International Studies

The course introduces students to the interplay between trade, migration, and issues such as inequality, environmental degradation, and global politics. It equips students with the analytical tools and essential knowledge necessary to engage in contemporary debates on these issues, helping them to gain a deeper understanding of the interconnected dynamics in the globalized economy. The course covers both theoretical concepts and empirical studies. Students will understand the key theories and concepts underlying international trade and migration and have developed an awareness of how trade and migration trends are influenced by and contribute to challenges in areas like the labor market, environmental sustainability, or social cohesion. For the final examination, students are expected to demonstrate their ability to critically evaluate and discuss the relationship between trade or migration and at least one of the challenges discussed throughout the course.

This course is an introduction to international negotiation. Topics include the basics of negotiation, diplomatic and business negotiation, communication skills, understanding and navigating cultural differences in international negotiation settings, strategic approaches to negotiation, and the role of English as a lingua franca. 

The course also examines and analyzes diplomatic negotiation in relation to the current era of globalization and the importance of bilateral and multilateral international negotiations between companies or governments. 

This course covers diplomacy and international negotiations in the context of international relations. 

The first section focuses on the history and importance of diplomacy and the role of diplomats in resolving conflicts among countries. The Westphalia system (1648), the Congress of Vienna (1815), the Versailles Treaty (1919), the League of Nations and the United Nations will be also explained as a part of multilateral diplomacy.  

The second section covers the concept of diplomacy, theories related to diplomacy, and types and methods of negotiations. Students will examine case studies of past and current international negotiations such as in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Iran and North Korean nuclear issues.  

Finally, students will create presentations and a term paper on any case of international negotiation. 

This course provides students with knowledge of the fundamental concepts, principles, processes, and rules of public international law as well as a more in-depth knowledge of selected areas of the law. This course covers different aspects of general international law, including the sources of international law, statehood and international legal personality, the law of international responsibility, and dispute settlement. It also examines more specialized areas of public international law, with a focus on jurisdiction, immunities, the use of force, and human rights, land and sea, and the environment. The course addresses theoretical debates and uses practical examples of international law in action, many of them relating to contemporary events in international relations.

This course discusses the evidence for the deepening crisis of the gap between Islamic countries and the rest of the world and how it has continuously widened since the 1970’s. Students explore potential causes, the Arab Spring, including Western colonialism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the relation between state and religion in Muslim countries, political and economic effects, effects on immigration, and the rise of religious fundamentalism.

This is a special studies course involving an internship with a corporate, public, governmental, or private organization, arranged with the Study Center Director or Liaison Officer. Specific internships vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. A substantial paper or series of reports is required. Units vary depending on the contact hours and method of assessment. The internship may be taken during one or more terms but the units cannot exceed a total of 12.0 for the year.

This course explores how the EU can be understood as a differentiated political system, both in relation to its member states and non-EU countries. It looks into differentiation in various forms, including variation in the extent to which states participate in EU policies (horizontal differentiation) and in the level of integration across policy areas (vertical differentiation), and it explores the drivers of such differentiation. The course also discusses the consequences of differentiation for the legitimacy of European integration.

This introductory course explores the origins of universal civil rights in the USA with an emphasis on historical events, review of biography and legacy of significant activists and change makers from the USA and other countries. The course also presents cases to examine the relationship between the causes triggering civil rights development, and how these events can relate to impactful social events and movements in the last decade in different regions of the world. The course intends to provide a theoretical background, a historical review of events, and a social analysis of movements that students can study by using varied resources for data collection and examination of influential media resources or independent documentation of these processes.

This course explores the origins, contemporary manifestations, strategies, impacts, and responses to extremism in Europe and the Americas, with a focus on right-wing examples. It examines the political, social, and cultural dimensions of these movements. The course also distinguishes extremism from related phenomena such as populism and nationalism, explores the motivations and ideologies behind extremism, and assesses the consequences for democracy and social cohesion in these regions. The course begins with a brief introduction to the definitions and distinctions surrounding extremism. In Section II, the course takes a closer look at how extremism has developed in contemporary European and American contexts. Section III focuses on analyzing extremist ideologies and discourses, including propaganda and online strategies, through various case studies. Finally, Section IV reflects on the social and political impacts of extremism, as well as the responses from governments and civil society. The course is taught through lectures, cross-sectional analysis, group discussions, and the use of primary and secondary sources alongside case studies.