Introduction to International Politics

Instructors

Roberto ORSI

Credits / Language / Semester

2Credits / English / Winter

Objectives/Overview

The course provides an overview of the main outstanding issues in international politics. First, it looks at the very definitions of this field of studies under a number of theoretical perspectives, and then focuses on several emerging problems of global nature, dealing successively with the each macro-regions of the world (The Americas, Asia-Pacific, Sub-Saharian and North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, Europe and Central Asia). Besides the theoretical and methodological discussions characterising international political studies, it highlights ? by making a systematic use of illustrative examples ? the relevance of geopolitics, of international economic questions, of international organisations, and of environmental concerns. The course is intended for an audience of post-graduate students with no or limited background in international studies, and aims to provide the information and analytical background for an effective orientation in the contemporary global political setting.

Keywords

International Relations, International Politics, International Organizations, IPE, Geopolitics, International Political Theory

Schedule

Lecture 1: Introduction to the Course ? What is International Politics?
Lecture 2: Realist Approaches to International Politics
Lecture 3: Liberalism and International Politics
Lecture 4: Marxist and post-Marxist Theories of International Politics
Lecture 5: Geopolitics
Lecture 6: The International Political Economy
Lecture 7: International Organisations
Lecture 8: The International Management of Environmental Questions
Lecture 9: Macro-Regions/ Americas
Lecture 10: Macro-Regions/ Asia-Pacific
Lecture 11: Macro-Regions/ Middle East and South Asia
Lecture 12: Macro-Regions/ Africa
Lecture 13: Macro-Regions/ Europe and Central Asia
Lecture 14: Wrap-up Lecture

Teaching Methods

Lecture, Seminar Discussion, Small Assignments.

Grading

Assessment will be based on class participation, essays and a final report.

Required Textbooks

John Masker, Introduction to Global Politics. A Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.

Reference Books

John Ravenhill, Global Political Economy, Third Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.

Scott Burchill et alii, Theories of International Relations, Fourth Edition, Palgrave Macmillan 2009.

Robert Jackson and Georg Sorensen, Introduction to International Relations, Theories and Approaches, Fifth Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

TBD.

Related Resources

Courses