Introduction
Studying Politics and International Relations means addressing interminable political and
international matters that affect people, societies and the world. Such problems often include the
questions of power, organisation, community, identity and government. The Politics and
International Relations course provides students with an introduction to the world of politics,
which explores the basics of political thought, ideologies, behaviours, systems and institutions.
Students will learn about political ideas and theories as well as about existing national and
international political behaviours and structures. Whether keen on Communism, passionate
about Parliament or intrigued by the European Union and the United Nations, students will have
the opportunity to discuss and debate the fundamental questions of political life and international
relations. The aim of the course is to help students to understand how politics operates in
everyday settings.
The course starts with an introduction of key political thinkers such as Plato, Hobbes and Marx
while exploring how their ideas can be applied to both societal and global affairs. Covering a broad
range of topics within the disciplines, the course will then examine the central concepts in politics
such as state, state systems, the forms of government, and decision- and policy-making processes.
In the last week, we will analyse key topics in international relations such as the European Union,
the United Nations, and the politics of peace, conflict and war. During the course, students will be
involved in class discussions, text-analysis and homework assignments. Most importantly,
students will have the opportunity to practise knowledge and skills while participating in political
debates and simulation exercises (a mock EU negotiation and the Model UN).
Reading list
Students are welcomed to read some of the following texts, which may enhance their
participation and discussion in classes.
 Boucher and Kelly (eds.) Political Thinkers from Socrates to the Present.
 Nigel A Jackson and Stephen D Tansey, Politics: The Basics. Routledge, 2014. (basic
overview).
 Robert Garner, Peter Ferdinand, Stephanie Lawson, Introduction to Politics. Oxford UP,
2012.
 Peter Sutch and Juanita Elias, International Relations: The Basics. Routledge, 2007. (basic
overview).
 Robert Jackson and Georg Sørensen, Introduction to International Relations: Theories
and Approaches. Oxford UP, 2013.
MONDAY 27 JUNE
Introduction to Politics and the Political
The first class will introduce what politics is, why it matters, how it works in everyday life,
and why it is important to study it. Studying Hobbes and Schmitt, students will discuss why
states are important. Discussing different understandings of politics, students will also
attempt to explore what politics means to them.
TUESDAY 28 JUNE
Justice: How Should our Society Look Like?
The second class will discuss Plato and Rawls and their ideas of justice and equality. The
second half of the class will discuss the issue of global justice versus identity politics.
Enacting the veil of ignorance, students will also simulate a design of a just society.
WEDNESDAY 29 JUNE
“The Emergence of the State as a Process of Secularization” - Religion and Politics
This class will seek to give students a grasp of how the study of politics began in Greece from mythos to logos - and how political theory was conceived up to the Renaissance. The
class will also discuss the question of religious diversity in the public space while taking a
journey from the thirty year's war to the challenge of Islamism. Is religion a private matter?
What are the areas of tension between politics and religion?
FRIDAY 1 JULY
Critique as Political Concept: Learning How to Think Differently
In this class, we will pay attention to the Frankfurt School and the dialectic of
enlightenment. We will discuss Foucault and discourse analysis: power knowledge,
criticism and the subject. Attempting to apply their thoughts, we will discuss contemporary
cases such as Snowden and the Panama Papers. In small group discussions, we will talk
about possible ways of criticism from different points of view.
MONDAY 4 JULY
Locke, J. S. Mill and Liberalism
Having analysed Hobbes and the state in the last class, this class will discuss the attempt
of liberalism to put limits on state power. The first half of the class will analyse some of the
foundational texts of liberalism, including John Locke's 2nd Treatise on Government and
letter concerning toleration, as well as John Stuart Mill's On Liberty.
TUESDAY 5 JULY
Marx and Socialism
This class focuses on the political thought of Karl Marx, arguably the political thinker who
has made the most direct impact to the largest number of people in history. The class will
begin with a lecture on Hegel in order to contextualise the origins of Marx's political
philosophy. This will be followed by detailed readings of the Communist Manifesto. The
second half of the class will analyse the principles of Marxist socialism by looking at
progress, revolution and class struggle in the theories of Lenin and revisionist socialists.
THURSDAY 6 JULY
State and State Systems
The class will explore and discuss what a state is and why the Westphalian model of state
became the most (if not only) dominant form of political community determining the
organisation of world relations. Students will compare different forms of state systems,
discussing their pros and cons.
THURSDAY 7 JULY
Power and Authority: Government and its Varieties
The questions of who should hold power, how this power should be exercised, and what
gives it legitimacy go back to the very beginnings of human interaction - Government,
Parliament or the Head of State? This class will explore how power and authority interrelate
and are embedded in a state. It will discuss how state functions and how it is structured
and organised. Students will attempt to understand how the power in a state is distributed
through the constitutive, executive, legislative and judiciary elements of the government.
FRIDAY 8 JULY
Foreign Decision- and Policy-Making
During this class, students will have the opportunity to learn from an expert, a diplomat
from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and an alumnus of the University of
Cambridge, about decision- and policy-making processes in foreign relations.
MONDAY 11 JULY
Globalisation: A Challenge to the State
After discussing what a state is, this class will focus on globalisation which challenges the
very nature of the state. We will talk about various causes and effects of globalisation,
whether globalisation is a new phenomenon, and how it can be measured. Students will
then discuss whether globalisation is good or bad for a state, and its people.
TUESDAY 12 JULY
Regional Organisations: the European Union
In this class, we will move beyond the state, exploring the case of a post-Westphalian
political community: the European Union. Students will discuss the reasons for the creation
of the EU, its origins and institutions. We will attempt to understand how the EU works
and functions. In order to understand this unique and complex political entity, students
will participate in a simulation role-play in which they, as representatives of the EU member
states, will seek to solve a problem at a meeting of the Council of the EU.
WEDNESDAY 13 JULY
International Organisations: the United Nations
The United Nations is often regarded as the world parliament. The class will explain the
main principal organs of the UN, the purposes and aims of the UN, and the working
procedures. While debating selected themes and areas of the work of the UN, students
will critically assess the effectiveness and general global impact of the UN.
THURSDAY 14 JULY
Politics of Peace, Conflict and War
Although states and the state-based world system should enable people to live in
freedom, conflict and war has been inevitable elements of state relations. This class will
discuss the politics and ethics of war, conflict and peace processes. Students will learn
about different types of war and warfare as well as about various ways of preventing and
resolving conflicts, making peace agreements, keeping peace, and building peace.
FRIDAY 15 JULY
Model United Nations
The model UN has been one of the most popular and successful parts of the course. In
this class, students will be given a task to solve a contemporary political or humanitarian
crises while representing member states of one of the principal organs of the UN. Students
will negotiate, argue and present the positions of particular states with an attempt to find
a solution to the problem.