Assessed Essay Titles:

Students taking the 10-credit version of this module must choose one essay
from the following set of titles:

1. How 'realistic' is realism?
2. Discuss the difference between realism and neo-realism by referring to
Morgenthau and Waltz respectively.
3. Is international co-operation possible?
4. Explain how feminist theories criticise International Relations for marginalising
women and gender.
5. To what extent do Marxist theories of International Relations follow or differ
from Realist theories?
6. International Ethics enjoyed renewed attention in the 1990s. To what extent has
International Ethics retained significance since the War on Terror?

Students taking the 15-credit version of this module must choose one essay
from Section A and one essay from section B:

Section A
1. How 'realistic' is realism?
2. Discuss the difference between realism and neo-realism by referring to
Morgenthau and Waltz respectively.
3. Is international co-operation possible?

Section B
1. Explain how feminist theories criticise International Relations for marginalising
women and gender.
2. To what extent do Marxist theories of International Relations follow or differ from
Realist theories?
3. International Ethics enjoyed renewed attention in the 1990s. To what extent has
International Ethics retained significance since the War on Terror?

Students taking the 20-credit version of this module must choose one essay
from Section A and one essay from section B:

Section A
1. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of either realism or liberalism in
explaining the War on terror.
2. Is the practice of international politics realist?
3. Is neo-liberal thinking useful in trying to explain and understand the
globalisation process?

Section B
1. How compelling are feminist theories associating women with peace and men
with war?
2. Analyse how Marxist theories of International Relations explain international
conflict.
3. Could International Relations dispense with the concept of sovereignty?

Exam:

In the exam, you will be given two of the following questions and you will
need to answer both of them.
1. How does the neo-realist approach advance our understanding of global politics?
2. In what important respects does neo-liberalism address the weaknesses of
liberalism?
3. Is neo-liberal institutionalism a synthesis of neo-realism and liberalism?
4. How do feminist theories challenge traditional security approaches?
5. Assess Marxism’s contribution to International Relations theories.
6. How compelling is the social constructivist critique of a state-based international
order?
7. How has International Relations moved away from International History and
does it matter?
8. To what extent do International Ethics approaches address the problem of
power in International Relations?