International Affairs

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

• 16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

Objectives

The objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of world events, encouraging analytical and critical thought and examining the causes and consequences of interlinked processes in an international context. In an increasingly globalised world, international events have a greater impact on many areas of society, and the objective is for students to be able to apply some of the knowledge gained on this course in their future working and academic lives.

Learning outcomes

• RA1. Students are expected to develop a full understanding of the dynamics of the international system and to process knowledge and critically analyse world events.
• RA2. Students are expected to gain and show advanced knowledge of theoretical and practical aspects and of the work methodology in the fields of communication and international business.
• RA3. Students are expected to analyse their field of knowledge in the national and international context.
• RA4. Students will be asked to link disciplines traditionally central to the study of international affairs: economy, history, geography, economics and political studies for a better understanding of the past, to analyse the present and prepare for the future.
• RA5. Students will develop communication skills and improve debating skills.

Competencies

General skills

• Acquire an ethical commitment and a sense of social responsibility in professional actions.
• Show ability to adapt to contexts and changing business and social realities within a global environment.

Specific skills

• Be prepared to work on professional or research projects that reflect one's ability to use skills in a given field of professional practice.
• Make use of knowledge of world economic history to enable a critical interpretation of the current economomic and business climate characterised by dynamism and complexity.

Basic skills

• Students can communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialists and non-specialists.
• Students have developed the learning skills necessary to undertake further studies with a high degree of independent learning.
• Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) in order to make judgements that include reflection on relevant social, scientific and ethical issues.

Core skills

• Be a critical thinker before knowledge in all its dimensions. Show intellectual, cultural and scientific curiosity and a commitment to professional rigour and quality.
• Become the protagonist of one's own learning process in order to achieve personal and professional growth and acquire all-round training for living and learning in a context of respect for linguistic, social, cultural, gender and economic diversity.
• Exercise active citizenship and individual responsibility with a commitment to the values of democracy, sustainability and universal design, through practice based on learning, service and social inclusion.
• Interact in international and worldwide contexts to identify needs and and new contexts for knowledge transfer to current and emerging fields of professional development, with the ability to adapt to and independently manage professional and research processes.
• Use oral, written and audiovisual forms of communication, in one's own language and in foreign languages, with a high standard of use, form and content.

Content

1. Course profile
2. Key concepts in international relations
3. Theories: Realism, Liberalism, critical approaches (Marxism, constructivism, feminism, ...)
4. Mapping conflicts: geography and levels of spatial analysis
5. Major actors in international relations: states, intergovernmental organisations, transnational organisations
6. Identity and culture
7. War, peace and terrorism
8. Global challenges

Evaluation

• Participation in class and seminars: 20%
• Presentation 1 (in groups): 20%
• Final project (in groups): 30%
• One written test: 30%

At the end of the course, it is necessary to obtain a minimum of 5 out of 10 to pass the course. All the activities that have not been done or have not been turned in on the due date cannot be repeated and will count 0 points.

In the event that a student fails the course, the student will be able to repeat the written test and resubmit the Final project.

Methodology

The course consists of lectures, seminars and students' oral presentations. In lectures the teacher will give background knowledge and theory, and in the seminars the students will apply the knowledge gained in the lectures to real cases. Students will be given articles and exercises to prepare for the seminars and are expected to actively participate in seminar debates. The course will be conducted in English but students will not be assessed on their English ability but rather the content, analytical quality and originality of their work and contributions.

Bibliography

Key references

• Harari, Yuval Noah (2014). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind. Randon House.
• Heywood, Andrew (2014). Global Politics (2 ed.). Palgrave MacMillan.
• Kaplan, Robert D. (2013). The Revenge of Geography: What the map tells us about coming conflicts and the battle against fate (2 ed.). Random House Trade Paperbacks.
• Marshall, Tim (2016). Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics. Eliot & Thompson Ltd.
• Reus-Smith, Christian; Snidal, Duncal (ed.) (2010). The Oxford Handbook of International Relations. OUP.

Further reading

Teachers will provide complementary bibliography and compulsory reading throughout the course via the Virtual Campus.