88043 - International Relations (A-L)

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; to have acquired core skills to intepret 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 subjcet matters in their curricula.

Course contents

The course is organized in a common institutional part (below called "lectures") and a seminar part. For the seminar part, students are divided into 4 groups, two held by Prof. Lucarelli and two by Prof. Cello.

The institutional part is mainly based on the textbook and will consist of lectures by the teacher and discussion of short articles previously uploaded on the Perusal platform. At the end of this part, the first partial exam will be held, consisting of two long questions (short essays) and two short ones, to be held in the presence of all (except for the exceptions provided for by University regulations).

The seminar part is organized in meetings on specific topics for which compulsory readings are assigned to be done before the lesson and on the basis of which students are expected to participate in the classroom. The program of the modules of Prof Lucarelli and Prof Cello are partially different, so that students can choose based on their interests. As a guideline, it is established that one exceeds 30 participants in each module (the maximum capacity foreseen is in any case 40). At the end of the seminar there will be a second intermediate test, at a distance, open books.

Readings/Bibliography

ATTENDING STUDENTS:
For the lectures: R. Jackson, G. Sørensen, J. Moller "International relations", Milan, Egea, 5th edition, 2020
Seminars: For each seminar lesson, compulsory readings are indicated to be done before the lesson (see the syllabus below)

NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
The same readings of the attending students (R. Jackson, G. Sørensen, J. Moller "International relations", Milan, Egea, 5th edition, 2020; and all the readings relating to 2 seminar meetings of one of the modules below) plus one monograph chosen from:

a) H. Bull, The Anarchical Society, 1977 (ed. it. La società anarchica, Vita e Pensiero).

b) K. Waltz, Theory of International Politics, 1979 (ed. it. Teoria della politica internazionale, Il Mulino).

c) K. Waltz, Man, the State and War, 1959 (ed. it. L'uomo lo stato e la guerra, Giuffrè).

d) Sonia Lucarelli, Cala il sipario sull'ordine liberale? Crisi di un sistema che ha cambiato il mondo 2020 (Milano, Vita e Pensiero).

d) Francis Fukuyama, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, 2018 (trad it. Identità, Milano. Utet, 2019)

 

SYLLABUS
PART 1 - LECTURES
Wednesday, February 23 Introduction
Thursday, February 24 Traditions of thought and debates
Wednesday, March 2 Traditions of thought and debates
Thursday, March 3 Realism
Wednesday, March 9 Realism
Thursday, March 10 Realism
Wednesday, March 16 Liberalism
Thursday, March 17 Liberalism
Friday, March 18th (different date!) Lesson with guest
Wednesday, March 23 English school
Thursday, March 24 Constructivism
Wednesday, March 30 Lecture with guest: Prof. Matteo Dian - "United States, China and the future of the liberal order: the perspective of the English school"
Thursday, March 31 Poststructuralism
Wednesday, April 6th I INTERMEDIATE TEST

 

PART 2 - SEMINARS PROF. LUCARELLI

1. Realismi

John J Mearsheimer, “China's Unpeaceful Rise”,Current History; Apr 2006; vol. 105, n. 690, pp. 160-162, available at: https://www.mearsheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/A0051.pdf

Charles Glaser, “Will China's Rise Lead to War?”,Foreign Policy,March/April 2011, vol 90, n. 2, pp: 80-91. Available at:https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.unibo.it/stable/25800459?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Tucydides trap - Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XewnyUJgyA4

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2) The crisis of the Liberal Order

Daniel Deudney; G. John Ikenberry, Liberal World: The Resilient Order, 97 Foreign Affairs 16 (2018), available at:https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2018-06-14/liberal-world

Amitav Acharya "After Liberal Hegemony: The Advent of a Multiplex World Order" September 8, 2017 Ethics and International Affairs, available at:https://www.ethicsandinternationalaffairs.org/2017/multiplex-world-order/

Sonia Lucarelli, (2019) “L’Unione Europea nell’era post-liberale: una sfida esistenziale dalle radici globali”, in A. Colombo e P. Magri, Rapporto ISPI 2019 - La fine di un mondo. La deriva dell'ordine liberale, Milano Ledizioni LediPublishing, pp. 77-92. Disponibile online: https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/rapporto-ispi-2019-la-fine-di-un-mondo-la-deriva-dellordine-liberale-22099

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3) The transformation of the concept of security

P.D.Williams and M.McDonald“An Introduction to Security Studies”, in Paul D. Williams and Matt McDonald (eds) Security Studies, an Introduction, 3rd edition.2018: Introduction; Ch. 5 - Constructivisms; Ch. 7 Critical Theory.

 

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4) Identity, culture and international relations

On Orientalism - video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVC8EYd_Z_g

Huntington, S. (1993) “The Clash of Civilizations?,” Foreign Affairs. 72, no. 3. available in this collection:https://www.foreignaffairs.com/system/files/c0007.pdf

Haynes, J. (2018) "Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilizations’ Today: Responses and Developments", in D. Orsi (ed),The ‘Clash of Civilizations’ 25 Years On: A Multidisciplinary Appraisal, E-International relations Publishing, online:https://www.e-ir.info/publication/the-clash-of-civilizations-25-years-on-a-multidisciplinary-appraisal/

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5) Non-Western IR

A. Acharya, Armitav, B. Buzan, “Why is there No Non-Western International Relations Theory? An Introduction”, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific,vol. 7, no. 3, 2007, pp.287-312.

A. Acharya, Race and racism in the founding of the modern world order, International Affairs, Volume 98, Issue 1, January 2022, Pages 23–43, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiab198 

K. Zvobgo, M. Loken, “Argument: Why Race Matters in International Affairs”, Foreign Policy, 19 June 2020. Available at: https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/19/why-race-matters-international-relations-ir/

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6) Post-Covid international politics

D. W. Drezner, The Song Remains the Same: International Relations After COVID-19. International Organization, 2020, 1–18. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-organization/article/song-remains-the-same-international-relations-after-covid19/C0FAED193AEBF0B09C5ECA551D174525

K. R. McNamara, A. L. Newman, The Big Reveal: COVID-19 and Globalization's Great Transformations. International Organization, COVID-19 Online, Supplemental Issue 2020, 1–19. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-organization/article/big-reveal-covid19-and-globalizations-great-transformations/56E7E235EE971A9E393CDFA4484CE561

N. R. Smith, T. Fallon, An Epochal Moment? The COVID-19 Pandemic and China’s International Order Building. World Affairs, 183(3), 2020, pp. 235–255. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0043820020945395

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2nd MID-TERM

 

SEMINARS PROF. CELLO

1. Realismo classico e neo-realismo

   Kenneth N. Waltz (1988) “The Origins of War in Neorealist Theory”, Journal of Interdisciplinary History 18(4): 615-28.

   John J. Mearsheimer, “China's Unpeaceful Rise”,Current History; Apr 2006; vol. 105, n. 690, pp. 160-162, available at: https://www.mearsheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/A0051.pdf

   Thucydides trap - Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XewnyUJgyA4

2. Sovranità e sicurezza

   Glanville, Luke (2014) Sovereignty and the Responsibility to Protect: A New History (Chicago: Chicago University Press): Introduction.

   P.D.Williams and M.McDonald “An Introduction to Security Studies”, in Paul D. Williams and Matt McDonald (eds) Security Studies, an Introduction, 3rd edition. 2018: Introduction.

   David Chandler, and Nik Hynek. Critical Perspectives on Human Security: Rethinking Emancipation and Power in International Relations. PRIO New Security Studies. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2011: 13-27.

   Responsibility to Protect? - Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqsUDPsQSKE

3. Il concetto di “società internazionale”

   Keene, Edward (2002) Beyond the Anarchical Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press): Conclusion.

   Tim Dunne and Christian Reus-Smit, The Globalization of International Society (Oxford: Oxford University Press): Chapter 1; Chapter 2; and Conclusion.

   On Orientalism - video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVC8EYd_Z_g

4. Ordine liberale: declino o resilienza?

   Daniel Deudney; G. John Ikenberry, Liberal World: The Resilient Order, 97 Foreign Affairs 16 (2018), available at:https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2018-06-14/liberal-world

   Amitav Acharya "After Liberal Hegemony: The Advent of a Multiplex World Order" September 8, 2017 Ethics and International Affairs, available at: https://www.ethicsandinternationalaffairs.org/2017/multiplex-world-order/

   Sonia Lucarelli, “The EU in the Post-Liberal Era: A Challenge with Global Roots, in A. Colombo e P. Magri, The end of a World. The decline of the Liberal Order, Milano Ledizioni Ledi Publishing, 2019, available at: https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/end-world-decline-liberal-order-22545

5. Anarchia vs. Gerarchia

   Bially Mattern, Janice and Ayşe Zarakol (2016) ‘Hierarchies in World Politics’, International Organization 70(3): 39-75.

   Lake, David (2007) ‘Escape from the State-of-Nature: Authority and Hierarchy in World Politics’, International Security 32(1): 47-79.

   Hobson, John and Jason Sharman (2005) ‘The Enduring Place of Hierarchy in World Politics’, European Journal of International Relations 11(1): 63-98.

6. Dalle parole...alle immagini

Bleiker, Roland. Visual Global Politics (New York: Routledge, 2018): Introduction.

Kaempf, Sebastian (2013) 'The mediatisation of war in a transforming global media landscape', Australian Journal of International Affairs 67/5, pp. 586-604.

 

Teaching methods

Lectures and seminars

Assessment methods

ATTENDING STUDENTS
The course evaluation consists of three components:
- participation in the classroom (both on the Perusal platform and in classroom interaction with other students).
- the outcome of the two intermediate tests *
- an overall final oral

NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
The course evaluation consists of two components:
- the outcome of a written test to be held on the day of the oral exam
- an overall final oral

* RULES OF INTERMEDIATE TESTS:
- tests are compulsory. The first in presence, the second at a distance, in the form of open books.
- if a test cannot be taken, a written justification and medical report or document of the case must be sent to the teacher.
- if you want to recover one of the tests in the summer session, you must have obtained a sufficient mark in the other.
- to re-take a mid-term, a single appeal is held in the summer session.

Office hours

See the website of Sonia Lucarelli

See the website of Lorenzo Maria Cello

See the website of