Prof Chris Alden

This course is compulsory on the MSc in International Strategy and Diplomacy. This course is not available as an outside option.

In this course we will be examining through lectures, seminars and workshops major foreign policy decisions, the diplomatic background to each of these and the strategic thinking behind them. We will be asking the students through group exercises to prepare a strategy and policy paper relevant to the day.

8 hours of seminars in the ST.

The course is taught over 48 hours. This includes 3 intense sessions - a weekend of assessing strategic decisions involving drafting and crafting papers, a second weekend of formulating strategic decisions and briefing sessions on methodology. All these will lay the foundations for the dissertation plan.

Group discussion and formulation of strategy/policy papers.

Readings vary each year depending on the cases, scenarios and policy issues examined during each policy session. Readings will be provided to registered students in advance. 

Dissertation (100%, 3000 words) in the WT.

The formulation of a dissertation topic which must be in the form of a 3,000 word dissertation plan (100%). This should include the title, an abstract, a problem statement which should identify the features and theoretical concepts associated with the topic, the aims and objectives (including research questions or hypotheses), a literature review and the methodology. This module is taken in conjunction with IR496 Dissertation: MSc Diplomacy and International Strategy (1.5 units).