Theory of international relations 2104-L-D6TESM
This course provides a systematic introduction to the major theoretical traditions and analytical frameworks used in the study of international relations. It examines how different theories conceptualize the international system, political actors, power, interests, norms, and institutions, and how these perspectives shape explanations of key global phenomena. The course covers both classical and contemporary approaches, including realism and neorealism, liberal and neoliberal institutionalist theories, constructivism, critical theories, feminism, and selected post-positivist perspectives.
Students will engage with core concepts such as anarchy, sovereignty, security, cooperation, conflict, globalization, and international governance, and explore how theoretical debates inform the analysis of war, peace, international institutions, foreign policy, and global order. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between theory and empirical research, as well as to the strengths, limitations, and underlying assumptions of different theoretical approaches.
The course aims to develop students’ ability to critically assess theoretical arguments, compare competing explanations, and apply theoretical frameworks to contemporary international issues. Through assigned readings, discussions, and applied examples, students will learn how theory contributes to understanding real-world political processes and why theoretical pluralism remains essential in the study of international relations.
|
Term 2024L:
None |
Course coordinators
Term 2024L: | Term 2025L: |
Type of course
Requirements
Mode
Learning outcomes
The student knows and understands:
theories that, at an advanced level, explain processes occurring in international relations;
at an advanced level and through a theoretical lens, the most important facts, phenomena, and problems in the field of international relations;
at an advanced level and through a theoretical lens, the legal, socio-economic, and political determinants of the development of international relations and international cooperation.
The student is able to:
correctly and through a theoretical lens interpret political, economic, cultural, military, and legal phenomena at the global level, as well as at the level of selected regions and subregions of the world and at the national level;
substantively and through a theoretical lens formulate arguments and coherent conclusions using the specialized language of international relations as a discipline and related fields.
The student is ready to:
critically assess their own knowledge and the content encountered within the field of study;
recognize the importance of knowledge in solving cognitive problems in the field of international relations and to seek expert opinions when they are necessary to resolve a given problem related to the subject matter of the studies;
perform professional activities in the field of international relations responsibly, including adherence to the principles of professional ethics and respect for the traditions of the profession.
Assessment criteria
The final grade for the course is based on the student’s continuous work during classes, which is grounded in the reading of foundational texts in International Relations and their discussion in class. The primary component of assessment is active participation, understood as preparation for classes, participation in discussions, and the completion of assigned tasks.
During the course, students may assume various roles (including debate participant, presenter, discussion moderator, and critical commentator), which allows for the assessment of analytical and argumentative skills as well as the ability to apply theories of international relations to the interpretation of discussed texts and problems. Assessment also includes the ability to formulate coherent oral contributions using the specialized language of the discipline and relevant theoretical concepts.
Assessment criteria include, in particular: the level of substantive preparation, the quality of argumentation, the ability to critically analyze and compare theoretical perspectives, as well as activity and engagement in group work. The final grade also takes into account the student’s consistency of work and adherence to the principles of academic ethics.
Practical placement
not applicable
Bibliography
Mandatory readings:
Schreiber, Hanna; Wojciuk, Anna (red. nauk.), Stosunki międzynarodowe: antologia tekstów źródłowych. T. 1, Korzenie dyscypliny – do 1989 roku, Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2018.
Wojciuk, Anna; Schreiber, Hanna (red. nauk.), Stosunki międzynarodowe: antologia tekstów źródłowych. T. 2, Współczesne oblicza dyscypliny – po 1989 roku, Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2022.
Czaputowicz, Jacek, Teorie stosunków międzynarodowych, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 2022.
Czaputowicz, Jacek; Wojciuk, Anna, International Relations in Poland: 25 Years After the Transition to Democracy, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
Wojciuk, Anna; Pawłuszko, Tomasz, “Polish geopolitical vertigo: Grassroots popular geopolitics meets right-wing populism”, Political Geography, vol. 125, March 2026,
Additional readings:
R. Jackson, G. Sorensen, Wprowadzenie do stosunków międzynarodowych teorie i kierunki badawcze, Kraków 2006.
Hans J. Morgenthau, Polityka między narodami. Walka o potęgę i pokój, Difin, 2010.
Alexander Wendt, Społeczna teoria stosunków międzynarodowych, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar, 2008.
John J. Mearsheimer, Tragizm polityki mocarstw, Universitas, 2020.
Edward Hallett Carr, Kryzys dwudziestolecia 1919–1939. Wprowadzenie do badań nad stosunkami międzynarodowymi, Universitas, 2021.
Raymond Aron, Pokój i wojna między narodami (teoria), Centrum im. Adama Smitha, 1995.
|
Term 2024L:
None |
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: