Power, War and Diplomacy

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved

Course Description Version:1.00

Study Course Accepted:06.03.2024 08:51:27

Study Course Information
Course Code:		SZF_038		LQF level:		Level 7
Credit Points:		4.67		ECTS:		7.00
Branch of Science:		Politics		Target Audience:		Political Science
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:		Edijs Bošs
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:		Faculty of Social Sciences
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:		Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szfrsu[pnkts]lv
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)		12	Lecture Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Lectures		24
Classes (count)		14	Class Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Classes		28
Total Contact Hours								52
Part-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)		12	Lecture Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Lectures		24
Classes (count)		14	Class Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Classes		28
Total Contact Hours								52
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
Basic knowledge of main developments of international relations and the political history of Europe.
Objective:
The course has been developed as a Master level introductory course in international relations and offers students an overview of the development of the European and global international system from the Middle Ages to the end of the Cold War.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.	Topic			Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	Familiarising with course structure and objectives. Structured discussion on the topic of essay 1. Ideas about international order in the Middle Ages and the Modern Age.			Classes		2.00	auditorium
2	Overview of the development of the Euro-centric international system. Description of great powers of the 16th and 17th centuries and their interactions. Habsburg hegemony ambitions. Importance of the Thirty Years’ War and the Peace of Westphalia in modern international relations.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
3	Age of French great power and dominance of the concept of balance of power in ideas about international order. War of the Spanish Succession. Geopolitical and ideological importance of the Peace of Utrecht.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
4	Development of British great power and foreign policy axioms. Development and role of Europe’s “Eastern powers” – Russia, Prussia and Austria – in the trans-European system. Development of a “classically” multipolar balance of power system in the 18th century. Professionalisation of diplomacy and military service. Circumstances of the emergence of the United States and geopolitical framework for the development of future superpower. Challenge of the Great French Revolution and Napoleon to the ba			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
5	Congress of Vienna, and the geopolitical and ideological aspects of the peace treaty. Dominance of great powers, formation of international order within the framework of the Concert of Europe. “Classical” methods of diplomacy. Crimean War and rise of the influence of the British Empire. Geopolitical dichotomy of maritime and continental powers.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
6	Seminar on the outbreak and consequences of World War I.			Classes		3.00	auditorium
7	Political and military deadlocks in European alliance systems. Innovations of the Industrial Age in military technology and their impact on international relations.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
8	Paris Peace Conference and emergence of “new” diplomacy. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s “revolutionary” approach to international order. Comparison of balance of power and “collective security” systems. Eclipse of global dominance of European powers.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
9	Sources of instability in the interwar period international system. Clash of status quo and revisionist power centres. Rise of the role of non-European powers. Collapse of the Versailles system. Overview of the geopolitical strategies of Nazi Germany and the USSR.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
10	Seminar on World War II.			Classes		3.00	auditorium
11	Description of US-USSR bipolarity. Aspects of international order and changes in geopolitical layout during the Cold War period. Basic signs and terminology of the nuclear weapons strategy.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
12	Cold War milestones: origin, Cuban missile crisis, period of “relaxation” and Cold War end conditions.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
13	Europe among great powers. Neutralisation of the “German problem” in the context of European integration. Foreign policy vectors of the United Kingdom, France and the Federal Republic of Germany during the Cold War period.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
14	Seminar on Cold War.			Classes		3.00	auditorium
15	Return on the dominance of geopolitical considerations and conflicts between great powers in the 21st century.			Lectures		1.00	other
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
16	Final course overview of key content items and preparation for exam.			Lectures		1.00	other
				Classes		2.00	auditorium
Topic Layout (Part-Time)
No.	Topic			Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	Familiarising with course structure and objectives. Structured discussion on the topic of essay 1. Ideas about international order in the Middle Ages and the Modern Age.			Classes		2.00	auditorium
2	Overview of the development of the Euro-centric international system. Description of great powers of the 16th and 17th centuries and their interactions. Habsburg hegemony ambitions. Importance of the Thirty Years’ War and the Peace of Westphalia in modern international relations.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
3	Age of French great power and dominance of the concept of balance of power in ideas about international order. War of the Spanish Succession. Geopolitical and ideological importance of the Peace of Utrecht.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
4	Development of British great power and foreign policy axioms. Development and role of Europe’s “Eastern powers” – Russia, Prussia and Austria – in the trans-European system. Development of a “classically” multipolar balance of power system in the 18th century. Professionalisation of diplomacy and military service. Circumstances of the emergence of the United States and geopolitical framework for the development of future superpower. Challenge of the Great French Revolution and Napoleon to the ba			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
5	Congress of Vienna, and the geopolitical and ideological aspects of the peace treaty. Dominance of great powers, formation of international order within the framework of the Concert of Europe. “Classical” methods of diplomacy. Crimean War and rise of the influence of the British Empire. Geopolitical dichotomy of maritime and continental powers.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
6	Seminar on the outbreak and consequences of World War I.			Classes		3.00	auditorium
7	Political and military deadlocks in European alliance systems. Innovations of the Industrial Age in military technology and their impact on international relations.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
8	Paris Peace Conference and emergence of “new” diplomacy. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s “revolutionary” approach to international order. Comparison of balance of power and “collective security” systems. Eclipse of global dominance of European powers.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
9	Sources of instability in the interwar period international system. Clash of status quo and revisionist power centres. Rise of the role of non-European powers. Collapse of the Versailles system. Overview of the geopolitical strategies of Nazi Germany and the USSR.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
10	Seminar on World War II.			Classes		3.00	auditorium
11	Description of US-USSR bipolarity. Aspects of international order and changes in geopolitical layout during the Cold War period. Basic signs and terminology of the nuclear weapons strategy.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
12	Cold War milestones: origin, Cuban missile crisis, period of “relaxation” and Cold War end conditions.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
13	Europe among great powers. Neutralisation of the “German problem” in the context of European integration. Foreign policy vectors of the United Kingdom, France and the Federal Republic of Germany during the Cold War period.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
14	Seminar on Cold War.			Classes		3.00	auditorium
15	Return on the dominance of geopolitical considerations and conflicts between great powers in the 21st century.			Lectures		1.00	other
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
16	Final course overview of key content items and preparation for exam.			Lectures		1.00	other
				Classes		2.00	auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
Preparation of a presentation; studying of readings. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.
Assessment Criteria:
Assessment: Informed participation in seminar discussions: 50%; Examination: 50%.
Final Examination (Full-Time):		Exam (Written)
Final Examination (Part-Time):		Exam (Written)
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:		Students will be able to describe the basic principles of interstate relations in different historical periods.
Skills:		Students will be able to identify the elements necessary for an in-depth analysis of international developments.
Competencies:		Students will be able to analyse the characteristics of multipolar, bipolar and unipolar international systems from a historical perspective.
Bibliography
No.	Reference
Required Reading
1	Visa literatūra ir angļu valodā un piemērota gan latviešu, gan angļu plūsmas studentiem
2	Owen Matthews. Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin’s War Against Ukraine. HarperCollins, 2023
3	A Companion to International History 1900-2001. ed. by Gordon Martel. Oxford: Blackwell, 2007
4	Henry Kissinger. Diplomacy. Simon & Schuster, 1995