Global Change: Toward a New Non-Western Order?

Course summary

The course will prepare you to recognise and analyse the changing global political landscape with the predicted rise of non-Western states as great powers. The main focus will be on the domestic and international politics of Russia, China and India and the impact their rise has on the developed and developing countries.

Who is this course for?

You will normally have a first degree in a relevant subject, though this is not essential. We suggest delegates have a strong grasp of the English Language and have previously studied English at GCSE level or equivalent.

Course Leader

Professor Roland Dannreuther is Professor of International Relations at the University of Westminster and joined the University in September 2009 as head of the Department of Politics and International Relations.

Roland is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and his research revolves around the area of security studies and international relations with a regional focus on Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East. He also has an interest in the engagement of historical sociology in International Relations.

Course structure

During the course you will explore empirical examples of global change, characterised by the predicted rise of non-Western states – Russia, China and India in order to develop a critical understanding of the emerging great powers.

You will gain the ability to recognise and deal with the changes in the global political landscape and cover both dominant and non-eurocentric views of global politics. By identifying the reality and durability of the rise of great powers, you will analyse the significance of the rise and contextualise it in relation to other parts of the globe (Western and non-Western).

By the end of the course, delegates will be able to:

• Recognise the main features of the debates surrounding the rise of Asian giants of Russia, China and India as great powers
• Demonstrate competence in a range of transferable skills and gather evidence, data and information from a variety of sources so that they are able to confidently and effectively engage with others on issues and processes in global politics
• Deliver reports and presentations on the substance and processes of global change that exercise critical judgement at an advanced level

Teaching and assessment

You will be joining us at our historic Regent Street Campus, a dedicated building with state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities. The campus is based near Oxford Circus, which means you'll benefit from a central London location with excellent transport links.

The course consists of a series of classroom lectures where key themes will be introduced and discussed. Delegates are encouraged to discuss and debate key concepts as well as present to other course participants on topics that will be allocated during the first session. Delegates will also benefit from supplementary learning material and the opportunity to collaborate via the University's Virtual Learning Environment.

Course assessments take the following format:

• Class presentation
• Submission of a specific Country Report
• Coursework essay 

While the course is credit bearing, please note that successful completion of the module does not allow direct entry onto the associated Masters programme. To be eligible for entry onto the degree, you will still need to meet the necessary requirements and submit an application via Admissions.