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Accessibility statement
Qualification dates
StartEnd
03 Oct 2026Jun 2027
This module investigates what political ideas are, how they're generated and the impact they have locally, nationally and internationally in shaping our world. You'll see how political ideas are studied, assess their significance and discover which thinkers and theorists best help us explore and understand the modern political world. In doing so, you'll be encouraged to draw on your independent study of political ideas and political thinkers. You'll become equipped with the practical skills needed to carry out research, draw on critical reflection and learn more writing and evaluative skills used to explore and evaluate political ideas.
This module is explored in the following four blocks:
Block 1: Modern political ideas: An introduction

This block is an exciting introduction to the key questions of the module: what are political ideas, why study political ideas; how are political ideas generated, and why do we need thinkers and theorists? Starting with the political fallout to the financial crisis of 2007–2008, you'll look at the core ideas of the various populist movements that grew in its wake. Moving on to contending views of Englishness, the legacy of the Scottish Enlightenment thinkers and the democratic question of ‘Who Speaks for Wales?’, the central theme running through the block is that political ideas ‘live’ and ‘travel’ across different historical contexts. Finally, you'll consider the very different ways political ideas have been generated from the early pamphleteers to social media.
Block 2: Democracy and the State

You'll explore key political themes of democracy, participation, leadership and the nature and power of the state. The block includes case studies of the movements for democracy in Catalonia and its historically contested relationship with the Spanish state, as well as the transition to democracy in South Africa. A key aim of this block will be to build a framework of political ideas that can both introduce some core concepts in political theory and provide an understanding of how political ideas manifest themselves in the contemporary political world. You'll consider the work and continuing relevance of theorists of the state and democracy.
Block 3: Citizenship and Noncitizens

You'll examine the idea of citizenship, considering what citizenship means and how, why and in what ways citizenship status has been contested. You'll be introduced to both classic and critical literature in this area and explore ideas and examples of unequal citizenship through a range of different case studies. Accompanying this will be an exploration of the relationship between the nation-state and citizenship and ideas that challenge this relationship.
Block 4: Ideas in action

The focus of this block will be on the ways in which political ideas influence change. You'll study the theories and consequences of revolutions (especially the Russian revolution), the nature of revolutionary thought and some of the consequences for countries that have experienced modern revolutions. You'll consider the nature of totalitarianism (through the ideas of Hannah Arendt and others) and its implications for the relationship between the state and the people, and examine the role that ideas played in the fall of communism in Poland. You'll also consider the impact of ideas of personal liberation on social change in contemporary Britain before looking at ideas that underpinned the modern transformations in Iran and Iraq. The block revisits the key questions of this module – what are political ideas, and how are they generated? How do they influence politics, and why study political ideas?
For the end-of-module assessment, you will have the chance to explore a thinker or a political idea of your choice.
This is an OU level 3 module. OU level 3 modules build on study skills and subject knowledge acquired from studies at OU levels 1 and 2 with the OU. They are intended only for students who have recent experience of higher education in a related subject, preferably with the OU.
Either of our OU level 1 modules Investigating the social world (DD103) (now discontinued) or Global challenges: social science in action (D113) and the OU level 2 module Understanding politics: ideas and institutions in the modern world (DD211) provide ideal preparation for this module.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
You'll be provided with a printed module textbook and have access to the module website, which includes:

The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying DD316 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
Modern political ideas starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2030.

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