400 Level Papers

Normally, no POLS 400-level paper can be taken unless a student is in 400-level Politics Honours or PGdipArts. Exceptions are possible with the approval of the lecturer responsible for the paper.

POLS402 Community, Culture and Rights

(Not offered 2013)

Should we accommodate cultural difference through public recognition in our public policies and laws or is it sufficient for justice to leave people to pursue their own ends within a common legal framework? Do states need a common national identity to retain cohesiveness? Or does justice demand a co-sovereign approach toward indigenous peoples? Should a liberal state be tolerant toward illiberal and often sexist cultural and religious practices? Issues raised by these questions to be explored in this paper in contemporary political theory include: the validity of human rights and universal values, pluralism and relativism, identity and the role of community, traditions and cultural membership, liberal nationalism, indigenous and minority rights, and gender and multiculturalism.

This paper is 100% internally assessed.

POLS403 Peoples and Constitutions

Associate Professor Janine Hayward (20pts 2nd semester 2013)

Compares the experiences of Indigenous peoples with other minorities in their relationship with their national constitutions.

POLS404 Politics and Society

Dr Brian Roper (20pts 2nd semester 2013)

This course focuses on class, gender, and ethnicity, with comparative reference to the United States and Great Britain. It addresses questions such as: Why do these inequalities exist? What are some of the major ways in which they have changed historically? How do they impact upon politics and policy-making? What can and should be done about them?

POLS405 Political Campaigning

Dr Bryce Edwards (20pts 1st semester 2013)

This paper examines how politicians and political parties market themselves, and the impact of this marketing on voting behaviour.

POLS406 International Relations Theory

Dr Nicholas Khoo (20pts 1st semester 2013)

This paper surveys the major theories of international relations, as well as some key concepts in the literature. It is particularly relevant for students who are engaged in undergraduate dissertation work that deals with international topics from a theoretical perspective. The topics covered include: levels of analysis; realism; liberalism; constructivism; the debate on the end of the Cold War; international institutions; alliances, and security communities.

POLS409 Russian Foreign Policy

Dr Jim Headley (20pts 2nd semester 2013)

Analyses the development of Russian foreign policy since the Cold War in terms of national interests and identity, foreign policy process, and regions and issues of particular significance to Russia.

POLS414 The Levant

(Not offered 2013)

The comparative politics and international relations of the Levant states. Focuses on Syria, Lebanon, and Arab-Israeli affairs.

POLS416 Global Governance

(Not offered 2013)

Clobal intergration and interdependence are reconfiguring political authority and creating a demand for institutions to provide global public goods. This paper reviews and evaluates various theoretical approaches to the global public goods. In addition, a simulation exercise is conducted dealing with real-life negotiations about the provision of a selected global public good.

POLS419 Conflicts, Crises and NZ Foreign Policy in the Pacific

Dr Iati Iati (20pts 1st semester 2013)

Critically examines causal and contributing factors to conflict and crises in the Pacific using several conceptual frameworks and evaluates the appropriateness of New Zealand foreign policy in relation to these.

POLS430 Special Topic: Islamic Militancy in World Politics

Dr Najib Lafraie (20pts 1st semester)

The Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 reintroduced religion in world politics, dismissed until then as insignificant. The subsequent rise of Islamic militancy in different parts of the Muslim world, with its effects felt in various European and American cities, has made it an important factor in international relations. After examining the role of religion in IR in general, the paper will study this new phenomenon and how it affects world politics.

POLS432 Special Topic: Sex, Gender and Western Political Thought

Dr Carla Lam (20pts 1st semester)

Highlights key thinkers in the history of Western political thought emphasizing representations of women's and of men's roles and power in the state and society.

POLS433 Special Topic: International Relations and the Developing World

Dr Lena Tan (20pts 2nd semester 2013)

Examines the material factors and social relations which shaped the 'third world' in world politics by historicizing its relationship with other states during the age of imperialism, decolonization, the Cold War, and the post-Cold War period. Also interrogates how the third world has been constituted and the way in which it has been theorized in the field of International Relations.

This paper is 100% internally assessed.

POLS490/491 Honours Dissertation

Co-ordinator Dr Chris Rudd (60pts Full year)

POLS491 due Friday 3rd June,
POLS490 due Friday 14th October;

The research dissertation is either a piece of original research on a specified research question, or a more wide-ranging discussion of a topic which gives a critical account of existing literature and knowledge. Maximum of 15,000 words (excluding footnotes, bibliography, and appendices).

For more information on POLS 490/491 see ‘Honours and the PGDipArts’

This paper is 100% internally assessed.