This course will provide a critical, interdisciplinary perspective on the main traditions and schools of thought, methods and approaches involved in the study of international law (IL) and international relations (IR). Students will be introduced to key debates in both disciplines, situating these in relation to one another, before considering how the range of theoretical and methodological approaches represented within IL and IR can be applied to, and assist in the understanding of, pressing international issues. The course will examine the scope of and prospects for the dialogue between international law and international relations to inform the study as well as practice of international law and politics.

10 seminars, 2 hours each

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The course will be assessed by way of a 2000-word essay (worth 30% of the final mark) and a two-hour final examination (worth 70% of the final mark). 

This course will introduce students to the principal traditions, schools of thought, and approaches to the study of international law and international relations (IL and IR). By providing a critical interdisciplinary perspective on these fields, it will give them a deeper understanding of the theoretical and methodological perspectives each discipline brings to the study and practice of international law and politics. It will also enable students to improve and develop the following skillsets and knowledge bases:

■ identifying, following, and intervening in the main contemporary debates in IL and IR;

■ situating the various theoretical and methodological elements characteristic of each field in relation to one another, the disciplines' shared historical beginnings and subsequent development, and the broader context of socio-scientific inquiry more generally; and

■ using and applying the full range of theoretical and methodological approaches developed within the disciplines of IL and IR to pressing international issues.

By the end of the course, students will be able to

■ situate arguments and claims from the various traditions within the disciplines of IL and IR

■ understand the different conceptual structures and elements of the intellectual histories of IL and IR

■ relate these structures and elements to one another and to broader interdisciplinary debates and developments in social sciences

■ apply and critically interrogate the respective assumptions, methods, and approaches to the study and practice of international law and politics.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.