Università Roma Tre

This course consists of in-depth study of fundamental dynamics in international politics. Following an introduction on the history and historiography of IR, the course gives an overview on the main theories of international relations: from realism, institutionalism, and liberalism, through the English school, constructivism, post-structuralism, and post-colonialism, to critical theory, feminism, and green theory. Other approaches to IR - International Political Economy and Foreign Policy Analysis - are also introduced. The theories are applied in class through methods of deep learning and reflected upon in two in-class debates. The first debate focuses on cooperation and competition in international politics; the second on dynamics in a multipolar and multiplex world.
The internalization and applications of these theories is further supported through three modules. The first module on movies and international relations focuses on how films perform and influence our understanding of international politics. Students can choose among a list of movies to watch and write a short narrative analysis paper of two movies. The second module on methodologies in IR introduces key methodological approaches in the discipline and showcases their uses with examples of research. The third module on emerging topics in IR focuses on key topics in international politics analyzed through IR theories.
The course is designed to accommodate both students for whom IR theories are new, as well as those who have already taken an IR course. In this respect, it combines frontal lectures on theories and approaches supported through manuals, didactic methodologies of deep learning used in class, as well as student presentations on key readings in IR which gives students the possibility to directly engage with paradigmatic readings and deepen their understanding of them.

Required textbooks:
• Textbook 1: Dunne, Tim, Milya Kurki, and Steve Smith (eds), International Relations Theories. Discipline and Diversity. Oxford: Oxford University Press (4th edition, 2016)
• Textbook 2: Georg Sørensen, Jørgen Møller, Robert Jackson (eds.), Introduction to International Relations: Theories and Approaches. Oxford: Oxford University Press (8th edition, 2021).