B1940 - Great Powers Politics since 1945

Learning outcomes

The course explores the history of foreign policies and security strategies of main great powers since 1945 with a particular emphasis on United States, Russia, China, Japan and main Western European powers and their interaction in key different regional contexts. By the end of the course students should be able to demonstrate that they can: Understand the major forces shaping the evolution of the global order after World War 2 Understand and critically evaluate the key sources of the foreign policy strategies of main great powers; (3) Identify and analyse the causes of geopolitical competition as well as the main potential flashpoints for conflict at the global level; (4) Critically evaluate the interplay between geopolitical, economic and ideological drivers influencing the foreign policy strategies of main great powers in different regional contexts.

Course contents

The course aims to provide students with a firm grasp and a critical perspective on the key historical developments, theoretical approaches, policy debates, and political controversies on the transatlantic relationship, the West, and world order. The first part of the course focuses on dynamics within the West. Here we will explore debates and controversies surrounding the notion of the West as a distinct civilization in world politics, the history and theories of the transatlantic relationship and its preeminent security organization (NATO), and the multiple perspectives on the rise of the West and the making of the modern world order. The second part of the course focuses on the role and place of the West in world politics. Here we will explore the past, present and future prospects of the Western-led liberal world order and tackle multiple aspects of the changing international system. These include the return of great power competition, critiques of Western-centrism and the role of the Global South, the gathering strength of illiberal ideologies and authoritarian actors globally.

Readings/Bibliography

The complete list of readings for students attending the course will be communicated on the first day of class and made available on the university’s online platform.

PART I: The West and the Transatlantic Relation

1. Introduction

2. The Idea of the West

o Bettiza, Gregorio (Forthcoming), 'Western Civilization(s): An Ideologically Contested Imaginary', in G. John Ikenberry and Thomas Risse (eds.), Contesting the ‘West’: The Future of International Order (Oxford University Press).

o O’Hagan, Jacinta (2023), 'The ‘West’ in International Relations', in Mlada Bukovansky (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of History and International Relations (Oxford: Oxford University Press), Ch.29.

3. Seminar

4. Transatlantic Relations: History and Theory

o Cowles, Maria Green and Egan, Michelle (2016), 'The Historical Evolution of the Transatlantic Partnership', in Riccardo Alcaro, John Peterson, and Ettore Greco (eds.), The West and the Global Power Shift: Transatlantic Relations and Global Governance (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan), Ch.4.

o Risse, Thomas (2016), 'The Transatlantic Security Community: Erosion from Within?', in Riccardo Alcaro, John Peterson, and Ettore Greco (eds.), The West and the Global Power Shift: Transatlantic Relations and Global Governance (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan), Ch.2.

5. Seminar

6. Transatlantic Relations: Security and NATO

o Bolstad, Gabriella and Friis, Karsten (2023), 'NATO and Transatlantic Security Relations', in Elaine Fahey (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Transatlantic Relations (London: Routledge), Ch.8.

o The Economist (2022), 'John Mearsheimer on why the West is principally responsible for the Ukrainian crisis', The Economist, https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/03/11/john-mearsheimer-on-why-the-west-is-principally-responsible-for-the-ukrainian-crisis

o The Economist (2022), 'Ivo Daalder says NATO enlargement didn’t go far enough', The Economist, https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/04/09/ivo-daalder-says-nato-enlargement-didnt-go-far-enough

7. Seminar

8. Civilizational Politics in International Relations

o Huntington, Samuel P. (1993), ‘The Clash of Civilizations?’, Foreign Affairs, 72 (3), 22-49.

o Hale, Henry E. and Laruelle, Marlene (2021), ‘A New Wave of Research on Civilizational Politics’, Nationalities Papers, 49 (4), 597 – 608

9. Seminar

10. Exam Part I

 

PART II: The West and World Order

11. Rise of the West and the Liberal World Order

o Ikenberry, G. John (2009), 'Liberal Internationalism 3.0: America and the Dilemmas of Liberal World Order', Perspectives on Politics, 7 (01), 71-87

o Lake, David A., Martin, Lisa L., and Risse, Thomas (2021), ‘Challenges to the liberal order: Reflections on international organization’, International Organization, 75 (2), 225-57

12. Seminar

13. World Order in Crisis: Multipolarity and Great Power Competition

o Mearsheimer, John J. (2019), ‘Bound to Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Liberal International Order’, International Security, 43 (4), 7-50

14. Seminar

15. World Order in Crisis: Multiplexity and the Global South

o Acharya, Amitav, Estevadeordal, Antoni, and Goodman, Louis W (2023), 'Multipolar or multiplex? Interaction capacity, global cooperation and world order', International Affairs, 99 (6), 2339–65

o Benabdallah, Lina (2024), 'The Liberal International Order as an Imposition: A Postcolonial Reading', Ethics & International Affairs, 38 (2), 162-79

16. Seminar

17. World Order in Crisis: Illiberalism and Authoritarianism

o Bettiza, Gregorio, Bolton, Derek, and Lewis, David (2023), 'Civilizationism and the Ideological Contestation of the Liberal International Order', International Studies Review, 25 (2

o Laruelle, Marlene (2022), 'Illiberalism: A conceptual introduction', East European Politics, 38 (2), 303-27

18. Seminar

19. Concluding Reflections: The Future of the West and World Order

o Deudney, Daniel, Ikenberry, G. John, and Postel-Vinay, Karoline (eds.) (2023), Debating worlds: Contested narratives of global modernity and world order (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

o Loh, Dylan M. H., de Oliveira Paes, Lucas, and Zarakol, Ayşe (2026), 'Non-Western Visions of International Order', Annual Review of Political Science, 29

20. Exam Part II

 

Teaching methods

The course will include both lectures and seminars. Lectures will resemble traditional frontal classes whereas seminars will be interactive and based on active participation by the students. Students are required to keep up with the assigned readings throughout the course and are expected to be prepared to discuss them during the seminars.

Assessment methods

ATTENDING STUDENTS

Students who regularly attend classes will be assessed through two written 45-minute in-class intermediate exams. The first intermediate exam takes place at the end of Part I of the course, and the second intermediate exam at the end of Part II. The exams will cover the topics presented during the class lectures and in the assigned readings. The exams aim to evaluate students’ understanding, analysis, and critical engagement with the content and issues covered in the course.

Students have the opportunity to resit ONE of the two intermediate exams if they missed or decided to reject the grade obtained in one of the two intermediate exams. The students who choose to reject the grade obtained in one of the written intermediate exams must notify the course convener about their decisions within 3 days of having received their results. Make-up intermediate exams (for Part I or Part II of the course) will be scheduled in the final weeks of the term (and NOT in the summer exam sessions).

Students who do not sit either intermediate exam will have to take the exam for non-attending students in the summer sessions. Likewise, if attending students have failed both intermediate exams or decide to exercise their right to refuse the final grade proposed by the course convener, they will have to take the exam for non-attending students.

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

The exam for non-attending students consists of an oral exam (to be held during the summer exam sessions), which will focus on the essential readings for the entire course (Part I and II) and the following book:

• Carr, E. H. (2016), The Twenty Years' Crisis, 1919-1939, ed. Reissued with a new preface from Michael Cox (Palgrave Macmillan).

The exam will assess both the student’s understanding and critical engagement with the course material.

Teaching tools

Lecture slides and assigned readings.

Office hours

See the website of Gregorio Marino Doimo Bettiza