Political Change: Politics and International Business (L2001)

30 credits, Level 6

Autumn teaching

The relationship between the state, the private sector and wider society is in flux, in both developed and developing countries. The module will introduce different types of institutions and actors that play a role in regulating international business, including international organisations, corporations and NGOs. It will consider how they shape policy in the areas of environmental standards, labour markets, human rights and anti-corruption. The module will outline relevant theoretical debates, regarding new public management theory, voluntary private regulation, and the role of civil society organisations and networks. The relationships between politics and business will be considered in developed and developing-country contexts. You will be encouraged to evaluate the impact of these emerging forms of governance in terms of effectiveness, representativeness, social impact and accountability.

Teaching

100%: Seminar

Assessment

30%: Coursework (Essay)
70%: Written assessment (Essay)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 30 hours of contact time and about 270 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2021/22. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.