Introduction to International Politics

Intro to International Politics is, unsurprisingly, the intro class to the international politics subfield of political science.

Syllabus

1. Introduction: theories and international politics
2. Realism: What It Is and Why It Matters
3. Realism and Causes of War.
4. Culture, Religion and Conflict: A Challenge to Realist Rationality?
5. The Liberal Critique of Realism
6. Levels of Analysis as a Critique of Realism: Bureaucratic and Organizational Politics, and the Importance of Individuals
7. Is Jihadi Terrorism a Challenge to Realism?
8. Origins of World War I: Military Organizations and Alliances
9. Origins of World War II: Appeasing and Bandwagoning
10. Origins of the Cold War: Realism vs. Ideology
11. Cuban Missile Crisis: Parity, Deterrence, and Accidents
12. End of the Cold War: Realism, Liberalism and Ideas
13. Economic Realism (mercantilism) vs. Liberalism/Neoliberalism
14. Globalization and Inequality: Is al Qaeda the New Marxism?
15. Hegemonic Stability Theory, the Bretton Woods System and the IMF
16. The World Trade Organization and Global Liberalization
17. Economic Regionalism and Politics: The European Union
18. The United Nations: An Organization of Organizations
19. Iraq, part one: Sanctions and WMD
20. Iraq, part two: War and its Aftermath
21. Proliferation and Deterrence Today: India and Pakistan
22. Proliferation and Deterrence Today: Iran and North Korea
23. U.S. Primacy and its challengers
24. The Mearsheimer and Walt controversy