Climate Change and International Relations

Module description

This module interrogates the significance of climate change for International Relations as a discipline and for international relations as a set of global political practices. The module explores the relationship between natural science and international relations, and what this means for making sense of the international politics of the environment. It examines the implications of climate change through several lenses including international theory, international institutions and governance, conflict, negotiations and communications, social movements and protest, inequality and justice, and discourses of crisis. The module seeks to facilitate student independence in exploring the international relations of climate change, as well as transferable writing skills, through the creation of a blog post on one of the security implications of climate change and developing an essay on any single climatic process and its implications for international relations. 

Assessment details

Blog post	500 words	30%
Essay	1800 words	70%

Educational aims & objectives

• To provide students with detailed knowledge of the international relations of climate change.
• To synthesise, compare, and discuss key academic approaches to concepts, theories and methods for the analysis of the interaction between climate change, international security and international politics.
• To engage critically with the significance of the history of climate change, and to foster reflection on questions of climate justice, international ethics, and global inequality.
• To encourage critical thinking on the implications of climate change for international order.
• To improve communication (oral and written), analytical, problem-solving and presentation skills to a level commensurate with progression to postgraduate study, through engagement with selected readings in whole-class discussions, blog posts written for a non-academic audience, and academic research assignments. 

Learning outcomes

• Have developed detailed knowledge of and the capacity to engage in debate about the international relations of climate change.
• Be able to synthesise, compare, and discuss key academic approaches to concepts, theories and methods for the analysis of the interaction between climate change, international security and international politics.
• Be able to reflect critically on the history of today’s environmental security challenges, and to explore questions of global climate justice and ethics in light of this knowledge.
• To be able to think critically about the future implications of climate change for international relations and international security.
• To have developed communication, analytical, problem-solving and presentation skills to a level commensurate with progression to postgraduate study.

Module description disclaimer

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Please note that the module descriptions above are related to the current academic year and are subject to change.