Dr Jennifer Jackson Preece CBG.7.05

This course is compulsory on the MSc in International Relations and MSc in International Relations (LSE and Sciences Po). This course is not available as an outside option.

This course is a graduate-level introduction to the study of international relations. It has 5 objectives: (i) to enquire into the nature of international politics and the role of general theory in advancing our understanding of it; (ii) to introduce students to the main contributions to the general theory of international politics; (iii) to provide students with a range of concepts, ideas, and perspectives to enable them to widen and deepen their understanding of international politics; (iv) to encourage critical, independent thought on international politics; and (v) to ascertain the extent to which progress has been made in our understanding of international politics. At the end of the course students should be able to think, talk and write in an informed,precise and critical manner about developments within the field of International Relations, past and present.

This course is delivered through a combination of classes and lectures totaling a minimum of 40 hours across Michaelmas, Lent and Summer Term. This year, some or all of this teaching will be delivered through a combination of online lectures and in-person classes/classes delivered online. Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy.

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the MT and 1 essay in the LT.

Students deliver seminar presentations and write two 2,000-word essays for their seminar teachers.

H. Bliddal. C. Sylvest and P. Wilson (eds.) Classics of International Relations: Essays in Criticism and Appreciation (2013)

Brown, C., Understanding International Relations, 5th edn. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019).

Dunne, T., Cox, M., and Booth, K., (eds.) The Eighty Years’ Crisis: International Relations1919-1999 (Cambridge University Press, 1998). Special Issue, Review of International Studies.

Grieco, J., Ikenberry, J. and Mastanduno, M. Introduction to International Relations: Enduring Questions and Contemporary Perspectives (Palgrave, 2014).

Hobson, J., The Eurocentric Conception of World Politics: Western International Theory, 1760-2010 (Cambridge University Press, 2012).

Take-home assessment (100%) in the ST.

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.