POLS 232 International Relations

Overview of Course

This course introduces students to the main principles, concepts, and theories of international relations (IR), providing a foundation for understanding the major issues and dynamics of contemporary global politics. Students will leverage the unique opportunities afforded by the Semester at Sea itinerary to view world politics from diverse perspectives. Across the globe - at every port of call on our voyage - we will pay careful attention to the multitude of ways in which states wage conflict, pursue power, compete with rival states, challenge global norms, and navigate the global economy and the environment. This is a course designed to engage with the countries and societies visited during the voyage to recognize commonalities amidst divergent world views. Students will learn to use international relations theory in a sophisticated way, posing insightful questions and generating informed answers to real-world puzzles. Topics to be discussed include war and peace, poverty and under-development, human rights, humanitarian interventions, terrorism, democracy promotion, and global governance. Academic scholarship, news articles, and multi-media resources will form the basis of class discussion, debates, and role-play simulations for a “hands-on” approach to questions of global order and governance, diplomacy and warfare, alliances and economic dependencies, and the prevalent theories in the academic analysis of international politics. Throughout our voyage, one thing will become increasingly clear: there has never been a more fascinating and consequential moment in this century to study how the world works than right now.