INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
PISI 365-01 (Springl998)
Meetings: Tue & Thur 10.50 am -12.05 pm (Room 218 GRD)
Lecturer: Daniel K. Gibran, Ph.D. Office: GRD 220
Office No.: 963-5650 Office Hours:M-F 1.00-3.30 pm
General Description and Scope of Course
This is an upper division course in Political Science that is open to all majors of the University. Students
majoring in Political Science and Business, however, will find this course to be extremely useflil and
academically rigorous. It will focus on the historical and conceptual foundations of the modern discipline.
Further, emphasis will be placed on the development and workings of the international political system, the
actors in international affairs, the nature of conflict, and contemporary global issues. Additionally, students
will be introduced to epistemological concerns and to the paradigmatic framework for understanding
international relations.
Text
Required:
Daniel K. Gibran (ed.), A Paradigmatic Approach to Understanding International Relations,
Tapestry Press, Ltd., 1998.
Highly Recommended:
John Baylis and Steve Smith (eds.), The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to
International Relations, Oxford University Press, 1997. Foreign Affairs Agenda, The New
Shape of World Politics, Foreign Affairs Publishers, 1997.
Topical Outline and Suggested Readings
1. Introduction and Overview of the Discipline of International Relations (IR) Open
Lecture; Readings: Required Text, Chapter One.
2. History of and paradigmatic approach to understanding IR
Open Lecture; Readings: Required Text, Chapters Two and Three.
3. Examination of essentially contested concepts (state, nation, power, policy,
actors, sovereignty, etc.)
Open Lecture
4. The Development of the Nation-State System
Open Lecture; Readings: Required Text, Chapter Four, and Baylis and Smith, Chapter
Two pp. 33-48.
5. Realist Approaches and Issues in International Relations
(a) The Role of Force in IR
(b) Origins of the East-West Conflict
(c) Why Nations go to War
(d) Nuclear Strategy
Readings: Required Text, Chapters Five thru Nine, and Foreign Affairs
Agenda, pp. 242-252.
6. Globalist Approaches and Issues in International Relations
(a) From Geopolitics to Geo-Economics
(b) Complex Interdependence and Power
(c) The Global Monetary Order
(d) The Multinational Corporation
Readings: Required Text, Chapters Ten, Twelve and Thirteen, and Foreign Affairs
Agenda, pp. 187-205.
7. Structuralist Approaches and Issues in International Relations
(a) A Structural Theory of Imperialism
(b) Structural Conflict in International Trade and Development
(c) The Crisis of Uneven Development
(d) Global Trade and Finance
Readings: Required Text, Chapters Fourteen, Sixteen and Nineteen, and
Baylis and Smith, pp. 429-448.
8. Contemporary Issues in International Relations
(a) Nuclear Proliferation and the Spread of Biological Weapons
(b) Environmental Issues
(c) Poverty, Development, and Hunger
(d) Military Intervention and US Foreign Policy
Readings: Baylis and Smith, Chapters Sixteen, pp. 313-338; Seventeen, pp.
339-358; Twenty-three, pp. 449-458.
9. The Future of International Relations
(a) Changes in the International System
(b) New Manifestations of Conflict
(c) International Morality
Readings: Baylis and Smith, Chapter Nineteen, pp. 374-390, Required Text,
Chapter One, pp. 1-23.
Evaluation
Students' grades will be determined by the Lecturer's assessment of wriffen work, mid-term and final
examinations. The following weights have been assigned to these three parameters:
1. One Extended Essay of 2,000 to 2,500 words due 31 Mar/98......30%
2. A wriffen mid-term examination of three questions ........................30%
3. An extensive wriffen final examination ...........................................40%
Attendance
All students are expected to attend classes on a regular basis (please refer to TSUs Undergraduate Catalog,
1995-97, p.31).
Assignments
Required readings from Text and other sources are compulsory. Students will be required to provide a twopage summary of four extra-textual assignments. These will be graded and used in the overall assessment
of final grade determination.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is strictly prohibited. The relevant sections in the Student Handbook apply.