International Studies

This course overviews the challenges and opportunities for the international community in contemporary Africa. Taught by a former ambassador with wide Africa experience, the course exposes students to the major themes in the world's interactions with Africa, ranging from humanitarian intervention to economic opportunity, from struggles against terrorism and instability to great power competition. The course is intended for future practitioners in diplomacy, business, or media with an interest in Africa and more widely for those seeking to understand global engagement with a great continent.

This course examines the modern origins and development of foreign aid. Specifically, it analyzes foreign aid administered by Western countries and transferred to developing countries, primarily in the Global South. Starting with the Marshall Plan, and the American transfer of funds to Europe, Western countries, post WW2, developed mechanisms for public financial transfers (i.e. state or IGO to state or substate) initially to allied countries and soon thereafter to industrializing countries and poor countries. Under the guise of “aid”, this relationship has mostly been considered interest-based rather than philanthropic. The course is centered around five central questions on the topic of foreign aid: 1. Who gives foreign aid? 2. Why give foreign aid? 3. Who benefits from foreign aid? 4. Does foreign aid cause more harm than good? 5. If economic restorative justice is the objective of foreign aid, are there alternative policies that can better accomplish these goals? In this context we examine the evolution of foreign aid in a post-WW2 global context: first, during the Cold War, and then during its aftermath. Central to the discussion, the course considers the economic impact of globalization on developing countries; the root causes of poverty and ways to reduce it; and the nature of North-South relations and neocolonialism. It studies issues animating foreign aid policy parameters and how these issues have changed. A focus on themes such as trade, immigration, human/gender rights, and climate change, illuminates the shifting nature of “aid.” The focus is on the methods and motivation of Western countries – examining “soft power” and the role of foreign aid in overall foreign policy of countries that administer it. Finally, the course examines the potential spread of aid as a tool for influence as it is adopted by new state actors (e.g. BRICS, China).

This course provides an introduction to the study of International Political Economy (IPE). IPE is a field of research that combines the study of politics and economics, exploring both domestic and international factors that impact preferences, behaviors, and policies relating to economic globalization. The course covers major topics of inquiry within IPE such as the politics and policies relating to international trade, international investment, and international finance. Students are introduced to theoretical and empirical research analyzing each topic covered. 

This course examines the critical role of emotions in international relations. The first part provides a foundational understanding of emotions, focusing on their social and political dimensions. It explores the concepts of group and collective emotions, shedding light on how emotions operate at the societal level. The second part of the course delves into the role of emotions in intergroup conflicts. It analyzes how emotions such as hatred and fear can escalate conflicts, while emotions like empathy and collective guilt can facilitate reconciliation and conflict resolution. The final part explores the influence of emotions on contemporary global issues. This includes their role in the rise of populism and their impact on collective responses to climate change. Through this comprehensive approach, students gain a deeper understanding of how emotions shape international dynamics and global challenges. The course is graded on a pass/fail basis only.

International organizations are created and expected to provide solutions whenever governments face transnational challenges, such as international and civil wars, humanitarian emergencies, flows of refugees, outbreaks of infectious diseases, climate change, financial market instability, sovereign debt crises, trade protectionism, and the development of poorer countries. But their role in world politics is controversial. Some perceive them as effective and legitimate alternatives to unilateral state policies. Others regard them as fig leaves for the exercise of power by dominant states. Others yet are regularly disappointed by the gap between the lofty aspirations and their actual performance in addressing global problems, and want to know the causes of that gap. While some commentators tend to lump all international organizations together, in reality the functioning, power, and effectiveness of international organisations differ widely – across organisations, issues, regions, and over time.

This course has been developed through an exciting international collaboration with seven institutions across the UK and Europe. Teaching content has been designed by international experts in various fields of cultural competence, linguistics, and translation/interpreting. Each week, the course tackles a theoretical and practical aspect of multilingualism and multiculturalism, in the context of topical issues, such as generative AI, climate change, democracy, global health, equality and diversity, and civic responsibilities. Having a second or third language can be an advantage, but the course does not require students to be multilingual. The course develops cultural competency in the context of multiculturalism and multilingualism (M&M), particularly through learning from translation and interpreting studies in the age of artificial intelligence to provide students with an essential understanding of the topic and the skills to learn to effectively navigate the complexity of M&M in real-world situations. to challenge students to go beyond the recognition of the coexistence of cultures and languages, by actively engaging them in discussions centered around democracy, climate change, and global health.

This course examines the problems and possibilities of peace operations conducted by the United Nations. From a small number of traditional peacekeeping missions (PK) throughout the Cold War that helped to bring peace and security to some war torn regions, to a huge growth in the number of peacekeeping missions undertaken by the UN in the early 1990s, just after the Cold War ended, that included aggressive humanitarian intervention, democracy building, and peacemaking among other goals, there is much to be learned from these numerous peace operations, each with elements of success and failure.

This course develops students' understanding of contentious politics in international relations and comparative politics by looking at how conflict spreads. A range of advanced topics are covered, with a primary focus on how diffusion and spatial dynamics affect the empirical study of international war, democracy, autocracy, and civil war. This course goes beyond traditional theories of international relations by offering a network perspective on contentious politics. In addition, this course asks students to develop theory and use statistical software to plot networks, predicting dynamics of diffusion, and designing informed policy decisions based on those insights.