TLÜ ÕIS

World Politics and Global Governance

Course code

RIR7022.YK

old course code

RIR7022

Course title in Estonian

Maailmapoliitika ja üleilmsed valitsemismudelid

Course title in English

World Politics and Global Governance

ECTS credits

5.0

Assessment form

Examination

lecturer of 2023/2024 Spring semester

Benjamin Klasche (language of instruction:English)

lecturer of 2024/2025 Autumn semester

Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.

Course aims

The course offers a perspective on topical issues in world politics and the structures and instruments of global governance that have emerged to address them. It complements other theory-centred courses in the MA curriculum with an issue-based approach to the study of International Relations, providing an example of analysis derived from the study of empirical realities of global politics while highlighting, at the same time, both political and conceptual processes involved in their treatment. The course covers a diverse range of issues, from contemporary forms of power, conflict and global strategies of pacification, to the processes of bordering and identity formation in a globalised world, to the politics of environment.

Brief description of the course

The main aim of the course is for students to develop an appreciation of the ways in which various theoretical perspectives interact with different practices and beliefs concerning world politics. The main themes in the international thought have concentrated on the worry and hope concerning human existence. The prime concern has been the survival and freedom of a political actor _ ranging from individuals, institutions, states to communities. The aim is to appreciate how various theoretical perspectives generate differing views and analyses of such concern. Each of the perspectives that we review in this course _ e.g. idealism, liberalism, realism, behavioralism, traditionalism, radicalism, constructivism, and critical theory _ share the same debate space. Namely, they are best understood in dialogue or in opposition of each other.

Learning outcomes in the course

Upon completing the course the student:
- demonstrates the ability to employ several influential research orientations _ e.g. realism, liberalism and radicalism - to analyze current situations in international relations;
- recognizes who these perspectives appear in everyday speech, journalism, and academic writing;
- can construct coherent opinions concerning world affairs from different perspectives;
- can Identify important normative implications of different perspectives as those perspectives are used to analyze and/or to guide policy with respect to situations in global politics.

Teacher

Mika Aaltola

Study programmes containing that course