2011-2012 Academic Catalog

Apr 19, 2024

2011-2012 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

PSCI 069 - Introduction to International Relations

Type of Course: Lecture, Discussion

Introduction to International Relations. This survey course offers an introduction to the study of international relations beginning with a discussion of the primary approaches to world politics: Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism. Each approach can account for the nature of the international system and the actors within it. The course discusses how these attempts to understand world politics/international relations are generally divided into three “levels of analysis”: individual, domestic/state, and system. The course applies these concepts to key events in the recent history of world politics, including World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. The course focuses on the post-Cold War period and the role of international law, international organizations, security, economics, and social issues such as the environment, gender and human rights.