In this course, you’ll be given an introduction to the consular law within which diplomacy is practiced. This involves: international relations, foreign policy, and the global architecture. It will also describe the role of Embassies, High Commissions, Consulates, Special Missions and Trade/Cultural Offices. Various types of diplomacy, namely, economic, cultural, diaspora communities, passport and consular services, and military intervention, in the context of war and peace.

You will gain practical knowledge of how diplomacy is conducted and practiced by states defending their respective national interests. Diplomatic practice has evolved over centuries. It has recently undergone dramatic transformation due to globalization, speedier communication, and of course, the ubiquitous internet and social media.

In this course, introduces students to the key theories and issues concerning the dealings of nations with each other as well as the institutions of global governance that impact trade relations. This module introduces students to economic theories of trade as well as international political economy in order to provide a well-rounded introduction to the subject. It traces the changes taking place in the global trade architecture especially the move from trade negotiations fronted by the WTO to trade in a multilateral environment and the regulatory architecture for dispute settlement.

This course will also focus on relevant issues such as the rise of China and its influence on global trade, the rise of non-state actors as pressure groups, the inclusion of non-trade related topics in trade negotiations and finally the ‘East African’ trade negotiations.

This course provides a grounding in analytical approaches to the political economy of violence, conflict and development by discussing empirical trends, difficulties of data collection and the importance of categorization and boundaries to matters of violence. Foundational theories on conflict and violence including gender perspectives, debates about the origins of human violence (anthropological, historical, psychological sources of violence) and the role of violence in historical change will considered. Against this background, the course explores how development theory has treated violence and conflict at different times before focusing on competing contemporary theories and claims about the causes and dynamics of conflict. The focus next shifts to the structures and manifestations of violence including themes related to boundaries, war economies, inequality (4.5), land and the environment.

Next students will explore different facets of intervening in violent conflict including humanitarian aid, conflict resolution and reconstruction. The course ends on the links between civil war/violence, and knowledge production, discourses and ethics, with a focus on terrorism and the war on terror and the ethical challenges of conducting research on violence.

In this course, focuses on research methodologies. In this vein, the focus will be placed on qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, sampling approaches, and primary and secondary data collection. The course begins with a discussion on qualitative research approaches, looking at focus groups, personal interviews, ethnography, case studies and action research. We will also discuss quantitative research methods with a focus on experimental research design and survey methodology. There will be an exploration of the sampling design process and different sampling approaches, including probability and non-probability sampling as well as sample size and non-response issues.

We will look at the nature and scope of primary and secondary data, and the importance of measurement. We will look at the role of the Internet in market research as well as non-comparative scaling techniques. The course ends with a discussion on different data collection approaches, with a focus on observation, content analysis, narrative research, phenomenology, and the collection of data using ethnography.