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Course 2019-2020 a.y.

30485 - CURRENT POLITICAL PHENOMENA II

BIG
Department of Social and Political Sciences

Course taught in English

Go to class group/s: 31

BIG (3 credits - II sem. - OBS  |  SPS/04)
Course Director:
KERIM CAN KAVAKLI

Classes: 31 (II sem.)
Instructors:
Class 31: KERIM CAN KAVAKLI


Class-group lessons delivered  on campus

Suggested background knowledge

Background knowledge on approaches to international politics (e.g. "Realist" and "Liberal" approaches) are useful for students. In addition, knowledge on 20th century world history is useful.


Mission & Content Summary
MISSION

What are the causes of conflict and cooperation between states? During periods of conflict, what are the economic and diplomatic tools that states use to improve their gains and minimize their costs? To answer these questions, we survey the literature on International Relations with a special focus on three topics: (1) economic tools of statecraft (e.g. trade sanctions, foreign aid); (2) crisis diplomacy (e.g. personnel and manner of secret negotiations), and (3) the impact of domestic actors (e.g. national leaders) on interstate bargaining.

CONTENT SUMMARY

This course presents a broad and in-depth overview of the recent research on international politics. We begin by briefly reviewing rationalist and behavioral approaches to international relations. In subsequent sections, we focus on particular issue areas of cooperation and conflict.The course is organized in 4 parts and 6 sections:

Part I:

  • Rationalist approaches to interstate bargaining.
  • Behavioral approaches to interstate bargaining.

Part II:

  • Economic competition as a source of interstate conflict.
  • Use of economic power as a diplomatic tool.

Part III:

  • Use of diplomacy to resolve interstate conflict.

Part IV:

  • National leaders and interstate conflict and cooperation.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • ​​​​​​Describe the relationship between economic and political tools of statecraft.
  • Recognize the trade-offs that states face when employing different diplomatic tactics.
  • Explain current trends in international relations from a historical point of view.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Identify the sources of economic and diplomatic power of state actors.

  • Evaluate the merits and drawbacks of various tactics that are used in interstate bargaining.

  • Evaluate the possible implications of domestic political changes on interstate relations.


Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face lectures
  • Group assignments
DETAILS
  • Lectures are structured according to the standard format: the instructor presents and elaborate on the material contained in the required readings, which the students have read before class.

  • Attendance is not required, but strongly recommended. Some of the assigned readings feature a high degree of sophistication in terms of methods of analysis. 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.


Assessment methods
  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
  •   x  
    ATTENDING STUDENTS
    • Student assessment is based on two partial exams, each making up 50% of the final grade, and both based on a mix of multiple-choice and open questions.
    • The first partial exam focuses on the readings covered in Part I and II of the course, which mainly survey theories of interstate bargaining and economic tools of statecraft.
    • The second partial exam covers the second half of the course (Part III and IV), which focus on the topics of diplomacy and links between domestic and international politics.
    NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
    • Written general exam, (100% of the finale grade) based on a mix of multiple-choice and open questions, which aims to assess the student’s ability to describe the main theoretical and empirical findings contained in the readings covered over the course of the semester.

    Teaching materials
    ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

    The required readings for this course are scientific articles, book chapters and policy reports 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.

    Last change 01/06/2019 16:53