Description

The study of world politics consists of two broad fields of inquiry: international security and international political economy. This course surveys both these fields. Topics in international security include state and nonstate actors in world politics, the nature and limits of national power, war and peace, weapons proliferation, and international law and ethics. Topics in international political economy include international trade and finance, regional integration, globalization, and the North-South development gap. We also take up issues that do not fit neatly in either of these categories, like global environmental threats and international human rights. The course is neither a review of contemporary international history nor a discussion of current events. Rather, we survey a variety of theories, worldviews, propositions, and debates that help to make sense of both history and contemporary developments in world politics.

The course will also help students identify more specialized areas of interest in world politics and coursework that will allow them to further develop those interests. For example, students in the course are introduced to topics covered at greater length in Contemporary Theories of World Politics (PS 442/542), National and International Security Policy (PS 446/546), International Organization (PS 447/547), International Law (PS 448/548), European Union (PS 452/552), and International Political Economy (PS 454/554).
 

Learning Objectives

• show a familiarity with a wide range of substantive issues in international politics and foreign policy;
• demonstrate mastery of the main theoretical and analytical approaches to the study of world politics;
• interpret specific historical and contemporary problems using appropriate theoretical arguments and methods of analysis; and
• develop and articulate a normative position on some key ethical dilemmas in international relations.

• David Kinsella, Bruce Russett, and Harvey Starr, World Politics: The Menu for Choice, tenth edition (Wadsworth, 2013)

Two other books are available at the Portland State Bookstore:

• Robert Kagan, The World America Made (Knopf, 2012)
• Stephen S. Cohen and J. Bradford DeLong, The End of Influence: What Happens When Other Countries Have the Money (Basic, 2010)

In addition to the course books, you should be reading, on a regular basis, the New York Times, the Washington Post, or some other newspaper with thorough international coverage. Your performance in the course will reflect your familiarity with current international issues, and not just an understanding of lecture and textbook materials.

Lectures and assigned readings are both complementary and supplementary; neither is a complete substitute for the other. During summer session, we move through a lot of material very quickly, so keep up on the reading.