International relations

British Foreign Relations: Through Empire and Beyond

Module code: 042IRS
Level 6
30 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Workshop
Assessment modes: Coursework, Essay

This module will explore the development of UK foreign relations from empire through decolonisation and up to the present day, with particular focus on relations with the Global South. We will examine how Britain transformed the world by bringing many regions and peoples into a new global political economy, largely by force. And we will look at how Britain itself was transformed by these processes, in terms of its own economy, culture and identity. Current British foreign relations and related aspects of domestic politics, society and culture will be analysed as a product of the country’s colonial and post- colonial history.

Module learning outcomes

• Demonstrate a strong grasp of the history of UK foreign relations from Empire to the present day, and the complex relationship between different aspects of UK foreign relations (e.g. economic, strategic, diplomatic, military.
• Critique and assess the merits of different ways of conceptualising the relationship between Britain’s colonial history and its current foreign relations.
• Critically evaluate the relative merits and value of different texts and sources of information concerning UK foreign relations.
• Critically evaluate the various ways in which concepts of ‘race’, national and cultural identity have shaped UK foreign relations and domestic British society and politics.