International Studies

This course offers a comparative study of the institutional law of international organizations. While it is acknowledged that each organization has its own legal structure and functioning, institutional challenges and rules of different organizations resemble each other in some way, and a great deal of body of institutional rules and principles has been developed. International organizations have much in common, such as the law on membership, competence, structures, decision-making and implementation, financing, and legal personality. The course discusses the practice of a number of international organizations, including the United Nations and regional as well as subregional organizations. The course explores the law, life, and functioning of these organizations.

This course analyzes the place of gender in world politics. It introduces theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of gender in international relations, and reviews different fields of research, focusing on security studies, with cutting-edge literature. The course examines how both the practice of international politics and the academic discipline are gendered. It takes its starting point by reflecting on international relations theory to understand why the mainstream of international relations has traditionally had difficulties in engaging with feminist critiques. It looks at the early feminist debates and turns to themes of international relations such as war, conflict, militarism, and security through a gender perspective. It analyzes the role of bodies in international relations and their complex intersecting identities to understand how gender is intertwined with categories such as race, class, and sexuality. The question of how these complex identities give subjects possibility for agency runs throughout the modules. The course emphasizes how gender, security, and politics are discursively constructed through both language and images. To shed light on these discursive constructions, the course conducts several case studies.

One of the greatest challenges for today’s global managers involved in transnational Post-Merger Integrations (PMI), is to be able to build and manage a highly effective team. Since today’s teams cross cultural boundaries, this involves building competencies that simultaneously ensure success across numerous cultural environments and enable accelerated performance through collaborative skills. The new breed of global managers must be prepared to work in a new team environment. Critical to forming and managing effective teams is an understanding and mastery of cross-cultural competence.
This interactive course builds individual and team competencies required for working, managing, and leading across cultures and geographies in the context of transnational Post-Merger Integrations. This course is aimed at demonstrating the impact of culture on communication, building relationships, business culture, and management styles, providing participants with the necessary knowledge, mindset, and skills for more effective multicultural teamwork.

This course aims to explore some static and dynamic aspects of the legal system in a globalized world and examines the function and application of international law in the settlement of disputes between actors (including states).  Basic knowledge both of law and of international relations (IR) is necessary for participants to follow this class effectively. Both 'Introduction to International Relations (IR)' and 'Introduction to Legal Studies'(or similar equivalents) are strongly recommended as prerequisite subjects of study for this course.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. This course is a survey of the history of the concepts and practice of war and peace from the Renaissance to the beginning of the nineteenth century. It primarily explores the main ideas, events, aspects, and trends related to the topics of the classes. First, the course examines the period traditionally known as the Renaissance. The course then focuses on ideas on human nature, war, and peace in early-modern Europe. The course demonstrates how the medieval cultural attitude towards war and peace was replaced during this period by a new concept, based around novel ideas on the nature of man shaped by social and political tensions caused by unprecedented challenges which threatened early-modern European societies. Finally, the course addresses questions concerning modernity such as why European cultures increasingly relied on science and reason instead of religion.

This course covers basic historical knowledge about the international relations of Asia since the 19th century. This module examines how a wide range of ideas and ideologies borne in Europe have shaped the norms, practices and institutions of Asia’s politics and international relations. It explores the resilient nature of local norms and culture in the changing dynamics of international relations, particularly in the age of globalization. 

This course investigates the institutional, legal, political, and economic aspects of the global city. It explores how a truly multinational but local-based political community could rise where, in a circular way, native roots, universalism, cultural diversity, and international links can coexist and support each other. It considers how cities have been the standpoint from which scholars investigate macro-phenomena and issues affecting society as a whole, and discusses how any change affecting the delicate urban ecosystem will therefore also have wider repercussions on how global governance itself is conceived.

This course offers an introduction to the academic study of international politics. It begins with a basic introduction to international relations theories, in order to provide the theoretical framework for understanding and debating global topics. The course then moves on to discussing main subjects in contemporary international relations by focusing on the interaction between state actors, non-state actors, and international institutions. It looks specifically at the role of small states like Norway in the international system and how they interact with international institutions and major powers. The final section of the course utilizes the empirical and analytical knowledge gathered to analyze important topics on the global agenda, like the future of globalization and geopolitical conflicts. The class encourages lively discussion, a goal easily met by the students' contribution of their opinions based on their diverse cultural and academic backgrounds.

This course focuses on issues, approaches, and analyses of existing research related to globalization in International Political Economy.

This course provides some insight into most of the major themes and issues on China and the Korean Peninsula. Topics include Nationalism and Political Cultures in China, The Korean War, China-DPRK Relations, ROK-China Relations: From Normalization to 2020, Korea between Ally and Partner: Trump, Xi, and Moon, US-China Rivalry and Sino-Korean Relations, THAAD and a New Normal in Relations between Seoul and Beijing, Implications of and Responses to the "Rise of China", and The Future of “The Rise of China” and the Korean Peninsula.