UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG

International Relations - Postgraduate Courses

Students will have several units to choose from in each semester. These change somewhat from year to year, depending on student interest, trends in international relations, and the availability of staff with special skills within South Africa and from abroad.

SEMESTER 1

INTR 4018/INTR 7018: International Relations Theory(compulsory)

This unit is designed to equip post-graduates with the research skills for the study of complex inter-disciplinary International Relations and Foreign Policy issues. This unit will offer an evaluative survey of IR theories and methodologies to provide an intellectual map of the field as it is portrayed in the literature, and to indicate developing areas which require investigation. The assignments and exercises within the unit will provide the basis for the Honours long essay.

Coordinators: Professor Rod Alence, Dr Jacqueline De Matos Ala and Dr Malte Brösig

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INTR 4010/INTR 7012: Gender and Critical Theory in International Relations

What is the state of play of the gender debate within International Relations? What are the practical implications of women's subordination globally and how can including women in various areas, such as development, change the face of the international arena? This unit seeks to provide a framework for understanding these issues

Coordinator: Dr Jacqueline De Matos Ala

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INTR 4028/INTR 7020: Peace and Conflict in the Middle East

The Middle East is the most volatile region in world politics. This unit seeks an understanding of the dynamics of domestic, regional and international politics in the Middle East and the placing of the Middle Eastern system of states in the world system. The writings of leading scholars specialising in this vitally important region of the world will be examined. Issues emphasized may include the Arab-Israeli conflict and the conflict over Palestine, the current peace process, the impact of fundamentalist religious movements, the nationalist struggle of the Kurds, water and oil as sources of conflict; prospects for democratization in the Arab World: the foreign policy of Arab States (Egypt Jordan Iraq), South Africa’s relations with the Middle East, Regional Organizations in the Middle East, Weapons of Mass Destruction etc.

Coordinator: Mr Larry Benjamin

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INTR 4031/INTR 7023: Conflict Resolution in Africa

Africa is perceived of as the world’s most conflict-ridden region. Paradoxically, deadly conflicts among Africa’s diverse 53 sovereign states have been relatively rare. Rather, deadly conflict proliferates more within than between or among states. The unit will offer important insights into new forms of multilateral conflict prevention, which includes human rights protection and political compromise within states. A case study approach will be adopted to deal in greater depth with conflicts in Somalia, Rwanda, the Congo and West Africa. Further, the role of the regional, sub-regional and non-state actors, recent changes in the UN and AU’s conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms, and the current capabilities and potential for sub-regional security mechanisms in the SADC and ECOWAS will be assessed and compared.

Coordinator: Professor Gilbert Khadiagala

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INTR 4036/INTR 7029: International Relations - Europe

This unit will provide an introduction into the European Union, a fascinating example of regional integration that currently embraces 27 states, unifying Western and Eastern Europe.

The EU's pursuit of economic and political integration raises interesting questions such as: Why and how did European integration occur? How is the EU governed? Why does the EU continue to pursue a policy of enlargement? What security threats does the EU face and how are they addressed? What differentiates the EU from other regional organisations? What place does the EU hold in the international system? What will the future of the EU be?

Students will gain valuable insights into these and other issues, with the two theoretical schools of neofunctionalism and intergovernmentalism providing the framework for a critical analysis.

Coordinator: Ms Natalie Zähringer

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INTR 4039/INTR 7036:Selected Topics: Principles of Statistical Social Research: International Politics and Developments

This unit introduces the principles of statistical social research, emphasizing applicants to issues of international politics and development. It covers the basic principles and methods of social statistics, while also providing practical experience analyzing data – and relating these to major themes and theories in the area of international politics and development.

Students are expected to have a solid grounding in international relations, political science, development studies, or a closely related field – but not necessarily have mathematical training beyond high-school algebra, nor to have prior experience in using computers for data analysis.

Coordinator Professor Rod Alence

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INTR 4044/INTR 7042: International Political Economy of Development

This unit focuses on the international political economy of development. It examines how the notion of development has been reflected in the international system, as well as how the international system has grappled with development challenges. Starting with the treatment of development issues by multilateral institutions such as the IMF, World Bank and UNDP, the unit then traverse contemporary development concerns such as aid and debt relief, poverty reduction, corruption, and governance. In addition to a final exam, students are required to read intensively, participate actively in class discussions, and produce two critical review essays.

Coordinator: Mr Gordon Freer

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SEMESTER 2

INTR 4002/INTR 7002: Advanced International Political Economy

There has been a growing interest in IPE since the decline of US hegemony and the establishment of a central authority in international trade. This has been compounded by the proliferation of preferential trade arrangements. The unit focuses on how the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and regulations governing multilateralism, plurilateralism and regionalism influence the generation and distribution of income and wealth among the regions of the world.

Applications here include analysis of the WTO Article 1; Article XXIV; Special Differential Treatment (S&D) and the Enabling Clause. It also surveys the topic of current economic development challenges within the South, specifically Africa and the appropriate policy response to such challenges. Applications include regional and purilateral institutions such as AU/NEPAD, European Union Regional Partnerships Agreement (EU REPAs) with developing countries, Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), as well as India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) cooperation.

Coordinator: Mr David Hornsby

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INTR 4003/INTR 7003: Advanced International Security Studies

The present international defence debate is the focus of this unit. The termination of the Cold War, the 9/11 Terrorist attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have resulted in the development of a number of new trends with regard to defence issues. Modernizing and incorporating advanced technologies into armed forces, significant disarmament, new actors and power realignments are all posing significant challenges to traditional conceptions of war and the state’s monopoly of violence. Students will investigate the causes of conflict, international military developments, advanced doctrine and military theory.

Coordinator: Mrs Leaza Jernberg

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INTR 4013/INTR 7063: International Organisation

This graduate unit aims to provide students with abroad survey of international organizations including their forms and impacts. The unit will begin with an examination of the various theoretical explanations of the roles of international organizations. It will explore whether these theories crafted to explain international organizations in the developed world relate to the international organizations created in Africa.

The second part will then consider and discuss in depth the role of international organizations in global politics and specific-peace and security issue areas including collective security, peacekeeping, humanitarian intervention and post-conflict peace-building and reconstruction with particular reference to Africa. Part three will focus on contemporary debate around the prospects for establishing an African Union government. By the end of the unit the graduate student should possess (i) abroad overview of international organizations (ii) a sharp critical understanding of the competing theories of international organizations (iii) an in-depth comprehension of the role and impacts of international organizations in select issue-areas (iv) the ability to articulate thoughts and questions around the role and impacts of international organizations in global politics.

Coordinator: Dr Malte Brösig

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INTR 4017/INTR 7017: International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Region

An overview of the history of international relations in this region since 1945, including the issues surrounding state formation and nation building, the impact of extra-regional actors such as the United States and the former Soviet Union, the rise of the developmental state and the question of democratization. The post-Cold War era; the international political economy and security of East Asia; the foreign and regional policies of Japan; the rise of China and shifting foreign policy concerns in the era of Mao, Deng, and Jiang.

Coordinator: Professor Garth Shelton

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INTR 4045/INTR 7043: The Politics of Economic Co-operation in Africa

This unit focuses on challenges of foreign economic policy facing sub-Saharan Africa, with an emphasis on the politics of international economic co-operation. Themes include relations with international financial institutions, foreign economic policymaking, the record of regional economic co-operation and integration, prospects for extraregional “partnership” (eg, NEPAD). The unit also includes a session on theories of the strategic and institutional foundations of international co-operation. In addition to a final exam, students are required to read intensively, participate actively in class discussions and produce a research paper on an approved topic.

Coordinator:Professor Rod Alence

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INTR 4049/7064: Comparative Peace Processes

Most recent global conflicts have been resolved through negotiated peace processes. The unit seeks to understand the circumstances that propel parties in conflicts to reach agreements, and the roles of external interveners (mediators) in these processes. Equally significant, peace processes involve bargaining among principal conflict parties, their own factions and constituencies, and sometimes external actors who attempt to mediate among the parties. It is, therefore, important to understand the convergence of multiple actors around these processes, and the internal and external political contexts that explain the successes and failures of negotiations. Cases from recent peace negotiations in Africa and beyond will be examined in depth.

Coordinator: Professor Gilbert Khadiagala

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INTR 4050/7065: International Relations of Africa's Natural Resources

This course focuses on the implications of Africa's natural resources for international peace and development. It explores causal linkages between natural resource abundance, violent conflict, and governance quality in the region, as well as the growing importance of Africa's natural resources in the global political and economic system. Students will be expected to read theoretical and comparative literature, as well as more directly policy-relevant cross-national and African country studies. They will be encouraged to think critically about international challenges related to Africa's natural resource abundance.

Coordinators: Professor Gilbert Khadiagala and Professor Rod Alence

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