.
International Politics: Basic Theories and Conceptions
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:7.00
Study Course Accepted:05.02.2024 11:01:52
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | PZK_060 | LQF level: | Level 6 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 3.00 | ECTS: | 4.50 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Politics | Target Audience: | Political Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Elīna Vrobļevska | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf rsu[pnkts]lv | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 8 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 16 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 6 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 12 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 28 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | Basic knowledge on international and political processess, based on the acquired knowledge during the first year of studies. | ||||||||
| Objective: | To help students comprehend the basics of international political theories, to give basic knowledge on main theoretical streams and their leading concepts, which would give students the a "roadmap" in the context of international relations theories and knowledge on how to apply the given theories to the solution if questions of international relations. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Course description and requirements. The importance of international policy theories and the need for it in the research of international relations. Main theoretical traditions, actors, structures. The Great Debates. | Lectures | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Realist tradition: classical realism, neo-liberalism and neo-classical realism. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Liberal tradition of international relations. | Lectures | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Constructivism. Securitization. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Institutionalism. Theories of global governance and norms. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Feminism and green theory. Postcolonialism. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Recap of the course. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Realism vs. liberalism. | Classes | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | Developing the "perfect" theory. | Classes | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | Defending the thesis of course works. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | Students should study the literature for each lesson independently, and prepare for each seminar. In the course of study, students should write and submit 6 essays and, at the end of the course, an independently drafted report. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | Students' independent work will be evaluated throughout the course, evaluating essays, student activity and the level of knowledge in seminars. The final mark in the 10-score system will consist of the sum of all the endorsements drawn up by: • activity and quality of responses in workshops – 30%; • test – 30%; • essays – 20%; • exam mark – 20%. | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | |||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | At the end of the course, students should have basic knowledge of the main theories and concepts of international policy. Students must be able to: • explain the basic theoretical currents, the principles of certain theories learned in the course, and the nature of the main concepts; • explain the fundamental differences in the methodological principles of international relations theories (differences between positivism and postpositivism, explanatory and interpretative theories); • assess differences between different theories; • assess the appropriateness of individual theories to address specific challenges in international politics. | ||||||||
| Skills: | During the course, the following skills will be acquired: • to orient in academic literature, understand the theoretical orientation of authors and the methods applied; • to choose the appropriate theory or concept for exploring a specific topic; • to use concepts and terms; • to explain and justify the nature of concepts and theories and their suitability to deal with certain problems. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | • Use of theoretical knowledge for international policy analysis in essays. • The ability to argue and defend own views in seminars. • Knowledge on literature and the ability to focus on a specific problem in the report. • To develop theoretical aspects of academic work (Course Paper, Bachelor's Paper). | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Jorgensen, Knud E. 2018. International Relations Theory – A New Introduction. 2nd edition. Palgrave. | ||||||||
| 2 | Burchill, S., Linklater, A., Devetak, R., Donnelly, J., Paterson, M., Reus-Smit, C., True, J. 2005. Theories of International Relations. Houndmills, New York. Palgrave Macmillan. | ||||||||
| 3 | Jorgensen, Knud E. 2018. International Relations Theory – A New Introduction. 2nd edition. Palgrave. | ||||||||
| 4 | Carlsnaes, W., Risse, T., Simmons, B. 2013. Handbook of International Relations. SAGE Publications Ltd. | ||||||||
| 5 | Karns, Margaret P., and Karen A. Mingst. 2010. International Organizations: The Politics and Processes of Global Governance. Boulder, London: Lynne Rienner Publishers. | ||||||||
| 6 | Finnemore, Martha, and Kathryn Sikkink. “International Norm Dynamics and Political Change.” In Exploration and Contestation in the Study of World Politics, eds. Peter J. Katzenstein, Robert O. Keohane, Stephen D. Krasner. Cambridge, Massachusetts | ||||||||
| 7 | Buzan, B., Hansen, L. 2009. The Evolution of International Security Studies. Cambridge University Press. | ||||||||
| Additional Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Brown, C. and Kirsten Ainley, K., Understanding International Relations 4th edition, (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), 116-140. | ||||||||
| 2 | Bull, H. The Anarchical Society. (London: Palgrave, 1977). | ||||||||
| 3 | Carr, E.H. 1946. The Twenty Years` Crisis. London: Macmillan. | ||||||||
| 4 | Doyle, M. Liberal Peace - Selected Essays. (Routledge, 2011), 13-80. | ||||||||
| 5 | Ikenberry. J., “American Power and the Empire of Capitalist Democracy”. Review of International Studies 27(5). 2001. 191-212. | ||||||||
| 6 | Jackson, R., Sørensen, G. 2013. Introduction to International Relations: Theories and Approaches. 5th edition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. | ||||||||
| 7 | Jönsson, C. and Tallberg, J. “Institutional Theory in International Relations,” in Debating Institutionalism, eds. Jon Pierre, B. Guy Peters and Gerry Stoker (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008). | ||||||||
| 8 | Keohane, R., After Hegemony. (Princeton: Princeton University Press 1984). | ||||||||
| 9 | Keohane, R. and Nye, J. S. 1977. Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. 23-60. | ||||||||
| 10 | Lawson, G., “The “What”, “Where” and “When” of the Global 1989”, in: George Lawson et al eds. The Global 1989. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 1-20. | ||||||||
| 11 | Lobell, S., et al. Neoclassical Realism, the State, and Foreign Policy. 2009.Cambridge: Cmbridge University Press. | ||||||||
| 12 | McGlinchey, S., Walters, R., Scheinpflug, C. 2017. International Relations Theory. Bristol: E-International Relations Publishing. 56-68. | ||||||||
| 13 | Mearsheimer, J., “The False Promise of International Institutions” in International Security, Vol.19, no. 3 (1994-1995), 5-49. | ||||||||
| 14 | Morgentau, H. J. 1997. Politics Among Nations. 3-17. | ||||||||
| 15 | Olsen, J. “The Many Faces of Europeanization.” Journal of Common Market Studies Vol. 40, No. 5 (2002): 921-52. | ||||||||
| 16 | Parker G. Political Geography and Geopolitics. In: Groom A. J. R., Light M. Contemporary International Relations. A Guide to Theory. – 1994 – pp. 170-182. | ||||||||
| 17 | Rengger, N. J. International Relations, Political Theory and the Problem of Order. London: Routledge. 37- 62. | ||||||||
| 18 | Reus-Smit, C., Snidal, D. 2010. The Oxford Handbook of International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. | ||||||||
| 19 | Ruggie, J., 1998. Constructing the World Polity. London, New York: Roeutledge. | ||||||||
| 20 | Rupert, M. 2007. Marxism. In: International Relations Theory for the Twenty-First Century. An introduction. Ed. By M. Griffiths. London, New York: Routledge. 35-46. | ||||||||
| 21 | Shepherd, L. (ed.) Gender Matters in Global Politics (London: Routledge, 2010), 1-59. | ||||||||
| 22 | Sutch, P. & Elias, J. 2007. International Relations: the Basics. London, New York. Routledge. | ||||||||
| 23 | Viotti, P. R. & Kauppi, M.V. 2001. International Relations and World Politcs. Security, Economy and Identity. 2nd edition. Prentice Hall. | ||||||||
| 24 | Waltz, K.N. 2001. Man, the State and War: A Theoretical Analysis. New York: Columbia University Press. | ||||||||
| 25 | Waltz, K. N. Summer 2000. “Structural Realism after the Cold War,” International Security, Vol. 25, No. 1. 5- 41 | ||||||||
| 26 | Waltz, K. Theory of International Politics. 1979. Berkeley: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. | ||||||||
| 27 | Waltz, K., Colin Elman, Miriam Fendius Elman. Progress International Relations Theory – Appraising the Field. (BCSIA Studies in International Security, 2003) | ||||||||
| 28 | Wendt, Alexander. “Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics”. International Organization, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Spring, 1992), 391-425. | ||||||||
| 29 | Wendt, A. Social Theory of International Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 1-47. | ||||||||
