LPINT6249 Comparative Regionalism Course Descriptor

Course Overview

This course will introduce students to the discipline of comparative regionalism, a subfield of International Relations. Students will apply different International Relations theories to the analysis of the history, development, and function of regional and local organisations. Students will compare and contrast the drivers, limitations, and expectations of regionalisation projects across the international system, and the solutions which regional institutions apply to area problems with reference to a range of issue and policy areas. The course aims to explore why some regions are far more integrated than others given that most of the economic, political, and social incentives for regional integration are rather similar across the globe. 

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a syllabus and range of additional resources (e.g. readings, question prompts, tasks, assignment briefs, discussion boards) to orientate and engage students in their studies.

The scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course are:

Lectures and seminars

40 scheduled hours – typically including induction, consolidation or revision, and assessment activity hours.

• Version 1:all sessions in the same sized group

OR

• Version 2: most of the sessions in larger groups; some of the sessions in smaller groups

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups. 

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 150 hours

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessments are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within interactive teaching sessions, office hours, and/or the VLE.

Summative Assessments

Students will apply International Relations and comparative regionalism theories and concepts to the analysis of different regional organisations:

Further information about the assessments can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Feedback

Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments, through email or the VLE) or oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is for a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• Börzel, T. A., & Risse, T. (Eds.). (2016). The Oxford handbook of comparative regionalism. Oxford University Press.
• Isard, W., Azis, I. J., Drennan, M. P., Miller, R. E., Saltzman, S., & Thorbecke, E. (2017). Methods of interregional and regional analysis. Taylor & Francis.

Indicative Topics

Note: Comprehensive and current topics for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative topics provided below are used as a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• Models and theories of regional studies
• Theories of cooperation within and amongst regional institutions
• Case studies of regionalisation projects: OAE, ASEAN, MERCOSUR, NAFTA/USMCA
• Regional and trans-regional cooperation networks and organisations (G7(8), G20, BRICS, etc.)