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    GRADUATE SCHOOL

    PhD in Political Science and International Relations

    PSIR 631 | Course Introduction and Application Information

    Course Name
    International Relations Theories
    Code
    Semester
    Theory
    (hour/week)
    Application/Lab
    (hour/week)
    Local Credits
    ECTS
    PSIR 631
    Fall
    3
    0
    3
    7.5

    Prerequisites
    None
    Course Language
    English
    Course Type
    Required
    Course Level
    Third Cycle
    Mode of Delivery -
    Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course -
    National Occupation Classification -
    Course Coordinator -
    Course Lecturer(s)
    Assistant(s)
    Course Objectives To examine different theoretical approaches in the field of international relations and to understand and interpret contemporary theoretical debates.
    Learning Outcomes

    The students who succeeded in this course;

    • Can explain the goal and importance of theory and theoretical researches.
    • Can explain the main assumptions, problematics, epistemological, ontological and methodological foundations and their solutions of those problematics with examples
    • Can compare and analyze different theories in regard to the issues mentioned in article two.
    • Can use theories of international relations to analyze and explain historical and contemporary events and problems.
    • Can comment on the future of international relations and emerging trends in the framework of discussed theoretical approaches.
    Course Description This graduate seminar surveys the main theoretical and analytical approaches encountered in the study of international relations.
    Related Sustainable Development Goals

     



    Course Category

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

     

    WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

    Week Subjects Related Preparation
    1 Introduction
    2 Why Do We Need IR Theories? Bull, Hedley. 1966. “International Theory: The Case for a Classical Approach.” World Politics 18: 361-77. David A. Lake, “Why ‘isms’ Are Evil: Theory, Epistemology, and Academic Sects as Impediments to Understanding and Progress,” International Studies Quarterly, 55, 2(2011), 465-480. Fred. 2007. Theory and Metatheory in International Relations. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Chapter 3. Bleiker, R. (1997). Forget IR theory. Alternatives, 22(1), 57-85.
    3 Classical and Structural Realism Carr, E.H. (2000). ‘The Twenty Years’ Crisis. An Introduction to the Study of International Relations’. London: Palgrave Macmillan, Ch. 1-6. Morgenthau, H. J. (1945) ‘The Evil of Politics and the Ethics of Evil’, Ethics 56(1), pp. 1-18. Guzzini, S. (2004), ‘The Enduring Dilemmas of Realism’, European Journal of International Relations 10(4), pp. 533-568. Waltz, K. N. (1990), ‘Realist Thought and Neorealist Theory’, Journal of International Affairs 44(1), pp. 21-37.
    4 Liberalism(s) Wilson, P. (2003). ‘What is Idealism?’ in The International Theory of Leonard Woolf: A Study in Twentieth-Century Idealism. London: Palgrave Macmillan, Ch. 2. Keohane, R. (2004), http://www.uctv.tv/shows/Theory-and-International-Institutions-with-Robert-O-Keohane-Conversations-with-History-8991 Doyle, M. (1983). ‘Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, Part I’, Philosophy and Public Affairs 12 (3), pp. 205-235. Owen, J. (1994). "How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace," International Security 19 (2), pp. 87-125. Oneal, J., Russett, B., & Berbaum, M. (2003). ‘Causes of Peace: Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations, 1885-1992’, International Studies Quarterly 47(3), 371-393.
    5 Constructivism Wendt, A. (1992). Anarchy is what states make of it: the social construction of power politics. International organization, 46(2), 391-425. Björkdahl, A. (2002). Norms in international relations: Some conceptual and methodological reflections. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 15(1), 9-23. Guzzini, S. (2000). A Reconstruction of Constructivism in International Relations. European Journal of International Relations, 6(2), 147-182. Sárváry, K. (2005). No place for politics?: Truth, progress and the neglected role of diplomacy in Wendt's theory of history. In Constructivism and International Relations (pp. 158-177). Routledge.
    6 Marxism and Critical Theory Yalvaç, F., & Joseph, J. (2024). Introduction: Marxifying IR, IRifying Marxism. Uluslararası İlişkiler Dergisi, 21(82), 5-20. Pahnke, A. (2021). Regrounding critical theory: Lenin on imperialism, nationalism, and strategy. International Studies Review, 23(1), 181-203. Linklater, A. (1986). ‘Realism, Marxism and Critical International Theory’, Review of International Studies 12(4), pp. 301–312. Cox, R. W. (1983). ‘Gramsci, Hegemony and IR’, Millennium 12(2), pp. 162-175.
    7 Research Proposals
    8 The English School Buzan, B. (2001). ‘The English School: An Underexploited Resource in IR’, Review of International Studies 27(3), pp. 471-88. Bull, H. (1971). ‘Order vs. Justice in International Society’, Political Studies 19(3), pp. 269-83.
    9 Academic Break
    10 Poststructuralism Foucault, M. (1980). ‘Truth and Power’ in Gordon. C. (Ed.). Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977, New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf, pp. 109-133. Der Derian, J. (2000). ‘Virtuous War / Virtual Theory,’ International Affairs 76(4), pp. 771-788. Dillon, M. and Guerrero, L. L. (2008). ‘Biopolitics of Security in the 21st Century: an Introduction’, Review of International Studies 34(2), pp. 265-292. Adisonmez, U. C., & Onursal, R. (2022). “Strong, but Anxious State”: The Fantasmatic Narratives on Ontological Insecurity and Anxiety in Turkey. Uluslararası İlişkiler Dergisi, 19(73), 65-79.
    11 Postcolonialism Said, E. (2003) Orientalism, London: Penguin, pp. 1-49. Darby, P., & Paolini, A. J. (1994). ‘Bridging International Relations and Postcolonialism’, Alternatives: Global, Local, Political 19(3), 371–397. Seth, S. (2011). ‘Postcolonial Theory and the Critique of International Relations’, Millennium, 40(1), pp. 167-183. Hwang, Y. J. (2021). Reappraising the Chinese school of international relations: a postcolonial perspective. Review of International Studies, 47(3), 311-330.
    12 New Approaches in IR Kinnvall, C. (2004). ‘Globalization and Religious Nationalism: Self, Identity, and the Search for Ontological Security’, Political Psychology 25(5), pp. 741-767. Shepherd, L. J. (2010). Sex or gender? Bodies in world politics and why gender matters. In Gender Matters in Global Politics (pp. 29-42). Routledge. Adisonmez, U. C., & Oztig, L. I. (2024). A Psychoanalytic Approach to Turkish Foreign Policy: Crisis, Disorder, and Disorientation. Critical Studies on Security, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/21624887.2024.2312316.
    13 Progress of Research Proposals
    14 Review of the Course
    15 Review of the Course
    16 Final Exam

     

    Course Notes/Textbooks

    List of readings are provided above.

    All course readings are available at the University Library and as open sources.
    Suggested Readings/Materials

     

    EVALUATION SYSTEM

    Semester Activities Number Weigthing
    Participation
    1
    20
    Laboratory / Application
    Field Work
    Quizzes / Studio Critiques
    Portfolio
    Homework / Assignments
    1
    20
    Presentation / Jury
    1
    20
    Project
    1
    40
    Seminar / Workshop
    Oral Exams
    Midterm
    Final Exam
    Total

    Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade
    4
    100
    Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade
    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
    14
    7
    98
    Field Work
    0
    Quizzes / Studio Critiques
    0
    Portfolio
    0
    Homework / Assignments
    1
    20
    20
    Presentation / Jury
    1
    20
    20
    Project
    1
    30
    30
    Seminar / Workshop
    0
    Oral Exam
    0
    Midterms
    0
    Final Exam
    0
        Total
    216

     

    COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP

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

    To be able to improve and deepen the theoretical and conceptual proficiencies on Political Science and International Relations.
    -
    -
    -
    X
    -
    2

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

    To be able to determine the theoretical and empirical gaps in Political Science and International Relations literature and gain the ability of questioning at an advanced level.
    -
    -
    X
    -
    -
    4

    To be able to gain the ability to develop innovative, leading and original arguments in order to fill the gaps in Political Science and International Relations literature.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    5

    To be able to gather, analyze, and interpret the data by using advanced qualitative or quantitative research methods in Political Science and International Relations.
    -
    X
    -
    -
    -
    6

    To be able to develop original academic works and publish scientific articles in refereed national or international indexed journals in the field of Political Science and International Relations.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    7

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

    To be able to take responsibility in an individual capacity and/or as part of a team in generating innovative and analytical solutions to the problems that arise in relation to the politics in daily life.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    9

    To be able to develop projects in determining the institutional and political instruments for conflict resolution in national and international politics.
    -
    -
    X
    -
    -
    10

    To be able to prepare an original thesis in Political Science and International Relations based on scientific criteria.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    11

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