International Relations Lecturer PhDr. Pavel Pšeja, Ph.D. Department of International Relations and European Studies Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno Phone: 549 497 175 Email: palo@fss.muni.cz Course Objective This course aims at providing students with extensive conceptual and theoretical background in the discipline of International Relations. The seminars should enable participants to gain substantial knowledge about major theories, processes and actors in international politics, thus putting their European Politics studies into a broader perspective. The course strives to encourage students’ critical thinking and invites them to judge to what extent the understanding of events in world politics depends on, and is even constructed by, different theories. Course Description In the first part of the course students are introduced to the most important concepts and issues in the discipline of International Relations. This part ensures that students have a basic understanding of the major actors in world politics and of the nature of the international system. The second part of the course deals with the major theories and theoretical debates in the field. The course covers both mainstream approaches in International Relations (such as realism, neorealism and liberal theories) and newer theoretical agendas (such as constructivism, feminism and postmodernism). Students will be invited to discuss the different theories’ strengths and weaknesses. Particular emphasis is put on detecting the methodological and normative assumptions on which the various ways of theorizing international relations rest. Course Requirements 1. Students are expected to read the required reading(s) for each seminar. If there are two or three shorter required readings rather than one long, students are expected to read all of them. The optional reading is only for those who have special interest in the topic. 2. Students are encouraged to actively participate in the seminars by posing questions of clarification or bringing up problems for discussion. 3. Students are expected to write one short position paper (up to 1.500 words) on a seminar topic of their own choice. The paper should include a summary of the main points of the required reading(s), a critique of these readings, questions of clarification, and possible questions for discussion. Students may be invited to present their paper in class to stimulate discussion. To enable the organization of the in-class discussion, papers must have three clearly identified sections: 1) a summary section entitled "Summary"; 2) a critique section entitled "Critique"; 3) a section containing questions for discussion entitled "Questions". Papers that do not have this structure and contain different points scattered throughout the text will be rejected and will not count towards a student’s grade. 4. There will be a midterm in-class written exam and final in-class written exam, both of them consisting of three questions. All the questions will be based on the assigned readings and the discussions in class. The mid-term exam will be held in October 29^th in the beginning of regular class; the dates of sessions for the final exam will be specified in late November. Grading The final grade will be calculated as a composite evaluation consisting of two parts: 1) evaluation of the position paper 2) evaluation of the mid-term and final exams Details: Students will be awarded up to 40 points for the submission of the position paper of acceptable quality, in compliance with the required structure of position papers, and in the specified deadline. Late submissions and submission of papers that do not meet the minimal requirements of quality and structure will be penalized. Each midterm-exam question gets between 0 and 10 points (max. 30 points overall for the midterm exam). The date and venue of the exam will be announced in the early weeks of the semester. Each final-exam question gets between 0 and 10 points (max. 30 points overall for the final exam). The date and venue of the exam will be announced in the early weeks of the semester. The grade will be calculated on the basis of the number of points collected. In order to complete the course, students must collect at least 60 points (60% of the max. points). Workload 1 position paper (up to 1.500 words) 446 pages of required readings (app. 37 pages per week) Class Schedule, Required and Optional Readings Part I: Concepts and Important Issues in the Discipline of International Relations (IR) Session 1 (Sep 17): International Relations as a Distinctive Science: nature of IR, definitions of the subject, major developments in IR, various understandings of IR and their subject, key definitions and concept in the discipline etc. Required reading (34 pages): Hollis, Martin and Steve Smith. 1990. Explaining and Understanding International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 1-9 and 16-41. Optional readings: a) Goldstein, Joshua S. 2001. International Relations. 4th ed. New York: Pearson: 3-20. b) Holsti, Kalevi J. 1995. International Politics: A Framework for Analysis. 7^th ed. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall: 1-20. Session 2 (Sep 24 - TBC): The International System and the Actors in IR: major features of the international system, states as primary actors, definitions and characteristics of the state, critiques of the state, non-state actors (non-governmental organizations, international organizations etc.), pros and cons of non-state actors and their influence on international politics Required readings (31 pages): a) Hocking, Brian and Michael Smith. 1995. World Politics. 2nd ed. London: Longman: 50-59. b) Baylis, John and Steve Smith. 1999. The Globalization of World Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 356-383. Optional reading: Josselin, Daphné and William Wallace. 2001. Non-State Actors in World Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Session 3 (Oct 1): Power and Conflict: explanation of basic concepts in IR, power as a major force, balance of power and its bearing on the structure of states and patterns of behavior, possibilities and limits of conflict in international politics, war as one of the primary tools, measurement of power and capabilities Required readings (37 pages): a) Nye, Joseph Jr. 2004. Power in the Global Information Age. London: Routledge: 53-67; b) Sheehan, Michael. 1996. The Balance of Power: History and Theory. London: Routledge: 1-23. Optional reading: Holsti, Kalevi J. 1995. International Politics: A Framework for Analysis. 7^th ed. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall: 327-358. Session 4 (Oct 8): Foreign Policy and Decision Making: explanation of basic tools of foreign policy, ways to practice research into foreign policy, major models of decision-making, psychological and game-theoretical approaches towards foreign policy Required reading (14 pages): Goldstein, Joshua S. 2001. International Relations. 4^th ed. New York: Pearson: 163-176. Optional reading: Holsti, Kalevi J. 1995. International Politics: A Framework for Analysis. 7^th ed. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. Part II: Rival Theories of IR Session 5 (Oct 15 - TBC): Geopolitics: geopolitics as a harbinger of IR theories, various traditions within geopolitics (especially British and German tradition – Mahan, Mackinder, Ratzel, Kjellén, Haushofer), new geopolitics after World War Two, environmental overlap (Sprouts), new trends in geopolitics Required reading (18 pages): Dougherty, James E. and Robert Pfaltzgraff. 2001. Contending Theories of International Relations. 5^th ed. New York: Addison Wesley: 149-166. Optional reading: Agnew, John. 2003. Geopolitics. Re-visioning World Politics. London: Routledge: 85-113. Sessions 6 and 7 (Oct 22 and 29): Realism: historical roots; realism as a critique of idealism/utopianism, the first Great Debate in IR; major works of classical realism in IR Required readings (45 pages): a) Morgenthau, Hans J. 1978. Politics among Nations. New York: Alfred A. Knopf: 3-25. b) Burchill, Scott and Andrew Linklater. 2001. Theories of International Relations. 2nd ed. London: Palgrave: 70-87. Optional readings: a) Hollis, Martin and Steve Smith. 1990. Explaining and Understanding International Relations. Oxford: Clarendon: chapter 2. b) Morgenthau, Hans. 1985. Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace. New York: McGraw-Hill: 201-217. Session 8 (Nov 5): Neorealism: Kenneth Waltz’s reformulation of realism; systemic forces in international relations, critiques of neorealism Required readings (29 pages): a) Waltz, Kenneth. 1995. “Realist Thought and Neorealist Theory.” In Controversies in International Relations Theory: Realism and the Neoliberal Challenge. Ed. Charles Kegley. New York: St. Martin’s Press: 67-81. b) Waltz, Kenneth. 1979. Theory of International Politics. New York: McGraw-Hill: 88-101. Optional readings: a) Gilpin, Robert. 1988. War and Change in World Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 9-15 and 211-230. b) Ashley, Richard. 1986. “The Poverty of Neorealism.” In Neorealism and Its Critics. Ed. Robert Keohane. New York: Columbia University Press: 267-293. c) Grieco, Joseph. 1997. “Realist International Theory and the Study of World Politics.” In New Thinking in International Relations Theory. Eds. Michael Doyle and John Ikenberry. Boulder: Westview: 177-191 Session 9 (Nov 12): Liberal Theories of International Relations: an historical overview of liberal thinking in IR; the crisis of realism in the 1960s and the 1970s and the challenge of complex interdependence; the role of international institutions; prospects for cooperation in world politics; developments in liberalism in 1980’s Required readings (41 pages): a) Keohane, Robert and Joseph Nye. 2001. Power and Interdependence. Third Edition. New York: Longman: 20-32. b) Baylis, John and Steve Smith. 1999. The Globalization of World Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 148-162. c) Keohane, Robert and Joseph Nye. 2001. Power and Interdependence. Third Edition. New York: Longman: 215-227. Optional readings: a) Burchill, Scott and Andrew Linklater. 2001. Theories of International Relations. 2nd ed. London: Palgrave: 29-65. b) Keohane, Robert and Joseph Nye. 1977. Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition. Boston: Little and Brown: 3-22. c) Keohane, Robert and Joseph Nye. 2001. Power and Interdependence. Third Edition. New York: Longman: 228-263. d) Keohane, Robert and Joseph Nye. 1972. Transnational Relations and World Politics. Cambridge: Harvard University Press: ix-xxix. Session 10 (Nov 19): Marx-inspired approaches to world politics: World System Theory; center, periphery and semi-periphery; global capitalism and the system of states; the notion of hegemony; traditional vs. critical theory Required readings (35 pages): a) Wallerstein, Immanuel. 1996. “The Inter-State Structure of the Modern World-System.” In International Theory: Positivism and Beyond. Eds. Steve Smith, Ken Booth, and Marysia Zalewski. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 87-107. b) Cox, Robert W. 1983. “Gramsci, Hegemony and international Relations: An Essay in Method.” Millennium 12 (2): 162-175 (Reprinted in Cox, Robert W. with Timothy J. Sinclair. 1996. Approaches to World Order. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 124-143) Optional readings: a) Gill, Stephen. 1995. “Globalisation, Market Civilisation, and Disciplinary Neoliberalism.” Millennium 24 (3): 404-418. b) Skocpol, Theda. 1977. “Wallerstein's World Capitalist System: A Theoretical and Historical Critique.” American Journal of Sociology 82 (4): 1075-1090. Session 11 (Nov 26): Neo-neo debate and transformations of classical theory: neoliberal institutionalism vs. neorealism; the absolute vs. relative gains debate; emergence of positivism vs. post-positivism divide Required reading (23 pages): Ed. Baldwin, David. 1993. Neorealism and Neoliberalism. New York: Columbia University Press: 3-25. Optional reading: Grieco, Joseph. 1993. “Anarchy and the Limits of Cooperation: A Realist Critique of the Newest Liberal Institutionalism.” In Neorealism and Neoliberalism: The Contemporary Debate. Ed. David Baldwin. New York: Columbia University Press. 116-140. Session 12 (Dec 3 - TBC): Constructivism, Postmodernism and Feminism in IR: Intellectual roots of constructivism; main tenets of constructivism; the contribution of constructivism to theoretical reconfigurations within the theory of IR; main characteristics and arguments of postmodernism; varieties of feminist theorizing in IR Required readings (68 pages): a) Reus-Smit, Christian. 2001. “Constructivism.” In Burchill, Scott a Linklater, Andrew (eds.) Theories of International Relations: Palgrave: London, pp. 209-230. b) George, Jim. 1994. Discourses of Global Politics: A Critical (Re)Introduction to International Relations. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, pp. 191-219. c) Tickner, Ann J. 2003. “Feminist Perspectives on International Relations” In Carlnaes, Walter, Risse, Thomas and Beth A. Simmons (eds.) Handbook of International Relations. London, Thousands Oaks and New Delhi: Sage, pp. 275-291. Optional readings: a) Palan, Ronen. 2000. “A World of Their Making: An Evaluation of the Constructivist Critique in International Relations,” Review of International Studies 26, 575-598 b) Der Derian, James. 1989. “Spy versus Spy: The Intertextual Power of International Intrigue.” In Der Derian, James and Shapiro, Michael J. (eds.) International/Intertextual Relations: Postmodern Readings of World Politics. Lexington, MASS and Toronto: Lexington Books, pp. 163-188. Session 13 (Dec 10): IR Theories since 1990’s – State of the Art: epistemological turns, positivism vs. post-positivism debate, relative weight of respective theories Required readings (71 pages): a) Weaver, Ole. 1996. „The Rise and Fall of the Inter-paradigm Debate.“ In Smith, Steve, Booth, Ken and Marysia Zalewski (eds.) International Theory: Positivism & Beyond, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 149-185. b) Smith, Steve. 1996. “Positivism and Beyond.” In Smith, Steve, Booth, Ken and Marysia Zalewski (eds.) International Theory: Positivism & Beyond, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 11-44. Optional reading: Baylis, John and Steve Smith. 1999. The Globalization of World Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 167-187.