International Relations Theory

This honours course is designed as an introduction to contemporary theories, debates, and major scholarly traditions in international relations. As a core course offered in this field, the intention is to provide honours students with a general, but not elementary, overview. The course explores major traditions in international relations scholarship, including classical and modern rationalist approaches based in realist and liberal traditions, as well as psychological and constructivist conributions. Our primary concern is to examine and assess each approach’s foundational assumptions, logic, problem definition, understanding of the units of world politics, conceptualization if international institutions, agency and international structure, and key insights. In addressing these and other questions, we will explore several issue areas of world politics, such as international security, international political economy, and connections between domestic politics and foreign policy. There will be an emphasis on connecting theory to empirical tests.