DAFF 25A81 - Introduction to International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis

This course aims to provide BA students with a foundational understanding of International Relations (IR) and Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA), from both a theoretical and historical perspective. While the discipline of IR looks at political interactions at the global level, FPA largely focuses on the decision-making processes of foreign policy, namely on the role of individuals, bureaucracies, political institutions and societal groups in the formulation of foreign policy. The introductory session of the Course presents International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis as fields of study, outlining both their distinctiveness and areas of overlap. It then outlines the goals of the course, its requirements, its assignments, and finally provides students with the crucial tools required to write a rigorous and solid paper. The remainder of the course is organized in four parts. The first one, History and International Relations, introduces students to the historical evolution of international systems and to international history as a field of inquiry. It first provides an overview of the origins and historical evolution of international systems in world history, shedding light on the emergence of a global international system. It then examines how historians and political scientists approach the study of international politics, seeking to identify differences, potential overlaps, and mutual synergies. The second part of the course, Theories of International Relations, explores the diverse set of theories that can be leveraged to make sense of international politics, namely Realisms, Liberalisms, Constructivisms, the ‘English School', and Critical approaches to IR. Each session delineates the common propositions and key tenets of a given group of theories as well as their internal diversity. The class debate then revolves around the application of each theory to historical and contemporary case studies. Part three, Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA): The Decision-Making Process of Foreign Policy, investigates the wide range of domestic and international factors that influence foreign policy decision-making processes. After introducing the so-called “level of analysis” challenge, it examines a variety of explanatory factors, including individual decision-makers, group dynamics among senior advisors, bureaucratic politics, domestic politics and the role of societal actors in shaping foreign policy outcomes. The final part of the course, Doing Research in IR and FPA: Interviews and Archives, zooms in on the sources and methods of inquiry in the study of foreign policy and international relations. It discusses the methodological issues related to empirical research on foreign policy and international relations, looking in particular at archival research and interviews with foreign policymakers. The overarching goal of this course is to help students become citizen-scholars, with honed critical thinking skills and a healthy dose of reflective scepticism. At the end of the course, students will approach international politics in a more sophisticated manner, grounded in both history and theory.

Hugo MEIJER

Séminaire

English

Autumn 2022-2023

Three module assessments: (1) Mid-term evaluation: Students will submit a document of 500 words maximum (citations and footnotes excluded) that will include bullet points outlining: the research question, main answers to be found in the literature to the research question (i.e. literature review), the paper's hypothesis, the paper's contribution to the literature, the outline of the paper (30% of final grade). This document will delineate the ‘architecture' of the final paper and must follow the guidelines outlined in the document “Writing a Paper”. (2) Final paper: paper at the end of the course, 1.500 words (50%). Late submissions will not be graded. (3) Participation in class and contribution to the discussion of the readings (20%). In each session of Part II and III, each student will be required to choose a case study (historical or contemporary) to be collectively discussed in class to apply the FPA/IR framework analysed in that session. In the Moodle, students will find the Required Readings (in PDF). They are expected to attend all of the classes and to have completed the required readings.