This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. WEEK 1 Lecture 0: Introduction to the Course, free writing exercises Lecture 1: Introduction to IR Theory What is International Relations (IR). What is IR theory. Historical evolution, main objectives and scholars. Recommended Readings Walt, S. M. (1998). International Relations: one world, many theories. Foreign policy, 29-46. Snyder, J. (2004). One World, Rival Theories, Foreign Policy, Nov., 52-62 Wæver, O. (1998), The Sociology of a Not So International Discipline: American and European Developments in International Relations, International Organization 52:4, 687- 727

This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. WEEK 2 Lecture 2: Realism Tuesday 16th September 2025, 1:45-3:15 p.m. (A405 Room) The lesson will introduce the realist theory in international relations, focusing on its core concepts such as power politics, state sovereignty, anarchy in the international system, and the pursuit of national interest Recommended Readings Jervis, R. (1994). Hans Morgenthau, Realism, and The Scientific Study of International Politics. Social Research, 853-876. Zambernardi, L. (2011). The Impotence of Power: Morgenthau’s critique of American intervention in Vietnam. Review of International Studies, 37(3), 1335–1356. Milner, H. (1991). The Assumption of Anarchy in International Relations Theory: a Critique.” Review of International Studies 17 (1): 67–85. Selden, Z. (2013). “Balancing Against or Balancing With? The Spectrum of Alignment and the Endurance of American Hegemony.” Security Studies 22 (2): 330–364. Ashworth, L. (2006). Where are the Idealists in Interwar International Relations?», Review of International Studies, XXXII, 2, 291-308. Supplementary Readings Carr, E. (1939) The Twenty Years’ Crisis, 1919-1939, Macmillan, (any edition). Morgenthau, H. (1948). Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace. Alfred A. Knopf. Lecture 3: Neorealism and Neoclassical Realism The lesson will introduce neorealism (or structural realism), focusing on key concepts such as anarchy in the international system, the distribution of power (polarity), security maximisation, and the structure of the international system as the main driver of state behaviour. Recommended Readings Waltz, K. (1996). International Politics Is Not Foreign Policy. Security Studies, 6(1), 54-57. Allison, G. (2015). “The Thucydides Trap: Are the US and China Headed for War?” The Atlantic, September 24, 2015. Mearsheimer, J. (2006). “China’s Unpeaceful Rise.” Current History 105 (690), 160–62 Legro, J. W., and A, Moravcsik. (1999). “Is anybody still a realist?” International Security, Vol. 24, No. 2, 5-55 Guzzini, S, (1993). Structural Power: The limits of neorealist power analysis. International Organization, 47(3), 443-478. Rose, G. (1998). “Neoclassical realism and theories of foreign policy.” World Politics 51.1, 144-172. Supplementary Readings Waltz, K. N. (1959). Man, the state, and war: A theoretical analysis (2018th, 2nd edition ed.). Columbia University Press. Jervis, R. (1999). “Realism, Neoliberalism, and Cooperation: Understanding the Debate.” International Security 24 (1): 42–63. Meibauer, G. (2020). Interests, Ideas, and The Study of State Behaviour in Neoclassical Realism. Review of International Studies, 46(1), 20-36.

This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. Lecture 4: Liberal and Neoliberalism This lesson introduces the concepts of liberalism and neoliberalism in the context of international relations, emphasising their shared foundations and key differences. Recommended Readings Oneal, J. R., and B. Russett (1999). The Kantian Peace: The Pacific Benefits of Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations, 1885-1992. World Politics. 52(1): 1- 37 Doyle, M. W. (1986). Liberalism and World Politics. American Political Science Review 80 (4): 1151 69. Grieco, J. M. (1988). Anarchy and the Limits of Cooperation: A Realist Critique of the Newest Liberal Institutionalism. International Organization 42 (3): 485–507 Keohane R. (2012). Twenty Years of Institutional Liberalism, International Relations, XXVI, 2, pp. 125-138. Ikenberry, G. J. (2009). Liberal Internationalism 3.0: America and the dilemmas of liberal world order. Perspectives on Politics7.1: 71-87 Ikenberry, G J. (2018). The End of Liberal International Order?”International Affairs 94 (1): 7–23. Supplementary Readings Fukuyama, F. (1992). The End of History and the Last Man. Simon and Schuster. Keohane R. (1999). After Hegemony, Princeton University Press. Moravcsik, A. (1997). Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics” International Organization 51(4): 513-553. Lecture 5: Constructivism This lesson introduces constructivism, focusing on the core idea that international politics is socially constructed and not merely shaped by material forces. Constructivism emphasises the influence of ideas, norms, identities and shared beliefs on state behaviour. Recommended Readings Wendt, A. (1992). Anarchy Is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics. International Organization 46 (2): 391–425. Hopf, T. (1998). The Promise of Constructivism in International Relations Theory. International security, 23(1): 171-200. Burai, E., and S. C. Hofmann. (2021). Constructivism and Peaceful Change. The Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Change in International Relations, 169–89. Guzzini, S. (2000). A Reconstruction of Constructivism in International Relations. European Journal of International Relations, 6(2): 147-182. Checkel, J. T. (1998). The constructive Turn in International Relations Theory. World politics 50(2), 324-348. Supplementary Readings Finnemore, M., & Wendt, A. (2024). When “Old” Constructivism Was New: Reflections on Classical Constructivism. Perspectives on Politics, 22(4), 1248–1268. Wendt, A. (1999). Social Theory of International Politics. Cambridge University Press. Guzzini, S. (2005). The Concept of Power: A constructivist analysis. Millennium 33.3: 495-521.

This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. Lecture 6: Identity and Narrative In this session, we cover the concepts of state identities, collective memories, and narratives. Recommended Readings Urrestarazu, U.S. (2015). Identity in International Relations and Foreign Policy Theory. In Theorizing Foreign Policy in a Globalized World, edited by Knud Erik Jørgensen and Gunther Hellmann, Springer, 126–49. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Subotić, J. (2015). “Narrative, Ontological Security, and Foreign Policy Change.” Foreign Policy Analysis 12 (4): 610–27. Lucenti, F. (2024). The ‘China Threat’: Stereotypical representations in the US competition with China. International Politics, 1. Hagström, L., & Gustafsson, K. (2021). The limitations of Strategic Narratives: The Sino-American struggle over the meaning of COVID-19. Contemporary Security Policy, 42(4), 415–449. Supplementary Readings Greenhill, B. (2008). Recognition and Collective Identity Formation in International Politics. European Journal of International Relations 14.2: 343-368. Lecture 7: Exclusion in IR In this lesson, we discuss the exclusion of actors that are commonly considered to be on the periphery of the international order, and how this impacts international stability and security. Recommended Readings Wishnick, E. (2016). In Search of the ‘Other’ in Asia: Russia–China Relations Revisited. The Pacific Review 30 (1): 114–32 Adler-Nissen, R., & Zarakol, A. (2021). Struggles for Recognition: The liberal international order and the merger of its discontents. International Organization, 75(2), 611-634. Adler-Nissen, R. (2014). Stigma Management in International Relations: Transgressive identities, norms, and order in international society. International Organization 68.1 (2014): 143-176 Homolar, A., & Turner, O. (2024). Narrative Alliances: The discursive foundations of international order. International Affairs, 100(1), 203–220. Supplementary Readings Zarakol, A. (2010). After Defeat. Cambridge University Press. Larson, D., & Shevchenko, A. (2010). Status Seekers: Chinese and Russian Responses to US Primacy. International Security, 34(4), 63–95.

This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. Lecture 8: Norms and Norm Contestation In this lesson, we will cover constructivist theory on international norms. Specifically, we will focus on the main contributions of recent literature on norm contestation. Recommended Readings Finnemore, M., and K. Sikkink. 1998. “International Norm Dynamics and Political Change.” International Organization 52 (4): 887–917. Deitelhoff, N., and L. Zimmermann. 2020. “Things we lost in the fire: how different types of contestation affect the robustness of international norms.” International Studies Review 22.1 2020: 51-76 Wunderlich, C., Lucenti, F., Lantis, J. S., & Ducci, C. (2025). Contestation in Prism: An Introduction (pp. 1–21). in Lucenti, F., Ducci, C., Wunderlich, C., & Lantis, J. S. (Eds.). (2025). Contestation in Prism. Springer Nature Switzerland. Bettiza, G., & Lewis, D. (2020). Authoritarian Powers and Norm Contestation in the Liberal International Order: Theorizing the Power Politics of Ideas and Identity. Journal of Global Security Studies, 5(4), 559–577. Supplementary Readings Wiener, A. (2014). A Theory of Contestation. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-55235-9 Wiener, A. (2018). Contestation and Constitution of Norms in Global International Relations. Cambridge University Press Lecture 9: Critical IR Theory In this lesson, we delve into the main critical approaches to IR theory, including race theory, gender theory, feminist theory and decolonial theory. We explore how these aspects can intersect to create social hierarchies in international politics. Recommended Readings Seth, S. (2011). Postcolonial theory and the critique of international relations. Millennium, 40(1), 167-183. Rosenberg, A. S. (2019). Measuring Racial Bias in International Migration Flows. International Studies Quarterly 63 (4): 837–845. Giancaspro, G., & Lucenti, F. (2024). Implicit hierarchies in the EU representation of refugees: a comparative text-analysis of the European Parliament’s framing of Syrian and Ukrainian diasporas. Italian Political Science Review/Rivista Italiana Di Scienza Politica, 1–15. Tickner J. A., (1988). Hans Morgenthau’s Principles of Political Realism: A Feminist Reformulation. Millennium 17 (3): 429–440. Weber C. (1994). Good Girls, Little Girls, and Bad Girls: Male Paranoia in Robert Keohane’s Critique of Feminist International Relations. Millennium 23 (2), 337–349. Murphy, C. N. (2007). The Promise of Critical IR Partially Kept. Review of International Studies, 33(S1), 117-133. Mercer, J. (2023). Racism, Stereotypes, and War. International Security, 48(2), 7–48.

This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. Lecture 10: US Foreign Policy and Global Role This lecture will begin by examining the key historical doctrines that have shaped US foreign policy, with particular attention to the evolution of American global engagement. It will then explore the major theoretical frameworks used to interpret US foreign policy, concluding with an analysis of recent developments in the context of great power competition and emerging multipolarity. Recommended Readings Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye, Jr., "The End of the Long American Century." Foreign Affairs, june 2, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/end-long-american-century-trump-keohane-nye. Rebecca Lissner and Mira Rapp-Hooper, "Absent at the Creation?." Foreign Affairs, June 24, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/absent-creation-rebecca-lissner. Lecture 11: Securitization This lesson focuses on the theory of securitisation. It begins by discussing the Copenhagen school’s contribution and then moves on to more recent securitisation approaches, including Visual securitization. Recommended Readings McDonald, M. (2008). Securitization and the Construction of Security. European Journal of International Relations 14.4, 563-587. Balzacq, T., and S. Guzzini. (2015). Introduction: ‘What kind of theory–if any–is securitization?’. International Relations 29.1, 97-102. Vuori, J. A. (2016). Constructivism and Securitization Studies. In M. Dunn Cavelty & T. Balzacq (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Security Studies (2nd edition, pp. 64–74). Routledge. Heck, A., & Schlag, G. (2013). Securitizing Images: The female body and the war in Afghanistan. European Journal of International Relations, 19(4), 891–913. Supplementary Readings Wæver, O. (1995). Securitization and Desecuritization. In R. Lipschutz (Ed.), On Security (pp. 46–86). Columbia University Press. Buzan, B., & Hansen, L. (2012). The Evolution of International Security Studies (pp. 187–225). Cambridge University Press. Massari, A. (2021). Visual Securitization. Springer International Publishing.

This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. Lecture 12: IR Gender Theories This lesson zooms in on IR gender theories, exploring how a gender approach can also offer a fresh perspective on existing IR theories. Furthermore, it sheds light on how gender theory can reveal aspects of IR that have been overlooked by traditional approaches. Recommended Readings Hansen L. 2015. The Little Mermaid’s Silent Security Dilemma and the Absence of Gender in the Copenhagen School Weber, Cynthia. 2015. Why Is There No Queer International Theory? European Journal of International Relations, 21(1), 27-51. Sjoberg, L. (2012). Toward Trans-Gendering International Relations?. International Political Sociology, 6(4), 337-354. J. Ann Tickner. 1997. “You Just Don’t Understand: Troubled Engagements Between Feminists and IR Theorists.” International Studies Quarterly 41 (4): 611–632. Supplementary Readings Enloe, C. (2014). Bananas, Beaches and Bases. Making Feminist Sense of International Politics (2nd ed.). Lecture 13: 1st Continuous Assessment

This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. Lecture 14: Visual IR This lesson will be structured around active student participation and interactive activities, with the aim of stimulating students to critically observe and interpret visual representations in politics. It introduces students to International Relations visual theory and explores how an aesthetic approach can contribute to the study and understanding of international politics. Recommended Readings Hansen, L. (2011). Theorizing the Image for Security Studies: Visual Securitization and the Muhammad Cartoon Crisis. European Journal of International Relations, 17(1), 51–74. Adler-Nissen, R., Andersen, K. E., & Hansen, L. (2020). Images, Emotions, and International Politics: The death of Alan Kurdi. Review of International Studies, 46(1), 75–95. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210519000317 Kearns, M. (2017). Gender, Visuality and Violence: Visual securitization and the 2001 war in Afghanistan. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 19(4), 491–505. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2017.1371623 Callahan, W. A. (2015). The Visual Turn in IR: Documentary Filmmaking as a Critical Method. Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 43(3), 891–910. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305829815578767 Supplementary Readings Callahan, W. A. (2020). Sensible Politics: Visualizing international relations. Oxford University Press. Bleiker, R. (2018). Visual Global Politics. Routledge. Bleiker, R. (2001). The Aesthetic Turn in International Political Theory. Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 30(3), 509–533. Sciorati, G. (2025). Crafting “Attractive” Histories: (Visual) Narrative Contestation Along the Silk Road. In C. Zhang & G. Dadabayeva (Eds.), The Implications of Ethnic Politics in Post-Socialist States for China. Springer. Lecture 15: Conclusion first part of the course, debriefing conversations This lesson concludes the first part of the course, after which the first continuous assessment will be evaluated. Most of the lesson will be dedicated to clarifying any remaining doubts that students have regarding the concepts and theory discussed so far. Recommended Readings Dunne, T., Hansen, L., & Wight, C. 2013. The End of International Relations Theory?. European Journal of International Relations, 19(3), 405-425.

This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. Lecture 16: The European Union’s Role in Global Politics This section will provide an overview of the EU's foreign policy as an actor operating in an increasingly multipolar world, introducing the main opportunities and limitations the EU encounters today in interacting with the main players, including emerging powers, on the international stage. Recommended Readings Edwards, G. (2017) ‘Chapter 3: Engaging the World’ In International Relations and the European Union, in International Relations and the European Union, edited by and Vanhoonacker S., Hill C., Smith M. Oxford University Press. Keukeleire, S., De Bruyn, T . (2017) ‘Chapter 18: The European Union, the BRICS, and Other Emerging Powers, in International Relations and the European Union, edited by and Vanhoonacker S., Hill C., Smith M. Oxford University Press. Barbé, E., & Morillas, P. (2019). The EU global strategy: the dynamics of a more politicized and politically integrated foreign policy. Cambridge review of international affairs, 32(6), 753-770. Lehne, S. (2022) ‘Making EU Foreign Policy Fir for Geopolitical World’, Carnegie Europe, https://carnegieeurope.eu/2022/04/14/making-eu-foreign-policy-fit-for-geopolitical-world-pub-86886 Niklas H. (2022), 'The Ambiguity of the EU’s Global Role: A Social Explanation of the Term ‘Strategic Autonomy’', (2022), 27, European Foreign Affairs Review, Issue SI, pp. 21-38, https://kluwerlawonline.com/journalarticle/European+Foreign+Affairs+Review/27.2/EERR2022010 Lecture 17: Lecture: Conceptualising EU External Relations This session will discuss different theoretical approaches and concepts that have been developed in order to better understand and explain the nature of EU external action and to assess the EU’s performance in its relations with foreign powers. Recommended Readings Hill, C. (1993) ‘The Capability–Expectations Gap, or Conceptualizing Europe’s International Role’. Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 305–28 Dijkstra, H. and Sophie V. (2017), ‘The Common Foreign and Security Policy’, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. (online publication) Keukeleire, S. and Lecocq S. (2018), ‘Operationalizing the Decentring Agenda: Analysing European foreign policy in a non-European and post-western world’, Cooperation and Conflict, 43(2), pp. 277–295. Manners, I. (2002) ‘Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms?’, JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 40(2): 235–258. Orbie, J. (2006) ‘Civilian Power Europe: Review of the Original and Current Debates’, Cooperation and Conflict 41(1): 123–128. Bickerton, C. J. (2011) ‘Towards a Social Theory of EU Foreign and Security Policy’, JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 49(1): 171–190. Smith, M. (2004) ‘Toward a theory of EU foreign policy-making: multi-level governance, domestic politics, and national adaptation to Europe’s common foreign and security policy’, Journal of European Public Policy 11(4): 740–758.

This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. Lecture 18: The EU's Foreign and Security Policy This section will provide an overview of the EU's foreign policy as an actor operating in an increasingly multipolar world, introducing the main opportunities and limitations the EU encounters today in interacting with the main players, including emerging powers, on the international stage. Recommended Readings Edwards, G. (2017) ‘Chapter 3: Engaging the World’ In International Relations and the European Union, in International Relations and the European Union, edited by and Vanhoonacker S., Hill C., Smith M. Oxford University Press. Keukeleire, S., De Bruyn, T . (2017) ‘Chapter 18: The European Union, the BRICS, and Other Emerging Powers, in International Relations and the European Union, edited by and Vanhoonacker S., Hill C., Smith M. Oxford University Press. Barbé, E., & Morillas, P. (2019). The EU global strategy: the dynamics of a more politicized and politically integrated foreign policy. Cambridge review of international affairs, 32(6), 753-770. Lehne, S. (2022) ‘Making EU Foreign Policy Fir for Geopolitical World’, Carnegie Europe, https://carnegieeurope.eu/2022/04/14/making-eu-foreign-policy-fit-for-geopolitical-world-pub-86886 Niklas H. (2022), 'The Ambiguity of the EU’s Global Role: A Social Explanation of the Term ‘Strategic Autonomy’', (2022), 27, European Foreign Affairs Review, Issue SI, pp. 21-38, https://kluwerlawonline.com/journalarticle/European+Foreign+Affairs+Review/27.2/EERR2022010 Lecture 19: The EU's Trade and Investment Policy This session is devoted to the key aspects of EU trade policy, emphasising the relevance that trade has for the EU, overview of the mechanisms, opportunities, and obstacles to EU trade policy, distinction between bilateral, multilateral, and global trade policies and the emergence of an EU investment policy. Recommended Reading Damro, C. (2012) ‘Market power Europe’, Journal of European Public Policy 19(5): 682–699. Dimier, V. (2006). 'Constructing Conditionality: The Bureaucratization of EC Development Aid'. European Foreign Affairs Review, 11: 263–280. Meunier, S. (2007) ‘Managing Globalization? The EU in International Trade Negotiations’, JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 45(4): 905–926. Meunier, S. and Nicolaïdis, K. (2006) ‘The European Union as a conflicted trade power’, Journal of European Public Policy 13(6): 37–41. Meunier, S. (2014) ‘Divide and conquer? China and the cacophony of foreign investment rules in the EU’, Journal of European Public Policy 21(7): 996–1016. Roederer-Rynning, C. and Kallestrup, M. (2017) ‘National parliaments and the new contentiousness of trade’, Journal of European Integration 39(7): 811–825.

This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. Lecture 20: EU Relations with the Neighbourhood Recommended Readings Browning, Christopher S., and Pertti Joenniemi. "Geostrategies of the European neighbourhood policy." European journal of international relations 14.3 (2008): 519-551. Barbé, Esther, and Elisabeth Johansson-Nogués. "The EU as a modest'force for good': the European Neighbourhood Policy." International affairs (2008): 81-96. Smith, Karen E. "The outsiders: the European neighbourhood policy." International affairs 81.4 (2005): 757-773. Dodini, Michaela, and Marco Fantini. "The EU neighbourhood policy: Implications for economic growth and stability." JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 44.3 (2006): 507-532. Gstöhl, Sieglinde. "Theoretical approaches to the European neighbourhood policy." Theorizing the European neighbourhood policy (2017): 3-21. Tom Casier (2011) To Adopt or Not to Adopt: Explaining Selective Rule Transfer under the European Neighbourhood Policy, Journal of European Integration, 33:1, 37-53 Lavenex, Sandra. "A governance perspective on the European neighbourhood policy: integration beyond conditionality?." Journal of European Public Policy 15.6 (2008): 938-955. Lavenex, S. (2004) ‘EU external governance in “wider Europe”’, Journal of European Public Policy 11(4): 680–700. Epstein, Rachel A., and Ulrich Sedelmeier. "Beyond conditionality: international institutions in postcommunist Europe after enlargement." Journal of European public policy15.6 (2008): 795-805. Cianciara, A. K., & Szymański, A. (2020). 'Differentiated integration: towards a new model of European Union–Turkey relations?'. Turkish Studies, 21(2): 254–273. Lecture 21: Guest lecture

This may be subject to change. A final description of the course will be shared a few months before it starts. Lecture 22: EU-China Relations This session delves into the EU's relations with China, one of the EU's largest trading partners. In addition to economic aspects, the session addresses the evolution of EU-China strategic competition as well as the impact of human rights, democracy and climate change among the most sensitive issues in the relationship between the two countries. Recommended Readings Speech by President von der Leyen on EU-China relations to the Mercator Institute for China Studies and the European Policy Centre (2023), European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/da/speech_23_2063 Ghiretti, F. (2021). Technological Competition: Can the EU Compete with China?. Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). Vohra A. (2023) ‘Europe Is Stuck in a Toxic China Relationship’, Foreign Policy, June 22nd, 2023, https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/22/europe-is-stuck-in-a-toxic-china-relationship/ Xing L. (2022) China-EU Relations at a Crossroad: “Systemic Rivalry” or “Strategic Partnership”? Chapter 1, in Xing L. China-EU relations in a new era of global transformation. London: Routledge. Gledić J. (2022) The role of culture in order-building Lessons from China’s engagement on the borders of the EU in Xing L. China-EU relations in a new era of global transformation. London: Routledge. Gao, X. (2022). An attractive alternative? China’s approach to cyber governance and its implications for the Western model. The International Spectator, 57(3), 15-30. Lecture 23: Final Discussion and Exam Preparation