The objective of this module is for students to develop an advanced understanding of international political phenomena. The course is designed as a continuation of Introduction to International Relations, and students are expected to be familiar with the main features that shape international politics. This module seeks to deepen knowledge of international politics through the analysis of globalization processes, paying attention both to their origins and to their implications for the functioning of global democracy and political economy.
The study of these issues will always be approached from the perspective of the most current debates?such as the role of the state in global politics, the crisis of democracy, or new conflicts?and through the analysis of different case studies.
INTRODUCTION
What does it mean to conduct analysis in international politics?
Levels of analysis in international politics
Theoretical perspectives
UNIT 1: The State in the International System
The globalization paradigm
The role of the state in international politics
The role of the state in the global economy
UNIT 2: Global Governance
Global democracy
Globalization and political change
Nationalism, populism, and technocracy
UNIT 3: Global Political Economy
Global inequality
Narratives of globalization
International migration
UNIT 4: Case Studies
Europe and the Middle East
The U.S. and Latin America
Asia and Africa
The course consists of two parts: a series of lecture sessions, where the main theoretical content will be delivered, and a series of practical sessions. For each lecture, readings will be provided that relate to the content of the session. The content of each session will be considered examinable material for the final exam.
The practical sessions are structured around the discussion of the relevant (mandatory) readings on the topics of the different units. The students, organized either in groups or individually, will be responsible for presenting and discussing these texts each week. As outlined in the evaluation criteria (below), participation in the seminars will be assessed. This means that students who are not responsible for presenting in a given week must nevertheless prepare the readings, and all groups are expected to ask questions about the texts presented by their classmates.
Some practical sessions are reserved for monitoring and presenting parts of the research project that students will have to submit at the end of the course as part of continuous assessment. The guidelines for this project will be explained on the first day of class.
In general, students are expected to attend classes, and the development of their critical thinking and analytical skills will be encouraged through debates on current political affairs related to international politics. Each class will include open debates to check knowledge acquisition and the development of critical capacity. Guest lectures will also be held to deepen and connect the course topics with practical cases.
To be assessed in the ordinary examination session, all activities subject to evaluation must have been completed. Assessable activities must be submitted on the dates indicated by the instructor. If, for any reason duly justified and communicated to the instructor, they cannot be submitted within the established period, they may be handed in before the date of the final exam of the course, so that the instructor can grade them. However, in this case, the instructor will not be obliged to provide feedback on those activities.
On the other hand, students have the right to sit the final written exam even if they have not submitted all the other evaluable activities. However, the final grade for the course will only be calculated if all activities have been submitted, in accordance with the evaluation criteria and weightings established in this syllabus. If any evaluable activity has not been submitted or completed, the student will be recorded as ?Not Presented? in the grade report for that session.
EXTRAORDINARY EXAM SESSION
The evaluation criteria are the same as in the ordinary session, meaning that all evaluable activities required in the course must be submitted. Grades from completed activities will be retained until the pending activities are completed. The same weighting criteria as in the ordinary assessment will be applied. This measure applies only within the academic year in progress; if the extraordinary session is not passed, re-enrolment will require repeating the entire course.
ON THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Use of AI tools: If AI tools are used in any activity, a paragraph must be included specifying how AI was used and what prompts or instructions were employed to obtain the results. Failure to do so constitutes a violation of academic honesty policies.
Final Exam: 40%
Final essay: 40%
Presentation and participation: 20%.
Baldwin, Richard (2016). The Great Convergence. Information Technology and the New Globalization. Harvard University Press.
Bartels, Larry (2008). Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age. Princeton University Press.
Beramendi, Pablo, Häusermann, Silja, Kriesi, Hanspeter, & Kitschelt, Herbert (eds.) (2015). The Politics of Advanced Capitalism. Cambridge University Press.
Boix, Carles (2019). Democratic Capitalism at the Crossroads: Technological Change and the Future of Politics. Princeton University Press.
Edkins, Jenny, & Zehfuss, Maya (eds) (2013). Global Politics: A New Introduction. Routledge.
Griffiths, Ryan D. (2016). Age of Secession. The International and Domestic Determinants of State Birth. Cambridge University Press.
Milanovic, Branko (2016). Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of Globalization. Harvard University Press.
Nussbaum, Martha N. (2019). The Cosmpolitan Tradition. Harvard University Press.
Rodrik, Dani (2011). The Globalitzation Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy. Oxford University Press.
Piketty, Thomas (2014). Capital in the Twenty First Century. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Streeck, Wolfgang (2014). Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism. Verso Books.
Alan I. Abramowitz, The Great Alignment: Race, Party Transformation, and The Rise of Donald Trump.
Chas W. Freeman, Jr., Interesting Times: China, America, and the Shifting Balance of Prestige.
Christopher Schmidt-Nowara, The Conquest of History: Spanish Colonialism and National Histories in the Nineteenth Century.
David Stenner, Globalizing Morocco.
Ian Morris, Why the West Rules ? for Now.
Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel.
Michael Walzer, Thick and Thin: Moral Argument at Home and Abroad.
Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations.
Terry, Eagleton, Culture.
Yu Hua, China in Ten Words.