145 Dwinelle
This course introduces the study of international politics. I begin
by considering the problems that international relations deals with:
war and peace, poverty and prosperity among states. I then discuss what
it means to build social science theories that try to explain those problems.
I survey some of the major theories that currently exist in international
relations, and then apply these theories to historical case studies.
I discuss the development of European states and their relations in the
18th and 19th Centuries. I go on to consider World War I and the Great
Depression, World War II and the origins of the Cold War, the "American
decade" in international political economy, crisis and detente,
the diffusion of power during the 1970's, and finally, the trends toward
a multilateral international system during the 1980's. In the last weeks
of the course I will discuss how the end of the Cold War and recent developments
in world politics affect current thinking about international relations
and possibilities for the future of the state system. Readings include
Hedley Bull, The Anarchical Society; Alexander George and Gordon Craig,
Force and Statecraft; and a xeroxed packet of articles.
Browse the online Course Syllabus here, or download a copy.