Theories of International Relations – Undergraduate Course Syllabus

Course Description

The aim of the course is to provide students with a broad theoretical basis in the field and to prepare them for further advanced research and employment in the field of International Relations (IR). There are many dramatic issues in international relations, such as wars, conflicts, revolutions, crises, interventions and human rights campaigns. IR theories help students understand and explain these events by giving them the right tools to think about them. The best way to look at most international political debates about major issues is through a theoretical lens.

Students will explore, compare, and debate the merits of theories through in-depth discussion in order to develop a solid understanding of the various theoretical perspectives and to determine their own theoretical preferences. In each instance, we will situate these theories within their historical context, demonstrate how they contribute to a better understanding of how international politics functions, and assess their strengths and weaknesses.

Applying the Aristotelian method of teaching, I will focus on developing both the intellectual and moral virtues of students. Intellectual virtues are character traits such as the ability to judge the truth and comprehend the nature of things, whereas moral virtues are habits of living that involve the whole person and include justice, temperance, prudence, and fortitude, which are characterised by desire and emotion.

In addition, the course is designed with the following implications in mind: to understand the diverse backgrounds of undergraduate students, to provide full support to non-native speakers in relation to academic English, and to engage the students in practical discussions and seminars. An inclusive curriculum implements policies and resources to ensure that all students are supported in their learning.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

• Analyse and apply diverse theoretical approaches to understanding international relations.
• Examine critically the reasons for cooperation and conflict in international relations.
• Engage in contemporary theoretical discussions.
• Construct and defend theoretically sophisticated arguments regarding international relations.
• Identify leading IR authors and the theories with which they are associated.
• Learn to think and write critically about crucial debates in IR theory and world politics.
• Effective oral and written communication in professional applications of IR.
• Develop innovative ways of thinking about the practical implications of international relations (cyberthreats, green policies, terrorism, deep fake, inequalities, conspiracies, and so on). 

Reading Materials

Foundation texts

1. Dunne, T., Kurki, M. and Smith, S. (eds) (2021) International relations theories: discipline and diversity. Fifth edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
2. Griffiths, M., Roach, S.C. and Solomon, M.S. (2010) Fifty key thinkers in international relations. 2. ed., repr. London: Routledge (Routledge key guides).

Additionally, essential and recommended readings based on scholarly articles are provided for each lecture to introduce students to academic analytical and critical thinking.

The quality of teaching, course content, and literature included reflects the advanced practice of worldwide recognised departments of politics and international relations. 

Course Content

Lecture 1: Philosophy of International Relations and World Politics

Core Required Reading

1. Dunne, T., Kurki, M. and Smith, S. (eds) (2021) International relations theories: discipline and diversity. Fifth edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• Introduction: Diversity and Disciplinarity in International Relations Theory by Steve Smith
• International Relations and Social Science by Milja Kurki and Colin Wight

2. Griffiths, M., Roach, S.C. and Solomon, M.S. (2010) Fifty key thinkers in international relations. 2. ed., repr. London: Routledge (Routledge key guides).

• Immanuel Wallerstein

Essential Required Reading

• Drezner, D.W. (2019) ‘Technological change and international relations’, International Relations, 33(2), pp. 286–303. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0047117819834629.
• Gallie, W.B. (1979) ‘Wanted: A Philosophy of International Relations’, Political Studies, 27(3), pp. 484–492. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467–9248.1979.tb01218.x.
• Van Milders, L. and Toros, H. (2020) ‘Violent International Relations’, European Journal of International Relations, 26(1_suppl), pp. 116–139. Available at:
• https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066120938832.

Recommended Reading

• Acharya, A. and Buzan, B. (2007) ‘Why is there no non-Western international relations theory? An introduction’, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 7(3), pp. 287–312. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/irap/lcm012.
• Adler, E. and Pouliot, V. (2011) ‘International practices’, International Theory, 3(1), pp. 1–36. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S175297191000031X.
• Capan, Z.G. (2017) ‘Decolonising International Relations?’, Third World Quarterly, 38(1), pp. 1–15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2016.1245100.

Lecture 2: Classical and Structural Realism

Core Required Reading

1. Dunne, T., Kurki, M. and Smith, S. (eds) (2021) International relations theories: discipline and diversity. Fifth edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• Classical Realism by Richard Ned Lebow
• Structural Realism by John J. Mearsheimer

2. Griffiths, M., Roach, S.C. and Solomon, M.S. (2010) Fifty key thinkers in international relations. 2. ed., repr. London: Routledge (Routledge key guides).

• Edward Hallett Carr
• Stephen Krasner
• Hans Morgenthau
• Kenneth Waltz

Essential Required Reading

• Brown, C. (2009) ‘Structural Realism, Classical Realism and Human Nature’, International Relations, 23(2), pp. 257–270. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0047117809104638.
• Forde, S. (1995) ‘International Realism and the Science of Politics: Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Neorealism’, International Studies Quarterly, 39(2), p. 141. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/2600844.
• Powell, R. (1991) ‘Absolute and Relative Gains in International Relations Theory’, American Political Science Review, 85(4), pp. 1303–1320. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1963947.

Recommended Reading

• Bain, W. (2000) ‘Deconfusing Morgenthau: moral inquiry and classical realism reconsidered’, Review of International Studies, 26(3), pp. 445–464. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210500004459.
• James, P. (1993) ‘Neorealism as a Research Enterprise: Toward Elaborated Structural Realism’, International Political Science Review, 14(2), pp. 123–148. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/019251219301400201.
• Sylvest, C. (2008) ‘John H. Herz and the Resurrection of Classical Realism’, International Relations, 22(4), pp. 441–455. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0047117808097310.

Lecture 3: Liberalism and Neoliberalism

Core Required Reading

1. Dunne, T., Kurki, M. and Smith, S. (eds) (2021) International relations theories: discipline and diversity Fifth edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• Liberalism by Bruce Russett
• Neoliberalism by Jennifer Sterling-Folker

2. Griffiths, M., Roach, S.C. and Solomon, M.S. (2010) Fifty key thinkers in international relations. 2. ed., repr. London: Routledge (Routledge key guides).

• Stanley Hoffmann
• Robert O. Keohane
• Francis Fukuyama

Essential Required Reading

• Connell, R. and Dados, N. (2014) ‘Where in the world does neoliberalism come from?: The market agenda in southern perspective’, Theory and Society, 43(2), pp. 117–138. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186–014–9212–9.
• Doyle, M.W. (1986) ‘Liberalism and World Politics’, American Political Science Review, 80(4), pp. 1151–1169. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1960861.
• Hurrell, A. (2006) ‘Hegemony, liberalism and global order: what space for would-be great powers?’, International Affairs, 82(1), pp. 1–19. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14682346.2006.00512.x.

Recommended Reading

• Choi, J.K. and Eun, Y.-S. (2018) ‘What does international relations theory tell us about territorial disputes and their resolution?’, International Politics, 55(2), pp. 141–159. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311–017–0074–4.
• Girvan, N. (2012) ‘Social Movements Confront Neoliberalism: Reflections on a Caribbean Experience’, Globalizations, 9(6), pp. 753–766. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2012.739350.
• Grayson, K. (2010) ‘Human security, neoliberalism and corporate social responsibility’, International Politics, 47(5), pp. 497–522. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1057/ip.2010.20.

Lecture 4: Marxism and Critical Theory

Core Required Reading

1. Dunne, T., Kurki, M. and Smith, S. (eds) (2021) International relations theories: discipline and diversity Fifth edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• Marxism by Mark Rupert
• Critical Theory by Steven C. Roach

2. Griffiths, M., Roach, S.C. and Solomon, M.S. (2010) Fifty key thinkers in international relations. 2. ed., repr. London: Routledge (Routledge key guides).

• Antonio Gramsci
• Jürgen Habermas
• Robert Cox

Essential Required Reading

• Laski, H.J. (1999) ‘Introduction to the Communist Manifesto’, Social Scientist, 27(1/4), p. 49. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/3518218.
• Vitkus, D. (2014) ‘Early Modernity and Emergent Capitalism’, Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, 14(1), pp. 155–161. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/jearlmodcultstud.14.1.155
• White, S.K. (1986) ‘Foucault’s Challenge to Critical Theory’, American Political Science Review, 80(2), pp. 419–432. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1958266.

Recommended Reading

• Behr, H. and Williams, M.C. (2017) ‘Interlocuting classical realism and critical theory: Negotiating “divides” in international relations theory’, Journal of International Political Theory, 13(1), pp. 3–17. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1755088216671735.
• Cox, R.W. (1981) ‘Social Forces, States and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory’, Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 10(2), pp. 126–155. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298810100020501.
• Krause, K. (1998) ‘Critical Theory and Security Studies: The Research Programme of `Critical Security Studies’’, Cooperation and Conflict, 33(3), pp. 298–333. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0010836798033003004.

Lecture 5: The English School and Constructivism

Core Required Reading

1. Dunne, T., Kurki, M. and Smith, S. (eds) (2021) International relations theories: discipline and diversity Fifth edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• The English School by Tim Dunne
• Constructivism by K. M. Fierke

2. Griffiths, M., Roach, S.C. and Solomon, M.S. (2010) Fifty key thinkers in international relations. 2. ed., repr. London: Routledge (Routledge key guides).

• Hedley Bull
• Barry Buzan
• Friedrich Kratochwil
• John Gerard Ruggie

Essential Required Reading

• Buzan, B. (1993) ‘From international system to international society: structural realism and regime theory meet the English school’, International Organization, 47(3), pp. 327–352. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300027983.
• Hopf, T. (1998) ‘The Promise of Constructivism in International Relations Theory’, International Security, 23(1), pp. 171–200. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1162/isec.23.1.171.
• Wendt, A. (1992) ‘Anarchy is what states make of it: the social construction of power politics’, International Organization, 46(2), pp. 391–425. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300027764.

Recommended Reading

• Adler, E. (1997) ‘Seizing the Middle Ground:: Constructivism in World Politics’, European Journal of International Relations, 3(3), pp. 319–363. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066197003003003.
• Guzzini, S. (2000) ‘A Reconstruction of Constructivism in International Relations’, European Journal of International Relations, 6(2), pp. 147–182. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066100006002001.
• Ruggie, J.G. (1998) ‘What Makes the World Hang Together? Neo-utilitarianism and the Social Constructivist Challenge’, International Organization, 52(4), pp. 855–885. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1162/002081898550770.

Lecture 6: Feminism, Poststructuralism, and Postcolonialism

Core Required Reading

1. Dunne, T., Kurki, M. and Smith, S. (eds) (2021) International relations theories: discipline and diversity Fifth edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• Feminism by J. Ann Tickner and Laura Sjoberg
• Poststructuralism by David Campell and Roland Bleiker
• Postcolonialism by Shampa Biswas

2. Griffiths, M., Roach, S.C. and Solomon, M.S. (2010) Fifty key thinkers in international relations. 2. ed., repr. London: Routledge (Routledge key guides). o Jean Bethke Elshtain o Christine Sylvester

• David Campbell

Essential Required Reading

• Parashar, S. (2016) ‘Feminism and Postcolonialism: (En)gendering Encounters’, Postcolonial Studies, 19(4), pp. 371–377. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13688790.2016.1317388.
• Polat, N. (1998) ‘Poststructuralism, Absence, Mimesis:: Making Difference, Reproducing Sovereignty’, European Journal of International Relations, 4(4), pp. 447–477. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066198004004003.
• Sasson-Levy, O. (2003) ‘Feminism and Military Gender Practices: Israeli Women Soldiers in “Masculine” Roles’, Sociological Inquiry, 73(3), pp. 440–465. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1475–682X.00064.

Recommended Reading

• Griffin, P. (2017) ‘“Post” interventions: Postcoloniality, poststructuralism and questions of “after” in world politics’, Politics, 37(4), pp. 367–370. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0263395717722135.
• Matin, K. (2013) ‘Redeeming the universal: Postcolonialism and the inner life of Eurocentrism’, European Journal of International Relations, 19(2), pp. 353–377. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066111425263.
• Sabaratnam, M. (2011) ‘IR in Dialogue … but Can We Change the Subjects? A Typology of Decolonising Strategies for the Study of World Politics’, Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 39(3), pp. 781–803. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0305829811404270.

Lecture 7: Normative International Relations Theory and Green Theory

Core Required Reading

1. Dunne, T., Kurki, M. and Smith, S. (eds) (2021) International relations theories: discipline and diversity Fifth edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• Normative International Relations Theory by Toni Erskine
• Green Theory by Robyn Eckersley

2. Griffiths, M., Roach, S.C. and Solomon, M.S. (2010) Fifty key thinkers in international relations. 2. ed., repr. London: Routledge (Routledge key guides).

• Terry Nardin
• John Rawls

Essential Required Reading

• Brown, C. (1988) ‘The Modern Requirement? Reflections on Normative International Theory in a Post-Western World’, Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 17(2), pp. 339–348. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298880170020301.
• Cochran, M. (1995) ‘Postmodernism, ethics and international political theory’, Review of International Studies, 21(3), pp. 237–250. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S026021050011767X.
• Vincent, A. (2003) ‘Green political theory’, in R. Bellamy and A. Mason (eds) Political concepts. Manchester University Press, pp. 182–195. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt155jbcx.19.

Recommended Reading

• Falkner, R. (2012) ‘Global environmentalism and the greening of international society’, International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), 88(3), pp. 503–522. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23255548.
• Thompson, K.W. (1967) ‘Normative Theory in International Relations’, Journal of International Affairs, 21(2), pp. 278–292. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24370065.
• Wiener, A. (2004) ‘Contested Compliance: Interventions on the Normative Structure of World Politics’, European Journal of International Relations, 10(2), pp. 189–234. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066104042934.

Lecture 8: International Relations Theory and Globalization

Core Required Reading

1. Dunne, T., Kurki, M. and Smith, S. (eds) (2021) International relations theories: discipline and diversity Fifth edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• International Relations Theory and Globalization by Colin Hay
• Global International Relations by Amitav Acharya

2. Griffiths, M., Roach, S.C. and Solomon, M.S. (2010) Fifty key thinkers in international relations. 2. ed., repr. London: Routledge (Routledge key guides).

• Andrew Linklater
• Richard Ashley

Essential Required Reading

• Farrell, H. and Newman, A.L. (2019) ‘Weaponized Interdependence: How Global Economic Networks Shape State Coercion’, International Security, 44(1), pp. 42–79. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1162/isec_a_00351.
• Grant, R.W. and Keohane, R.O. (2005) ‘Accountability and Abuses of Power in World Politics’, American Political Science Review, 99(1), pp. 29–43. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055405051476.
• Walter, S. (2021) ‘The Backlash Against Globalization’, Annual Review of Political Science, 24(1), pp. 421–442. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev–polisci–041719–102405.

Recommended Reading

• Broz, J.L., Frieden, J. and Weymouth, S. (2021) ‘Populism in Place: The Economic Geography of the Globalization Backlash’, International Organization, 75(2), pp. 464–494. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818320000314.
• Hooghe, L. and Marks, G. (2018) ‘Cleavage theory meets Europe’s crises: Lipset, Rokkan, and the transnational cleavage’, Journal of European Public Policy, 25(1), pp. 109–135. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2017.1310279.
• Wæver, O. (1998) ‘The Sociology of a Not So International Discipline: American and European Developments in International Relations’, International Organization, 52(4), pp. 687–727. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1162/002081898550725.

Lecture 9: IR Debates

Core Required Reading

1. Dunne, T., Kurki, M. and Smith, S. (eds) (2021) International relations theories: discipline and diversity Fifth edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• Still a Discipline After All These Debates? by Ole Weaver

2. Griffiths, M., Roach, S.C. and Solomon, M.S. (2010) Fifty key thinkers in international relations. 2. ed., repr. London: Routledge (Routledge key guides). o Christian Reus-Smit

• Alexander Wendt

Essential Required Reading

• Dunne, T., Hansen, L. and Wight, C. (2013) ‘The end of International Relations theory?’, European Journal of International Relations, 19(3), pp. 405–425. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066113495485.
• Navon, E. (2001) ‘The “Third Debate” Revisited’, Review of International Studies, 27(4), pp. 611–625. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20097763.
• Powell, R. (1994) ‘Anarchy in International Relations Theory: The Neorealist-Neoliberal Debate’, International Organization. Edited by R.O. Keohane and D.A. Baldwin, 48(2), pp. 313–344. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2706934.

Recommended Reading

• Eun, Y.-S. (2019) ‘Opening up the debate over “non-western” international relations’, Politics, 39(1), pp. 4–17. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0263395718805401.
• Jackson, P.T. and Nexon, D.H. (2009) ‘Paradigmatic Faults in International-Relations Theory’, International Studies Quarterly, 53(4), pp. 907–930. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27735129.
• Lapid, Y. (1989) ‘The Third Debate: On the Prospects of International Theory in a Post-Positivist Era’, International Studies Quarterly, 33(3), pp. 235–254. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/2600457.

Lecture 10: Security in International Relations

Core Required Reading

1. Andrey, M. (2010) ‘Security Implications of Neutrality’, Connections, 9(4), pp. 83–96. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26326226.
2. Buzan, B. (2003) ‘Security architecture in Asia: the interplay of regional and global levels’, The Pacific Review, 16(2), pp. 143–173. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/0951274032000069660.
3. Stritzel, H. (2007) ‘Towards a Theory of Securitization: Copenhagen and Beyond’, European Journal of International Relations, 13(3), pp. 357–383. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066107080128.

Essential Required Reading

• Kuzemko, C. (2014) ‘Politicising UK energy: what “speaking energy security” can do’, Policy & Politics, 42(2), pp. 259–274. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1332/030557312X655990.
• McCauley, C. and Moskalenko, S. (2008) ‘Mechanisms of Political Radicalization: Pathways Toward Terrorism’, Terrorism and Political Violence, 20(3), pp. 415–433. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09546550802073367.
• Sagan, S.D. (2011) ‘The Causes of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation’, Annual Review of Political Science, 14(1), pp. 225–244. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev–polisci–052209–131042.

Recommended Reading

• Condra, L.N. and Shapiro, J.N. (2012) ‘Who Takes the Blame? The Strategic Effects of Collateral Damage: WHO TAKES THE BLAME?’, American Journal of Political Science, 56(1), pp. 167–187. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540–5907.2011.00542.x.
• Danyk, Y., Maliarchuk, T. and Briggs, C. (2017) ‘Hybrid War’, Connections, 16(2), pp. 5–24. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26326478.
• Krebs, R.R. and Lobasz, J.K. (2007) ‘Fixing the Meaning of 9/11: Hegemony, Coercion, and the Road to War in Iraq’, Security Studies, 16(3), pp. 409–451. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09636410701547881.

Lecture 11: Rule of Law and Human Rights in International Relations 

Core Required Reading

1. Neumayer, E. (2005) ‘Do International Human Rights Treaties Improve Respect for Human Rights?’, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49(6), pp. 925–953. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002705281667.
2. O’Donnell, G.A. (2004) ‘Why the Rule of Law Matters’, Journal of Democracy, 15(4), pp. 32–46. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2004.0076.
3. Weingast, B.R. (1997) ‘The Political Foundations of Democracy and the Rule of the Law’, American Political Science Review, 91(2), pp. 245–263. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/2952354.

Essential Required Reading

• Chiozza, G. and King, J. (2022) ‘The state of human rights in a (post) COVID-19 world’, Journal of Human Rights, 21(3), pp. 246–262. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2022.2051450.
• De Mesquita, B.B. et al. (2005) ‘Thinking Inside the Box: A Closer Look at Democracy and Human Rights’, International Studies Quarterly, 49(3), pp. 439–458. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468–2478.2005.00372.x.
• Turner, B.S. (1993) ‘Outline of a Theory of Human Rights’, Sociology, 27(3), pp. 489–512. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038593027003009.

Recommended Reading

• Bakke, E. and Sitter, N. (2022) ‘The EU’s Enfants Terribles : Democratic Backsliding in Central Europe since 2010’, Perspectives on Politics, 20(1), pp. 22–37. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592720001292.
• Hopewell, K. (2022) ‘Beyond U.S.-China Rivalry: Rule Breaking, Economic Coercion, and the Weaponization of Trade’, AJIL Unbound, 116, pp. 58–63. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/aju.2022.3.
• Johnstone, I. (2020) ‘The Rule of Law Under Siege’, The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 44(1), pp. 5– 14. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/48599277.

Required Students’ Skills

Read the course materials carefully and focus on the core and essential required readings that will greatly increase your level of knowledge.

Learn how to use search engines for academic articles, primarily Web of Science, JSTOR, SAGE Journals, and Google Scholar.

To pass an essay assignment with flying colours, you must master the Harvard citation style. Also, it is highly recommended to read the following publication about research methods and design to improve your essay score:

• Lamont, C. and Boduszynski, M. (2020) Research methods in politics and international relations. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

Throughout the course, students are also expected to familiarise themselves with leading academic journals to locate the latest articles, thereby connecting with the international relations academic community.