Module SGIA3871: The Politics of Deglobalisation in the Europe-China-US triangle: theory and policy practice.

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA3871: The Politics of Deglobalisation in the Europe-China-US triangle: theory and policy practice.

Prerequisites

• Any level 2 module

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To provide students with critical and contextualized understanding of the rapidly changing nature of globalisation and industrial upgrading;
• To impart students with detailed knowledge of the historical development of de/globalisation and industrial development;
• To critically asses the concept of the New Cold War and the current international technology race in the historical context;
• To allow students to critically apply key International Political Economy and IR/Security theories to the empirical topics discussed;
• To provide students with specialised knowledge of how industrial policies are decided, what their content is, and how they influence the particular empirical cases discussed in the module;
• To enable students to contextualize Europe-China-US relations in the wider international political economy and global politics context, particularly with regard to other BRICS actors and the rest of the developing world.

Content

• This module will explore how the current changing nature of globalisation and industrial upgrading came about, by contextualising it within the former waves of de/globalisation and industrial development.
• Students will learn about the development of Europe-China-US relations and their economic interdependencies in the historical context;
• This module will introduce students to key debates on world trade, global value chains and industrial security;
• The module will examine some key themes within deglobalisation and 4th industrial revolution processes, which may include: Restructuring of global value chains and trade: offshoring/reshoring/friendshoring; De-coupling, de-risking and alternative globalisations. AI revolution; Green transition; Impact of COVID-19 pandemic and Russian war in Ukraine on global political economy; The impact of deglobalisation and industrial revolution on labour rights, employment, reskilling and shortages of skills; The key security/political economy junctures in Europe-China-US relations; Europe-China-US triangle in the global context of developing countries and post-soviet countries; The normative competition between the West and China.

Learning Outcomes

• Through the module students will develop:
• An understanding of what constitutes deglobalisation;
• An understanding of how political, economic and security concerns drive approaches to globalisation and industrial upgrading;
• Awareness of the role of supranational institutions in affecting these trends;
• Knowledge of policies and interventions that aim to deliver deglobalisation;
• Knowledge of the above-mentioned dynamics specifically in the context of Europe-China-US relations.

• Students will also develop some subject specific skills, such as:
• Ability to apply theories of political economy and IR to the dynamic in Europe-China-US relations;
• Ability to critically review the theoretical and empirical literature in the political economy of de/globalisation;
• Analyse which factors particular to a country's politics, economics, society and institutions drive the current waves of deglobalisation/industrial upgrading, and contextualise these in relation to theories of globalisation and security studies;
• Critically assess appropriateness of a policy or intervention to the challenges arising from the current international trends of deglobalisation and industrial upgrading.

• Students will also develop some important key skills, suitable for underpinning study at this and subsequent levels, such as:
• Develop a self-critical and independent approach to learning;
• Advanced ability to seek out and use relevant data sources;
• Advanced skills in critical analysis and essay-writing;
• Ability to critically evaluate competing theories and scholarly debates;
• Independent learning within a defined framework of study at an advanced level.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Teaching and learning will be delivered through a combination of a series of 1-hour lectures, 2-hour seminars and 2-hour policy practice seminars.
• The lectures will provide formal instruction and will give students a detailed overview of the key empirical topics and scholarly debates on the subject that this module explores.
• The seminars will allow students to discuss and debate the topics that they learned in the lecture and from the assigned readings, providing students with a chance to develop their verbal communication skills and gain an advanced understanding of the relevant subjects.
• Two 2-hour practical workshops concerning practice of policy making will expose students to simulation exercises of the policy making process both on international and specific level, allowing them to gain specialist knowledge about how policies are negotiated and decided.
• There will be one formative assessment for this module, namely a 1,500-word policy paper, asking students to provide policy options to policy makers on the selected topic from a list provided. This exercise will allow students to engage with new forms of presentation of ideas, consistent with policy brief and policy papers. It will also allow them to engage with practicalities of the policy making process.
• There will be two summative assessments for this module, namely a 1,500-word policy paper, which will replicate the formative assignment but with different topics, and a 3,000-word research essay, whereby students will choose from a series of provided essay questions and subsequently answer them. The latter assessment will allow students to develop their skills in critical analysis and academic essay writing, as they will explore in depth key questions related to the role of the politics of deglobulisation and the changing nature of the global industry associated with the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

The formative assignment is a written assessment, whereby students must choose a topic from a list provided and write a 1,500-word policy paper.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University