International Society: Normative Approaches to International Relations 1600-SZD-SPEC-IS-SM
Using the concept of international society as its ordering framework, this course focuses on normative approaches to the study of international relations. It analyses the evolving role of norms, rules, institutions, identities and ideas as constitutive elements of international society. The course thereby requires students to engage critically with those theoretical perspectives which challenge the traditional privileging of material power and capabilities as the driving forces in international relations.
Course outline and Timeframework:
Session 1 - The concept of International Society,
Session 2 - The English School and great power management
Session 3 - Realist challenges to the concept of International Society - capabilities versus norms
Session 4 - Other normative approaches to International Relations
Session 5 - International Society in practice: humanitarian intervention and Responsibility to Protect; ASEAN
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge:
Upon completion of the course the student knows and understands:
- the definition and specificity of the terms “international society”, “normative approaches to IR” and related terms;
- The contrast between realist and normative approaches to such issues as international norms, ideas, identity and institutions;
- Examples through which one can observe and demonstrate the workings of international society in IR.
Skills:
Upon completion of the course the student is able to:
- differentiate between the theoretical approaches to the issue of state cooperation and the significance of that cooperation for a particular paradigm;
- apply the concept of "international community" in the analysis of IR problems and challenges;
- analyze IR phenomena by applying normative approaches, as opposed to realist ones.
Social competences:
Upon completion of the course the student is able to:
- critically assess their own acquired knowledge;
- critically evaluate their own research activities;
- understand and appreciate the significance of IR theoretical approaches in addressing cognitive problems of global politics.
Assessment criteria
Assessment methods and assessment criteria:
Description of requirements related to participation in classes, including the permitted number of explained absences:
Participation in the classes is compulsory; only one absence is possible (2 hours of the seminar); obligation to read the indicated literature.
Principles for passing the classes and the subject (including resit session):
A positive assessment for this course will require completion of two assignments. The first one: in-class active participation and presentation of one of the academic papers by each student (20%). The second assignment: academic paper (3,000 words in length) in which students will demonstrate their ability to apply the concept of international society and/or normative approaches in the analysis of a selected IR issue (80%).
Methods for the verification of learning outcomes:
Verification of preparation (reading) for classes by requiring active participation and verification of understanding of the presented concepts and their applications by preparing an academic essay.
Evaluation criteria:
· In-class active participation and presentation of one of the academic papers by each student will count for 20% of the final grade
· Academic paper (3,000 words in length) in which students will demonstrate the ability to apply the concept of international society and/or normative approaches in the analysis of a selected IR issue will count for 80% of the final grade.
Bibliography
Anderson K. and A. Hurrell (eds.), The Expansion of international society, Basingstoke: Palgrave 2000
Bull H. and A. Watson, The Expansion of International Society, Clarendon Press, 1984
Buzan B., “The English School: A neglected approach to International Security Studies”, Security Dialogue, 2015: 46(2), pp. 126-143
Buzan B., “From international system to international society: Structural realism and regime theory meet the English School”, International Organization, 1993: 47(3), pp. 327–352.
Buzan B., L. Schouenborg, Global International Society: A New Framework for Analysis, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2018
Cobb R. W. and C.D. Elder, International Community: A Regional and Global Study. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1970
Cui S. and Buzan B., “Great Power Management in International Society”, The Chinese Journal of International Politics 9:2 (2016): 181-210
Danilenko, D., “The Changing Structure of the International Community: Constitutional Implications”, Harvard International Law Journal, 1991: 1, s. 353-361
Goh E., “East Asia as Regional International Society: The Problem of Great Power Management”, in Barry Buzan and Yongjin Zhang, eds., Contesting International Society in East Asia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014
Kaczmarska K, “International Society”, Oxford Research Encyclopaedia of International Studies, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.98
Levy J. and William R. Thompson W. R., “Balancing on Land and at Sea: Do States Ally Against the Leading Global Power?”, International Security Volume 35, Number 1 (2010): 7-43.
Mearsheimer J. J., The tragedy of great power politics, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Updated edition, 2014
Wheeler, N. J., Saving strangers: Humanitarian intervention in international society. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2000
Yates R., “ASEAN as the ‘Regional Conductor’: Understanding ASEAN’s role in Asia-Pacific Order”, The Pacific Review, Vol. 30, No. 4 (July 2017), 443-461
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: