(Dis)Order in Global Politics

2026/2027

Учебный год

ENG

Обучение ведется на английском языке

3

Кредиты

Кто читает:

Департамент психологии

Статус:

Курс по выбору

Когда читается:

4-й курс, 1 модуль

Преподаватели

Миронюк Михаил Григорьевич

Смысленова Екатерина Николаевна

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This class combines a focus on major theoretical and conceptual approaches in IR and foreign policy formation with discussions of the pressing issues of world politics. The class is organized around three main goals. The first goal is to introduce students to several major concepts, ideas, and issues in IR, which have been shaping its field. We will explore the essential problems and puzzles in the study of world politics and international relations: What is the role of international institutions in world politics? How can institutions and norms shape behavior of a state? Under what conditions do politicians choose to settle disputes without fighting? Under what conditions do politicians take into account preferences of groups or the publics when foreign policy decisions or major policies are made? What means do states have at their disposal to get what they want? The second goal is to invite students to reflect critically on the relationship between theories and the history in the study of world politics. The third goal is to stimulate students to critically read, understand, and contest political statements and official policy objectives. This course is not about Russia, the United States, China, the EU. This course is not about retelling the news and criticizing leaders or countries. Students will be introduced to concepts, models, and ideas that can be used to analyze the choices available to leaders and to understand the rationale behind their choices. We will try not to make judgements on moral or partisan grounds.. As for the prerequisites, students starting this course are expected to have at least some knowledge of World Politics and International Relations, Comparative Politics, Economics, and Political Science. The working language of the class is English. The readings for this course in .pdf format are available online to download or through e-mail. They are intended for private use only and are not supposed to be distributed out of the class. Students may also be provided with web-links to video materials.

Learning Objectives

• The course allows to master theoretical and conceptual approaches to the analysis of international and transnational interactions and foreign policy analysis tools
• This course aims to provide an understanding of the forces of change within the contemporary international system
• The course familiarizes students with the pressing issues of world politics and national politics and their sometimes troubled interrelations

Expected Learning Outcomes

• To analyze critically the political statements and developments in world politics.
• To be able to apply tools of IR research and foreign policy analysis to analyze problems in the sphere of international relations and world politics.
• To be able to identify complex interrelations between national, international, and transnational politics.
• To have knowledge of major concepts, ideas, and theories of IR.

Course Contents

• How We (Can) Study IR and World Politics: A Very Brief Introduction
• A Bit of History (An Ambitiously Generalizing View): How Our World Was Shaped and Where We Are Now. The Making and Expansion of the Territorial State, European Imperialism, the World Wars, the Rise of Globalization
• Discussing the Liberal World Order
• Competition and Cooperation among States. Hegemony: How It Starts, How It Ends, and What Comes After
• Actors, Preferences and Interests, Institutions, and Interactions. Psychological Factors in Decision-Making
• Means of Getting What You Want in World Politics: Hard, Soft, Smart, Sharp. When and How Sanctions Work (and Do Not Work)
• Domestic Politics and Relations among States: Domestic and International Dimensions (of Almost Everything)
• International Law and Norms. Human Rights in World Politics. The Logic of Appropriateness and the Logic of Consequentialism. Courts as Actors and Institutions

Assessment Elements

• Attendance
• Op-ed
• Class activities
• A video presentation

Interim Assessment

• 2026/2027 1st module
  0.2 * Attendance + 0.2 * Op-ed + 0.2 * A video presentation + 0.4 * Class activities

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Fearon, J. D. (1994). Domestic Political Audiences and the Escalation of International Disputes. American Political Science Review, (03), 577. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.apsrev.v88y1994i03p577.592.09
• Gourevitch, P. (1978). The second image reversed: the international sources of domestic politics. International Organization, (04), 881. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.intorg.v32y1978i04p881.912.03
• Ikenberry, G. J. (2014). The Illusion of Geopolitics. Foreign Affairs, 93(3), 80. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=f5h&AN=95603432
• Keohane, R. O. (1998). International institutions: Can interdependence work? Foreign Policy, (110), 82. https://doi.org/10.2307/1149278
• Mazarr, M. J. (2017). The Once and Future Order. Foreign Affairs, 96(1), 25. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=f5h&AN=120043012
• Mead, W. R. (2014). The Return of Geopolitics. Foreign Affairs, 93(3), 69. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=f5h&AN=95603431
• Mearsheimer, J. J. (2019). Bound to Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Liberal International Order. International Security, 43(4), 7–50. https://doi.org/10.1162/isec_a_00342
• Nye Jr., J. S. (2017). Will the Liberal Order Survive? Foreign Affairs, 96(1), 10. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=f5h&AN=120043010
• Nye, J. S. (2004). Soft Power : The Means to Success in World Politics (Vol. 1st ed). New York: PublicAffairs. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=461952
• Patrick, S. M. (2017). Trump and World Order. Foreign Affairs, 96(2), 52. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=f5h&AN=121177800
• Putnam, R. D. (1988). Diplomacy and domestic politics: the logic of two-level games. International Organization, 42(3), 427–460. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300027697
• Ratner, S. R. (1998). International law: The trials of global norms. Foreign Policy, (110), 65. https://doi.org/10.2307/1149277
• Spruyt, H. (2002). The Origins, Development, and Possible Decline of the Modern State. Annual Review of Political Science, 5(1), 127. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.5.101501.145837
• Understanding international conflicts : an introduction to theory and history, Nye, J. S., 2005
• Wendt, A. (1992). Anarchy is what states make of it: The social construction of power politics. International Organization, 46(2), 391. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300027764

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Axelrod, R. (1986). An Evolutionary Approach to Norms. American Political Science Review, (04), 1095. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.apsrev.v80y1986i04p1095.1111.18
• Fearon, J. D. (1990). Counterfactuals and hypothesis testing in political science. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edssch&AN=edssch.oai%3aescholarship.org%2fark%3a%2f13030%2fqt8rc078pv
• Fearon, J. D. (1998). Domestic Politics, Foreign Policy, and Theories of International Relations. Annual Review of Political Science, 1(1), 289. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.1.1.289
• Keohane, R. O., & Nye Jr., J. S. (1998). Power and Interdependence in the Information Age. Foreign Affairs, 77(5), 81. https://doi.org/10.2307/20049052
• Lackey, D. P. (2015). Soft Power, Hard Power, and Smart Power. Philosophical Forum, 46(1), 121–126. https://doi.org/10.1111/phil.12059
• Lake, D. A. (2007). Escape from the State of Nature. International Security, 32(1), 47–79. https://doi.org/10.1162/isec.2007.32.1.47
• Niblett, R. (2017). Liberalism in Retreat. Foreign Affairs, 96(1), 17. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=f5h&AN=120043011
• Nye Jr., J. S. (2004). Soft Power and American Foreign Policy. Political Science Quarterly (Academy of Political Science), 119(2), 255–270. https://doi.org/10.2307/20202345
• Wallerstein, I. (2005). After Developmentalism and Globalization, What? Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.1EC74E4D

Authors

• SMYSLENOVA EKATERINA NIKOLAEVNA
• Mironiuk Mikhail Grigorevich