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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Our courses:

1. Introduction courses

2. International Relations Theory

3. The Middle East

4. Monographic courses

5. Other topics

1. INTRODUCTION TO IR

CONTENT INTRODUCTION TO IR

First Class

Characteristics of the international realm. Anarchy or Society?

Second Class Security in IRThird Class PoliticsFourth Class EconomyFifth Class Culture and societyActivity To be determined (Visit to a think tank?)

COURSE DESCRIPTIONThe introductory course to IR focuses on the main thematic areas that comprise the discipline of IR. Each topic will delve into the concepts used in each area, so students become acquainted with how the international realm is framed.The final activity will be visiting a Spanish think tank or international organisation in Madrid. The aim is to show students what an IR professional does on a day to day basis.

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CONTENT INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONSFirst class Global GovernanceSecond class United Nations IThird class United Nations IIFourth class NATO Fifth class OAS/African Union/ASEAN Sixth class Simulation of an organization

COURSE DESCRIPTIONStudents will study the legal foundations of international organisations as well as their development and composition. There will be a special focus on the United Nations and its role in the making of international politics. At regional levels, the main organisations of each continent will also be explored: OAS, African Union and ASEAN.

The activity will comprise of either a guest lecture with a Spaniard who has worked in an international organisation or taking part in one of the simulations about international organisations that takes place in Madrid throughout the academic year. Students will be told beforehand the date the simulation takes place and how to take part in this activity.

CONTENT DIPLOMACY First class Diplomacy as seen by IR theoriesSecond class Permanent Diplomacy IThird class Other forms of DiplomacyFourth class The consular institution Fifth class How to become a diplomat in Spain?Sixth class Guest Lecture: Talking to a Diplomat

COURSE DESCRIPTIONDiplomacy is one of the most important institutions in International Relations. Permanent diplomacy first came to life in the XVth century Italian city states. Since the end of the First World War it has undergone core changes while, at the same time, many other new forms of diplomacy have emerged. Students will delve into all of them.The course is very pragmatically oriented as it will provide students with the insight of the steps that need to be taken if they want to become diplomats. The icing on the cake will be to have an invited guest lecturer that will be a former or current Spanish diplomat, so our students can have a real taste of what being a diplomat means in a day to day basis.

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CONTENT ARMED CONFLICTS. THE PATH TO WARFirst class Escalation and DeterrenceSecond class Why does deterrence fail? MiscalculationsThird class Why does deterrence fail? Spiral phenomenaFourth class Prospect Theories as a possible explanation (I)Fifth class Prospect Theories as a possible explanation (II)Activity Case Study: Ukraine and Russia 2014­2015?

COURSE DESCRIPTIONArmed conflicts represent the most extreme conflicts in IR, having thus been the object of much attention within social science studies. One of the key concepts to understand conflicts is that of deterrence: an actor is deterred if it faces a credible threat. Deterrence does not always work, and it does not, oddly, in cases where the threat should be credible. Miscalculations are some of the explanations usually put forward, but we must also take into account spiral phenomena, where it is counter­intuitively, disuasion itself that feeds the escalation and eventually leads to conflict. The theory of perspectives may offer a rational explanation that can also help us to consider possible solutions of a current conflict, that of Ukaine.

CONTENT INTRODUCTION TO THE MIDDLE EASTFirst class How to study the Middle East?Second class Geography and HistoryThird class PoliticsFourth class Economy Fifth class SocietyActivity Exposition

COURSE DESCRIPTIONOrientalism is a term used to define the way in which the West has traditionally dealt with the Middle East. Orientalism has seeked to explain why Muslims are portrayed in such a derogatory way. More than two decades after Said’s critique, the mainstream fashion in which media depict the Middle East is still as a homogeneous region prone TO conflict due to innate cultural characteristics. This course aims at providing students with a different scope to the MENA region by introducing them into the heterogeneity of its peoples, societies and historical trajectories.

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2. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY

CONTENT THEORIES OF IRFirst class Realism ISecond class Realism IIThird class Liberalism Fourth class MarxismFifth class English School and constructivism Activity Playing "Maquiavelli"

COURSE DESCRIPTIONEach lecture provides a general introduction to a particular IR approach. The course will delve into the main theoretical underpinnings that make sense of the discipline. From realism’s critique to idealism/utopianism and its hegemony during most of the twentieth century to liberalism and its concerns for the promotion of international institutions.

In addition to the “usual suspects” the course will look at the Marxist approaches, as well as more current theoretical ways of understanding international politics, such as constructivism and its involvement with norms. Students will reinforce their acquired notions of the main theories by playing Machiavelli in their last session.

CONTENT KEY CONCEPTS IN IR First class AnarchySecond class Collective SecurityThird class Diplomacy/WarFourth class sovereigntyFifth class super power/middle powersActivity Playing "Diplomacy"

COURSE DESCRIPTIONWhat is anarchy? Can this concept explain the reality of world politics? International politics is a discipline created around certain assumptions of how the international sphere works. From anarchy to collective security, in this course, students will explore the main concepts that frame our understanding of international society. Students will also look at the philosophical underpinnings that determine the differences between the existing models of conceiving world politics.

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CONTENT KEY THINKERS IN IR First class Realism : Morgenthau, Aron and CarrSecond class Neorrealism: WaltzThird class Liberalism: Angell, Zimmern, Rosencrance and FukuyamaFourth class Radical Theory: Cox, Galtung, LinklaterFifth class Postmodernism: Ashley and WalkerActivity Role playing activity

COURSE DESCRIPTIONEach lecture provides a general introduction to a particular IR approach through the theories’s main thinkers. Students will learn about Realism by reading extracts from Morgenthau, Aron and Carr and understand the turn to neo­realism through Waltz. Liberalism will be seen in its 1920’s approach through the lenses of Angell and Zimmern, as well as via its contemporaries Rosencrance and Fukuyama. A complete theoretical course will also offer an overview to the Marxist approaches of Cox, Galtung and Linklater. Lastly, to understand where the discipline stands today, students will explore postmodernism and the impact it has had in scholarly research.

CONTENT CONSTRUCTIVISM IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

First class Basis for RationalismSecond class Hedley Bull and Alexander WendtThird class Conventional Constructivism vs. Critical Constructivism?Fourth class Constructivism and Rationalism, are they compatible?Fifth class Barry Buzan: armonizing both traditionsActivity

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In the intellectual panorama of International Relations, the emergence of constructivism brought a radical change in relation to the rationalist paradigm. In contrast to rationalism, which assumed a determined pattern of relation between the diverse state actors in the international sphere, Bull and Wendt contributions suggested otherwise, namely, that international relations were dependent on how they had been constructed through norms. The course will examine the difference between what might be called conventional and critical constructivism and the ways that have been explored to harmonise constructivism and rationalism in Barry Buzan’s work.

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3. THE MIDDLE EAST

CONTENT THE ARAB SPRINGFirst class Why the Arab Spring?Second class TunisiaThird class EgyptFourth class Lybia and BahreinFifth class SyriaActivity Film

COURSE DESCRIPTIONIn December 2010, Mohamed Bouzazi burned himself to death. This act of despair ignited a wave of revolutions in the Arab World. Four years after, the outcome of the uprisings has been political change, not democratic regimes. In the midst of the MENA region, only Tunisia has been able to set up a yet fragile democratic system. It is a common belief among many policy makers that Tunisia is a “test case”. If it turns out well, it might have a potential spillover effect in the rest of the region. Is this assumption correct? What makes Tunisia different to other Arab countries? Why is authoritarianism persistent in the region?This course delves into the latest events in the region providing students an overview of the differences between the countries where conflict has taken place.

CONTENT MIDDLE EASTERN CONFLICTSFirst class The Arab­Iraeli conflictSecond class The Iran­Iraq WarThird class The Gulf Crisis Fourth class Operation Iraqi FreedomFifth class Other conflicts: Strategic Straits and Non­State actorsActivity Interviewing a Middle Eeast Specialist

COURSE DESCRIPTIONConflicts taking place in the Middle East have shaped the region’s dynamics, as well as world politics during the XXth century. In the MENA region, the 21st century came into being with the American invasion of Iraq. A decade after, the situation in Iraq has not been stabilized and ISIS has gained a stronghold position enabling it to create an Islamic State that is a threat for the region. This course is focused in analyzing the main Middle Eastern conflicts that have involved Iraq and the impact this State has beyond its borders.

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CONTENT MIDDLE EAST COMPARATIVE POLITICS First class IraqSecond class Arabian States: Kuwait, Bahrein, Qatar, UAE and OmanThird class Israel Fourth class PalestineFifth class North Africa. Special focus on Tunisia Activity Visit to an Arab Embassy in Madrid

COURSE DESCRIPTIONThis course provides a highlight perspective on some of the different countries that compose the MENA region. The goal is to look at their political regimes and see how this affects the region’s dynamics. For example, the antagonism between Iran and Saudi Arabia cannot be understood if one does not look at the Sunni Shia conflict. The activity that will end to the course will be to visit an embassy of one of the countries that have been studied to enable the students to learn more about that country and the relations it has with Spain.

CONTENT POLITICS, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY OF ARAB COUNTRIES

First class The persistance of authoritarianism in the region Second class The Arab SpringThird class The resource course thesis Fourth class Civil Society in the Middle EastFifth class Democracy Promotion Policies Activity Visit to Casa Árabe

COURSE DESCRIPTIONThe Arab Spring brought winds of change to the region, but since the uprisings, only Tunisia has managed to follow a democratic path. The course examines what have been the causes that explain the persistence of authoritarianism in MENA. The question will be analyzed looking at the political, economic and social factors that shape contemporary Arab societies.

The course will also question whether promoting democracy by foreign agents such as the EU is a way of making democracy prosper or if change needs to come from within their own societies.

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4. MONOGRAPHIC COURSES

CONTENT US FOREIGN POLICYFirst class Introduction to decision­making in the US CongressSecond class The US in the Middle East: Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran

Third classUS­Russian relations: Eastern Europe and the expansion of

NATO

Fourth classThe thaw in US­Cuba relations, and the US immigration

reformFifth class The future of US powerActivity Debate on US decline or hegemony

COURSE DESCRIPTIONThis course will give an overview of the most relevant topics in US foreign policy today. In order for students to have a better understanding of the limitations and supports US presidents have when proposing actions in the international arena, the first class will serve as a brief introduction to the decision­making process in the Congress of the United States. The following classes will each be dedicated to one region: the Middle East, the former USSR, and Caribbean and South America. The last two classes will analyze the future of American power and explore the ideas put forward by those who predict the end of US hegemony and those who believe it will continue to be the world hegemon. At the end of the course, the group will be divided into two teams and students will be asked to debate about the role of the US in the world based on readings and a documentary.

CONTENT THE COLD WARFirst class End of World War IISecond class The 1st Cold WarThird class Berlin and Cuba CrisesFourth class DistensionFifth class The 2nd Cold War and the Fall of the USSRActivity Post­Cold War and NATO´s expansion debate

COURSE DESCRIPTIONUnderstanding the Cold War, a forgone episode which apparently has no bearing anymore on the world as we know it nowadays is, nevertheless, vital to understanding it properly. From 1945 to 1989­91, the world lived under the threat of a nuclear holocaust; the main victors of World War II contended for their respective areas of influence. Paradoxically, those threatening nuclear weapons might have been the main inhibitor for an eventual World War III until the USSR crumbled under the weight of its own contradictions. This course endeavours to offer an explanation for the onset of the Cold War, the reasons for each actor to perpetuate it through its different stages, and the influence that period still has on the world as it is constituted today.

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COURSE UKRAINE´S CRISIS

First class Ukraine´s IndependenceSecond class International Actors around Ukraine

Third class

The Revolution(s) of the "Euromaidan": Legitimacy and Legality

Fourth class Crimea´s occupation: the ethnic problem of the ex­USSRFifth class The Energy Problem in Russia­Ukraine RelationsActivity To be determined

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course focuses on the current crisis in Ukraine. It aims at familiarizing students with the dynamics of the international arena and the political dilemmas that make issues become matters of international dispute. Firstly, the Ukraine’s independence lecture and the subsequent session will frame the crisis by describing events and introducing the international agents at stake. The following two sessions will delve into the recent political problems and how they become a source of conflict among agents. The last theoretical class explores the energetic problems between Russia and Ukraine and the impact its impact in the current conflict.

CONTENTS HUMAN RIGHTS, EQUALITY AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

First classIntroduction: Human Rights, Equality and Citizenship in the EU framework. Institutions, treaties and programmes

Second classThe promotion of non­discrimination. The struggle against racism and other forms of intolerance

Third class The promotion of equality between women and men

Fourth classThe prevention of violence against children, young people, women and other risk groups

Fifth class Consumer rights and data protectionActivity Visit to the EU offices in Spain

COURSE DESCRIPTIONThis course intends to help students to become familiar with the way in which the European Union is approaching human rights, equality and citizenship through its institutions, treaties and programmes. Programmes dealing with the promotion of non­discrimination, the struggle against racism and other forms of intolerance, the prevention of violence against children, young people, women and other risk groups, the promotion of the rights of the child will be analysed. For this, different contents will be presented and a dynamic methodology will be used in the classes. Students will play an active role searching for documentation and discussing issues with their classmates. The course ends with a visit to the offices of the EU in Spain.

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CONTENT EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

First classEquality between men and women in the EU framework and its approach within European institutions, directives and programmes

Second classHuman rights and equal citizenshsip for women and men. Non­discrimination

Third classPrevention and intervention policies regarding violence against women and girls

Fourth classEquality in the labour market. Employment and access to health and education services

Fifth class Equal representation in the decision­making processActivity A visit to the EU offices in Spain

COURSE DESCRIPTIONThis course intends to help students to become familiar with the way in which the European Union is approaching equality between women and men in the context of human rights, through the knowledge of its institutions, treaties, directives and programmes. Policies and programmes dealing with non­discrimination an equal citizenship, the prevention of violence against women and girls, equality in the labour field and in the processes of decision­making. For this, different contents will be presented and a dynamic methodology will be used in the classes. Students will play an active role searching for information and discussing topics with their classmates. The course ends with a visit to the offices of the EU in Spain.

CULUTRE CULTURE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSFirst class Culture in IR: state of the art Second class Huntington and the Clash of CivilisationsThird class Huntington's discussantsFourth class Cultural Cooperation and Conflict Fifth class Case study sample: Spanish and Moroccans in Madrid Activity Film on Immigration

COURSE DESCRIPTIONThe impact culture has on International Relations theory is practically non­existent. Traditionally, it has been considered as a second rank explanation, used only when conflicts could not be explained from economical and political variables.At the end of the 90’s, theoretical approaches involving constructivism and its interest for the influence of ideas as shaping practices have shed led on the ideational aspect of IR. Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations thesis brought the topic to the mainstream scholarly concern. How does culture influence IR? There is a theoretical need to explore the how and why questions. An empirical study will be examined to show one possible way of dealing with this topic.

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CONTENT ENERGY IN EUROSAIAFirst class Energy Relations between Europe and the USSR

Second classFall of the USSR ­ consumers, transit countries and

producersThird class Relations between Russia and UkraineFourth class Relations between Russia and the EUFifth class Changes in the Global MarketActivity What panorama with the Russia­Ukraine War?

COURSE DESCRIPTIONEnergy is one of the most important elements in relations between the European Union (EU) and the Russian Federation. It is equally one of the most controversial mainly due to the gas disputes between Russia and Ukraine in 2006 and 2009. The saga of EU and Russia relations started back in the times of the USSR. Paradoxically then in a quite harmonious fashion. Tensions began with the fall of the USSR and the coming in stage of a complex triangle between consumers, producers and a new sort of actors: transit countries. A new panorama characterised by energy disputes, a growing estrangement between the EU and Russia, along with fluctuations in the global energy market are the setting for energy relations between Russia and Ukraine.

CONTENT SPAIN AND THE ARAB WORLDFirst class Christians and Muslims during the Middle Ages (711­1492)Second class Spanish colonisation to Morocco. XIXth centuryThird class Spanish colonisation to Morocco. XXth century

Fourth classForeign relations with the Arab world during the Franco

regimeFifth class Foreign Relations with the Arab world in democracy.Activity Visit to an Embassy

COURSE DESCRIPTIONThe Mediterranean has always been one of the main axis of Spanish foreign policy. This course makes a historical overview that comprises the times when Christians and Arabs lived together in the Iberian peninsula to current day relations. The visit to an embassy aims to make students familiar with the diplomatic world.

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5. OTHER TOPICS

CONTENT INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS TODAYFirst class UkraineSecond class Darfur Third class Civil War in CongoFourth class Arab­ Israeli ConflictFifth class Drug Trafficking in Latin AmericaActivity Exposition about a conflict in Asia

COURSE DESCRIPTIONInternational conflicts today reviews the main threats to international peace. From conventional wars like Darfur to collisions in Europe’s borders between Ukraine and Russia or to protracted conflicts such as the Arab­Israeli war.The course also looks at other non­war conflicts that endanger international peace and security, like drug trafficking in Latin America. At the end of the course, students will have to make an exposition about a conflict of their choice that is currently taking place in a region.

CONTENT 20TH CENTURY REVOLUTIONSFirst class Theories of RevolutionSecond class The Russian RevolutionThird class The Chinese RevolutionFourth class The Cuban RevolutionFifth class The Iranian RevolutionSixth class Revolution in Venezuela

COURSE DESCRIPTIONWhat is a revolution? Are twentieth century revolutions any different to pre­modern ones?

The purpose of this course is to delve into the above­mentioned questions by introducing the student into the issue by looking, on the one hand, at the theories of Revolution. Secondly, to provide an overview of some of the main revolutions which have modelled twentieth century International Relations.

From the Russian Revolution at the beginning of the century to the current situation of Venezuela, the course offers the students an insight into how these revolutions have been modelled by specific socio­political circumstances and the impact these changes have had on modern world politics

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CONTENT ISLAMIC CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION

First class Islam from a religious perspectiveSecond class Heyday of islamic civilizationThird class Decay of the Muslim worldFourth class Musulims in the WestFifth class Depiction of Muslims in the mediaActivity Visit to the Mosque

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Islamic Culture and Civilization is divided in two sections. From lecture one to three, students will be introduced to the Arab and Muslim world that will offer a general historic overview from the birth of Islam until the present day. Class four and five will look at the intercultural reality of Europe. The activity will consist in visiting Madrid’s biggest mosque to give students a deeper insight of Muslims living in Spain.