A view of Singleton Campus including Singleton Park and the beach, with the sea stretching into the horizon.

Dr Emmanuel Siaw

Lecturer in International Relations

Politics, Philosophy and International Relations

e.k.siaw@swansea.ac.uk

Office - 033
Ground Floor
James Callaghan
Singleton Campus

Available For Postgraduate Supervision

Research Links

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4516-3754

ResearchGate

Google Scholar

About

Dr Emmanuel Siaw is a Lecturer in International Relations. He holds a PhD in International Relations from Royal Holloway University of London and an MPhil degree in Political Science from the University of Ghana. Before joining Swansea University, he held teaching positions at the University of Ghana, Royal Holloway University of London, and Study Group, UK. He also served as a field research assistant and officer for civil society organizations in Ghana, including the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Foundation, Ghana.

Emmanuel’s research primarily focuses on African agency in international relations, examining how variables such as ideologies, soft power, and cultural expressions shape the diplomatic relations, alliances, and international engagements of African states. While Africa’s international relations is Emmanuel’s core research focus, he also maintains an immense interest in Africa’s domestic political landscape. As such, parts of his research interests focus on how domestic politics shapes foreign policy and vice versa. He is currently embarking on an interdisciplinary research project into the politics of music in Africa.

Areas Of Expertise

Africa’s International Relations
Ideology and Foreign Policymaking
Soft Power and International Relations
Culture and Diplomacy
Music and Politics in Africa
Constructivism and Postcolonial International Relations Theory

Career Highlights

Teaching Interests

Emmanuel has extensive teaching experience in political science and international relations, covering a broad spectrum of subfields, including international relations theory, politics outside the West, development politics, electoral politics and democracy, politics of identity in Africa, post-conflict peacebuilding and transitional justice in Africa. He has taught in Higher Education Institutions in Ghana, the UK. Currently, he teaches undergraduate and postgraduate introduction to international relations modules. Emmanuel is always eager to engage in postgraduate research supervision within his teaching domains, welcoming students to discuss potential research projects and collaborations.

Research

Publications

Research Highlights

Asare, B. & Siaw, E. (2018). Understanding the dynamics of good neighbourliness under Rawlings and Kufuor. South African Journal of International Affairs, 25(2), 199-217.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10220461.2018.1481455, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65191
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10220461.2018.1481455
Siaw, E. (2024). Ideological dynamics in Ghana’s foreign policy: exploring the interplay between macro-ideologies and contextual ideas. Journal of Political Ideologies, 0, 1-22.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13569317.2024.2370976, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66838

All Research

Journal Articles

Siaw, E. (2024). Ideological dynamics in Ghana’s foreign policy: exploring the interplay between macro-ideologies and contextual ideas. Journal of Political Ideologies, 0, 1-22.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13569317.2024.2370976, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66838
Asare, B. & Siaw, E. (2018). Understanding the dynamics of good neighbourliness under Rawlings and Kufuor. South African Journal of International Affairs, 25(2), 199-217.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10220461.2018.1481455, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65191
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10220461.2018.1481455

Taught Modules

PO-126 Introduction to International Relations

This course offers an introduction to the study of International Relations (IR). The aim is to lay some of the conceptual and historical groundwork necessary for the study of politics at the global level, and to offer a systematic introductory overview of the field. Students will gain a broad understanding of the debates and issues that are key to IR. In addition to exploring fundamental concepts such as sovereignty, anarchy, power, and global governance, the module encourages students to take a critical look on world politics, and we will consider themes such as race, gender (in)equality, and colonialism. Students will learn to apply concepts, understand the history and evolution of international order and become familiar with some of the current global challenges related to human rights, climate change, and the rise of non-Western powers. They will also be introduced to the main theoretical approaches that are used to make sense of world politics. By the end of the module, students will have developed the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to further explore and analyse various aspects of IR. To develop students general research and study skills, the module will also include training sessions on library research and essay writing. For many students, this will be the first time engaging with the subject. IR is a diverse, complex, and exciting field of study, and we have sought to develop a course that is both accessible, engaging, and intellectually stimulating. We hope that you will enjoy the module, and that it will spark enthusiasm for the study of international relations.
PO-126A Introduction to International Relations

This module offers an introduction to the study of International Relations (IR). The aim is to lay some of the conceptual and historical groundwork necessary for the study of politics at the global level, and to offer a systematic introductory overview of the field. Students will gain a broad understanding of the debates and issues that are key to IR. In addition to exploring fundamental concepts such as sovereignty, anarchy, power, and global governance, the module encourages students to take a critical look on world politics, and we will consider themes such as race, gender (in)equality, and colonialism. Students will learn to apply concepts, understand the history and evolution of international order and become familiar with some of the current global challenges related to human rights, climate change, and the rise of non-Western powers. They will also be introduced to the main theoretical approaches that are used to make sense of world politics. By the end of the module, students will have developed the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to further explore and analyse various aspects of IR. To develop students general research and study skills, the module will also include training sessions on library research and essay writing. For many students, this will be the first time engaging with the subject. IR is a diverse, complex, and exciting field of study, and we have sought to develop a course that is both accessible, engaging, and intellectually stimulating. We hope that you will enjoy the module, and that it will spark enthusiasm for the study of international relations.
PO-3319 Researching Politics 1

Researching Politics (RP) provides students with the skills that underlie the process of conducting and communicating cutting-edge research in Politics and International Relations. RP works by creating topic groups, each comprised of 8-10 students. Each group will follow a bespoke course set out by their topic tutor, guiding them through the literature in a substantive research area. Students are invited to select a list of preferred options in the first teaching week of the term. This list is then used to assign students to topics and group sessions run from the second week of teaching onwards. Alongside the topic-specific teaching, there is a general lecture series focusing on discovering, analysing and presenting complex information. The lecture series also focuses on dealing with the ups and downs of working as part of a team.
PO-3320 Researching Politics 2

Researching Politics 2 (RP2) is the follow-on module from RP1 and it acts as the culmination for the subject knowledge and transferable skills developed in that module. RP2 puts the creative emphasis in the hands of the students, with the module convenor and topic tutors giving guidance and feedback to facilitate the realisation of research conceived, developed, executed and presented by students. In this way, it tries to approximate the worlds of further study and work into which students will be progressing following the completion of their degree schemes. It is a module where all of the summative assessments are comprised of group work, although individual marks can be varied depending on each student¿s performance. Students are also required to submit an individual self-assessment, detailing what they have learned about their own strengths and weaknesses on the basis of the sustained group work. In RP2, you will extend and deepen the research undertaken in RP1 and continue to meet regularly in order to share ideas, opinions and sources in your groups. These meetings will include several where the topic tutor provides guidance and feedback as well as those where the meetings are student-led.
PO-3339 Africa in International Relations

Africa faces numerous complex challenges and opportunities in the realm of international relations. However, many of the major traditional international relations theories and popular discourses marginalise African perspectives and treat Africa either as irrelevant or a passive recipient of the effects of great power politics. Students will discover that this is far from reality as this module places Africa and its engagement within the continent and the outside world at the centre of analysis. The aim of the module is not to deny the structural conditions that reinforce Africa¿s relatively weaker position in an uneven global political and economic system; instead, it explores how African actors, institutions and processes navigate their in-(ter)-dependence and interact with other actors within the global system. This module focuses on African-centric perspectives organised around four main themes. The first theme concentrates on theorising Africa¿s international relations, particularly on debates about post-colonial theories and African agency. The second theme examines Africa¿s role in the international system, from colonialism to independence. The third theme assesses Africa¿s international diplomacy in the context of the liberal world order, specifically focusing on subthemes such as development, conflict and intervention, regional integration, economic diplomacy, soft power and cultural diplomacy. The last theme emphasises contemporary resistance to the world order and asks whether emerging powers are fundamentally shifting the position of Africa in the international system. The module encourages students to challenge conventional understandings of international politics while developing a detailed and nuanced understanding of Africa in global politics.
PO-M35 Approaches to International Relations

The module explores a variety of approaches to the study of internation relations. It focuses on key issues which have become central to the sunject, notably the changing states system and the emergence of major non state actors, economic globalisation and security studies. It also examines key theoretical approaches, notably realism, liberalism and Marxism; Neo-realism and neo-Liberalism; and reflectivist critiques of rationalism, including constructivism, critical theory, post-structuralism and feminism.

Dr Emmanuel Siaw

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Research Links

About

Areas Of Expertise

Career Highlights

Publications

Research Highlights

All Research

Journal Articles

Taught Modules

PO-126 Introduction to International Relations

PO-126A Introduction to International Relations

PO-3319 Researching Politics 1

PO-3320 Researching Politics 2

PO-3339 Africa in International Relations

PO-M35 Approaches to International Relations