International Relations Theory: Contemporary Debates

The course aims at facilitating a discussion of some of the issues currently debated in International

Relations theory.

Requirements:

Active participation in the seminar - 20%

Presentation - 20%

Midterm essay (circa 5.000 words) - 30%

Final essay (circa 5.000 words) - 30%

Week 1

Seminars 1 & 2

Introduction and general discussion

PART I Theories

Week 2

Seminar 3

Hayward R. Alker and Thomas Biersteker, “The Dialectics of World Order: Notes For The Future

Archaeologist of International Savoir Faire”, International Studies Quarterly, 28, 1984: 121-42

Ole Wæver, “The Rise and Fall of the Inter-paradigm Debate” in International Theory: Positivism

and Beyond (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), ed. by Steve Smith, Ken Booth and

Marysia Zalewski.

Seminar 4

Cameron G. Thies, “Progress, History and Identity in International Relations Theory: The Case

of the Idealist–Realist Debate”, European Journal of International Relations, vol. 8(2), 2002: 147–

85

Brian C. Schmidt, “On the History and Historiography of International Relations”, in Handbook of

International Relations (London: SAGE, 2002), ed. Walter Carlsnaes, Thomas Risse and Beth A.

Simmons.

Week 3

Seminar 5

Emanuel Adler, “Constructivism in International Relations”, in Handbook: 95-118.

James Fearon and Alexander Wendt, “Rationalism v. Constructivism: A Skeptical View”, in

Handbook: 52-72

Seminar 6

Thomas Risse, “’Let’s Argue!’: Communicative Action in World Politics”, International

Organization, 54, 2000: 1-40

Thomas Diez and Jill Steans, “A useful dialogue? Habermas and International Relations”, Review of

International Studies, 31, 2005: 127–40

Week 4

Seminar 7

Friedrich Kratochwil, “Constructing a New Orthodoxy? Wendt’s ‘Social Theory of International

Politics’ and the Constructivist Challenge“, Millennium, 29, 2000: 73-101

Stefano Guzzini, “A Reconstruction of Constructivism in International Relations”, European

Journal of International Relations, 6, 2000: 147-82

Seminar 8

Heikki Patomäki and Colin Wight, “After Postpositivism? The Promises of Critical Realism”,

International Studies Quarterly, 44, 2001: 53-75

Roger Epp, “The English School on the Frontiers of International Society: A Hermeneutic

Recollection”, Review of International Studies, Special Issue, 1998: 47-63

Week 5

Seminar 9

Friedrich Kratochwil, “History, Action and Identity”, European Journal of International Relations,

12, 2006: 5-29.

Cynthia Weber, “Reading Martin Wight’s 'Why Is There No International Theory?' As History”,

Alternatives: Social Transformation & Humane Governance, 23, 1998: 451-70.

Seminar 10

Colin Wight, “Philosophy of Social Science and International Relations”, in Handbook: 23-51

Barry Buzan and Richard Little, “Why International Relations has Failed as an

Intellectual Project and What to do About it”, Millennium, 30, 2001: 19-39.

Week 6

Seminar 11

Roland Bleiker, “Retracing and Redrawing the Boundaries of Events: Postmodern Interferences

With International Theory”, Alternatives: Social Transformation & Humane Governance, 23, 1998:

471-98

Cynthia Weber, “IR: The Resurrection or New Frontiers of Incorporation”, European Journal of

International Relations, 5, 1999: 435–50

Seminar 12

General discussion

PART II Practices

Week 7

Seminar 13

John Ikenberry, After Victory: Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Rebuilding of Order After

Major Wars (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001), Chs. 1 and 2.

Klaus Dieter Wolf, “The New Raison d’État as a Problem for Democracy in World Society”,

European Journal of International Relations, 5, 1999:: 333–63

Mathias Koenig-Archibugi, “International Governance as New Raison d’État? The Case of the EU

Common Foreign and Security Policy”, 10, 2004: 147–88

Seminar 14

Andrew Linklater, “Dialogic politics and the civilising process”, Review of International Studies,

31, 2005 : 141-54

Chantal Mouffe, “For An Agonistic Model of Democracy”, in Political Theory in Transition

(London: Routledge, 2000) ed. Noël O’Sullivan: 113-30

Week 8

Seminar 15

Richard Mansbach, “Changing Understandings of Global Politics: Preinternationalism,

Internationalism and Postinternationalism”, in Pondering Postinternationalism: A Paradigm for the

Twenty-First Century? (New Yorke: SUNY, 2000), ed. Heidi H.Hobbs: 7-24

Ronnie D. Lipschutz, “Politics Among People: Global Civil Society Reconsidered”, in

Postinternationalism: 83-98

Seminar 16

Yale Ferguson, “Postinternationalism and the Future of IR Theory”, in Postinternationalism:

197-216

Nicholas Onuf, “Habits, Skills and Grandiose Theory”, in Postinternationalism: 99-116.

Week 9

Seminar 17

Richard Little, “The English School’s Contribution to the Study of

International Relations”, European Journal of International Relations, 6, 2000:395-422.

Chris Brown, “World Society and the English School: An ‘International Society’ Perspective on

World Society”, European Journal of International Relations, 7, 2001: 423–41

Seminar 18

Barry Buzan, “The English School: An Underexploited Resource in IR”, Review of International

Studies, 27, 2001: 471-88

Tim Dunne, Emanuel Adler, Barry Buzan, Forum on Buzan’s From International Society to World

Society?, Millennium, 34, 2005: 186-99

Week 10

Seminar 19

Alexander Wendt, “Why a World State is Inevitable”, European Journal of International Relations,

9, 2003: 491–542

Vaughn P. Shannon, “Wendt’s Violation of the Constructivist Project: Agency and Why a World

State is Not Inevitable”, European Journal of International Relations, 11, 2005: 581–587

Alexander Wendt, “Agency, Teleology and the World State: A Reply to Shannon”, European

Journal of International Relations, 11, 2005 : 589–598

Seminar 20

Roland Axtmann, “Globality, Plurality and Freedom: The Arendtian Perspective”, Review of

International Studies, 32, 2006: 93-117

Barak Mendelsohn, “Sovereignty Under Attack: The International Society Meets the Al Qaeda

Network”, Review of International Studies, 31, 2005: 45-68

Week 11

Seminar 21

Jenny Edkins, “Sovereign Power, Zones of Indistinction, and the Camp”, Alternatives: Social

Transformation & Humane Governance, 25, 2000: 3-26

Michael Dillon and Julian Reid, “Global Liberal Governance: Biopolitics, Security and War”,

Millennium, 30, 2001:

Seminar 22

Discussion: Derrida - Negotiating the Legacy, Millennium, 35, 2005: 200-61.

Week 12

Seminars 23 & 24

Concluding discussion