POLITICS
From Machiavelli to the Space Race
Politics is instructive and exhilarating – whether you’re getting to know the ins and outs of the British political system or putting influential ideologies like Socialism and Liberalism under the microscope! We also specialise in rare and niche topics like the constitution and politics of Burma (Myanmar) and Classical Greek political thought, so whatever your interest, it’s very likely we can help you out!
Meet Your Tutor
Dr. Jane Orton has a First Class degree in Politics from Durham University and a Masters’ degree in political philosophy and the development of political thought. One of her specialities is breaking down and analysing political systems, but she also loves tutoring comparative politics, international relations and political ideologies! Jane also has university level exam marking experience and has designed and taught courses at the University of Edinburgh, where she did her PhD.
Click the link to read about Jane’s posts in our Politics blog series, contact us to find out more or click to download our Tuition Guide and Pricing Options!
“My one-to-ones with Jane have been incredibly helpful in organising my thoughts into detailed and developed arguments. Jane is great at clarifying, discussing and giving you confidence in your work...Whatever topic I've come to Jane with, she has aided me greatly.”
- Lucja
“The most amazing and helpful tutor ever! Would 100 percent recommend! Goes the extra mile to help and really cares about your learning and progress!”
- Hannah
Jane says:
“One of my favourite things to do is to work with adults who have a ‘passion project’ – whether that’s a series of tutorials to gain knowledge of a topic and develop your own views, supporting you in writing a book or helping you to develop a unique independent research project. I’ve put together a number of ‘skeleton courses’ that we can follow to give you a good overview, but these can be adapted depending on what you’re looking for. We can also do sessions where we discuss works of philosophy or research papers, analyse historical documents or other primary sources, or add in extra material. I specialise in taking an adaptable, organic approach led by your interests and tailored to your needs - no ‘one size fits all’ strategies but real, human interaction.”
Browse our Politics Courses
These courses are templates of possible routes of study and can be combined, adapted, or designed from scratch to suit your interests and goals. Dr. Orton will work with you to design a course of private tutorials tailored to your needs, ability and schedule – whether you are undertaking your own research for an independent project, writing a book or simply have a personal interest. Click the link to find out what it’s like to work with her.
If you are writing a book or making a documentary and need some support, or you are working on an independent project or research investigation, we also offer support for independent researchers. Jane will be your research ‘teammate’ - someone to bounce ideas around with, discuss academic research, plan book chapters or simply give a series of informal tutorials directed towards your interests: real, human interaction and support to keep you moving towards your goal. Click the link to read more about her approach.
Comparative Politics
Ideal for anyone who refuses to have the political wool pulled over his or her eyes, this course will teach you how to analyse any political system and enable you to understand where the power lies, the limitations on government and how these can be circumnavigated in any regime. Explore the constitutions, executives, bureaucracies, legislatures, judiciaries, electoral systems, political parties and pressure groups of countries such as the US, the UK, France, China, India, Burma, Germany and New Zealand. Learn about how the adoption of democratic institutions can sometimes legitimise dictatorships, discover the difference between revolutionary and evolutionary constitutional change and decide for yourself about the credibility of the reasoning behind seemingly archaic political conventions that govern our lives.
Options for tailoring this course include the addition of other political systems or the history of the political systems in question, for example the evolution of the British constitution from the Stuart period. You may also wish to include elements of political philosophy that have influenced the evolution of the political systems in question, for example the French Enlightenment writers or the works of the Founding Fathers of the American constitution. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a PhD and two Politics degrees, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
British Politics
Learn about what makes Britain unique among every other nation: the paradox of sovereignty, executive dominance and the British disdain for revolution. This course begins with a breakdown of how to analyse a political system (a must for any student of politics), before going on to examine the elements of the British constitution, the surprising history of the main political parties, the electoral system and hot political issues.
Options for tailoring this course include comparison with other political systems (e.g., the US, China, France and New Zealand), the inclusion of material on the British political philosophical tradition (including British conservatism, liberalism and socialism) or the inclusion of British political history (e.g. the evolution of the constitution or post-war British politics). Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a PhD and two Politics degrees, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
American Politics
An understanding of the workings of one of the world’s most powerful and politically influential countries is essential for anyone who wishes to engage meaningfully in contemporary political discussion. This course begins with an overview of American political philosophy that informed the writing of the US Constitution, which has been the model for political systems all over the world. We shall examine the American system of federalism, Congress, the President, the Supreme Court, the complex and sometimes strange system of US elections, Civil Rights and the Republican and Democratic parties. In addition, the course covers themes of money, the media and political dynasties.
Options for tailoring this course include comparison with other political systems (e.g., the UK, China, France and New Zealand), the inclusion of material on the philosophical traditions of natural law and the French Enlightenment, which influenced the American Revolution, or the inclusion of American political history (e.g. the Confederacy and the Civil War). Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a PhD and two Politics degrees, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
French Politics
France has a fascinating political system and political history, from the distinctive conceptions of national and popular sovereignty to the cohabitation that sometimes occurs as a result of France’s characteristic dual executive. We begin our course by examining the Fifth Republic Constitution, the Dual Executive, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court, before looking at principles such at the État de Droit, regionalism and decentralisation, Dirigisme and state intervention, all of which play a crucial role in the workings of French politics. We will also explore Maritain’s political philosophy, Gaullism and the thought of Raymond Aron and the rise of the Front National.
Options for tailoring this course include the incorporation of historical material on French political history, such as the French Revolution, World War II and the Vichy Regime and the transition from the Fourth to the Fifth Republic. It is also possible to include philosophical topics that have influenced French politics, such as the French Enlightenment, Jean Paul Sartre and Existentialist Marxism. We also suggest looking at our course Nineteenth Century French Art and Thought for more options. Your personal tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, two Politics degrees, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Chinese Politics
China is an influential and fascinating country, and this course will provide you with a fantastic insight into its place in the world, its political system and its political culture. We begin by looking at Chinese political history since 1949, before going on to study the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese constitution, central governance, and the surprising way in which China’s regionalisation has led to a kind of de facto federalism. Explore how Deng Xiaoping’s market reforms led to the need for the Chinese Communist Party to adopt nationalism rather than communism as its legitimising ideology and the government’s use of the ‘Century of Humiliation’ in education. Discover the relationship between politics and religion in China and debate whether the rise of China’s ‘middle class’ will lead to greater democratisation.
Options for tailoring this course include the incorporation of material on rising powers from our international relations courses to supplement your study of Chinese foreign policy. You may also wish to incorporate material from our courses on Himalayan politics, history and culture to complement your studies of China’s minorities. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, two Politics degrees, a research degree in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Burmese Politics
We begin with an overview of the history of Burma, including the use of the term Burma itself and its alternative, Myanmar. We shall examine the history of authoritarian rule in Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD, the Roadmap to Democracy and the 2015 failed attempt to amend the constitution. Next, we shall study the Rohingya and Burma’s other ethnic minorities. Of vital importance to understanding Burmese politics is the concept of political legitimation and the use of democracy as regime maintenance; this will be discussed alongside a study of the Constitution of 2008, the electoral System and Burmese political parties. We shall also investigate the sensitive but important questions of the constitutional roots of racism in the country and the special status of Buddhism, the concept of taingyintha, internal and external displacement and the Tatmadaw response to Rohingya insurgency.
Options for tailoring this course include the incorporation of material from our courses on Himalayan politics, history and culture. You may also wish to look more deeply into the anthropology of Burma and our History of Democracy course also includes more options for studying democratic legitimation and there are interesting parallels to be drawn in our Russian Politics course. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, two Politics degrees, a research degree in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Russian Politics
The Russian Federation is a fascinatingly diverse country, from the European cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg to the remote, pristine Central Asian Republics and the intriguing Russian Far East. We will examine post-Soviet political culture following the end of the Cold War and take an analytical approach to the Russian constitution. Important questions will be asked about the obstacles to democratisation and the extent to which Russia has democratised. We will examine the role played by clans and oligarchs in the policy making process and the idea of “super-presidentialism” under Putin. Elections and the Electoral System, the Party System and the State and unrest will all be investigated, and there will be an option to study specialised topics such as Chechnya and the North Caucasus, Islam in Russia and the culture and politics of the Altai. Finally, Foreign Policy, including the Ukraine conflict will be explored.
Options for tailoring this course include the incorporation of historical material on Russian political history, such as the Russian Revolution and the culture and folklore of Russia and the Central Asian Republics. It is also possible to include philosophical topics that have influenced Russian politics, such as the works of Karl Marx. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, two Politics degrees, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience. She has a particular fondness for the Central Asian Republics of the Russian Federation, having worked on Snow Leopard conservation projects and interviewed semi-nomadic peoples in the Altai Republic.
History of Political Philosophy
This course covers some of the most influential and distinguished philosophers in Western political thought, from Classical Greek philosophers to the present day. Explore the views of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine and medieval political thinkers such as Aquinas and Thomas Moore. Decide for yourself whether Machiavelli and Hobbes were reckless proponents of absolutism and discover the influence of Locke and the French Enlightenment writers on today’s liberal political ideals. You will learn about Burke and Oakeshott’s conservatism and the Scottish Enlightenment writing of Hume and Smith. British Liberal contributions of Paine, Wollstonecraft, Green and Mill will be examined along with Kant, Hegel, Bentham, Marx and Nietzsche.
We are aware that the cannon is dominated by male thinkers of European descent: it is important to engage with the ideas of those who have been historically influential in order to be part of the conversation. However, we also appreciate the value of other perspectives, so there is also an option to study writers from other backgrounds, including, but not limited to, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Simone de Beauvoir, Kate Millett, Betty Friedan, bel hooks, Sheila Rowbotham, Bhikhu Parekh, Tariq Modood and Beatrice Webb. We also encourage students to explore thinkers from our courses on Buddhist thought and the History of Philosophy. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, two Politics degrees, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Political Ideologies
This course is ideal for anyone who wishes to scrutinise, develop and defend their own political beliefs, and to examine and engage with the arguments of others. We shall explore Conservatism, Liberalism and Socialism, from Edmund Burke’s conservative thought to the nuances of Marx’s historical materialism. Discover the roots of Western liberal thought in Locke’s theory of limited constitutional government and Mill’s views on liberty; explore Nationalism, Anarchism, Feminism and Ecologism and learn about the divisions within ideologies. These ideologies have had an unquantifiable impact on the world around us: this course will equip you with the ability to dismantle and analyse such powerful political arguments.
Options for tailoring this course include the incorporation of historical material, such as the development of the women’s suffrage movement or the Russian Revolution and the development of Leninism. You may also like to incorporate material from our Political Ideas module, examining scholarly views on concepts such as liberty, equality, justice and rights. Your personal tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, two Politics degrees, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Political Ideas
This course will equip you to analyse some of the most influential and essential concepts in Western political thought. Examine the concepts of democracy, liberty, equality, individuality, authority, rights, justice, rationalism, property and constitutionalism and engage with the ideas of some of history’s most distinguished scholars, such as Plato, Locke and Mill. Are human rights really “nonsense on stilts,” as Jeremy Bentham suggests? Do we have a political obligation to obey the state? These discussions will deepen your understanding of contemporary political affairs, allowing you to develop, defend and scrutinise your own ideas.
Options for tailoring this course include the incorporation of historical material, such as the way in which the ideas of Locke and the French Enlightenment writers influenced the writing of the American constitution. Students might also like to include elements from our course on the Age of Revolution or our History of Democracy course. Your personal tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a PhD in philosophy, two Politics degrees, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Introduction to International Relations
For students who wish for a general introduction to international relations, we are pleased to offer this course covering a breadth of topics across the discipline. We will begin with an introduction to international relations theory, before going on to examine global political power dynamics, global governance and the Bretton Woods system, the Peace of Westphalia, institutions in international relations, rising political powers, globalisation, theories of war and peace, and terrorism. For those who wish to attain a solid grasp of global affairs but are unsure about where to start, this course provides an ideal foundation for the many, many ways to study international relations.
This course works well as a basis for any of our other online politics courses, such as International Relations History, Contemporary Issues in International Relations, International Relations Theory and The Global Order, as you will cover aspects of all of these topics and your tutor will be able to advise you on the most appropriate next step for your studies. You will also be able to tailor this course by adding in extra material from other courses as we proceed. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a research degree in the history of international relations theory, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
International Relations Theory
No study of international relations is complete without an understanding of the theoretical debates that surround the discipline. We begin by studying realism and idealism – two schools of thought that have dominated explanations of world affairs for millennia. We will go on to study their current incarnations, neo-realism and liberalism, before examining the alternatives offered by Marxism, critical theory, constructivism and post-colonial theory. You may be surprised at the valuable insights these theories have to offer – even those you disagree with, such as post-colonial theory’s evaluation of the role of Cuba in the Cuban missile crisis, and constructivist analyses of African nations’ strategy of shaping their own identities. In addition, we shall investigate the theory of global power dynamics and the diverse and influential school of political endism.
This course works well in conjunction with our Contemporary Issues in International Relations course, which will extend your understanding of current world affairs, and our International Relations History course. You may also like to combine material from our course on the Global Order, which will acquaint you with the mechanisms and institutions of international relations, international law and the global power dynamic. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a research degree in the history of international relations theory, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Contemporary Issues in International Relations
As a global citizen, it is important to be informed about the issues that shape our world. Is there a way to avoid reproducing the dynamics of colonialism? What drives the global arms trade? How do mafia organisations operate in a globalised world? Examine the topics of globalisation, war and peace, global organised crime, human rights and humanitarian intervention, immigration, nuclear proliferation and disarmament, terrorism, poverty and development and the environment. This course will equip you to build an understanding of some of the most pressing issues in international relations and to scrutinise common narratives of world affairs.
This course works well in conjunction with our International Relations History course, in which you will get to grips with the historical background to our current state of affairs. You may also like to combine material from our International Relations Theory course, which will help greatly with the theoretical background in the topics studied, or from our course on the Global Order, which will acquaint you with the mechanisms and institutions of international relations, international law and the global power dynamic. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a research degree in the history of international relations theory, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
International Relations History
Some of the most significant events in the history of international relations have also been the catalyst for some of the biggest debates about how we explain the development of world politics, as we shall see when we investigate the Peloponnesian War and the emergence of political realism. We shall on to study the Persian Wars and the Roman Empire, the Peace of Westphalia and its role in the emergence of the modern nation-state and the great imperial powers of the “long nineteenth century.” We shall also examine the World Wars of the twentieth century, the Cold War, Decolonisation, the Gulf Wars, the Arab-Israeli Conflict and the War on Terror, shedding light on the background to the current state of international relations.
This course works well as a basis for our Contemporary Issues in International Relations course, which will extend your understanding of current world affairs, and in conjunction with our International Relations Theory course, which will help greatly with the theoretical background in the topics studied. You may also like to combine material from our course on the Global Order, which will acquaint you with the mechanisms and institutions of international relations, international law and the global power dynamic. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a research degree in the history of international relations theory, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
The Global Order
Acquaint yourself with the mechanisms and institutions of international relations, international law and the global power dynamic. Topics will include global governance and the Bretton Woods system, international political economy, regionalism, the global arms trade and disarmament, global organised crime and humanitarian intervention. No study of the current global order is complete without gaining an understanding of the rising powers of Brazil, Russia, India and China, so these will be investigated in turn. Finally, we shall discuss the idea that we have reached the End of History, as capitalist-democratic systems exert their influence on world affairs. An understanding of the current international order is a must for any global citizen: arm yourself with the ability to scrutinise the powerful political forces that govern our world.
This course works well in conjunction with our Contemporary Issues in International Relations course, which will extend your understanding of current world affairs, and our International Relations History course, which will provide historical background to many of the topics studied in this course. You may also like to include material from our course on International Relations Theory, which will help greatly with the theoretical background in the topics studied. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a research degree in the history of international relations theory, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
Foreign Policy and Security Studies
Many of the most important and history-defining issues in international relations revolve around foreign policy and security and it is impossible to scrutinise your government or to understand crucial global phenomena without an understanding of the complexities of these issues. This course will examine war strategy, nuclear proliferation and disarmament, the arms trade, terrorism, global organised crime, foreign intervention, immigration, environmental, climate and energy security and cyber security.
This course is ideal for students who are interested in our Contemporary Issues in International Relations course, but who wish to focus more on foreign policy and security aspects of these issues. As such, it can be supplemented with additional material from the Contemporary Issues course. You may also like to combine material from our International Relations Theory course, or from our course on the Global Order. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a research degree in the history of international relations theory, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.
The Cold War
The Cold War is one of the most significant and world-shaping phenomena in international relations history. It was an era which propelled man to the moon and saw some of the most powerful revolutionary movements in world history. For any student of international relations, an understanding of today’s global power dynamic requires a knowledge of the Cold War bi-polar system. In this course, important debates will be considered about the origins of the Cold War and various interpretations of the Cuban Missile Crisis. We shall explore the breakdown of the Grand Alliance, the Korean War, communism in China, decolonisation and the Cold War, the Space Race, Nuclear Weapons and Mutually Assured Destruction, the Vietnam War, détente and the end of the Cold War.
This course is an excellent complement to our course on International Relations Theory and works well in conjunction with our International Relations History course. We also recommend looking at our Russian History and American Political History courses for more options. Your tutor has four academic degrees from world-class universities, including a research degree in the history of international relations theory, and fourteen years of tutoring and lecturing experience.