PS365: International Politics

In the field of Political Science, there are no fewer than six subfields: American Politics, Law and Legalism, Normative Theory, Methodology, International Relations, and Comparative Politics. The two introductory courses you took, PS101 and PS102, gave broad brush strokes over these topics. This course delves into international relations a bit more deeply than these two (but not as deeply as PS370). It offers what amounts to broad brush strokes of the entire IR subfield.
The underlying theme for this year’s course is ‘explanations of history.’ That is what IR offers: explanations of what has happened and theories through which we can better understand the world around us and our place in that world.

Primary Text

The required book for this course:
  • Nau, Henry R. 2008. Three Perspectives on International Relations: Power, Institutions, and Identities, Second edition. Washington, DC: CQ Press. (ISBN: 978-0-87289-924-7)
The optional book is:
  • American Political Science Association. 2001. Style Manual for Political Science. Washington, DC: American Political Science Association. (ISBN: 1-878-14733-1)
The required book is available from the bookstore and from neighboring bookstores. It will be used extensively in the class, so it would behoove you to get it. The Nau text will serve as our primary textbook.
The Style Manual is optional. It appears as though the APSA is readying itself to publish an updated edition (still). As such, the library may have limited copies of the current edition. In lieu of having you purchase the entire style manual, I have distilled the necessary portions into a document accessible from the website. This document provides examples of reference lists so that you format them correctly for this course.
Additional readings will be assigned as necessary and will be available by link on the class web site, in the electronic reserve section of the library’s website, in the reserve section of the library, or through some other source (like JSTOR).
In addition to these sources, you are required to stay updated on events happening in the world. And, since this is an International Politics course, you will need to do so using non-US newspapers. The course website has a link (on the left) to a listing of international newspapers (“News Sources”). No newspaper is unbiased. Because of this, examining an event through the lens of more than one source will help you more fully understand the event and its implications.