Faculty of Business and Management Sciences · Economics · Undergraduate
Course Objective
To enable students to better understand the different ways in which international relations are conducted
Course Content
This course provides an introduction to International Relations as a sub-field of the discipline of Political Science. International Relations describes how different kinds of actors act and interact in our global world. While the state arguably remains key to the conduct of contemporary International Relations, non-state actors can also have great weight in the increasingly inter-related international sphere. These actors can include international organizations like the United Nations, multinational corporations, and non-governmental organizations. In this course, we will first examine core arguments in the field—an introduction to the theories of International Relations. These theories are viewpoints to explain how our international system functions and what motivates state behavior in defending the peace and making war. Throughout the course, a series of major events and developments since the Second World War such as global governance, humanitarian intervention, globalization, and terrorism will be explored.
Course Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to define the fundamental concepts and theoretical approaches of the discipline of international relations and apply this knowledge in their analyses.
- Students will analyze the roles and impacts of actors in the international system, such as states, international organizations, and civil society organizations.
- Students will assess the causes and consequences of issues such as conflict, cooperation, and crises in international relations.
- Students will explain concepts such as unipolarity, bipolarity, and multipolarity and evaluate historical changes in power distribution.
- Students will analyze and critically evaluate current international events and developments from different theoretical perspectives.