This module aims to provide students with an understanding of ‘frozen’ conflicts, i.
e. unresolved territorial disputes without substantial armed confrontation, and how they relate to the concept of sovereignty in international politics. Arising from competing claims to statehood over the same territory, frozen conflicts help us explore how the concept of sovereignty ‘shapes’ confrontation, security and world politics today.
In order to do so, the module will look at a series of examples of frozen conflicts from around the world, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, that raise a series of interesting questions: how has sovereignty developed as an idea through history and how does it frame our understanding of what is a state? What happens when, in the context of a frozen conflict, different groups claim statehood over the same territories? How can sovereignty be understood in the context of efforts to establish a new state, such as in the case of Kosovo? How effective are self-declared states’ structures and how does that impact their claim to statehood and sovereignty? What does the lack of diplomatic recognition of unrecognised states tell us about their sovereignty? What is the role of global actors in frozen conflicts, such as Russia in the former Soviet space, Turkey in Cyprus or the European Union and United Nations, and how it is affected by ideas about sovereignty? How does the international community engage (or not) with unrecognised states in those conflicts, like Palestine or Taiwan? In a discussion dominated by statehood and sovereignty, how can we debate the role of society and non-state actors in frozen conflicts, such as in Ukraine? What limitations do conventional notions of sovereignty pose to our understanding of world politics and to security? Is, after all, sovereignty socially constructed? And, can we get alternative, more constructive, conceptualisations of sovereignty?
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Explain and critically evaluate the concept of a ‘frozen’ conflict and apply the concept to disputes in world politics
Demonstrate an advanced understanding of secessionist movements and the place of unrecognised states in world politics
Explain and critically evaluate key concepts including ‘sovereignty’ and ‘statehood’ and apply those concepts to the management of ‘frozen’ conflicts
Articulate independent judgements supported by arguments about conflict in world politics
Assessment
37830-01 : Bibliography paper - 1000 words : Coursework (25%)
37830-02 : Essay - 2500 words : Coursework (75%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions
Assessment: 1 x 1000 word bibliography (25%) 1 x 2500 word essay (75%) Reassessment: resit of failed piece or pieces of assessment.
