International Studies

The course covers the topic of emotions in international relations. In the first part, students discuss the definition of emotions, the social and political dimensions of emotions, and group and collective emotions. In the second part, students learn about emotions in intergroup conflicts. The course discusses the role of emotions (such as hatred and threat) in fueling conflicts, as well as the role of emotions (such as empathy and collective guilt) in conflict resolution. In the last part of the course, students learn about the role of emotions in collective reactions to global threats, such as climate change and rise of populism. In particular, the course discusses the role of emotions in mobilization of collective actions in a globalizing world. Course graded on P/NP basis only. 

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. At the end of the course, students are able to: identify and critically analyze the major research traditions and theories in the study of collective violence; distinguish the major forms of collective violence, identifying the causes and dynamics; link theory with empirical analysis on the subject of collective violence. The course examines different types of collective violence, including violence occurring in civil wars, instances of state repression, mafia and gang violence. The course is divided in three sections. The first section explores classic types of “political violence” (such as civil wars, revolutions, and terrorism) looking at their origins and dynamics. The second section deals with violence perpetrated by states (such as repressions and genocides) and violence that occurs within states that does not challenge their existence or regime (such as that perpetrated by organized crime and gangs). The third section looks at the organizations that “produce” violence, and namely at insurgent and mafia groups, discussing their emergence, their internal functioning, their relations with violence, and their demise.

This course provides an analytical framework for understanding Turkey's foreign policy in its geographical environment from 2002 to the present. The regions covered are the Balkans, the Middle East, the Caucasus, the Mediterranean basin, and the Black Sea. The course is divided into two chronological phases: from 2002 to 2011, when Turkey based its power strategy primarily on soft power; and from 2011 to the present day, when the outbreak of the Syrian civil war has seen the militarization of Turkish foreign policy. The course is transversal and addresses many themes related to history, geography, economics, sociology, and international law as tools for the analysis of international relations.

This course debates contemporary issues in a Socratic manner inspired by Michel Sandel's lectures and Ian Shapiro's views on Enlightenment philosophy, which placed great faith in the power of human reason to understand the true nature of our circumstances and the idea of progress in human affairs as means to control, and perhaps even improve, our environments and our lives. Through different roles, students adopt different positions to think about sensitive issues related to conflictual situations from points of view that are not necessarily based on their personal convictions. Topics are inspired from the Council of Foreign Affairs: What is a Moral Foreign Policy.