The course aims at introducing to international politics. On successful completion of the course, the students will be able to: (1) know the main theories of International Relations; (2) understand the fundamental interactions between the main causes of international processes; (3) detect the main international changes and comment on their possible outcomes.
Course Prerequisites
No requirements
Teaching Methods
Lectures. Lectures aims at (1) describing important international phenomena; (2) presenting key concepts and theories of IR literature; and (3), showing how the latter can contribute to understand the former.
Assessment Methods
Written exam consisting of open questions aiming at assessing the basic knowledge in International Relations and the ability to approach and understand international events and phenomena. The assessment will base on the following criteria: empirical thoroughness; precision on the concepts and appropriateness of the lexicon, capability to relate international processes to theoretical tools.
Texts
1) F. Andreatta, M. Clementi, A. Colombo, M. Koenig-Archibugi, V.E. Parsi, Relazioni internazionali, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2012: fino a p. 237;
2) A. Carati, Giusto e impossibile. I dilemmi dell'intervento umanitario, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2024.
Erasmus students may choose to study the handbook: R. Jackson and G. Sørensen, Introduction to International Relations , Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015
Contents
The course aims at introducing to the basic concepts and tools to understand international politics and international change. It focuses on the main IR theories and IR research puzzles; on the major contemporary debates; and it relates these concepts and theories to contemporary international relations. 1. The object of the discipline. 2. The State and international relations. 3. The causes and effects of power distribution in the international system. 4. International economy and international politics. 5. International Institutions as key players in international politics. 6. Foreign Policy. 7. Democracy and war. 8. War and multilateral humanitarian interventions 9. The political and normative dilemmas of the Responsibility to Protect.
