Overview of Course

This course will be a study of contemporary theory and practice of international relations. We will start with the fundamental questions of politics and international politics, and sovereignty, international law, and how different schools of thoughts like realist and idealist see the world. What does the international anarchy mean in the contemporary world and what are the implication for international relations and future of humanity? We will examine European traditional balance of power, the League of Nations after WWI, and United Nations after WWII. The Conception and function of IMF, World Bank, GATT (World Trade Organizations and their impact on the post WWII power configuration of the world. We will also examine the emergence of cold war, and nuclear armaments and MAD (mutually assured destruction) between the US and the former Soviet Union. We will also cover the end of Cold War and Rise of China and its implications for the US and the world. With Russian special military operation in Ukraine, the world has entered a new era. We will examine what implications this new era has for the world.