Module Descriptors
HUMAN RIGHTS, INTERVENTION AND DEMOCRATIC RECONSTRUCTION
HIPO60525
Key Facts
School of Justice, Security and Sustainability
Level 6
15 credits
Contact
Leader: Fiona Robertson-Snape
Hours of Study
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities: 48
Independent Study Hours: 102
Total Learning Hours: 150
Assessment
  • Coursework - Reflective Portfolio weighted at 50%
  • Coursework - Essay (2000 words) weighted at 50%
Module Details
Module Learning Outcomes
1.DEMONSTRATE A CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN RIGHTS, THE IMPORTANT THEORISTS AND THEIR KEY IDEAS, CONCEPTS AND DEBATES.
Knowledge and Understanding
Analysis
Reflection

2.DEMONSTRATE DETAILED KNOWLEDGE OF THE EVOLVING NORMS OF HUMANITARIANISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION FROM THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY ONWARDS.
Knowledge and Understanding

3. DEMONSTRATE A DETAILED KNOWLEDGE OF THE HISTORY AND EXTENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS REGIME. Knowledge and Understanding
4. APPLY ACADEMIC SKILLS IN THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN FOREIGN POLICY. Application
Communication
Problem-Solving

5. DEMONSTRATE A CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF THE CONCEPT OF HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION AND OF ITS HISTORY FROM THE EARLY 1990S THROUGH TO THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT ACTION IN LIBYA IN 2011.
Knowledge and Understanding
Analysis

6. DEMONSTRATE A CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF THE CONCEPTS OF PEACEBUILDING AND DEMOCRATIC RECONSTRUCTION AND THE DEBATES SURROUNDING PRACTICE IN BOTH AREAS
Knowledge and Understanding
Analysis

7. DEMONSTRATE A CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF THE CONCEPT OF TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND OF THE HISTORY AND WORKINGS OF WAR CRIMES MECHANISMS.
Knowledge and Understanding
Analysis
Module Additional Assessment Details
Reflective Portfolio [50% 2000 words, Learning Outcomes 1-7]
Essay [50%, 2000 words,Learning outcomes 1-7] (Final work)
Module Indicative Content
This module will give students a thorough understanding of both theoretical and practical issues relating to the historical evolution of the issues and complexities of human rights in the international context. It aims to facilitate an understanding of the complexity of the concept, of its development into the moral discourse in international relations, and of the historical development of the project of humanitarianism and internationally protected human rights. It will examine the influence of human rights concerns in the foreign policy of states and will examine human rights in relation to both economic policy and military intervention. Finally, the course will examine the influence of the term on approaches to state-building and peace-building post conflict.
Module Learning Strategies
The learning materials and the reading items we advise for each topic introduce the main themes and arguments of the module content. This helps students to develop definitions, and to compare, contrast and analyse important and influential viewpoints on the central topics. The discussion board forums provide for discussion and analysis of the themes. The independent study element should be used for further reading and preparation of the written assignments.
Module Texts
Michael Haas, 2014. International Human Rights, second edition, Routledge

Burns H. Weston and Anna Grear, 2016. Human Rights in the World Community: Issues and Action, University of Pennsylvania Press

Thomas Buergenthal, Dinah Shelton,¿ David Stewart,¿ Carlos Vazquez, 2017 International Human Rights in a Nutshell, West Academic Publishing

Jack Donnelly,2013 International Human Rights (Dilemmas in World Politic), Westview Press, USA

David Forsyth,2012 Human Rights in International Relations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Michael Barnett, 2011, Humanitarianism Contested: Where Angels Fear to Tread, Oxford: Routledge

Alpaslan Ozerdem, 2015 International Peacebuilding: an introduction, Taylor and Francis
Module Resources
Students’ own textbooks; supplied course packs of readings; journals and books from the library.
Blackboard VLE
Module Special Admissions Requirements
None