POLI 202 International Relations and Contemporary Foreign Policy

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the study of international relations. Students will explore the nature of foreign policy, the idea of national interest, the historic impulses driving foreign policy, the crucial historical challenges shaping foreign policy, the institutional context of foreign policy, and will investigate the challenges facing policy makers today and in the future.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

Eligible to enroll in ENGL 121

Hours Weekly

3 hours weekly

Course Objectives

1. 1. Summarize critically the basic concepts of international relations including foreign policy and
   the forces that shape that policy, and national interest and the debates about what that
   interest is and should be.
   
2. 2. Analyze critically major issues of international relations, identify their assumptions, explore
   contrasting positions, and arrive at their own positions on these issues.
   
3. 3. Use and evaluate the methods of political science to assess evidence on issues involving
   international relations and foreign policy.
4. 4. Apply political theory and research to controversies in international relations and foreign
   policy to draw conclusions about resolving them.
   
5. 5. Explain the concept of geopolitics and apply it to understanding international relations and
   world politics today.
6. 6. Analyze the role of the US as the only superpower and assess the arguments surrounding
   the idea of an American empire.
7. 7. Analyze the issues surrounding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
8. 8. Explicate the policy dilemmas associated with the ongoing struggle against terrorism.
9. 9. Formulate specific, unified, and concise theories through writing that demonstrate an understanding of political science thinking.

Course Objectives

1. 1. Summarize critically the basic concepts of international relations including foreign policy and
   the forces that shape that policy, and national interest and the debates about what that
   interest is and should be.
   
2. 2. Analyze critically major issues of international relations, identify their assumptions, explore
   contrasting positions, and arrive at their own positions on these issues.
   
3. 3. Use and evaluate the methods of political science to assess evidence on issues involving
   international relations and foreign policy.
4. 4. Apply political theory and research to controversies in international relations and foreign
   policy to draw conclusions about resolving them.
   
5. 5. Explain the concept of geopolitics and apply it to understanding international relations and
   world politics today.
6. 6. Analyze the role of the US as the only superpower and assess the arguments surrounding
   the idea of an American empire.
7. 7. Analyze the issues surrounding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
8. 8. Explicate the policy dilemmas associated with the ongoing struggle against terrorism.
9. 9. Formulate specific, unified, and concise theories through writing that demonstrate an understanding of political science thinking.