POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (WITH THESIS)
Master TR-NQF-HE: Level 7 QF-EHEA: Second Cycle EQF-LLL: Level 7

General Information about the Course

Course Code: PSI500
Course Title: Theories Of International Relations
Course Semester: 1. Semester / Fall
Course Credits:
Theoretical Practical Credit ECTS
3 0 3 6
Language of instruction: EN
Prerequisite of the course: No
Type of course: Necessary
Level of course:
Master TR-NQF-HE:7. Master`s Degree QF-EHEA:Second Cycle EQF-LLL:7. Master`s Degree
Course Lecturer(s): Assoc. Prof. Doğan Şafak POLAT

Purpose and content of the course

Course Objectives: This course aims to:
- familiarize students with different perspectives or intellectual frameworks for understanding what is commonly referred to as international relations (although many prefer terms such as international, transnational, global, or world politics) and develop the ability to apply those perspectives to understand events, processes, and/or practice
- examine the basic assumptions, conceptual and theoretical insights of the theories of IR and relate them to both contemporary events and historical processes, evaluating their contributions as well as their shortcomings
- enable students to develop a critical understanding of the ways in which the subject/object of the IR discipline — the international — is constructed as a field of study
- examine the relationship between theoryand practice and engage with the disciplinary and political challenges of theorizing about the "international”
- in summary, the lessons of this course will be
(a) sociological/theoretical, as we will better understand how the world works;
(b) metatheoretical, in that we will think a bit about how we study the world; and
(c) practical, in that we will think about how to live in the world as it is and could be.

Course Objective: The main objective of this course is to familiarize students with the theories of international relations (IR) as defined within the disciplinary studies of international politics. The central objective is to provide a comprehensive and detailed overview of the main scholarly traditions as well as the major debates in IR theory. In this way, students will become familiar with debates on key concepts and issues. The course explores the ontological, epistemological, and methodological problems of theorizing IR and examines ongoing debates about international political theory in the 21st century.
Mode of Delivery: Face to face

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge (Described as Theoritical and/or Factual Knowledge.)
  1) To learn to think and write critically about important debates in contemporary international relations theory, to explain different frameworks for thinking about international politics, to discuss various ideas, concepts and texts in international political theory and the historical contexts in which they emerged, to learn the powerful implications of alternative ways of explaining, understanding and judging contemporary international politics. Evaluating the skills and weaknesses is the outcome to be achieved at the end of the course.
  2) Understanding different perspectives that dominate the IR thinking.
  3) To be able to interpret diplomatic and political events by using different IR perspectives.
Skills (Describe as Cognitive and/or Practical Skills.)
Competences (Described as "Ability of the learner to apply knowledge and skills autonomously with responsibility", "Learning to learn"," Communication and social" and "Field specific" competences.)

Course Topics

Week Subject
Related Preparation Pekiştirme
1) Introduction to IR Theories
2) Great Debates on IR
3) Realism/Realist Theory in IR
4) Liberalism/Liberal Theory in IR
5) Marxism, Marxist Theory in IR
6) International Political Economy
7) International Regime Theories
8) English School of IR
9) Poststructuralism in International Relations
10) Constructivist Theories
11) The Copenhagen School
12) Post-Colonialism
13) Critical Theory
14) Feminism & Green Theory
References: o Morgenthau Hans J. (1948) Politics Among Nations. New York, NY: Knopf.
o Gilpin, R. (1981) War and Change in World Politics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.∗
o Griffiths, M (Ed.) (2007) International Relations Theory for the Twenty-First Century. London and New York: Routledge. (From here on IRT)
o Bell, D (2009) “Writing the World: Disciplinary History and Beyond” International Affairs, 85(1): 3-22.
o Bell, D. (Ed.) (2007). Victorian Visions of Global Order. Cambridge: CUP.
o Brown, C (2016) “Review Article: International Political Theory Today” Millennium: Journal of International Studies. 45(2)
o Brown, C (2000) “International Political Theory: a British Social Science?” British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2(1).
o Hobson, J (2012) The Eurocentric Conception of World Politics. Cambridge: CUP. Special Forum on Hobson’s book in Millennium 42(2) (2014).
o Hoffman, S (1987) “An American Social Science: International Relations” Deadalus 106(3): 41-60.
o Jackson, PT (2010) The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations: Philosophy of Science and Its Implications for the Study of World Politics. New York: Routledge.
o Schmidt, B (1998) The Political Discourse of Anarchy: A Disciplinary History of International Relations. New York: SUNY Press.
o Shilliam, R (2011) “The Perilious but the Unavoidable Terrain of the Non-West” in Shilliam, R (Ed.) IR and Non-Western Thought. London: Routledge.
o Special Issues: Dealing with Difference: Problems and Possibilities for Dialogue in IR” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 39 (3).
o Tickner, A (2013) “Core, periphery and (neo)imperialist International Relations” European Journal of International Relations, 19(3).
o Tickner, A and Blaney, D (Eds.) (2012) Thinking IR Differently. London: Routledge.
o Vitalis, R (2005) “Birth of a Discipline” in Lon and Schmidt (Eds.) Imperialism and Internationalism in the Discipline of IR. New York: SUNY Press.
o Waever, O (1998) “The sociology of a not so international discipline” International Organization.
o Wight, M (1960) “Why is there no international theory?” International Relations, 2(1)
o Cox, R (1981) “Social Forces, States and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 10(2)
o Walker, RBJ (1993) “International Relations as Political Theory” in Walker, RBJ Inside/Outside: International Relations as Political Theory, Cambridge: CUP.
o Rosenberg, J (2017) “International Relations in the Prison of Social Science” International Relations 30(2): 127-153
o Hamati-Ataya, I (2013) “Reflectivity, Reflexivity, Reflexivism: IR’s “Reflexive Turn” –and Beyond” European Journal of International Studies19(4):6693694.
o Special Issue, “The End of International Relations Theory?” Dunne, T, Hansen, L, Wight, C (Eds.) (2013) European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 19, No. 3, 2013..
o Morgenthau, H (1948) “International Politics: A Dual Approach” in Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace
o Waltz, K (1979) “Reductionist and Systemic Theories” in Theory of International Politics. Reading, Massachussets: Addison-Wesley PC.
o Waltz, K., (1959) Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
o Waltz, K. (1979) Theory of International Politics. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
o Williams, MC. “The Hobbesian Theory of International Relations: Three Traditions,” in Jahn, B (Ed). Classical Theory in International Relations. Cambridge: CUP.
o Bull, H (1977) “The Concept of Order in World Politics” in The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics. New York: Palgrave.
o Clark, I (2009) “Towards an English School Theory of Hegemony”, EJIR 15(2): 203-228.
o Wendt, A. (1999) Social Theory of International Politics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
o Wendt. A. (1998) “On Constitution and Causation in International Relations.” Review of International Studies 24 (5): 101–118.
o Axelrod, R and Keohane, R (1985) “Achieving Cooperation under Anarchy: Strategies and Institutions” World Politics 38: 226-254.
o Mearsheimer, John J. and Stephen M. Walt (2013) “Leaving Theory Behind: Why Simplistic Hypothesis Testing Is Bad for International Relations.” European Journal of International Relations 19 (3): 427–457.
o Price, R (1995) “A Genealogy of the Chemical Weapons Taboo” International Organization 49(1): 73-103.
o Anievas, A, Nisancioglu, K (2015) “The Ottoman-Habsburg Rivalry over the Long Sixteenth Century” in How the West Came to Rule: The Geopolitical Origins of Capitalism, London: Pluto Press.
o Brown, C (1994) “’Turtles All the Way Down’: Anti-Foundationalism, Critical Theory and IR” Millennium 23(2): 213-236.
o Der Derian, J (2000) “Virtuous War/Virtual Theory” International Affairs pp.771-788
o Tickner, J.A., True, J. (2018) “A Century of International Feminism: From World War 1 Women’s Peace Pragmatism to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda” International Studies Quarterly 62(2): 221-233.
o Tickner, A (2003), “Seeing IR Differently: Notes from the Third World” Millennium: Journal of International Studies. 32(2).
o Tickner, Arlene (2013) “Core, Periphery and (neo) Imperialist International Relations.” European Journal of International Relations 19 (3): 627–646.
o Muppidi, H (2012) “Shame and Rage” in Colonial Signs of International Relations. Columbia: Columbia University Press.
o Sajed, A (2019) “How we fight: Anticolonial Imagineries and the Question of National Liberation in the Algerian War” Interventions

Ders - Program Öğrenme Kazanım İlişkisi

No Effect 1 Lowest 2 Average 3 Highest
       
Ders Öğrenme Kazanımları

1

2

3

Program Outcomes
1) To be able to analyze political developments and international relations in accordance with theories in the fields of political science and international relations
2) To acquire theoretical knowledge in the field of international conflicts and conflict resolution
3) To be able to apply theoretical knowledge gained in political science and international relations to contemporary global and regional political events

Course Teaching, Learning Methods

Q & A
Case Problem Solving/ Drama- Role/ Case Management
Laboratory
Quantitative Problem Solving
Fieldwork
Group Study / Assignment
Individual Assignment
WEB-based Learning
Internship
Practice in Field
Project Preparation
Report Writing
Seminar
Supervision
Social Activity
Occupational Activity
Occupational Trip
Application (Modelling, Design, Model, Simulation, Experiment et.)
Reading
Thesis Preparation
Field Study
Student Club and Council Activities
Other
Logbook
Interview and Oral Conversation
Research
Watching a movie
Bibliography preparation
Oral, inscribed and visual knowledge production
Taking photographs
Sketching
Mapping and marking
Reading maps
Copying textures
Creating a library of materials
Presentation

Evaluation System

Semester Requirements Number of Activities Level of Contribution
Attendance 1 % 10
Laboratory % 0
Application % 0
Practice Exam % 0
Quizzes % 0
Homework Assignments % 0
Presentation % 0
Project % 0
Special Course Internship (Work Placement) % 0
Field Study % 0
Article Critical % 0
Article Writing % 0
Module Group Study % 0
Brainstorming % 0
Role Playing + Dramatizing % 0
Out of Class Study % 0
Preliminary Work, Reinforcement % 0
Application Repetition etc. % 0
Homework (reading, writing, watching movies, etc.) % 0
Project Preparation + Presentation % 0
Report Preparation + Presentation % 0
Presentation / Seminar Preparation + Presenting % 0
Oral examination % 0
Midterms 1 % 40
Final 1 % 50
Report Submission % 0
Bütünleme % 0
Kanaat Notu % 0
Committee % 0
Yazma Ödev Dosyası % 0
Portfolio % 0
Take-Home Exam % 0
Logbook % 0
Discussion % 0
Participation % 0
total % 100
PERCENTAGE OF SEMESTER WORK % 50
PERCENTAGE OF FINAL WORK % 50
total % 100

Calculation of Workload and ECTS Credits

Activities Number of Activities Workload
Course Hours 15 45
Laboratory
Application
Practice Exam
Special Course Internship (Work Placement)
Field Work
Study Hours Out of Class 14 42
Article Critical
Article Writing
Module Group Study
Brainstorming
Role Playing + Dramatizing
Out-of-Class Study (Pre-study, Reinforcement, Practice Review, etc.)
Homework (reading, writing, watching movies, etc.)
Project Preparation + Presentation
Report Preparation + Presentation
Presentation / Seminar Preparation + Presenting
Oral examination
Preparing for Midterm Exams 8 40
MIDTERM EXAM (Visa) 1 5
Preparing for the General Exam
GENERAL EXAM (Final) 10 50
Participation
Discussion
Portfolio
Take-Home Exam
Logbook
Total Workload 182
ECTS (30 saat = 1 AKTS ) 6