PO3III: Identity and Ideology in International Politics

Module code: PO3III

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

Credits: 20

Level: 6

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Derek Bolton , email: derek.bolton@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

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

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: Mini placement

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list:

Last updated: 3 April 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

We often hear discussion around, and references made, to the importance of identity, ideology, and/or nationalism. But what exactly do we mean by these terms; What is identity? What is Ideology; What is nationalism? And why do such things matter when thinking about international politics and foreign policy? This module seeks to unpack in greater detail how various scholars have conceptualized these key terms generally, and how they have been employed within scholarship on politics and international relations specifically. To this end, the module aims to provide a deeper understanding regarding how we might understand collective identity, how it forms, and how we might go about studying it. In doing so it pays particular focus to nations and nationalism – including debates over what constitutes the nation and how we might best conceptualize nationalism. It then provides an overview of how IR and FPA scholars have examined the role (national) identity plays within international politics. Here particular attention is paid to how the growing scholarship around Ontological Security – the security of being – has reconceptualized how we think about the role of collective identity in foreign policy and the relationship between the domestic and international.

Module learning outcomes

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

1. Understand different formulations of collective identity and nationalism
2. Develop in-depth knowledge regarding the proposed analytical benefits of incorporating ideational and ideological variables into analysis of international politics
3. Evaluate the utility of theories exploring ideational and ideological variables in comparison to more conventional approaches
4. Apply theories around identity, ideology, and ontological security when analysing specific cases
5. Conceptualize how theoretical assumptions come to inform the arguments we find in academic works or policy briefs 
6. Compose, compare, and evaluate policy recommendations that build from more conventional and more ideational frameworks of analysis

Module content

Although subject to change, the topics to be addressed in the module include: 

• Theories of Collective Identity
• Theories of Nationalism
• Ideational Approaches to International Politics
• Identity in Foreign Policy Analysis
• Ideology in International Politics
• Ontological Security Studies
• The Relationship Between the Domestic and International
• Identity and Statecraft
• Recognition, Justice, and Revisionism
• Policy Brief Simulations

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will involve one 2-hour lecture, nine 2-hour seminars, and one 2.5-hour practical class/workshop. The seminars will entail a combination of more structured and formal discussions led by the lecturer and more informal student led conversations reflecting upon the weekly topics. Students will prepare for seminars by being divided into groups, each with a different set of readings that they will discuss with each other and then provide a brief verbal synopsis of to the other groups in the seminar. The lecturer will then provide a more detailed engagement with the topics of the week before opening up to wider reflections and questions. The 2.5-hour workshop will see groups take turns presenting their competing policy recommendations regarding a specific case study.

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.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students are heavily encouraged to create (i) an essay plan and (ii) a policy brief plan and use these as the basis for discussion with Dr. Graham O’Dwyer on how they intend to answer both pieces of coursework for the module.  

Reassessment

Additional costs