Course Details in 2024/25 Session

Module Title	LI Trust-Building For Global Security
School	Government
Department	Political Sci & Intern'tl Stud
Module Code	08 35212
Module Lead	Prof. Nicholas Wheeler
Level	Intermediate Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-20 hours Seminar-10 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	This is a new ‘research led’ undergraduate module that will introduce students to the challenge of trust in global politics. It interrogates UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s 2017 claim that ‘without trust . . . I don’t think we will be able to address the very difficult challenges that we face today”. The challenge of governing the globe, or what IR theorists call the problem of ‘global governance’, is explored in this module through the prism of trust. ‘Who can you trust’ (the title of Rachel Botsman’s terrific primer on the subject) is one of the most important questions in all human relationships, and this applies at the international level as much as at the interpersonal level. The module is divided into two parts – theoretical and empirical – though there will be an emphasis on policy-related issues and questions throughout the module. The module is the first of its kind at undergraduate level and is highly interdisciplinary in that students will read trust research outside of the field of International Relations.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Identify the key theoretical debates in trust research as they relate to challenge of global governance. Understand and critically analyse the different approaches to trust in world politics. Demonstrate the applicability of the conceptual material to empirical case studies of global governance (e.g. nuclear weapons, cyberspace, climate etc). Demonstrate an appreciation of the methodological and theoretical challenges that face students studying questions of trust and global governance. Apply the relevant concepts and methodological approaches to the essay and group presentation assessments.
Assessment
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: Group Presentation (10%) and 3500 word essay (90%) Reassessment: 4000 word essay (100%)
Other
Reading List