COURSE DESCRIPTION

International Relations (IR) is an interdisciplinary undergraduate major focusing on the changing political, economic and cultural relations within the international system of the modern era. The program explores how global, regional, and domestic factors influence relations between actors on the world stage. Students are equipped with both the foundational skills and specific knowledge necessary to analyze the choices and challenges that arise in this arena.

The course introduces foundational ideas of international politics, major theoretical strands and contending perspectives. It also attempts to study major international events, issues of war and peace and critical developments—like nuclear weapons and proliferation and the cold war. The idea is to study international events within the intellectual framework of theorization in international relations, and similarly explain theories in the context of practical international politics.
The central theme of the course is globalization in the post-cold war world and how it has, and continues to influence patterns of relations among states. The emergence of non-state actors as major players in the world, changing character of the political economy and society and the new threats to national security in the form of terrorism along with global issues of common interest to all states form a generic part of the course.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. To familiarize students with the contending theories and analytical frameworks that explain international history, conduct of the state and salience of issues of war, peace, stability, and international order or disorder.
2. To give students fair idea about the system of states, and what kind of international structure they create for security, and how it compels the states to pursue certain type of diplomacy and foreign policy.
3. One of the major objective is debate the question of continuity and change in international relations. For instance how globalization has changed the way students and practitioners of international relations look at international events.
4. Finally, the students need to be engaged with international events and issues that have profound effects on our society, its stability, peace and progress.

Learning Outcomes
1. At the end of the course, students should be able to understand the forces that exercise power and influence over international events. The forces are; powerful states, the impact of new transformative technologies, non-state actors and dominant modes of economic production and distribution.
2. Students acquire theoretical knowledge and use it for the explanation of international events. Also, they are able to debate and discuss relevance or irrelevance of theories and alternative perspectives that define the discipline of international relations.
3. Have good grasp of critical international issues of contemporary importance, why they persist and why nations and international institutions fail or succeed in solving them---issues like environment and poverty.

• Evaluation of the students will be as under

  Mid Term Exam                                  30 Marks

  Final Term Exam                                 50 Marks

  Sessional Mark                                    20 Marks

• (Note 20 Marks will be distributed as under)

• Attendance                                         05 Marks

  Assignments                                       10 Marks

  Class Participation                              05 Marks

The texts for the course:
1. in John Baylis, Steve Smith and Patricia Owens, eds., Globalization of World Politics 6th edition (London: Oxford University Press, 2014).
2. An Introduction to International Relations by Richard Devetak (ed.), Anthony Burke (ed.), Jim George