INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Catalog description

This course provides an introduction to historical transformations that have created international systems, to states and other actors within world politics, and to diplomacy, war, trade, and international institutions as mediums of interaction in world affairs. The course explores theoretical paradigms by which to understand international relations, including variants of realism and liberalism, as it offers a historical overview of major developments in world history, especially from the 19 th century to the present day. Students are introduced to current scholarly debates within the field of international relations and are expected to assess critically these debates in light of the core concepts, various theoretical approaches and historical knowledge to which they are in troduced. Topics discussed include causes of war, just war theory, international political economy, the development gap, human rights, non-state actors, transnational concerns, and rising state powers in the 21st century.