International relations: exploring territorial divisions

In this short taster course, drawn from part 1 of the MA in International Relations (D818), you will be introduced to the idea of international division, focusing on territory. Divisions over territory have often lied at the heart of global problems like conflict, and in the following pages you will learn about the roots of some of the lines on the map we see today.

• 1 How is the world divided territorially?
• 1.1 The modern state system, geopolitics and imperial rivalry
• 1.2 Geopolitics and imperial rivalry
• 1.3 Great power competition in the age of empire
• 2 The making of the modern Middle East
• 2.1 The interwar period and great power politics