International Studies

This course introduces principles and theories of international law. Topics include origin of international law from the past to the present; the relationship between domestic and international law; status of individuals under international law; rights and responsibilities of inter-state relations and state and private sector relations; origin and role of international organizations; international maritime law; and other issues regarding international law and politics.

This course is an advanced introduction to international criminal law as a discipline that lies at the intersection of public international law, criminal law, and human rights. It presents a broad-based critical perspective on international criminal justice, its deliverables and achievements, and its paradoxes and debates. It covers major topics such as the history and sources of international criminal law; the core crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression); individual criminal responsibility; jurisdiction and immunities; the nature and structure of international criminal proceedings; and the roles played by various actors, especially the victims of international crimes. The course focuses on the law and practice of modern international criminal tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court. Apart from an in-depth study of the main concepts, the course provides an opportunity to critically read and analyze recent cases, participate in structured viewings of documentaries and court proceedings, and navigate the online databases of modern international criminal tribunals. Through this course, students are trained to orient themselves in the contemporary landscape of international criminal law and to analyze current developments in the field from a critical legal perspective.

The course is designed to equip students with experience, knowledge, and skills for succeeding in globally interdependent and culturally diverse workplaces. During the course, students are challenged to question, reflect upon, and respond thoughtfully to the issues they observe and encounter in the internship setting and local host environment. Professional and personal development skills as defined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), such as critical thinking, teamwork, and diversity are cultivated. Assignments focus on building a portfolio that highlights those competencies and their application to workplace skills. The hybrid nature of the course allows students to develop their skills in a self-paced environment with face-to-face meetings and check-ins to frame their intercultural internship experience. Students complete 45 hours of in-person and asynchronous online learning activities and 225-300 hours at the internship placement.

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.