F0SP 2045 - The Contemporary International System

What is the structure of the contemporary international system? How has it changed with the decline of Western dominance? What are its main actors? What are the main tools of global governance? How do international organizations work to address global challenges? How has the nature of war changed? Do international relations theories help us explain these phenomena or are they too Western-centric? What are the main current challenges for the international system?

The purpose of this course is to a. provide students with the ability to find their own answers to these questions; b. offer an overview of the main concepts and theories to understand the contemporary international system from a plurality of perspectives; c. provide students with tools to understand contemporary global challenges, partly by applying new concepts and theories to a number of issues under study (such as migration or health) d. help students to further develop key skills (understanding complex arguments and texts, developing own arguments, presenting results efficiently and effectively in both written and oral form).

Active participation in class (30%); oral presentation (20%); short research paper (50%)