International Studies

The course analyzes contemporary Chinese politics and international relations, focusing on historical background, economic and socio-cultural dynamics.  

China's return to regional and global prominence has profound implications for understanding the future evolution of the international system but also how states engage with a non-Western superpower. This course examines the international relations of China from 1949 to present. It highlights the changing and enduring characteristics of China's foreign policy through investigating the role the Party (CCP), the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Red aristocrats have on foreign policy in the region and globally. This course also looks at China's newer initiatives such as the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) to glean a better understanding of China's vision of itself on the world stage. 

This course is designed as an NTU flagship lecture series and invites distinguished diplomats from different countries to address global issues of joint interests. The course encourages curiosity and in-depth reflection on various global topics through a series of guest lectures, readings, comprehensive discussion sessions, and final presentation. The schedule for each week is as follows:

1: Introduction

2: Austria

3: Slovakia

4: Saudi Arabia

5: Canada

6: Lithuania

7: Japan

8: Group Presentation Week

9: USA

10: Tuvalu

11: Guatemala

12: Chile

13: Czech Republic

14: Indonesia

15 and 16: Final presentation Weeks 

This course provides students with an understanding of the most important challenges that war poses for international order. It draws on ideas from international relations, sociology, political geography, and anthropology to equip students with conceptual and analytical insights to understand the relations between international order and war. Are wars an unavoidable threat to international order? Or are they necessary at times to preserve international order? What have the Cold War, the "war on terror," and the war on poverty in common? How can we understand the relations between war and revolution, war and security, war and human rights, war and risk? What alternatives to war are possible today? How have wars and conflicts been transformed by changes in the international order?

This course investigates key debates and unresolved questions within the field of international relations. The beginning of the course is based on a theoretical foundation. Then, it diverges from the conventional structuring around overarching and traditional approaches such as realism, liberalism, and constructivism. Instead, it acquaints students with some of the field's crucial concepts and middle-range theories within the discipline. Each session is dedicated to analyzing a specific question that has sparked significant controversy. The course scrutinizes both the historical and academic context in which each examined notions and propositions arose, determining whether their content has evolved over time, and if so, why. It explores the interrelation between these debates and their utility in comprehending contemporary world politics.