84526 - INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Learning outcomes

An introductory course to the analysis of international politics and of foreign policy, 'International relations' provides the students with the basic knowledge and skills to investigate international relations at both the theoretical and empirical levels. At the end of the course, students are expected to be familiar with the current debates in IR theories; they are also expected to have acquired core skills to interpret key political processes at the international, supranational and transnational levels; to have developed the ability to apply such knowledge towards the understanding of selected outcomes in international politics, also in conjunction with concepts derived from other subject matters in their curricula.

Course contents

The course is scheduled for the spring semester, starting in February 2026. It is only offered at the Forlì Campus, as a part of the UNIBO Major in IR. 

The course is organized into two parts according to the “Y system”:

1. A lecture-based section (Part I), and
2. a seminar section (Part II).

 

PART I – Lectures

Lectures (32 hours) aim to explore the core theories, debates, and issues in International Relations (IR). The entire class will attend at the same time. This is the lower part of the Y.

Although lectures resemble traditional frontal classes, students' active participation – by summarizing the previous lectures, asking questions, taking stock of the topics discussed, and requiring additional bibliographical advice – is strongly encouraged.

The topics covered in this first part include:

• Why do we need theories? Origins and evolution of the discipline
• IR debates
• Classical Realism, Neorealism
  
• Liberalism and liberal research traditions
• International Society: the English School
• Social Constructivism
• Post-positivist approaches
• IPE and Globalization
• Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
• IR and area studies

 

 PART II: Seminars

This second part (the upper part of the Y) consists of seminars focused on specific topics in IR. Students will be divided into two approximately equal-sized groups (Group A and Group B), each of which will separately attend 14 hours of seminars (7 classes).

Seminars require students to actively discuss and present different arguments and topics in class based on compulsory weekly readings through debates and individual/group presentations.

Please note that in order to achieve two balanced groups and to take students' preferences into account, the final composition of the groups will be defined at the beginning of the course and in any case once the number of attending students is confirmed. Specific thematic interests may be discussed with the Lecturer.

Flexibility and changes on the structure of the course might take place due to emergency contingencies as well as suggestions from students.

 

Readings/Bibliography

ATTENDING STUDENTS: 

• Part I: Georg Sørensen and Jørgen Møller (2025). Introduction to International Relations and Global Politics (9th Edition). Oxford University Press [only selected chapters]

• Part II: Assigned readings for seminars [uploaded to Virtuale once the course begins] 

• Part I and II: Materials (web resources) provided in class
  

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:

Non-attending students are required to prepare the full reading list assigned to attending students, in addition to reading the entire book by Sørensen and Møller.

Teaching methods

Lessons and seminars.

Assessment methods

ATTENDING STUDENTS:

• Two written tests combining multiple-choice and open-ended questions (during Part I) and in-class individual/group presentations (during Part II). Each assessment accounts for 1/3 of the final grade (The final evaluation will be the average of the three scores).

To qualify as attendees, students must have passed the two written intermediate tests (each with a grade of 18/30 or higher) AND must have participated in and presented during the in-class seminars. Those who miss both written tests or do not give a class-presentation will have to take the exam as non-attending students.

Students who miss one of the written tests or want to improve their lowest grade, will have the opportunity to retake ONE of the mid-terms (the one they missed/where they obtained the lowest grade) during a make-up test. This opportunity is offered only once. The make-up test is scheduled on the first available exam date of the Summer Exam Session: If the make-up test is failed again, students will be directly shifted to the non-attending track; all grades equal or higher than 18/30 will replace the previous one, which was rejected.

 

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:

• One comprehensive oral exam (to be held during the exam sessions) on the entire program

Those who miss both written tests OR the in-class presentation will have to take the final oral exam as non-attending students.

 

 

Grading policy (for both attending and non-attending students)

The final overall grade will be in the range of 18-30:

• 17 or below: fail: insufficient grasp of the material
• 18-20: pass, barely sufficient understanding of the material, knowledge of theories and ability to apply them
• 21-23: satisfactory, partial grasp of the material. Elementary knowledge of theories not always correct, sufficient expository ability, sufficiently appropriate use of concepts and ability to apply them
• 24-25: good grasp of the theories and ability to apply them, reasonably correct expositive ability, fair use of concepts
• 26-27: very good knowledge of the theories and ability to apply them, good presentation skills, good use of concepts
• 28-30: excellent, confident grasp of all the material and some interesting insights, precise knowledge of theories and ability to apply them, very good presentation skills, very good use of concepts
• 30 cum laude: outstanding, sure grasp of all the material and many interesting insights. Precise knowledge of theories and ability to apply them originally; excellent presentation skills, very appropriate use of concepts, and relevant personal reworking of knowledge.

 

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Virtuale Platform; PowerPoint; web resources and selected videos.

Office hours

See the website of Giulia Cimini