SUİ114

School of Economics and Administrative Sciences \ Political Science and International Relations

3

6

Compulsory

English

-

Compulsory for Political Science and International Relations; University Elective Course or Faculty Elective Course for other programs

This course aims to introduce the history, major concepts, actors, and issues of the discipline of International Relations (IR) and acquaint students with the essential knowledge of how world politics work. It covers a wide range of issues including historical evolution of the international system, theories of International Relations, the study of war, conflict and terrorism, International Political Economy, International Organizations, debates on
international integration and globalization as well as IR’s widening agenda on environment and climate change. By doing so, the course aspires to provide students with a comprehensive, up-to-date and well-versed perspective of actors, issues, and the major discussions of International Relations.

Joshua Goldstein & Jon Pevehouse, International Relations (12th Edition), (Edinburgh: Pearson, 2018).
Discussion Texts
Stephen Weber, “How Globalization Went Bad”, Foreign Policy, October 13, 2009.
Joseph E. Stiglitz, “Globalization and its New Discontents”, Project Syndicate, August 5, 2016.
Stephen M. Walt, “International Relations: One World, Many Theories”, Foreign Policy, No.110, Special Edition: Frontiers of Knowledge (Spring, 1998), pp. 29-32+34-46.
Stewart Patrick et al, “UN Security Council Reform: What the World Thinks”, June 28, 2023.
https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/06/28/un-security-council-reform-what-world-thinkspub-90032
Stewart Patrick & Minh-Thu Pham, “The Good—and Bad—News About the UN’s Summit of the Future”, September 19, 2024.
https://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2024/09/un-summit-future-unga-reform-securitycouncil?lang=en
Anahita Toms, “Why trade wars have no winners”, World Economic Forum, November 1, 2019.
Alan Beattie, “Can globalisation survive the US-China rift?”, Financial Times, September 6, 2024.
Jason Bordoff & Meghan L. O’Sullivan, “Geopolitics—Not Just Summits—Will Shape the Transition to Clean Energy”, Foreign Affairs, January 18, 2024.

The main objective of this course is to introduce students to the actors and processes of the discipline of International Relations and to provide them with the basic conceptual and factual knowledge of the discipline. The course aims to develop students' analytical thinking, questioning and debating skills and to provide them with a comprehensive, up-to-date and scientific perspective on the discipline of IR.

1. Students in this introductory-level and comprehensive course learn basic concepts, actors and discussions of the discipline of International Relations. Throughout the term they also learn to interpret current events in light of the conceptual knowledge they build in the course.
2. Students acquire theoretical and factual perspective in various sub-disciplines of International Relations, in weeks devoted to International Politics, International Law, International Security, International Political Economy and Foreign Policy Analysis and consequently attain the ability to understand and explain global developments.
3. In weekly lectures and discussions on peace, justice and strong institutions, development, environment and climate change, students acquire awareness about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and learn to analyze SDG-related issues from a critical perspective.
4. Students through encouragement to participate in lectures and thematic discussion sessions of the course learn to use verbal communication effectively and express their thoughts and ideas.
5. In this English-taught course, students learn the fundamentals of International Relations terminology and debates by using academic English and use the knowledge and experience gained in the course as a foundation for other courses in the discipline.

Week 1: Introduction: The Discipline of International Relations and Discussions of Globalizing World
Week 2: Globalization and IR
Week 3: Evolution of the international system and global geography
Week 4: Theories of International Relations: Realism and Liberalism
Week 5: Theories of International Relations: Social Theories (Marxism, Peace Studies and Feminism)
Week 6: Foreign Policy Analysis
Week 7: International Conflict and Terrorism
Week 8: International Organizations, International Law and Human Rights
Week 9: International Political Economy: Global Trade and Finance
Week 10: International Integration: The Case of EU
Week 11: Environment, Population and Climate Change
Week 12: The North-South Gap and International Development & A New World Order?

• Midterm: % 35
• Final % 40
• Participation: % 10
• Discussion Sessions % 15