International Studies

The course provides an overview of key sociological theories and research on the many ways in which culture (defined variously as values, frames, repertoires, narratives, symbolic boundaries, and cultural capital) is shaped by and, in turn, shapes social hierarchies along the lines of class, gender and race/ethnicity. The course explores how these features of inequality intersect with processes of globalization.

This course offers rich insights on important issues in international politics: threats to international peace and security, humanitarian crises, and armed conflict prevention and management. Beyond these particular crises, the course examines the changing power relations among states at the global scale. It considers complex forms of political decision-making and social monitoring, involving a diverse group of actors: politicians, national and international bureaucrats, diplomats, militaries, rebels, investors, business(wo)men, consultants, activists, scientists, artists, journalists, etc. The course examines how the multidimensional interactions these actors entertain locally or in faraway headquarters blur the divide between the intervenors on one side and local actors and host governments on the other.

The course is part of the Laurea Magistrale Program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by consent of the instructor. The course aims at developing an encompassing knowledge of the outcomes that social mobilizations have at the level of politics and policies. At the end of the course, students are able to: critically discuss the main approaches related to the outcomes of social mobilizations at the level of politics and policies; compare the political effects of social mobilizations across different countries and different territorial levels; and valuate specific cases of social mobilizations with regard to their intended and unintended political effects. The course focuses on both theories and practices related to the political effects of social mobilizations.

The objective of this course is to assess the means available to the international community when addressing challenges such as armed conflict, terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, organized crime, and refugee crisis in a coordinated manner. The course is construed around different thematic security threats and critically assesses the way in which the international community attempts to address these issues. The role of the UN Security Council is crucial in this context but it is not the sole actor of relevance when addressing security related issues. Since the starting point of the assessment remains a legal one, this course is not only about what ideally should be done, but also what can lawfully be done under international law. The course encompass both a written policy brief as well as an oral component in the form of a simulated televised interview.

This course allows undergraduate students to develop an understanding of international development, aid, and humanitarianism from various social scientific perspectives (including politics, economics, anthropology, geography, and history. The course explores the histories, impacts, and legacies of international development planning and policy, introducing students to foundational issues in development studies, and offers them the opportunity to create a policy brief on a specific theme.  

Globally, regional governance at both the transnational and national levels demonstrates that new forms of governance are being explored to meet the needs of states in various regional groupings. NAFTA and the EU represent regional governance that transects politics, economics and security. In contrast, initiatives such as the Kita-Kyushu Initiative are demonstrative on non-state regional governance to meet local needs. This course discusses regional governance from a comparative and multi-tiered perspective by investigating regional governance at the transnational state level and non-state level. Empirical cases studies related to economic, political, traditional, and non-traditional security will be employed to develop students' understanding of regional governance, especially within an East Asian context.

East Asia is the most economically dynamic, strategically significant, and politically significant region on the planet. In addition, the budding regionalism, along with the rise of China, ensures that the region will be a more crucial influence on international relations. The main aim of this course is to explore whether East Asia is heading towards greater peaceful and cooperative region, or of a war- and conflict-oriented region. This is to be carried out: 1) by delving into the theorization of regionalism in world politics; 2) by examining the weights of history of East Asia; 3) by exploring the distinctive character and evolution of the regionalism of East Asia, and 4) by investigating the prospects for the development of a more unified East Asia region in the context of the unique historical circumstances under that China is experiencing its remarkable rise over the last few decades.