Undergraduate Requirements

Program Subfield

International Relations

The field of international relations is concerned with developing an understanding of why states and non-state international actors, like the United Nations and multinational corporations, interact as they do. International relations is a diverse field both in terms of what kinds of behavior are studied and how they are studied. International conflict, particularly war, continues to be an important focus of the field. Why do wars start? Who wins and why? How can wars be prevented? What is the role of international law and organizations? As the world has become more interdependent, scholars have become more aware of the importance of international economic activity. As a result, scholars are analyzing world trade, communications, development, foreign investment, and international finance. How states make foreign policy decisions is another important area of study. National security policy, nuclear deterrence, arms control and defense spending decisions are typical examples of foreign policy decisions.

POL S 203, International Relations, introduces the student to International politics. This is followed by a wide variety of offerings at the 300 and 400 level, such as American foreign policy, international world politics, the international relations of regions, and international conflict.

Courses in International Relations

• POL S 203 Introduction to International Relations
• POL S 270 Introduction to Political Economy
• POL S 321 American Foreign Policy
• POL S 324 Europe in World Politics
• POL S 325 Arab-Israeli Conflict
• POL S 326 Scandinavia in World Affairs
• POL S 328 International Organizations
• POL S 329 Global Communication
• POL S 330 Communications and International Relations
• POL S 367 Comparative Law and Courts
• POL S 368 International Human Rights
• POL S 384 Global Environmental Politics
• POL S 403 Advanced Topics in International Relations (10 credits max.)
• POL S 407 International Conflict
• POL S 410 Technology and Politics (not listed as an IR course on the green list)
• POL S 418 Japanese Trade and Diplomacy
• POL S 420 Soviet and Russian Foreign Policy
• POL S 422 International Environmental Politics
• POL S 423 International Law
• POL S 424 Japan in International System
• POL S 425 War and Deterrence
• POL S 426 World Politics
• POL S 427 International Political Economy
• POL S 428 Military Intervention
• POL S 429 Political Economy of the EU
• POL S 430 Civil-Military Relations
• POL S 431 Middle East- IR
• POL S 432 Political Islam
• POL S 433 Southeast Asia- IR
• POL S 434 South Asia- IR