The purpose of the seminar is to explore the place of legislation in international law within the context of global governance. Questions the seminar wants to explore are: Where does international law come from? Who were the main actors of public international law in the past? Who are the main actors today? To what extent does public international law contribute to the solution of international conflicts? The first part of the seminar looks at interpretations of the role and function of public international law as offered in scholarly reflections of public international law and by theories of international relations. The second part focuses on the different makers of public international law. The third part is devoted to special areas that illustrate international law-making as part of international political processes: The development of international trade law within the framework of the World Trade Organization, the call to legalize so-called third generation human rights, and the attempts to translate sustainability into law are examples for analysis.

Students can obtain either 6 or 9 credits. For details on the seminar requirements see the program website (https://www.uni-bremen.de/mair/mair-10/mair-10-program).

The seminar deals with the ethical dimension of world politics. At the beginning, students are introduced to moral and political philosophy as well as to the most important schools of thought in international ethics. Next, we will look at human rights, which are often viewed as guiding principles for international action and institutions, addressing both their (in)compatibility with broader views in contemporary political theory and the clash between the claim to universality inherent in human rights and the fact of cultural diversity. Subsequently, the seminar focuses its attention on a range of more specific problems, each viewed from a normative perspective: the ethics of force and coercion (including intervention) in international politics; the nature and scope of distributive justice at the international and transnational levels (including the problem of intergenerational justice that comes into play in such issues as climate change); and the moral requirements of the global polity. In conclusion, the seminar will deal with the fundamental question of the proper scope of morality in international relations.

Students can obtain either 6 or 9 credits. For details on the seminar requirements see the program website (https://www.uni-bremen.de/mair/mair-10/mair-10-program).

This course provides an overview of qualitative research methodology and methods, and it will provide students with hand-on knowledge of techniques they may want to apply in their own research. The social sciences have come into existence as a distinct field of scientific inquiry at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, the qualitative/quantitative distinction has become a productive methodological divide. In this course, students will be introduced to the assumptions underlying qualitative research, issues of design and sampling, methods for data collection and analysis, and criteria for evaluation. Special attention will be paid to data collection and data analysis. By the end of this seminar, students should have gained: (i) familiarity with qualitative empirical research, its most important assumptions and basic concepts; (ii) knowledge of five major approaches in qualitative research (narrative, phenomenological, grounded theory, case studies, and ethnographic) as well as several data collection and data analysis techniques; (iii) an ability to select a suitable research design and methodology depending on the research question and to conduct an empirical qualitative research project; and (iv) an ability to evaluate qualitative research and reflect upon quality criteria.

Students can obtain either 6 or 9 credits. For details on the seminar requirements see the program website (https://www.uni-bremen.de/mair/mair-10/mair-10-program).

War and peace are essential topics in International Relations and related disciplines. This course discusses the most salient issues in war and peace studies from an IR perspective and includes contributions from political science, sociology, anthropology, and history.
We deal first with theories on the causes and conduct of war and peace, ranging from classics to recent contributions. We then proceed to methodological questions, followed by a closer look at different causes, factors and outcomes. The subsequent sessions are dedicated to practices of peacebuilding. Students plan and run the last few sessions. Students’ active participation and contribution are emphasised. Students of this class will acquire knowledge of major theories of war and peace, they will get familiar with strategies to enhance international security and they will get critical insights into major contemporary discussions in conflict studies.