STV4227 – International Politics: Key Debates

Schedule, syllabus and examination date

Course content

This course provides an advanced overview of the field of international relations. It is structured thematically to tackle different facets of international politics.

The course is designed to cut across different theoretical traditions and analyze the structures and agents of various issue-areas of world politics. In doing so, a deeper understanding of how international relations is grounded, ordered, and produced emerges.

The course also connects practices of international relations to core questions of empirical social science and political theory by drawing on different epistemological foundations.

Overall, this course provides an in-depth analysis of how core components of world politics are structured, who the key actors are in various interactions, and what can be gained from increased knowledge of how the world hangs together.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

You will gain knowledge about recent developments in the following areas:

  • Key theories of international relations (IR)
  • Empirical knowledge of different issue-areas of world politics
  • Major actors and institutions in IR
  • Different regional patterns from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe
  • Contemporary events such as trade wars, climate change, and civil wars
  • Epistemological foundations of IR theories

Skills:

You will learn

  • How to understand and apply IR theories
  • How to assess and evaluate the relative merits of these theories
  • How to understand core concepts in IR
  • How to assess world politics in qualitative and quantitative terms
  • How to understand the deeper structures of world politics
  • How to examine a wider range of actors than states including international organizations, networks, and non-state actors
  • How to think about the relationship between causal understanding and policy prescription

General Competence:

You will

  • Develop your analytical skills
  • Develop your skills in assessing causal arguments and theories
  • Develop the ability to use empirical methods and theories
  • Gain experience in writing academic texts

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester?register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for?in Studentweb.

Students enrolled in other Master's Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.?Apply for guest student status?if you are admitted to another Master`s programme (deadline 1 August / 5 January).

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about?admission requirements and procedures.

Teaching

Lectures

Compulsory activities

  • Oral presentations will be run throughout the course

  • Absence from compulsory activities: For many courses, UiO requires participation in the form of compulsory activities. These must be approved before you can sit for the examination. If you are ill or have another valid reason for being absent from compulsory activities, your absence may be approved or the compulsory activity may be postponed. Report absence from or the need for a postponed deadline on a compulsory activity Absence from compulsory activities - University of Oslo (uio.no)

Examination

Term paper

The term paper:

Language of examination

You submit your response in English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F?is a fail. Read more about?the grading system.

Resit an examination

More about examinations at UiO

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.

Last updated from FS (Common Student System) Nov. 5, 2024 8:21:44 AM

Facts about this course

Level
Master
Credits
10
Teaching
Autumn
Examination
Autumn
Teaching language
English