MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

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1 MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Department of International Relations Faculty of Social Sciences South Asian University New Delhi , India INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY Course Details Compulsory, 4 Credits Class Hours: 9 AM- 11 AM (Monday, Thursday) Contact Hours: TBC Instructor Details Prof. Rajen Harshe Akbar Bhawan COURSE DESCRIPTION This foundation course on International Relations (IR) theory will familiarise students with some of the major debates within the discipline. It will also introduce them to key interdisciplinary conversations between IR and other disciplines such as history, philosophy and sociology. Although the course content is largely theoretical, we will refer to historical and contemporary developments as illustrative examples. We hope that this course will be a learning experience to nudge students to think creatively and critically. The course has four units which are further divided into sub-units. Each sub-unit has a background reading that offers a basic introduction to the topic. Students are requested to familiarize themselves with the introductory reading before the lecture and follow up with the specified essential and suggested readings. During class discussion, they will be expected not just to summarise, but also critically evaluate the essential reading and attempt to uncover all possible shades of an argument. METHOD OF EVALUATION Mid-semester examination- 20% End-semester examination- 30% Essay submissions and presentations- 50% 1

2 COURSE STRUCTURE Unit I: Introduction to IR Theory Unit Description The unit introduces students to the field of IR theory. It seeks to succinctly explain the function of theory and its centrality in the field of international relations. 1. Explaining theory Required Readings: Stephen M. Walt, International Relations: One World, Many Theories, Foreign Policy (Spring 1998): Kenneth M. Waltz, Laws and Theories, from Robert O. Keohane, Neorealism and Its Critics (New York: Columbia University Press), pp Recommended Readings Steve Smith and John Baylis, Introduction in The Globalization of World Politics, 3nd ed. pp Bruce Bueno de Mesquita (2000), Principles of International Politics: People s Power, Preferences and Perceptions, CQ Press. Cynthia Weber (2001), International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction, New York: Routledge Nicholson, Michael (2000), What s the Use of International Relations?, Review of International Studies, 26: Unit II: Disciplinary Evolution and Scope Unit Description Unit two presents the disciplinary lineage of IR through its debate-defining great debates. It also introduces students to the various analytical levels that inform the theoretical postulates of different approaches in IR. 2. Evolution and scope Required Readings Ole Waever, "The Rise and the Fall of Inter-Paradigm Debate," in International Relations Theory: Positivism and Beyond, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996, pp

3 J. David Singer, The Level of Analysis Problem in International Relations, World Politics, Vol. 14 (1961): K J Holsti, Scholarship in an Era of Anxiety: The Study of International Politics during the Cold War, in Tim Dunne, Michael Cox and Ken Booth (eds.), The Eighty Years Crisis: International Relations, , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Torbjorn Knutsen, Introduction in A History of International Relations Theory, Manchester University Press, 1997 Chris Brown, The Development of International Relations Theory in the Twentieth Century in Brown, Understanding International Relations, Basingstoke: Palgrave Herbert Butterfield and Martin Wight (eds.), Diplomatic Investigations: Essays in the Theory of International Relations (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966) Martin Wight, Why is There No International Theory?, International Relations, April : Hedley Bull, International Theory: The Case for a Classical Approach, World Politics Vol. 18, No. 3 (Apr., 1966), pp David Singer, The Incomplete Theorist: Insight without Evidence, in James N. Rosenau and Klaus Knorr, eds, Contending Approaches to International Politics (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969), pp Unit III: Major Approaches in IR Unit Description The unit presents a comprehensive overview of the major theories in IR, covering the entire disciplinary spectrum from mainstream approaches such as realism and liberalism to the critical approaches such as postcolonialism and feminism. A further delineation of certain major theories into sub-schools offers a nuanced understanding of the subject. 3. Realism Required Readings Dunne, Tim and Brian Schmidt (2008), Realism, in John Baylis et al. (eds.), The Globalization of World Politics, 3nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press Morgenthau, Hans J. (1948) Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace, New York: Alfred Knopf Waltz, Kenneth (1979), Political Structures, Theory of International Politics, Reading: MA: Addison-Wesley. 3

4 Carr, E.H. (1946), The Twenty Years Crisis, : An Introduction to the Study of International Relations, New York: Harper and Row. Arnold Wolfers, Discord and Collaboration: Essays on International Politics (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1962 Kenneth N. Waltz. Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis. New York: Columbia University Press, 1959, Introduction, and Conclusion Schroeder, Paul (1994), Historical Reality vs. Neo-realist Theory, International Security, 19 (1): Robert Jervis, "Realism, Game Theory, and Cooperation," World Politics, 40, April 1988 Waltz, Kenneth (1979), Theory of International Politics, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley. John Mearsheimer (2001), The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, New York: Norton, pp Keohane, Robert O., ed. (1986) Neorealism and Its Critics, New York: Columbia University Press. Krasner, Stephen D. (1999), Sovereignty: Organized Hypocrisy, Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press. Moravcsik, Andrew and Jeffrey Legro (1999), Is Anybody Still a Realist? International Security, 24 (2): 5-55 Duncan Snidal, "The Game Theory of International Politics," in Kenneth Oye, (1986) (ed.), Cooperation under Anarchy, Princeton University Press. Gilpin, Robert (1981), War and Change in World Politics, New York: Cambridge University Press Van Evera, Stephen (1998) Offense, Defense, and the Causes of War, International Security 22: 5-43 Stephen Førde (1995), "International Realism and the Science of Politics: Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Neorealism," International Studies Quarterly 39: Ayoob, Mohammed (2002), Inequality and Theorizing in International Relations: The Case for Subaltern Realism, International Studies Review 4:2: Randall Schweller (1992), Domestic Structure and Preventive War: Are Democracies More Pacific? World Politics, 44 (2):

5 4. Liberalism Required Reading Dunne, Tim (2008), Liberalism in John Baylis et al. (eds.), The Globalisation of World Politics: An Introduction to IR, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Keohane, Robert O., and Joseph S. Nye (1977), Complex Interdependence in Oceans and Money, Power and interdependence: World Politics in Transition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. David Held (2006), Reframing Global Governance: Apocalypse Soon or Reform!, New Political Economy, 11 (2): Ernst B. Haas, Why Collaborate?: Issue-Linkage and International Regimes, World Politics, Vol. 32, No. 3 (1980), pp Scott Burchill (2005), Liberalism in Burchill et al., Theories of International Relations, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye, Power and Interdependence Revisited, International Organization, Vol. 41, No. 4 (Autumn 1987): Olson, Mancur The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Charles W. Kegley, Jr. "The Neoliberal Challenge to Realist Theories of World Politics: An Introduction." in Charles W. Kegley, Jr. Controversies in International Relations: Realism and the Neoliberal Challenge, New York: St. Martinís, 1995: pp Robert Keohane and Lisa Martin, The Promise of Institutionalist Theory, International Security, Vol. 20, No. 1, (Summer, 1995), pp Robert Keohane After Hegemony: Collaboration and Discord in the World Political Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press. David Baldwin, ed Neorealism and Neoliberalism: The Contemporary Debate. New York: Columbia University Press. Nye, Joseph (2004), Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics, Public Affairs Ulrich Beck (2006), What is Cosmopolitan about the Cosmopolitan Vision in The Cosmopolitan Vision, Cambridge: Polity Press 5

6 John Dryzek (2006), Transnational Democracy in an Insecure World, International Political Science Review, Vol 27, No. 2, Garrett Wallace Brown (2011), Bringing the State Back into Cosmopolitanism: The Idea of Responsible Cosmopolitan States, Political Studies Review, 9: Danielle Archibugi (2008) The Global Commonwealth of Citizens: Toward Cosmopolitan Democracy. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press. 5. Constructivism Required Reading Barnett, Michael (2008), Constructivism in John Baylis et al. (eds.), The Globalisation of World Politics: An Introduction to IR, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hurd, Ian (2008), Constructivism in Christian Reus-Smit and Duncan Snidal (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of IR, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Alexander Wendt, Anarchy Is What States Make of It: the Social Construction of Power Politics, International Organization, Vol. 46 (Spring 1992): Emanuel Adler, Constructivism and International Relations in Walter Carlsnaes, Thomas Risse and Simmons (eds.) Handbook of International Relations (London: Sage, 2002) Stefano Guzzini, Structural Power: the Limits of Neorealist Analysis, International Organization, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Summer 1993): Alexander Wendt, The Agent-Structure Problem in International Relations, International Organization, Vol. 41, No. 2 (1987): Ian Hurd, Legitimacy and Authority in International Politics, International Organization Vol. 53 (1999): Ted Hopf, The Promise of Constructivism in IR Theory, International Security, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Summer 1998): Critical Theory Required Reading: Linklater, Andrew (1996) The Achievements of Critical Theory, in Steve Smith, Ken Booth and Marysia Zalewski (eds) International Theory: Positivism and Beyond, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 6

7 Cox, Robert (1983), Gramsci, Hegemony and International Relations: An Essay in Method Millennium, 12 (2): Richard Devetak, "Critical Theory." in Scott Burchill et al., Theories of International Relations, New York: St. Martinís, 1996, pp Andrew Linklater, "Marxism" in Scott Burchill and Andrew Linklater (eds.) Theories of International Relations, New York: St. Martinís, 1996, pp Robert Gilpin. "Dependency Theory and Modern World Systems: A Liberal Critique." p , excerpt reprinted in Poverty Amidst Plenty, edited by Edward Weisband. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Immanuel Wallerstein, The Modern World-System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York: Academic Press, 1976, pp Feminism Required Reading Smith, Steve and Patricia Owens (2008), Alternative Approaches to International Theory: Feminism, in John Baylis et al. (eds.), The Globalisation of World Politics: An Introduction to IR, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ann Tickner, Feminist Perspectives on IR in Walter Carlsnaes, Thomas Risse and Simmons (eds.) Handbook of International Relations (London: Sage, 2002) Jacqui True, "Feminism." in Scott Burchill and Andrew Linklater (eds.) Theories of International Relations, New York: St. Martinís, 1996, pp Enloe, Cynthia Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics. London, Pandora. Tickner, J. Ann and Laura Sjoberg (eds.) (2011), Twenty Years of Feminist International Relations: A Conversation about the Past, Present and Future. London and New York: Routledge. Peterson, V. Spike (eds.) Gendered States: Feminist (Re)Visions of International Relations Theory. Boulder (CO), Lynne Rienner. Sylvester, Christine Feminist Theory and International Relations in a Postmodern Era. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 7

8 8. Postcolonialism Required Reading: Smith, Steve and Patricia Owens (2008), Alternative Approaches to International Theory: Post-colonialism in John Baylis et al. (eds.), The Globalisation of World Politics: An Introduction to IR, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Darby, Phillip and A. J. Paolini (1994), Bridging International Relations and Postcolonialism, Alternatives, 19: Darby, Philip, Postcolonialism in Philip Darby (ed.), At the Edge of International Relations: Post-colonialism, Gender and Dependency (London: Continuum, 1997) Edward Said, Orientalism, Vintage Books, 1979 Prakash, Gyan (2000), Subaltern Studies as Postcolonial Criticism, in Catherine Hall (ed.) Cultures of Empire: Colonizers in Britain and the Empire in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Manchester: Manchester University Press. Young, Robert (2001), Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction, Oxford: Blackwell. Ashcroft, Bill Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin, "Introduction." The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-colonial Literatures (London: Routledge, 1989). Acharya, Amitav and Barry Buzan (eds.) (2010), Non-Western International Relations Theory, Abingdon: Routledge. Neumann, Stephanie (ed.) (1998), International Relations and the Third World, New York: St. Martin s Press. 9. Postmodernism Required Reading: Burke, Anthony (2008), Postmodernism, in Christian Reus-Smit and Duncan Snidal (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of IR, Oxford: Oxford University Press Der Derian, James and Michael Shapiro (eds.) (1989), International/ Intertextual Relations: Postmodern Readings of World Politics, New York: Lexington Books. 8

9 Smith, Steve, Booth, Ken and Marysia Zalewski (eds). (1996), International Theory: Positivism and Beyond, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Jarvis, D.S.L (2000), International Relations and the Challenge of Postmodernism: Defending the Discipline, Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. Ashley, Richard K. and R. B. J. Walker (1990), "Speaking the Language of Exile: Dissident Thought in International Studies," International Studies Quarterly, 34: English School Required Reading: Dunne, Tim (2008), The English School, in Christian Reus-Smit and Duncan Snidal (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of IR, Oxford: Oxford University Press Buzan, Barry, (2001), The English School: An Underexploited Resource in IR, Review of International Studies, 27 (3): Little, Richard (2003), The English School vs. American Realism: A Meeting of Minds or Divided by a Common Language?, Review of International Studies, 29: Linklater, Andrew (2005) The English School in Scott Burchill et al., Theories of International Relations, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Bull, Hedley (1977), The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics, New York: Columbia University Press Buzan, Barry and Richard Little (2000), International Systems in World History: Remaking the Study of International Relations, New York: Oxford University Press. Reus-Smit, Christian (2002), Imagining Society: Constructivism and the English School, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 4 (3): Bull, Hedley and Adam Watson, (eds.) (1985), The Expansion of International Society Oxford: Clarendon Press. Watson, Adam (1992), The Evolution of International Society: A Comparative Historical Analysis, London and New York: Routledge. 9

10 Unit IV: Dialogues with Other Disciplines Unit Description Unit four presents a critical assessment of IR s level of engagement with other disciplines such as history and sociology. The scope for deeper inter-disciplinary conversations points to potential avenues for the growth of IR as a discipline in the future. 11. Interdisciplinarity Required Readings Rudolph, Susanne Hoeber (2002), In Defense of Diverse Forms of Knowledge, PS: Political Science and Politics, 35 (2): Jervis, Robert (2002), Politics, Political Science and Specialisation, PS: Political Science and Politics, 35 (2): Historical sociology Required Reading: Gaddis, John Lewis (1997), History, Theory, and Common Ground, International Security, 22 (1): Smith, Steve (2002), Historical Sociology and International Relations Theory, in Stephen Hobden and John Hobson (eds.), Historical Sociology of IR, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Margaret Hermann, One Field, Many Perspectives, in Donald Puchala (2002), ed., Visions of International Relations: Assessing an Academic Field, University of South Carolina Elman, Colin and Miriam Fendius Elman (2000), Negotiating International History and Politics, in Elman and Elman, eds., Bridges and Boundaries: Historians, Political Scientists, and the Study of International Relations, Cambridge: MIT Press Levy, Jack (2000), Explaining events and Developing Theories: History, Political Science and the Analysis of International Relations in Elman and Elman, eds., Bridges and Boundaries: Historians, Political Scientists, and the Study of International Relations, Cambridge: MIT Press Bozeman, Adda B. (1960), Introduction in Politics and Culture in International History, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Smith, Thomas (1999), History and International Relations, London: Routledge. Puchala, Donald (ed.) (2003), Theory and History of International Relations, Routledge 10

11 Schroeder, Paul W. (1986), "Nineteenth Century International System: Changes in Structure", World Politics, 39: Carr, E.H. (1987), What is History?, London: Penguin. Monkonnen, Eric (ed.) (1994), Engaging the Past: The Uses of History across the Social Sciences, Durham and London: Duke University Press. Stephen Hobden (2002), Historical Sociology: Back to the Future of International Relations in Stephen Hobden and John Hobson (eds.) Historical Sociology of International Relations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Elias, Norbert (1983), The Court Society, translated by Edmund Jephcott, Oxford: Basil Blackwell Spruyt, Hendrik (1996), Sovereign state and its Competitors, Princeton University Press. Tilly, Charles (1990), Coercion, Capital and European States: , Oxford: Blackwell. 11