Course 2019-2020 a.y.

1. The first goal of this course is to improve students' understanding of how states use economic power to reach their goals in the international arena. Research on this topic has flourished in recent years with more detailed empirical work on international trade, international finance and international organizations. We discuss recent theoretical and empirical work on this topic.
2. The second goal of this course is to introduce students' to the recent "behavioral approach" to IR, in which factors such as leader psychology, status-seeking, and face-to-face diplomacy are studied. This approach complements the dominant rationalist approach in IR using new theoretical concepts and empirical tools. We discuss this quickly expanding field.

The course is organized in 2 parts:

Part I:

• International trade and finance and interstate relations.
• International organizations and interstate relations.

Part II:

• Leader characteristics and interstate relations.
• National characteristics and interstate relations.

• Discuss the interplay between the economic and military tools that states use to obtain their goals.
• Recognize how individual and national histories can shape an actor's goals/preferences.
• Explain under what conditions conflict and cooperation are more likely in international politics.
• Assess different empirical expectations of the IR theoretical models.

• Use the theoretical and empirical insights presented during the course to explain international politics.
• Compare the pros/cons of different economic tools that states can use in the international arena.
• Discuss how current events will shape tomorrow's events by shaping actor preferences and perceptions.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)

• Lectures are structured according to the standard format: the instructor presents and elaborate on the material contained in the required readings, which the students will have read before class, so as to enhance in-class discussions and students’ participation.
• Some lectures are held by professors who are leading experts on the topic treated in the lecture. This allows students to learn additional insights from experts who have actively contributed to the scientific literature on a certain topic.
• Attendance. Some of the assigned readings feature a high degree of sophistication in terms of methods of analysis. Therefore, students’ attendance is strongly recommended. In fact, although no formal prerequisites are required, the lectures provide students some necessary (yet informal) background that help them gain a better understanding of those readings that include a technical component. To qualify as an attending student and be allowed to take the partial exam, an attendance rate equal to or higher than 75% must be reported.

The student assessment is based on two main components, a TAKE-HOME ASSIGNMENT THAT YOU CAN WORK ON BETWEEN APRIL 21-28 and a final written exam. The assignment will make up 40% of your course grade, and the final written exam will make up 60% of it. The final exam will be based on a mix of multiple-choice and open questions.

The student assessment is based on two main components, a TAKE-HOME ASSIGNMENT THAT YOU CAN WORK ON BETWEEN APRIL 21-28 and a final written exam. The assignment will make up 40% of your course grade, and the final written exam will make up 60% of it. The final exam will be based on a mix of multiple-choice and open questions.

The required readings for this course are scientific articles and book chapters that represent the key and/or state of the art contributions to the different topics analyzed. A complete list of the required and suggested reading is provided at the beginning of the course and is available on Bboard.