PO2GLO: Global Order

Module code: PO2GLO

Module provider: Politics; School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Credits: 20

Level: 5

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Kerry Goettlich , email: k.goettlich@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 14 July 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Who rules the world? This question is of particular importance when many around the globe are concerned about the fate of the 'rules-based international order' or the 'liberal international order' in the face of multiple challenges to the way international politics works.  In this module, students will find out what international order is, how orders function, and develop a sense of the variety of different ways that relations among political communities can be, and have been, organized. Students will discover the key dilemmas and trade-offs which characterize contemporary international relations and think about how contemporary problems can best be addressed.  

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Articulate and evaluate the main claims advanced by leading theories of international order. 
2. Identify and describe the primary challenges to the current international order. 
3. Propose and evaluate responses to selected challenges to international order. 
4. Present ideas and arguments in a coherent and well-structured form. 

Module content

This module provides an introduction to ideas about the nature and variety of international orders, with a particular focus on the current global order.  It covers security, economic, and normative aspects of order.  It then introduces some of the main challenges to international order, such as shifts in the distribution of military power, climate change, poverty, humanitarian disaster, and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will be taught through a combination of lectures, which principally serve to introduce core content, and seminars, which provide an opportunity for more in-depth debate and discussion.

Study hours

At least 22 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.