MVZb2056 Foreign Policy Analysis

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2020
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Michal Kořan, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Michal Kořan, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 10:00–11:40 U32
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! MVZ156 Foreign Policy Analysis && !NOW( MVZ156 Foreign Policy Analysis )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 45 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/45, only registered: 0/45
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
After completing this course, students will be able to define and explain principal processes of foreign policy at its individual, bureaucratic, state and international levels. Course will also enable the students to identify main actors of foreign policy, to analyze their involvement in the process of foreign policy making, to interpret fundamental problems that are linked to the process of foreign policy and to demonstrate these problems by practicing analysis of foreign policy. The course also aims at developing critical thinking about foreign policy. Therefore, students will also acquire argumentation skills in the area of foreign policy making as well as the ability to justify their arguments and critical evaluation.
The course is based on interaction during the seminars and on an active preparation before the seminars. Thus, students will be practicing using individual analytical concepts during the semester on their selected country and these written position papers will be critically assessed and discussed during the seminars. Position papers will enable to evaluate argumentation and analytical skills of the student while understanding of the principal challenges of foreign policy will be demonstrated in the final paper, which will be devoted to developing a draft of a complex foreign policy conception of a particular selected country.
Learning outcomes
After completing this course, students will be able to define and explain principal processes of foreign policy at its individual, bureaucratic, state and international levels.
Syllabus
  • 1. The role and position of foreign policy in the main theories of international relations: bottom-top, top-bottom, ideas all the way down research.
  • 2. The formation, development and current state of the foreign policy analysis
  • 3. - 4. The individual level of analysis: psychological cognitive approaches, the impact of roles on the decision-making of actors (operational code), rationality instrumental/ limited, the actor – environment relation
  • 5. - 8. The state level of bureaucracy analysis: - bureaucratic policy model, organizational policy, decision-making process, group dynamics actors – political parties, institutions, interest groups, cultural context - ideas, norms, identity, culture, media, public opinion, national history.
  • 9. - 10. The system level of analysis: the alterations of the system polarity and their impact on the formulation of foreign policy, large vs. small states, the influence of systemic ideological debates on FP, international non-state actors, state sovereignty.
  • 11. - 12. Critical approaches to foreign policy:
  • 13. Does Foreign Policy Matter?
Literature
  • HOLLIS, Martin and Steve SMITH. Mezinárodní vztahy: výklad a porozumění : Explaining and understanding international relations (Orig.) : Teorie mezinárodních vztahů : interpretace a porozumění (Variant.). 1. vyd. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 2000, 248 s. ISBN 80-85959-64-X. info
  • NEACK, Laura and Jeanne A. K. HEY. Foreign Policy Analysis. Continuity and Change in its Second Generation. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1995. ISBN 0-13-060575-1. info
  • NEACK, Laura. The New Foreign Policy. New York, Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003. ISBN 0-7425-0147-7. info
  • SINGER, Eric and Valerie HUDSON. Political Psychology and Foreign Policy. Oxford, Boulder: Westview Press, 1992. ISBN 0-8133-8013-8. info
  • WALTZ, Kenneth. Man, the State and War. A Theoretical Analysis. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-231-12537-2. info
  • WENDT, Alexander. Social theory of international politics. 1st pub. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999, xv, 429 s. ISBN 0-521-46557-5. info
Teaching methods
The course is designed with an emphasis on communication with the students and the broadening of analytical skills and especially critical thinking. The main requirement for the successful and meaningful completion of the course is thus POSITION PAPERS (16 p.) and ACTIVE PARTICIPATION on the seminars (14 p.) .
The POSITION PAPERS are an elaboration of a critical reaction of arbitrary length (minimum of 1,5 pages) to the given literature, which will be issued for individual classes. Each position paper will reward 0 – 2 points the sole elaboration of a position paper is thus insufficient, the position paper must also be well written. A good position paper should comprise of a SHORT summary of the given text, a proposal of its possible application in research, a critique of the concept and possibly some questions on the text. Students will be informed on the evaluation of these position papers throughout the semester.
The main requirement of ACTIVE PARTICIPATION is less than 25% of absences at seminars; however the involvement of students in seminar discussions will also be evaluated throughout the semester (students will be informed regularly). The second indispensable requirement is the elaboration of an ESSAY of approximately 10 pages (30 p.). The topic of the essay will be specified in the beginning of the semester, it will comprise of the analysis of a selected aspect of the formulation, execution or implementation of foreign policy with the employment of the analytical instruments of FPA. The essay will be evaluated as follows: the formulation of the research question (max 3p.); the appropriateness of the selected theoretical concept (max 3p.); the ability to employ the theoretical concept (max 6p.); the innovativeness of the research (max 2p.); elaboration method – handling work with empirical data (max 4p.); language and style (max 4p.); work on the conclusion, summarization of results and presentation (max 4p.); formal requirements (max 4p.).
Assessment methods
To pass the course after the fulfillment of the main requirements (position papers and essay) a minimum of 41 p out of 60 p. possible is required. Grading scale: 60 – 57 A; 56 – 53 B; 52 – 49 C; 48 – 45 D; 44 – 41 E.
The literature cited in the syllabus is only a list of the elementary texts on the studied issued, the detailed list is available in study materials under the section “organizační pokyny k výuce" in the MU information system. Texts for individual position papers will be issued throughout the semester with a total of 250 pages of text in English.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2020, recent)
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