OADI 2325 - Introduction to Contemporary Geopolitics: A Practitioner's View

***UPDATED for 2026/27***

The purpose of this applied course is to draw on the experience of a seasoned leader and diplomat, and equip students with practical skills to address some of the most pressing foreign policy issues around the globe. This course will offer students the tools not constrained to textbooks or academic journals, but also real-life examples from a career spanning two and a half decades. Students will have the opportunity to directly engage with and learn from a former President of the United Nations’ General Assembly, official candidate for the UN Secretary General, Foreign Minister, Foreign Policy Advisor to a Head of State, and a leader of the largest opposition party in a national legislature.

The professor will reveal how real-life diplomatic negotiations unfold. He will offer students a unique professional perspective on running competitive campaigns in the UN, OSCE, and other international organizations. The cohort will learn how these international campaigns test the core tools of diplomacy and statecraft, such as negotiations, bargaining, alliance formation, intelligence sharing, sanctions, all used under the constraints of national politics.

The course will also put the students at the center of engagement: they will have to debate, sometimes with harsh arguments; to compromise, often one for another fundamental principle; and to redraw their red lines, all while maintaining their diplomatic posture, in order to elect the new Secretary General of the UN. This simulation will offer a behind the curtain look into a process that elects the chief executive of a key international organization. Students will gain knowledge of the intriguing process known to experienced UN professionals. This is indeed a unique offering of this course.

Furthermore, each student will be asked to write, and later present, a hypothetical policy memo for their Head of State/Government or Minister. Before suggesting practical solutions to their principals, however, they will learn from the professor which forms of policy recommendations are best suited for presentation to a high-level authority, how one can recognize dubious arguments and fact manipulation, and how to balance historical context with details for each policy option. The students will be able to apply this knowledge in the remainder of course assignments.

How did we arrive at today’s fractured geopolitical landscape, and can multilateralism be renewed in an age of great-power rivalry, regional wars, economic coercion, and technological disruption? How is U.S. foreign policy made today, and how central is the White House to decisions on diplomacy, trade, security, and crisis management? Is there a viable path out of the Middle East’s recurring crises, from Gaza and regional escalation to renewed pressure on energy markets and strategic waterways? Whose commitments on responding to climate change merit confidence when climate diplomacy collides with industrial policy, energy insecurity, and geopolitical competition? What do the Russia-Ukraine war, Europe’s rearmament debate, and rising tensions in Asia suggest about the future of deterrence and the international security order? Can the Balkans remain stable amid sharper external rivalry and unresolved regional disputes? And how should all of this shape your own career trajectory in international affairs?

Join this course to address these questions and test out various answers. You will learn about and engage in analyzing, crafting, and negotiating the parameters of contemporary international relations as they develop before our eyes.

Learning Outcomes

The course will unpack EIGHT major topics through EIGHT two-hour sessions:

• Onset and evolution of current geopolitical crises
• Multilateralism
• Geopolitics of energy and climate change
• US foreign policy
• Russia and the war in Ukraine
• The rise of Asia (with a focus on China and India)
• The Middle East
• The Balkans

These topics were selected based on their contemporary relevance for global affairs, professor’s experience and professional background, and anticipated future impact of the issues at hand. Through a diverse reading list incorporating both academic and professional authors, as well as guided discussions and student presentations, the cohort will be able to expand their knowledge on these global issues and deepen expertise in international relations at-large.

The course additionally offers FOUR practical two-hour sessions:

• Two two-hour sessions simulating the elections for the UN Secretary General
• One two-hour session on useful policy memo writing
• One two-hour session, allocated for presentations of the best policy memos, and a career discussion.

These sessions are designed to push students out of their comfort zone by asking them to resolve hard, emotionally challenging, and convoluted crises; empower them to better analyze their core strengths (such as written analysis, verbal argumentation, individual research, group dynamics); and subsequently position themselves on the job market.

Professional skills:

• Comprehending the logic and politics behind the setting up of foreign policy priorities and rules of policy-making in some of the world’s key capitals and critical regions.
• Understanding the behavior, values, attitudes, and preferences of contemporary high-level diplomats.
• Conceiving the plan of action for an international election campaign and understanding what it takes to successfully conduct it.
• Developing diplomatic negotiation strategies and learning how to apply them practically in a multilateral context.

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Comprehensive written feedback will be provided for each assignment on Moodle. Additional individual feedback can be provided on request during office hours.

• Deep-dive geopolitical paper (2000 words) 35%

Due to the emails of the professor and the teaching assistants on November 2nd (for topics covered by sessions 1, 2, and 5) and on December 4th (for topics covered by sessions 7-10). Please discuss the topic of the paper with the TA before beginning the writing process.

• Policy Memo (1500 words) 30%

Due on November 20th for the entire class.

• UN SG election simulation debate 25%

• In-class Presence: 4 hours per six selected weeks (24 hours per semester)
• Reading and Preparation for Class: 10 hours per six selected weeks (60 hours per semester)
• Other: Reading and preparation for individual assessments: 10 hours per six selected weeks (60 hours per semester)