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PIMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Effective Term: Full Academic Year 2017/18
POS
202
Introduction to International Relations
Credit Hours: 3.00
Lecture Periods:
3.00
Lab Periods:
Description:
Examination of contemporary international relations. Includes approaches to the study of international relations,
international systems, actors in international systems, foreign policies, and major forms of interactions.
Course Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1.
2.
Identify and describe key differences between a realist and a liberal/idealist approach to international relations.
Differentiate between the individual, state, and global levels of analysis.
Performance Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Describe the various approaches to the study of international relations.
Differentiate a number of historic and contemporary international systems.
Demonstrate the ability to describe the actors of international systems.
Explain foreign policies of international actors.
Examine the major forms of interactions between state and nonstate actors.
Outline:
I.
II.
III.
Approaches to the Study of International Relations
A. Organizing devices
1.
Realism
2.
Liberalism and idealism
3.
Pluralist Interdependence
4.
Dependency Theory
5.
World Society Model
B. Levels of Analysis
1.
Individual level
2.
State level
3.
System level
C. International politics, foreign policy, and international relations
D. Description, explanation, and prediction
International Systems
A. Historic international systems
B. Greek City States
C. Roman Empire
D. Great Britain
E. Contemporary global system
Actors in the International Systems
A. Sovereign States
1.
Power, capabilities, and influence
2.
Diplomacy
3.
Economic rewards and coercion
4.
Military intervention
B. Nongovernmental organizations
C. Terrorist organizations
IV.
V.
D. Supranational organizations
Foreign Policies
A. External-systemic influences
B. Domestic context
C. Perceptual and attitudinal influences in policy-making
D. Legal norms
E. International law
F. Foreign expectations and world public opinion as factors in policy-making
G. Ethics and foreign policy
1.
Sources of ethical constraints
2.
Ethics in foreign policy ends and means
3.
Ethics and war
Major Forms of Interactions
A. Interaction of Sovereign States
1.
Characteristics of conflict, crisis, and competition
2.
Incidence of international conflict
3.
Issue fields of international conflict
B. Conflict resolution
1.
Institutions and procedures for resolving international conflict
2.
United Nations and conflict resolution
C. Nonstate actors
1.
Nongovernmental organizations
2.
Regional organizations
3.
Supranational organizations
D. International cooperation
1.
Sources of cooperation
2.
Forms and formats of cooperation