INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORIES

PSIR620

Course Code: PSIR620
Semester: First Term (Fall)
Theory+Practice: 3 + 0
ECTS: 10

Course Type

Compulsory Course

Course Level

Doctorate Of Science

Year of Study

Semester

First Term (Fall)

ECTS

Name of Lecturer(s)

Professor Banu Eligür

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

Gain in-depth knowledge of the theories of international relations at the doctoral level by analyzing these theories from a comparative and critical point of view.
Compare the theories of international relations epistemologically and ontologically and increase their critical thinking and discussion skills.
Gain theoretical knowledge for the doctoral dissertation they will write in the field of international relations.

Mode of Delivery

Face to face

Prerequisites

Recommended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Description

This course analyzes main international relations theories: Realism, liberalism, the English School, constructivism, critical theory, and postmodernism.This course has three primary goals: First, it introduces students to major international relations theories by pursuing a comparative and critical perspective, and provides an in-depth knowledge about these theories at the doctorate level; second, by comparing and contrasting international relations theories epistemologically and ontologically, it improves students? critical thinking and discussion skills; and finally, it prepares students for the qualifying exam, and provides knowledge for writing their dissertations in the field of international relations.

Course Contents

WEEK	TOPICS
1^st Week	Thinking on the Theory of International Relations; The Problem of the Step of Analysis in International Relations; Induction and Deduction in International Relations and the Actor-Structure Problem in International Relations
2^nd Week	Realism I Classical Realism
3^rd Week	Realism II Neorealism
4^th Week	Realism III: Polarity, Stability and Alliances in the International System
5^th Week	Realism IV: Rational Choice and the Causes of Wars
6^th Week	Realism V: Neoclassical Realism
7^th Week	Liberalism I: Classical Liberalism and Neoliberalism
8^th Week	Liberalism II: Democratic Peace Theory
9^th Week	Liberalism III: Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy
10^th Week	English School I
11^th Week	English School II
12^th Week	Constructionism I
13^th Week	Constructionism II
14^th Week	Critical Theory and Postmodernism

Recommended or Required Reading

1. WEEK: J. David Singer, "The Level-of-Analysis Problem in International Relations," World Politics Vol. 14, No. 1 (Oct., 1961), pp. 77-92.
K. J. Holsti, "Scholarship in an Era of Anxiety: The Study of International Politics during the Cold War," Review of International Studies, Vol. 24 (Dec. 1998), pp. 17-46.
David Dessler, "What's at Stake in the Agent-Structure Debate?" International Organization Vol. 43, No. 3 (Summer, 1989), pp. 441-473.
Paul Viotti and Mark Kauppi, International Relations Theory, 5th edition (Essex: Pearson, 2014), Chapter 1: Thinking About IR Theory. (Recommended reading)
David Blagden, "Induction and Deduction in International Relations," International Studies Review Vol. 18, No. 2 (June 2016), pp. 195-213. (Recommended reading)
2. WEEK: Hans J. Morgenthau, "The Moral Blindness of Scientific Man," pp. 7-16, in Robert J. Art and Robert Jervis, International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues 6th ed. (New York: Longman, 2003).
Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations 6th ed. (New York: Knopf, 1985), Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 16, and 29.
Robert Jervis, "Hans Morgenthau, Realism, and the Scientific Study of International Politics," Social Research Vol. 61, No. 4, (Winter 1994), pp. 853-876.
Paul Viotti and Mark Kauppi, International Relations Theory 5th edition, (Essex: Pearson, 2014), Chapter 1: Thinking About IR Theory: Selected Readings: The Melian Dialogue, pp. 81-85. (Recommended reading)
E. H. Carr, The Twenty Years' Crisis: An Introduction to the Study of International Relations (London: Macmillan Press, 1991), Chapters 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 14 (Recommended reading)
Henry Kissinger, "Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy," Daedalus Vol. 95, No. 2, (Spring, 1966), pp. 503-529. (Recommended reading)
3. WEEK: Kenneth Waltz, Theory of International Politics (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979), entire.
Kenneth Waltz, "Structural Realism after the Cold War," International Security Vol. 25, No. 1 (Summer 2000), pp. 5-41.
Jeffrey W. Legro and Andrew Moravcsik, "Is Anybody Still a Realist," International Security Vol. 24, No. 2 (Fall 1999), pp. 5-55.
Robert Jervis, "Realism in the Study of World Politics," International Organization Vol. 52, No. 4 (Autumn 1998), pp. 971-991.
William Wohlforth, "Realism and the End of the Cold War," International Security Vol. 19, No. 2 (Winter 1994-1995), pp. 91-129. (Recommended reading)
Kenneth Waltz, Man, the State, and War (New York: Columbia University Press, 1959), selections. (Recommended reading)
John J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (New York: W.W. Norton, 2001). (Recommended reading)
4. WEEK: Kenneth Waltz, "The Stability of a Bipolar World," Daedalus Vol. 93 (Summer 1964), pp. 881-909.
Karl W. Deutsch and J. David Singer, "Multipolar Power Systems and International Stability," World Politics Vol. 16, No. 3 (1964), pp. 390-406.
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, "Systemic Polarization and the Occurrence and Duration of War," Journal of Conflict Resolution Vol. 22, No. 2 (June 1978), pp. 241-267.
Stephen Walt, The Origins of Alliances (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1987), Chapters 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8. (Accessible via Başkent University Library, Ebook Central Electronic Database)
Randall L. Schweller, "Bandwagoning for Profit: Bringing the Revisionist State Back In," International Security Vol. 19, No. 1 (Summer 1994), pp. 72-107.
Dan Reiter, "Learning, Realism, and Alliances: The Weight of the Shadow of the Past," World Politics Vol. 46, No. 4 (July 1994), pp. 490-526. (Recommended reading)

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture
Discussion

Assessment Methods and Criteria

	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Mid-term	1	30
Oral Exam	14	20
Total(%)		50
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)		50
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)		50
Total(%)		100

ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload

Activities	Quantity	Duration (Hour)	Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam	1	3	3
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work	14	8	112
Preparation for Final exam	1	70	70
Course hours	14	3	42
Preparation for Midterm exam	1	70	70
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam	1	3	3
Homework
Total Work Load			300
Total Work Load / 30 (h)			10
ECTS Credit of the Course			10

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Work Placement(s)

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

	LO1	LO2	LO3
K1	X	X	X
K2	X	X	X
K3	X	X
K4	X	X
K5	X	X	X
K6
K7
K8	X	X	X
K9	X	X
K10	X	X	X
K11	X	X	X
K12	X	X
K13		X	X

	LO1	LO2	LO3
K1	X	X	X
K2	X	X	X
K3	X	X
K4	X	X
K5	X	X	X
K6
K7
K8	X	X	X
K9	X	X
K10	X	X	X
K11	X	X	X
K12	X	X
K13		X	X

	LO1	LO2	LO3
K1	X	X	X
K2	X	X	X
K3	X	X
K4	X	X
K5	X	X	X
K6
K7
K8	X	X	X
K9	X	X
K10	X	X	X
K11	X	X	X
K12	X	X
K13		X	X

	LO1	LO2	LO3
K1	X	X	X
K2	X	X	X
K3	X	X
K4	X	X
K5	X	X	X
K6
K7
K8	X	X	X
K9	X	X
K10	X	X	X
K11	X	X	X
K12	X	X
K13		X	X