ORIN 2090 - Theories of International Relations

This course presents and discusses the main theories of international relations (IR). It focuses particularly on the classics and shows how IR has become a field of study of its own which has become so prominent in the more recent decades.

How robust are these theories? Are these theories a reflection of an era and, beyond that, of a series of practices and, if so, to what extent? What are their conceptual origins in knowledge that pre-existed international relations as a discipline? Where do IR theories fit in the social sciences landscape? These are some of the questions we will address in this class.

We will bring into our discussion issues that pertain, more generally, to the epistemology of the social sciences. In particular, we are going to address the issue of the divide between the explanatory and the normative (and the possibility of its collapse). Indeed, IR theories are generally intended to be descriptive and explanatory. However, what is their normative dimension?

We have three assessments in this course.

• Participation, class attendance, presentations 30%
• Research draft 50%
• Presentation during the debate 25%