International Relations Track

The International Relations track reflects the existing tradition of IR scholarship in North America, the UK, and Western Europe especially. Its commitment to an understanding of IR theory is supplemented by specific concentrations on the two major sub-fields of Security Studies and International Political Economy. The aim of the track is to enable students to both explain and understand material; military and economic, as well as ideational factors that account for continuity and change in the international political system. Although therefore necessarily global in its outlook, the track is also committed to a particular focus on the European context (with concentrations on, for example, the governance of European Security and the Europeanization of national security and defence policies).Epistemologically and methodologically, the track draws upon both positivist and non-positivist approaches, with a concomitant commitment to pursuing traditional and critical policy-relevant scholarship.

Core curriculum

International Relations Theory: 4 credits (general and specific theories of world politics)
International Security: 4 credits (Strategic Studies, Critical Security Studies)
International Political Economy: 4 credits (Globalization, International Trade & Finance, TNCs, Development)
Advanced Topics: 2 credits (Religion and International Relations)