IRS 303: The International Political System

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, the students should be able to:

1. analyse political processes in the international community;
2. highlight how the signing of the Treaty of Westaphalia in 1648 gave birth to the international political system;
3. explain how international organizations, international law, international trade, and global diplomacy are integral parts of the international political system; and
4. discuss how interdependence among nations and the phenomenon of globalization have become visible features of the international political system.

Course Contents

The emergence and organization of the modern international system. The political processes in the international community and contemporary thought on state activity. The external needs of states and goals of states activity. The means of exerting pressures, and the forms of political relationships between states. The dynamic aspects, revolutionary movements. The external projection of political values, and the changing distribution of power and leadership; war as a contingency in international life. Mechanisms for maintaining International Order. The emergence of the international political system traceable to the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, accompanied by the evolution of state system, international organizations, international law, international trade and diplomacy. The growing interdependence among nations and globalization.