ESS427 International Relations Theory and Energy Security

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2017
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Petr Ocelík, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Lukáš Lehotský, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Nikita Minin, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Filip Černoch, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Timetable
Thu 11:30–13:00 M117
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! ESS419 International Relations Theory
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course introduces students to main theoretical approaches to security in International Relations (IR) with emphasis on energy-related issues. Each class is built around main concepts of a given approach. The class is followed by seminar where the students debate and explore introduced concepts in the context of required literature. First, the course focuses on traditionalist approaches to security, realism, and liberalism, with key concepts of balance of power and interdependence upon which, in the energy-related arena, strategic and market approaches to energy security are based. The following part of the course covers revisionist approaches starting with social constructivism that is introduced both as a social theory and theory of IR. The rest of the course then focuses on four distinct revisionist schools, namely: Copenhagen school, Paris school, Welsh school, and new materialism, where securitization theory, structural violence, Bourdieusian concepts of field and habitus as well as concepts of assemblage and Actor-Network are introduced. The course is finished with presentations on one of the introduced approaches. Upon successful completion of the course, the students will have a complex understanding of the issue and will be able to use this knowledge in an informed and creative way.The course introduces students to (meta)theoretical assumptions and methodological apparatus of social network analysis. Each class consists of a lecture which introduces theoretical background and “mechanics” of a given concept or method, and a workshop where students use this knowledge through practical tasks.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this course the student should be able to: 1. identify general characteristics of various approaches to security within the IR theory; 2. assess the viability of various approaches in the contemporary world and the changing international environment; 3. apply approaches to critically reflect and analyze particular issues of today’s international politics related to energy security.
Syllabus
  • Realism: strategic approach to security and balance of power
  • Liberalism: market approach to security and interdependence
  • Revisionist approaches to security in International Relations
  • Social constructivism in International Relations
  • Copenhagen school: a framework for analysis
  • Copenhagen school: revisions
  • Paris School: field, habitus, and practices
  • Contemporary Interpretations of Marxism
  • Welsh School: structural constraints and emancipation
  • New materialism: assemblage, actor-network, and translation
Literature
  • BOOTH, Ken. Theory of world security. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007, xviii, 489. ISBN 9780521543170. info
  • BUZAN, Barry, Ole WAEVER and Jaap de WILDE. Security : a new framework for analysis. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998, viii, 239. ISBN 1555877842. info
  • KATZENSTEIN, Peter, J. The Culture of National Security: Norms and Identity in World Politics. New York, 1996. Columbia University Press. info
Teaching methods
lectures, workshops, readings, assignments
Assessment methods
assignments grading
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2016, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2017, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2017/ESS427