Explore our International Politics and East Asia taught Master's degree.

P-M1P8

MA

1 year full-time;
2 years part-time

2 October 2023

Politics and International Studies

University of Warwick

Warwick's International Politics and East Asia MA combines strong disciplinary expertise with genuine regional expertise to assess a range of issues in the region including security, development, financial crises, institutions, the role of great powers, as well as the importance of the wider global context.

The course combines disciplinary studies in international politics with an explicit focus on East Asia. Different theoretical analyses are applied to East Asian case studies that are often overlooked in mainstream International Relations (IR), International Political Economy (IPE), and Policy Studies. It offers strong disciplinary expertise combined with genuine regional expertise.

East Asia is home to several security crises that represent potential flashpoints, including those between the US and China; it is one of the most dynamic regions in the global political economy; it is riven by historical, ethnic, religious, and ideological divides; and it offers alternative approaches to security, economic development, and regionalism that challenge presumptive norms in often-Eurocentric mainstream theories.

It remains an important region for multiple disciplines and offers new perspectives on mainstream approaches that help us re-think our broader approaches to studying Politics and International Studies.

Modules are taught via one 2-hour seminar per week. Every seminar will be based on extensive guided reading you will do each week, but there is no strict pattern to how sessions are run. This may include mini-lectures followed by discussion, Q&A sessions, organised debates, peer presentations, policy briefs, small group work, and other projects.

You can also choose to study part-time with us. Find out more about part-time study on our PAIS web pages.

Normally a maximum of 18 per seminar group in PAIS delivered modules.

6 hours of seminars per week for 9 weeks in Terms One and Two plus advice and feedback hours when requested and Dissertation supervision in Terms Two and Three.

Assessment methods include research essays and other (written) assignments throughout the year, culminating in a 10,000 word dissertation at the end.

Reading lists

Most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library. If you would like to view reading lists for the current cohort of students you can visit our Warwick Library web page.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules in a module pre-registration process about which you will receive information at the beginning of September.

2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject.

Visit our PAIS web pages for department-specific advice on applying to ensure your application has the best chance for success.

Postgraduate FAQs (PAIS specific)

Postgraduate FAQs (General)

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

International Relations of the Asia-Pacific

The Asia-Pacific is increasingly an area of interest in politics and international relations. It is beset with big questions the answers to which have important implications beyond the region. Does East Asia face greater challenges from ‘traditional’ or ‘new’ security and economic issues? Can American hegemony in the Asia-Pacific be maintained? Can China rise peacefully and what would this mean? What are the roles of Japan and ASEAN in the region? Moreover, these questions present paradoxical challenges to mainstream interpretations of international politics, the answering of which help us better understand the study of international politics itself.

This module aims to elucidate how the international relations of Asia-Pacific and the growth of regionalism and regional cooperation, are shaped. In pursuing this goal, the module engages a range of issues including security, development, financial crises, institutions, the roles of great powers, as well as the importance of the wider global context.

Dissertation
The Dissertation is the final piece of assessment, worth 60 credits. It gives you a chance to treat a topic of your choice, related to your course. It is a personal and autonomous piece of research, conducted under the guidance of a member of staff in your disciplinary field, mostly during term 3 and summer.

• East Asian Development Policies
• The Nuclear Question
• Comparing Rising World Powers

The optional module lists are updated regularly.

You may select up to 40 CATS (normally two modules) from a list of specialist modules for this course, and a further 40-80 CATS from our extensive range of optional modules for a total of 120 CATS of taught modules.

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