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İzmir Ekonomi Üniversitesi

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    GRADUATE SCHOOL

    Political Science and International Relations (With Thesis)

    PSIR 556 | Course Introduction and Application Information

    Course Name
    Contemporary Issues in International Relations
    Code
    Semester
    Theory
    (hour/week)
    Application/Lab
    (hour/week)
    Local Credits
    ECTS
    PSIR 556
    Fall/Spring
    3
    0
    3
    7.5

    Prerequisites
    None
    Course Language
    English
    Course Type
    Elective
    Course Level
    Second Cycle
    Mode of Delivery -
    Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course -
    National Occupation Classification -
    Course Coordinator -
    Course Lecturer(s)
    Assistant(s)
    Course Objectives This course aims at providing graduate students with new perspectives on current issues and debates in the study of International Relations, and it also targets at enabling the students to analyze those issues using critical lenses.
    Learning Outcomes

    The students who succeeded in this course;

    • Identify the principal current issues and debates in international relations,
    • Analyze those issues using objective and critical lenses;
    • Develop their own opinions, interpretations, perspectives regarding those issues,
    • Compare/contrast the perspectives, positions and policies of leading international actors with respect to those issues,
    • Make projections on future trends and challenges likely to be faced by international community in coming years.
    Course Description The focus of the course would be some of the current issues and debates of international relations. The methodology of the course will be lecturer’s explanations intermingled with class discussions.
    Related Sustainable Development Goals

     



    Course Category

    		Core Courses
    Major Area Courses
    X
    Supportive Courses
    Media and Management Skills Courses
    Transferable Skill Courses

     

    WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

    Week Subjects Related Preparation
    1 Course Introduction: course objectives, content, methodology, conditions
    2 Environmental Issues in IR Joshua Busby, “Warming World”, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2018; Amitav Ghosh, “The Coming Climate Crisis”, Foreign Policy, Winter 2019; Michael Byers and Kent A. Peacock, “Did climate change destroy the aliens?” The Bulletin, June 27, 2019; Stephen M. Walt, “Who Will Save the Amazon (and How)?” Foreign Policy, August 5, 2019; Mohamed Adow, “The Climate Debt,” Foreign Affairs, May/June 2020; Micheal Oppenheimer, “As the World Burns,” Foreign Affairs, November/December 2020; Stewart M. Patrick, “The International Order Isn’t Ready for the Climate Crisis,” Foreign Affairs, November/December 2021; Robert Muggah, “Climate Threats Are Multiplying in the Horn of Africa,” Foreign Policy, December 5, 2021; Christina Lu and Anusha Rathi, “The Mediterranean as We Know It Is Vanishing,” Foreign Policy, August 1, 2022. Recommended movie: Before the Flood (2016) – available on youtube.
    3 Populism, post-truth, personalistic rules: end of democracy and liberalism? Pankaj Mishra, “The Globalization of Rage”, Foreign Affairs, 17 October 2016; Yasicha Mounk and Roberto Stefan Foa, “The End of The Democracy Culture,” Foreign Affairs, April 16, 2018; Robert Kagan, “The strongmen strike back,” Foreign Policy, March 14, 2019; Rick Shenkman, “The End of Democracy,” Politico, September 8, 2019; Moisés Naim, “The Dictators’ New Playbook,” Foreign Affairs, March/April 2022; Keren Yarhi-Milo and Laura Resnick Samotin, “The Unpredictable Dictator,” Foreign Affairs, August 4, 2023; Anton Jager, “The One Out of Hell Is Back in Europe,” The New York Times, September 26, 2023; Jospeh Stiglitz, “Time is up for neoliberals,” The Washington Post, May 13, 2024.
    4 International System and Global Leadership Stephen Kotkin, “Realist World,” Foreign Affairs, June 14, 2018; Stephen M. Walt, “What Sort of World Are We Headed for?” Foreign Policy, October 2, 2018; Richard Haas, “How a World Order Ends,” Foreign Affairs, December 11, 2018; John. J. Mearsheimer, “The Inevitable Rivalry,” Foreign Affairs, November/December 2021; Elizabeth Economy, “ Xi Jinping’s New World Order,” Foreign Affairs, January/February 2022; Mark Leonard, “The Real End of Pax Americana,” Foreign Affairs, June 13, 2022; Alexander Gabuev, “China’s New Vassal,” Foreign Affairs, August 9, 2022.
    5 Research assignment outline presentations 1
    6 Research assignment outline presentations 2
    7 Research assignment outline presentations 3
    8 Corruption and Injustice Christopher Sabatini, “Corruption in the BRICS,” Foreign Affairs, July 18, 2016; Will Doig, “The Belt and Road Initiative Is a Corruption Bonanza,” Foreign Policy, January 15, 2019; Oliver Bullough, “Dirty Money: How Corruption Changes the World,” Foreign Affairs, January/February 2020; Philip Zelikov, et.al. “The Rise of Strategic Corruption: How States Weaponize Graft,“ Foreign Affairs, July/August 2020; The Economist, “The war against money-laundering is being lost,”April 12, 2021; Ricardo Soares de Oliveira and Olivier Vallée, “The Republic of Congo Is Dark Debt Pioneer,” Foreign Policy, May 21, 2021; Josh Rudolph, “The Fight Against Corruption Needs Economists,” The Foreign Affairs, May 17, 2021; Daron Acemoglu, “Closing Tax Havens Is the True Test of the West’s Resolve,” Project Syndicate, March 8, 2022;.
    9 Micro-nationalism, regionalism, irredentism John Newhouse, “Europe’s Rising Regionalism”, Foreign Affairs, January 1, 1997; Edoardo Campanella, “Europe, Fracturing From Within”, Foreign Affairs, 17 January 2017; Sebastian Balfour, “A Brief History of Catalan Nationalism”, Foreign Affairs, 18 October 2017; Joost Hilterman and Maria Fantappie, “Twilight of the Kurds”, Foreign Policy, January 16, 2018; Andreas Wimmer, “National Identity and Political Power,” Foreign Affairs, April 16, 2018; Tanisha M. Fazal, “Go Your Own Way,” Foreign Affairs, June 14, 2018; Masha Gessen, “Barcelona’s Experiment in Radical Democracy,” The New Yorker, August 6, 2018; Stephen M. Walt, “You Can’t Defeat Nationalism, So Stop Trying,” Foreign Policy, June 4, 2019.
    10 Migration Ryan Gingeras, “Can Turkey Assimilate Its Refugees*” Foreign Affairs, May 24, 2016; Loren B. Landau et.al. “Europe Is Making Its Migration Problem Worse,” Foreign Affairs, September 5, 2018; Nanjala Nyabola, “The End of Asylum,” Foreign Affairs, Oct 10, 2019; Bryan Caplan, “Open Borders Are a Trillion-Dollar Idea,” Foreign Policy, Nov 1, 2019; Lant Pritchett, “Only Migration Can Save the Welfare State,” Foreign Affairs, February 24, 2020; Sonia Shah, “Climate Change Will Drive People Across Borders,” Foreign Affairs, July 29, 2020; Kelsey P. Norman, “Rich Countries Cannot Outsource Their Migration Dilemmas,” Foreign Affairs, January 5th, 2022; Gordon H. Hanson and Metthew J. Slaughter, “Amercia Needs More Immigration to Defeat Inflation,” Foreign Affairs, December 19th, 2022; Justin Gest, “The World’s Immigration Policies Are Outdates. Here’s How to Catch Up,” Foreign Policy, June 29, 2023.
    11 Artificial Intelligence TBD
    12 Orbital, Outer, Deep Space Matthew Shaer, “Asteroid Miner’s Guide to the Galaxy,” Foreign Policy, April 28, 2016; Stewar Patrcik and Kyle L. Evanoff, “The Right Way to Achieve Security in Space,” Foreign Affairs, September 17, 2018; The Economist, “In 2022 Moounrush will begin in earnest,” January 1st, 2022; Rebecca Doyle, “What We Do to the Moon Will Transform It Forever,” The New York Times, January 21st, 2024; The Economist, “War in space is no longer science fiction,” January 31st, 2024.
    13 Research assignment content presentations -1
    14 Research assignment content presentations -2
    15 Research assignment content presentations -3
    16 Final Exam

     

    Course Notes/Textbooks

    This course does not have a specific coursebook. Instead, all assigned readings would be available on the course’s Blackboard page for students to download before attending lectures.

    All course readings are available at the University Library and as open sources.

    Suggested Readings/Materials

     

    EVALUATION SYSTEM

    Semester Activities Number Weigthing
    Participation
    1
    30
    Laboratory / Application
    Field Work
    Quizzes / Studio Critiques
    Portfolio
    Homework / Assignments
    Presentation / Jury
    2
    30
    Project
    Seminar / Workshop
    Oral Exams
    Midterm
    Final Exam
    1
    40
    Total

    Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade
    4
    60
    Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade
    1
    40
    Total

    ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE

    Semester Activities Number Duration (Hours) Workload
    Theoretical Course Hours
    (Including exam week: 16 x total hours)
    16
    3
    48
    Laboratory / Application Hours
    (Including exam week: '.16.' x total hours)
    16
    0
    Study Hours Out of Class
    16
    5
    80
    Field Work
    0
    Quizzes / Studio Critiques
    0
    Portfolio
    0
    Homework / Assignments
    0
    Presentation / Jury
    2
    34
    68
    Project
    0
    Seminar / Workshop
    0
    Oral Exam
    0
    Midterms
    0
    Final Exam
    1
    19
    19
        Total
    215

     

    COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP

    #
    		 Program Competencies/Outcomes
    * Contribution Level
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    1

    To be able to improve theoretical and conceptual proficiencies on Political Science and International Relations and use them competently.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    2

    To be able to evaluate critically the relationships between various factors in the field of Political Science and International Relations such as structures, actors, institutions and culture.
    X
    -
    -
    -
    -
    3

    To be able to determine and question the theoretical and empirical gaps in Political Science and International Relations literature.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    4

    To be able to identify the political and cultural conditions that generate discrimination mechanisms based on race, ethnicity, gender and religion at national and international levels.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    5

    To be able to gather and analyze data by using scientific research methods.
    -
    -
    X
    -
    -
    6

    To be able to analyze and evaluate the historical continuity and changes observed in the relations between the actors and institutions of national and international politics.
    -
    X
    -
    -
    -
    7

    To be able to present individual research and contemporary developments in Political Science and International Relations in written, oral, and visual forms.
    -
    -
    X
    -
    -
    8

    To be able to take responsibility in generating solutions to the problems that arise in relation to the politics in daily life.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    9

    To be able to determine the institutional and political instruments for conflict resolution in domestic and international politics.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    10

    To be able to prepare a thesis/term project about Political Science and International Relations based on scientific criteria.
    -
    -
    X
    -
    -
    11

    To be able to follow new research and developments in Political Science and International Relations and participate the debates in academic meetings through a foreign language.
    -
    -
    X
    -
    -
    12

    To be able to have ethical, social and scientific values in the stages throughout the processes of gathering, interpreting, disseminating and implementing data relevant to Political Science and International Relations.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -

    *1 Lowest, 2 Low, 3 Average, 4 High, 5 Highest

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