| Module Identifier |
IP10110 |
| Module Title |
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 1:THE REALIST VIEW |
| Academic Year |
2001/2002 |
| Co-ordinator |
Dr Adam Morton |
| Semester |
Semester 1 |
| Mutually Exclusive |
GW10110 |
| Course delivery |
Lecture | 20 Hours (20 x 1 hour) |
| |
Seminars / Tutorials | 5 Hours (5 x 1 hour) |
| Assessment |
Essay | 1 X 1,500 words | 30% |
| |
Exam | 2 Hours | 70% |
Learning outcomes
At the end of the module you should be able to:
- describe the evolution and nature of the international system
- outline and assess the main concepts of the Realist account of International Politics
- provide answers to the four questions posed in the module about why International Politics has the patterns that it does
- identify and assess the options available for state leaders and be able to explain the constraints on their actions
- show an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the Realist framework and identify what other frameworks are
available
Aims of the module
To provide you with a coherent introduction to the dominant theory of International Politics and to help you explain why
international relations has the patterns it does.
Brief description
This module focuses on one approach to thinking about International Politics, namely the Realist account. There are
other approaches, and these are discussed in the second semester module (IP10310). The focus of this module is to
introduce you to how International Politics has been traditionally explained. As such, it gives you a coherent framework with which to explain International Politics, and also introduces you more generally to the main issues and themes of contemporary international relations.
The module has three sections: Background, in which you look at the evolution of the international system and then have a brief
history of how International Politics has been explained in the 20th century; Concepts, in which you will be introduced to the
main concepts of International Politics, such as power, the balance of power, morality, international systems and international society; Questions, in which we will pose a series of key questions about International Politics, dealing with issues such as who acts in world politics, how is foreign policy made, what are the tools for implementing foreign policy, why does war occur, and what are the main constraints on the actions of state leaders?
Reading Lists
Books
Jack Donnelly.
Realism. Cambridge University Press, 2000
J Baylis & S Smith.
The Globalization of World Politics. OUP 1997
K Holsti.
International Politics: A Framework for Analysis 7th ed. prentice-Hall 1995
P Voitti & M Kauppi.
International Relations theory, 2nd ed. Macmillan 1993