State, Power and Conflict

COURSE OBJECTIVE
Learning outcomes:

Knowledge and understanding – The student has acquired knowledge and understanding of:
(1) the different approaches to the concept of power and is able to apply these to the analysis of (contemporary) political issues;
(2) what ‘states’ are and how the modern state and the modern states system came into being;
(3) key approaches in political science and an overview of the discipline and major sub-disciplines;
(4) the main developments in the history of world politics from the Peace of Westphalia to the Iraq War and the current era of globalization and the power shift to Asia;
(5) the main patterns of cooperation and conflict between states as well as between non-state actors and be able to understand some of these patterns by the application of key political science concepts and some key approaches within the sub-discipline of International Relations.

COURSE CONTENT
The course, which offers a broad introduction to the major concepts of and main approaches in political science, consists of two main parts. After a critical overview of different concepts of power, the concept of the state and contending perspectives on the conflict and cooperation within modern political systems, the course introduces students to contemporary world politics through an overview of international political history from the 17th century to the present. Here we seek to understand history by identifying recurrent patterns of cooperation and conflict not just between states but also involving non-state actors, and by applying some of the concepts and approaches dealt with in the first part of the course. The course will end with a discussion of contemporary issues within the context of a globalized world politics, such as the ongoing War on Terror, the communications revolutions and its impact upon power.

TEACHING METHODS
Lectures