve a real social or business problem.

Together with your student team, you will research and build solutions to a business problem, supported by our project tutors, clients and staff. Previous clients include Foster + Partners, Speedo, The London Legacy Development Corporation as well as many other companies, start-ups and charities.

The Collaborative Project provides a means for you to engage in critical enquiry and to be exposed to project-based teamwork in multicultural and interdisciplinary settings. By undertaking this module, you will strengthen your cooperative and collaborative working skills and competencies, whilst raising your awareness and appreciation of cultural and disciplinary diversity and differences.

The Collaborative Project aims to provide you with a hands-on experience of identifying, framing and resolving practice-oriented and real-world based challenges and problems, using creativity and appropriate tools to achieve valuable and relevant solutions. Alongside the collaborative elements of the module, you will be provided with opportunities to network with stakeholders, organisations and corporations, which will give you the experience and skills needed to connect to relevant parties and potentially develop future employment opportunities.

This module will explore a number of contemporary foreign policy topics, such as: foreign policy: the system level; foreign policy: the state level (bureaucracy); foreign policy: the state level (public opinion, media, interest groups); foreign policy: the level of the individual decision-maker; and the role of ideas and identities in foreign policy. In addition, a number of case studies will be explored as part of the learning, including: US foreign policy, UK foreign policy, and China's foreign policy.

The aim of this module is to the aim of this module is for you to understand the conceptual tools of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA), acquire specific knowledge relevant to an understanding of the foreign policies of key state actors in the global arena, and develop awareness of the issues and policy contexts that shape these policies.

Topics studied may include:

• The analysis of foreign policy within the field of International Relations
• Key concepts and terminology of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA)
• Key issues shaping the formulation and implementation of foreign policy
• Applying this knowledge to specific cases of foreign policy decision-making and compare these cases in a systematic manner
• Locating FPA information and evidence from primary and secondary sources
• Identifying the main approaches to the study of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) and Comparative Foreign Policy (CFP)
• Critically assessing foreign policy practice
• Employing critical judgement in relation to case studies of US and UK foreign policy
• Locating and using appropriate evidence base in a critical essay
• Reflecting on your own learning and making effective use of constructive feedback from your module tutor and peers

The aim of the module is to familiarise students with the theory, frameworks and practice of governance in every aspect.

The module will provide you with a thorough overview of all of the different ways, including questions of professional practice, in which governance is undertaken, negotiated and influenced.

Topics studied may include:

• Concepts and theories of diplomacy, negotiation and lobbying as the exercise of political influence that includes strategies, tactics and techniques
• The processes of policy-making including alternative models of how policy evolves
• The importance of diplomacy, assessment, advocacy, bargaining, negotiation and persuasion as dynamic features of the art of governance
• How to approach different real-life, professional situations using the frameworks of diplomacy, negotiation and lobbying
• Evaluating the appropriateness of differing problem-solving skills for differing governance problems
• Choosing which concepts and skills from diplomacy, negotiation and/or lobbying are most relevant for specific professional contexts and problem-solving
• Identifying appropriate information sources pertaining to the study of diplomacy, negotiation and lobbying
• Creating meaningful research questions and research strategies to inform diplomatic practice
• The linkages between academic scholarship and practitioner experience in the field
• Research management and self-learning skills
• Enhanced communication and negotiation skills
• How to manage research, resource materials, data, referencing and research findings relating to all aspects of governance

This module is designed to introduce you to the theoretical approaches to the study of language and to develop your competence in effective diplomatic discourse and communication.

The module will cover: diplomatic language; genres and registers; diplomatic drafting; speech act theory; framing/reframing; persuasion; creative ambiguity; meta-communication; and speech analysis/writing.

Topics may include:

The Dissertation module will equip you with the relevant skills, knowledge and understanding to embark on your own research project.

Dissertation pathways may include:

1. A desk-based research project that could be set by an organisation or a subject of your choice
2. A project that involves collection of primary data from within an organisation or based on lab and/or field experiments
3. A professional placement within an organisation during which time you will complete a project as part of your role, in agreement with the organisation (subject to a suitable placement position being obtained)

By undertaking a dissertation at master's level, you should achieve a high level of understanding in your chosen subject area and produce a written thesis or project report which will discuss your research in depth and with rigour.

The module will ask the important question: what are Political Risks?

Together we will explore the lure of emerging markets; the political and economic geography of emerging markets; varieties of geopolitical risks; international political risks in the emerging markets; governance structures in emerging markets; lobbying; regulatory risks; and emerging markets as nodes in the global market.

This exciting module will outline the various dimensions of political risks that affect the business climate in emerging markets. On completion of the module, it is expected that you will be able to demonstrate an appreciation of the various political risks in emerging markets; and be attuned to the politics of 'doing business' in emerging markets.

Topics studied as part of this module may include:

• Political risks within emerging markets
• The various factors that make emerging markets important nodes in international business activities
• How to evaluate existing literature and understandings of emerging markets
• Constructing reasoned arguments by synthesizing and analysing relevant information 
• Reflecting on your own learning and making use of constructive feedback
• Analysing current events and taking part in group discussions as part of an editorial meeting
• Reviewing essay questions and planning possible outlines
• Using communication and information technology for the retrieval and presentation of information
• Explaining events as they are reported in media coverage, and examining their contents

The aim of this module to assess the validity of economic factors in international affairs and to understand the development and dynamics of the global economy and global governance.

The module will cover: understanding the global economy; Global Governance and Global Economic Governance; The Workings of Global Governance; Issues and Challenges; The global financial system; The Challenges of Interdependence; Public Policy; Corporate Actions and the Global Economy; Diplomacy and Global Governance.

Topics studied may include:

• The role of economic factors in international affairs
• The development and dynamics of the global economy and global governance
• The workings of global governance today
• Concepts and the practice of global governance
• Identifying appropriate sources pertaining to the study of the global economy and global governance
• Building research questions and research strategies for the study of global governance
• How to communicate research findings to a practitioner audience
• Demonstrating research management and self-learning skills
• How to manage research, resource materials, data and referencing, and research findings relating to the study of global economic governance

The module aims engage with different interpretations of power in world politics, drawing on various theories of international relations. This allows the module to probe into the rise of the BRICS in influencing power shifts in world politics. In broader terms, the module evaluates various policy consequences of emerging power shifts and the (potential) responses of the BRICS and the West.

Content studied may include topics such as: the rise of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa ("The BRICS") at the turn of the 21st century, and explore how their development has come to challenge the Western-led order in world politics. The module will focus on each of the five BRICS countries, and investigate how the evolution of their domestic and foreign policies has influenced their rise in world politics. An emphasis will be put on foreign policy and diplomacy, together with the tools, capabilities or resources employed by the BRICS in order to project their power in world politics.Learning Outcomes

The past twenty years has witnessed an unprecedented growth in global cities in both the developed and developing world. This module aims to introduce students to the politics, economics, society and international relations of London as the main case study through which to examine some of the key debates and controversies surrounding global cities and their place in the world.

Content studied may include topics such as: how to define global cities, the history of global cities, the social, infrastructure, economic and governance pressures facing global cities, the role of cities in international relations (for example, the concept of paradiplomacy) and the effect of Brexit on London. This course will allow students to understand the role of cities in global politics, not least their importance to the states that still shape international affairs. The course aims to allow students to better understand the global city they have chosen to study in.

On completion of this module students should be able to: summarise/explain the main aspects of a global city and how London fits or does not fit with these; identify appropriate sources pertaining to global cities, especially London; and link and relate theoretical concepts from international relations and political economy to the empirical analysis of London as a global city.

The aim of this module is to understand the functions, workings and practices of international organisations. As part of the module, you will explore:

• What is an International Organisation (IO)?
• What is an International Governmental Organisation (IGO) and what is an International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO)?
• What do IGOs do? What functions do they have? How effective are they? What is enforcement and compliance?

You will also look at international organisations in practice, studying organisations such as the UN Security Council, the European Union, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Medecins Sans Frontieres. You will assess how they function, how they work in practice, how well they accomplish their goals, do they achieve results, and will gain an insight into the current challenges for these organisations.

By studying Institutional Foundations of Capitalism and Entrepreneurship, you will understand the nature the institutions that structure modern market economies. You will appreciate how key institutions interlock together to create circumstances for innovation, entrepreneurship and growth, alonside appreciating the importance of institutional analysis for economic and business policy-making.

This module aims to: provide students with an understanding of the institutions underlying modern market economies and of the institutional conditions that enable finance, innovation and entrepreneurship; introduce students to prominent multi-disciplinary approaches to the analysis of economic institutions; and introduce students to some key methods used for theoretical and empirical research in this area.

Topics studied may include:

• The general nature of institutions and organisations and their role in modern market economies
• Institutional features of property, markets, finance, corporations and states, and their functions in modern market economies
• The diverse and uneven evolution of these institutions in different countries
• Different approaches to the analysis of economic institutions
• The drivers of economic and business activity in modern market economies
• The key roles of different institutions in modern market economies
• Different theoretical approaches in the area
• Developing your capacity to undertake interdisciplinary research
• How to critically evaluate theories and methods used to analyse economic and business activity

This module will address diversity management in multinational organisations. It will provide an understand the dimensions of diversity within organisations operating across borders and their implications for management of organisations, careers and teams. It will identify differences and complementarities between cultural and institutional framework. The module will teach students to assess the ways in which diversity affects micro-level managerial and team behaviour and to critically assess the extent to which approaches to diversity management are shaped by organisations and external forces. It will introduce debates and theories on how diversity and cross-cultural differences relate to corporate social responsibility and international human resource management practices and organisational performance.

Topics studied may include:

• The theoretical frameworks underpinning diversity and inter-cultural management
• The ways in which diversity shapes organisational behaviour at individual and group level, including leadership, motivation and team processes
• How to identify the differences in formal and informal national institutions that shape diversity in global organisations and their implications for organisational policy and practice
• The implications of diversity and cross-cultural management for corporate social responsibility and international human resource management
• The implications, limitations and complementarity of key theories of diversity management
• The challenges and opportunities associated with managing a diverse workforce with implications for organisational performance
• Organisational practice and managerial behavior in diverse, cross-national contexts
• The effectiveness of relevant national regulations and corporate codes of conduct
• Recommendations for corporate policy

Content studied may include: teaching on the theories on "new" media, global media systems, legal and governmental frameworks, surveillance, social-movement, alternative media practices, and transnational capitalism. It may also include: issues around media and social movements, by tracing the theoretical evolution of media and social movements, understanding media within broader social movements in historical processes rather than merely focusing on media technologies or impact media. The module seeks to cover topics on control of media systems on different regions of the world, alternative media practices, anti-imperial protest, non-aligned movements and media and national sovereignty.

On successful completion of the module, you should be able to: identify the theories and trends surrounding media and social movements; contextualise media within specific historical and political conditions; and interrogate media systems in different regions of the word and their connection to people’s democratic struggles.