Fall 2014 - 62515 - PA387G - The Nature of the International System

The course provides a set of tools for understanding, predicting, and formulating policy on international cooperation and conflict. It teaches how to apply leading schools of international relations theory – including Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism – to interpret history, understand current events, and prescribe foreign policy. Topics include alliance formation, nuclear deterrence, imperialism, international institutions, trade, global environmentalism, international law, globalization, the domestic sources of foreign policy, the integration and disintegration of states, and the future of international relations.  Requirements are class participation, a one-hour mid-term, a short essay, and a three-hour final exam.  All readings will be available on Blackboard.