Subject Area: International Relations
This course can also be studied in the following specialisation: Politics

The focus of this course is on those theories and concepts which have underpinned both the discipline and practice of International Relations (IR). In this context, the course examines the major debates which have occurred within the discipline over the nature of international politics and the role that the state plays in it. We also address the recurring and fundamental debate within international relations over the place of moral concerns in political analysis and activity.
The course begins with some reflections on international theory with a particular focus on constructivist theory. It then discusses the birth of the modern state and the social construction of sovereignty. Theories of war and and peace with reference to both classical and contemporary sources as well as to past and present conflicts.
In the second part of the course the focus is on major contributors to the realist theory of international relations, Chinese theories of international relations and the relation between order and justice in world politics with a particular focus on the question of humanitarian intervention and the claims of the stateless.
The course concludes with a critical analysis of the theory of quasi-states and an examination of the concept of self-determination in relation to national groups, minorities and indigenous peoples.