What are International Relations? This session will introduce you to the module organization, structure and assignments. You will become aware of the time commitments you will need to make and the skills you will develop throughout the module.

This week we will try to answer the following questions: What is a theory? What does theory do? Do we need theories? Getting the language right: paradigms, methods, epistemology, ontology. Is it possible to offer a theory of International Relations / World Politics?

This week we will cover the origins of IR theory, which will help us to understand its later developments.

These weeks will cover the one of the main schools of IR, realism. We will discuss both the classical realists and the later neorealists.

These weeks will cover the one of the main schools of IR, realism. We will discuss both the classical realists and the later neorealists.

These weeks will focus on Liberalism, one of the oldest schools of thought in IR and political cience. You will become familiar with the central ideas of cooperation, interdependence and common interest. We will explore the historical origins of liberalism and its conceptual roots: liberty, equality, natural right, social contract and the rule of law.

This week we will explore Marxism in IR. Starting from the central concern with economic and material aspects, these theoretical approaches put forward a critique of the global economic system and the political structures that sustains it. From Marx, through Gramsci, to Wallerstein, you will engage with the core tenets of this theoretical approach and discuss them in class.

These weeks will cover Constructivism as a school of thought within the International Relations discipline. We will examine the central constructivist claim that issues in international relations are historically and socially constructed, rather than inevitable. Students will become familiar with the concepts of social constructs, identity and interest, and the role they play in international politics. Constructivists in IR show that it is not only the distribution of material power, wealth and geographical conditions that can explain state behaviour but also ideas, identities and norms.

This week will explore postmodernism, poststructuralism and power. You will become familiar with the concepts of deconstruction, the power-knowledge nexus and the importance of language in this school of thought and in relation to the analysis of International Relations. You will engage with the ideas of prominent post-structuralist thinkers and assess the impact of these ideas on the study of IR.