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Master's of International Relations without Thesis

PSIR557

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY II -NEW PERSPECTIVES

Course Code
PSIR557
Semester
Third Term (Fall)-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
10
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelMaster's Degree Without Thesis
Year of Study2
SemesterThird Term (Fall)-
ECTS10
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Learn the causes of development new perspectives in international relations theory, their explaining/understanding capacities and methods.
  2. Develop the capacity to understand the interaction between national and international politics through case studies and models.
  3. Develop an understanding about the new actors of international politics and their effects on institutional structure and theory of international relations.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsNo recommended optional program components.
Course DescriptionThe fact that the classical theories could not explain the end of the Cold War and the newly emerging phenomena led to the development of new perspectives in the discipline of International Relations. Constructivist theory, critical theory, postmodernism, feminism and normative theories are among the leading perspectives that will be covered in this course. The reasons for need for alternative approaches and their contributions to the discipline will be investigated. The criticisms directed to these theories are also among the topics that will be studied.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week The Classical Schools: Realism, Liberalism, and Functionalism
2nd Week Structural and Systemic Theories I: Neo-Realism
3rd Week Structural and Systemic Theories II: Neo-Liberal Institutionalism
4th Week Non-Systemic Theories I: Constructivism
5th Week Non-Systemic Theories II: Rational Choice and Gender Based Theories
6th Week Non-Systemic Theories III: Psychological Approaches-Perception, Misperception, Prospect Theory, and Crisis Decision-making
7th Week Causes and Prevention of War
8th Week Change and Transformations: The Making of the Nation-State System, the End of the Cold War, and the Formation of the EU
9th Week Domestic Politics and National Security Policy I: Domestic-International Interactions, Bureaucratic Politics and Foreign Policy
10th Week Domestic Politics and National Security Policy II: Democracy and Democratic Peace
11th Week Domestic Politics and National Security Policy II: Domestic Social Structure, Grand Strategy, and War
12th Week Domestic Politics and International Political Economy: Globalization
13th Week Challenges to the State I: NGOs
14th Week Challenges to the State II: Transnational Actors
Recommended or Required ReadingBooks
Kenneth Waltz, Man, the State, and War (New York: Columbia University Press, 1965).
Kenneth Waltz, Theory of International Politics (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1979).
John J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (New York: Norton, 2001).
Robert O. Kheohane, After Hegemony 2nd ed. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005).
G. John Ikenberry, After Victory: Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Rebuilding of Order after Major Wars (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001).
Alexander Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
Daniel C. Thomas, The Helsinki Effect: International Norms, Human Rights, and the Demise of Communism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001).
Jill Steans, Gender and International Relations: An Introduction (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1998).
Michael E. Brown et al. (eds.), Rational Choice and Security Studies: Stephen Walt and His Critics (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2000).
Robert Jervis, Perception and Misperception in International Relations (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976).
Stephen Van Evera, The Causes of War: Power and the Roots of Conflict (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999).
Jack Snyder, Myths of Empire: Domestic Politics and International Ambition (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991).
Dan Reiter and Allan C. Stam, Democracies at War (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002).
Bruce Russett and John O'Neal, Triangulating Peace: Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations (New York: Norton, 2001).
Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998).
Peter J. Katzenstein, A World of Regions: Asia and Europe in the American Imperium (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2005).
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Quiz 6 55
Total(%) 55
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 55
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 45
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam
Preparation for Quiz 1 70 70
Individual or group work 14 7 98
Preparation for Final exam 1 90 90
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 3 3
Homework
Total Work Load303
Total Work Load / 30 (h)10.1
ECTS Credit of the Course10
Language of InstructionTurkish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3
K1 X X
K2
K3
K4 X X
K5
K6 X X X
K7 X X
K8 X X X