POLI 2520

World Politics

Lec 01 selected

Why do states fight wars? Commit genocide? Sign treaties? Acquire and sell ballistic missile and nuclear technologies? Join economic and military alliances? Enforce and/or dismantle sanctions against states like Iraq, Iran or North Korea? Why can’t we enforce international law as effectively as we enforce domestic law? Can we identify (and enforce) an objective set of universal moral values to guide relations between states and peoples? Is the U.N. a useful institution or is it destined to fail? Should NATO have intervened in conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda or Afghanistan? What were the factors that led to the US-UK invasion of Iraq in 2003, and what does this tell us about US foreign policy and the origins of major conflict? These are some of the questions the course is designed to answer.

Sections

Lecture

From the syllabus

From the Fall 2023 syllabus by Leah Sarson. Fall 2026 is taught by Bow B., so details may differ. Open the PDF

Grading

20%Reading reflections (4)5% each; choose one option from each of four sections
20%Constructing an argument in IR assignmentDue October 18
30%International Relations: The ‘How Not to’ Guide reportDue November 22
30%Final examDate to be determined

Textbooks

  • Global Politics: A New Introduction, Edited by Jenny Edkins and Maja Zehfuss
  • International Relations Theory, Edited by Stephen McGlinchey, Rosie Walters, and Christian Scheinpflug (free)

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