International Relations

Overview

International relations (IR) is the scientific study of the international connections between the world's sovereign states. This certificate in international relations will begin with exploring the concepts and history of international relations, and the great debates that surround the cause of World War I. Some great resources such as 'The Great Illusion' by Norman Angell and 'Introduction to Global Politics' by Richard W. Mansbach will be discussed to further expand your knowledge on international relations. Some of the most important theories relating to international relations such as realism, liberalism, constructivism and feminism will then be taught. The theory of IR is a set of ideas that explain how the international system functions and the key assumptions of IR theory as a part of social science and as an analytic tool, focusing on the problems of war, peace and foreign policy decision-making are then explored in detail. International relations generally distinguishes between three levels of analysis and in IR, the thought of several levels of analysis indicates that the spectator and analyst can choose to focus on the entire international system, components of the system in interaction with one another or specific parts of the system - you will be shown what forms the parts or components of this system.

The study of international relations revolves around states and this international relations course will analyze governments, agencies, bureaucracies, how states are organized, the role of agencies and bureaucracies within states and the impact that they have on the foreign policy of the state. This course will also discuss how inter-state relations have evolved since the Middle Ages and what the Westphalian system means. A peace treaty is a legal agreement between two or more hostile parties, typically nations or governments, that formally ends the parties' state of war. You will be shown the peace treaties of Augsburg and Westphalia and the emergence of modern statehood. Power in international relations is defined in different ways and there are different approaches to how power is measured in IR. This course goes on to explore the different forms of power, power in the Middle Ages, the evolution of European states and religious wars. What exactly is war? You will be shown the actual meaning and causes of war and the approaches that can be used to achieve international peace. International politics deals with the interaction between political and economic forces. The course content thoroughly explains the concepts of liberalism, realism and Marxism and their different approaches to the international political economy and globalization. This course goes on to discuss the relationship between the organization of political authorities within states and how effective they are in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

This course is important if you want to have an understanding of international relations in a broad sense, become a diplomat, or if you are simply interested in learning more about how the world works and how we have reached our current global state of affairs.