The student is capable to relate political changes at a national and international level, specifically concerning conflicts with an ethnic dimension, to social and economic developments and, in addition, to acknowledge the adherent theoretical aspects.

The broader view of this module is that to understand political change in the current era it is necessary to recognize that social, economic as well as political dimensions of people's lives are increasingly related to a global context. Societies and cultures in general, as well as interpretations of concepts like nationalism, the role of the State and ethnicity can no longer be seen as static and homogeneous but instead as ambiguous and complex. For example, the concept of 'tribes' has been substituted by 'ethnic groups'. However, the degree and the way in which political change is embedded in a wider context differs between countries. Nevertheless, political change often is accompanied by conflict and violence. As such, there are two interrelated components which are virtually present everywhere: the role of ethnicity and the role of the nation state.