This course provides historical context and a theoretical foundation for the study of contemporary world politics in Peace and Conflict Studies. The course reviews concepts of globalization, interdependence, sovereignty, and international relations, and engages with key theoretical debates related to development, order, security, diversity, and peace. Offering a focused and critical consideration of the concept of global governance, the course explores international and transnational structures, including regional bodies, the United Nations, and other formal institutions, as well as less formal associations, movements, and other examples of global connectivity. Our final sessions look directly at the international political challenges of war, instability, and environmental crisis. The course assignments provide participants with opportunities to review the theoretical tools they have developed and to apply them to analyses of contemporary topics in world politics.
- Professor: Ross Ryan