PSCI6400 - International Relations Theory

International Relations Theory is designed to prepare doctoral students for the political science comprehensive exam in international relations. The course focuses on the foundational concepts and theories used in the analysis of international relations (including both international security and international political economy), starting from power, anarchy, and realism, and moving through institutionalism, social constructivism, and domestic political approaches. Additional weeks of the course cover the history of the international relations discipline, the logic of inquiry in the social sciences, and fundamental topics in international relations including the causes of war, international order, international diplomacy, and the significance of public opinion for foreign policy.