The Study of International Relations - Introduction and Methodology

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Course Content:

I. Introduction: The concept of IR or International Studies, origins of the discipline and its subject matter, boundaries of the discipline, theories of the discipline.

II. Subject matter of IR: “the international” ,.”model of agent – structure”. Agency in IR and classifications of agents: state and non – state actors.

III. Level of analysis of IR

a) Individuals

b) State level, motives of state activity, forms and methods

c) regional subsystems/regional studies: concept of regionalism, regionalization, forms of regionalism.

d) International system /global studies

IV. Concept of the International System: theories, structure (unipolarism, bipolarism, multipolarism).

V. Concept of the International society: constitutive elements, role of norms and institutions.

VI. Overview of the theories of IR

VII. Foreign policy analysis: foreign policy as a process, decisions, implementation, strategies, instruments.

VIII. International Institutions: institutions definition, forms and functions of institutions.

IX. International Security Studies: insecurities, security dilemma, securitizations, human security, national security, regional and global security.

X. IR Methodology: research questions, inductive and deductive strategies.

Exam requirements:

1) All issues presented during a lecture will be a subject of written exam .So regular attendance is highly recommended.

2) Required Textbook: Karen Mingst, Ivan Arrequin – Toft, Essentials of International Relations, W.W. Norton and Company, 2014, New York

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