Module Information

The key question behind this module is twofold: How does science and technology affect international politics and how does international politics affect science and technology? Exploring the two dimensions will allow students to think through the role of science and technology in international conflict and cooperation. Such conflict and cooperation often concern various foms of physical violence and destruction, but, crucially, need not be limited to them. In international politics, science and technology also produce and maintain political, economic, and symbolic hierarchies and such hierarchies have wide-ranging effects on developments in science and technology. It is this continuum between science and technology driven contestation on the one hand and the science and technology induced human interconnectedness on the other hand that the module seeks to explore.

The module aims to provide students with solid grounding in various approaches to the study of science and technology in international politics. This will enhance their ability to think through complex issues. The module also aims to offer students extensive specific knowledge of various interactions between science and technology and international politics.

The module will be delivered as eleven 2-hour long sessions based on the lecture/seminar format. These sessions will explore a number of fundamental questions about science and technology in international politics. The sessions will also focus on specific instances of how science and technology have affected international politics and how, in turn, international politics has shaped science and technology. Divided into four blocs, the module will: 1) familiarize students with various ways of thinking about science and technology; 2) show how science and technology have been intertwined with the rise of the modern international system; 3) explore the role of science and technology in interstate competition; 4) examine the place of science and technology in international cooperation. These themes will be studied by drawing on an extensive range of empirical case studies.