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POL41860

Academic Year 2026/2027

Political Economy of Aid and Development (POL41860)

Subject:
Politics
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Politics & Int Relations
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Professor Samuel Brazys
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

Governance, Politics and Development will examine how governmental, inter-governmental, and non-governmental actors provide governance and structure to development efforts. The course will examine the governance and politics of development at the international, national and sub-national levels. The course will focus on the relationship between the interests of the actors, the nature of the institutions, the quality of governance and the effectiveness of development outcomes.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

At the completion of the module students will have in-depth knowledge of:
International and multi-stakeholder structures in development governance;
The role of stakeholders(States, IGOs, Civil Society NGOs, and MNCs) in governing development;
The role of the rule of law, culture, gender, conflicting interests, and corruption in development;
The role of multi-level governance and decentralization in development;
The role of democracy in development;
The role of conditionality, social capital, ownership, alignment and harmonization in development.

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

22
Autonomous Student Learning

228
Total

250

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lecture, independent work, group work, simulation

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Group reading discussion reflection journal Week 14 Graded No
60
 No
Group Work Assignment: Group PBL Week 12 Graded No
40
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

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