Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po)

This course examines how international law was an instrument used by the European colonial enterprise under the name "International Law of Civilized Nations." It then considers how it can be used today to repair the crimes linked to past colonizations. 

This course provides a foundational understanding of international relations and foreign policy analysis from both a theoretical and historical perspective. The first part of the course provides an overview of the origins and historical evolution of international systems in world history, shedding light on the emergence of a global international system. It then examines how historians and political scientists approach the study of international politics, seeking to identify differences, potential overlaps, and mutual synergies. The second part of the course explores the diverse set of theories that can be leveraged to make sense of international politics, namely realism, liberalism, constructivism, the “English School,” and critical approaches to international relations. The third part of the course investigates the wide range of domestic and international factors that influence foreign policy decision-making processes, including individual decision-makers, group dynamics among senior advisors, bureaucratic politics, domestic politics, and the role of societal actors in shaping foreign policy outcomes. The final part of the course zooms in on the sources and methods of inquiry in the study of foreign policy and international relations. It discusses the methodological issues related to empirical research on foreign policy and international relations, looking in particular at archival research and interviews with foreign policymakers. 

Mapping and cartography have long been used in social sciences, in geography and beyond. Political scientists, historians and sociologists have increasingly used such tools, which have become more and more present in the media, the administrations and the corporate world as well. Maps in all their forms have gained a strong foothold in all these fields and are now easier to produce thanks to the digital tools making their production easily accessible by non-specialists. This workshop has two main objectives. The first is to master critical approaches to cartographic designs, not only thanks to a better understanding of the foundations of cartography but also of their status as a discourse on various objects of study. The second is for the students to acquire skills enabling them to make their own maps and designs with some of the basic digital tools available, in relation to multidisciplinary issues.