Introduction to International Politics

Catalog description

The goal of this course is to introduce the basic analytical concepts and techniques that are essential for understanding international politics. The course is especially concerned with analytically exploring major issues in international politics, such as the causes of war, the emergence of cooperative trade relations between states, the origins and functioning of international organizations such as the United Nations, and the political determinants of financial crises. The focus of the course is neither historical nor descriptive; rather, it requires students to exercise skills in logic and to think of imaginative ways to apply subtle techniques to gain a clearer grasp of the above political issues.