INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

The 2025-26 International Politics course will be held by Prof. Marta Tawil Kuri of the Colegio de México, who will be a visiting professor at Ca' Foscari in the Fall semester of 2025. The course will start on 14 October 2025.

A staple of the Global Studies and EU Studies curricula, the course participates in the make-up of the political science component within the Master's Degree Programme in Comparative International Relations while advancing its interdisciplinary goals. The course aims to develop students’ comprehension of the international dimension of politics from a theoretical and practical perspective. It provides students with advanced knowledge of the diversity of actors in international politics, with an emphasis on the epistemology and methods of inquiry of the discipline of International Relations and the subfield of Foreign Policy Analysis.

By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:
a) Become familiar with the fundamental texts of international relations and of the subfield of Foreign Policy Analysis, from which they can raise questions and discuss issues of international politics.
b) Develop critical reflections about diverse topics and challenges that arise from interactions between leaders, states, peoples, and global actors, in order to lay the groundwork for a critical understanding of both their behaviour and of changes in core concepts such as power, security, international order, and global crises.
c) Get a more defined awareness of the various nuances and realizations of international relations theory.
d) Grasp Western and non-Western countries’ interpretations of international politics.
e) Acquire skills for conducting IR inquiries in autonomy and for communication.

Admission criteria are those required by the RIC program.

I. MAIN CONCEPTS AND DEBATES - 1. Introduction to the course - 2. Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism - 3. Critical approaches - 4. Latin American approaches - 5. Perspectives from the Middle East
II. WAR, PEACE AND SECURITY - 6. Global uncertainty and security dilemmas - 7. Military alliances and collective security - 8. Nuclear (non-) proliferation and strategies - 9. Securitization - 10. The ‘crisis’ of multilateralism
III. FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS - 11. Executives in foreign policy decision-making - 12. Populism and foreign policy - 13. Foreign policy crises, failures, and change - 14. Non-state actors and foreign policy: The media - 15. The foreign policy of armed non-state actors

The list of readings will be made available from the start of the course in the detailed syllabus file in Moodle, inclusive of detailed instructions on mandatory and non-mandatory readings.

Final exam: The students will take a final written exam, consisting of three questions. The answers, in the form of short essays, will have to include the definition of concepts or debates, and their application to international/global political events, based on the proper compulsory readings and the class slides. The duration of the exam will be three hours.

written

GRADING SCALE
0-17/30 = failing grade
18-22/30 = sufficient rating
23-26/30 = good
27-30/30 = more then good / very good
30/30 e lode = excellent

In class, the course includes lectures by the teacher and discussion of the mandatory readings (see detailed Syllabus in Moodle). Attendance is not compulsory but is highly recommended and requires in-depth individual study of the recommended readings before each class. Students with a “701” enrolment code can access specific materials from their Moodle spaces.

For those who follow the class sessions, punctuality in all sessions is mandatory. The use of electronic devices, such as mobile phones, personal computers, tablets, and smartwatches, is restricted to course-related purposes only, i.e., taking notes and reviewing readings when appropriate. Any interaction, active or passive, with material not directly related to the course constitutes a serious offense. According to the privacy and personal data management policies, recording audio, video, or images of the sessions and participants is strictly prohibited.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development