International Politics

Code:

LRI015

Acronym:

POLINT

Instance: 2012/2013 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of History, Political and International Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor in Languages and International Relations

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LRI	62	Study Plan	3	-	6	4	4
		Study Plan - Minor in History	3	-	6	4	4
		Study Plan - Minor in German Studies	3	-	6	4	4
		Study Plan - Minor in English Studies	3	-	6	4	4
		Study Plan - Minor in Spanish Studies	3	-	6	4	4
		Study Plan - Minor in French Studies	3	-	6	4	4

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

At the end of the semester, students should be able to:

 

1. Realise the need for a scientific analysis of recent History.

 

2. Establish the main evolution trends of post-World War II international order.

 

3. Correctly use concepts central to international politics of the last 70 years.

 

4. Critically analyse a relevant problem of international politics of the last 70 years dealt with in a book, article or documentary film on which the student has prepared a critical review.

 

5. Realise the essential components of a monographic thesis or of a scientific article and to prepare a critical review on it.

onographic thesis or of a scientific article and to prepare a critical review on it.

Learning outcomes and competences

At the end of the semester, students should be able to:

1. Realise the need for a scientific analysis of recent History.

2. Establish the main evolution trends of post-World War II international order.

3. Correctly use concepts central to international politics of the last 70 years.

4. Critically analyse a relevant problem of international politics of the last 70 years dealt with in a book, article or documentary film on which the student has prepared a critical review.

5. Realise the essential components of a monographic thesis or of a scientific article and to prepare a critical review on it.

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. Introduction: an History of our age.

 

Brief interpretation of World History after World War II.

 

2. Theoretical constructions of International Relations

 

Brief exposure of the main currents of thought in International Relations: traditional and critical theory

 

3. Cold War and its legacy:

 

3.1 1945: defeat of Nazi-Fascism and Europe's new political borders.

 

3.2 The German problem and the establishment of the two military and political blocs (1945-55): the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Warsaw Pact.

 

3.3 Warm wars: Corea (1949-53), Indochina/Vietnam (1947-75) and colonial wars.

 

3.4 Soviet bloc crisis: from Perestroika to the end of the Warsaw Pact and of Soviet Union.

 

 

 

4. «Globalisation»?:

 

4.1 From the «glorious thirty years» (1945-73) to the dismantling of the Welfare State in capitalist economies.

 

4.2 The end of the American century: from John Kennedy to George W. Bush.

 

4.3 A globalised economy and culture?: global capitalism, migrations and the new international actors.

 

 

 

5. Regional conflicts and international intervention mechanisms:

 

5.1 From post-Berlin Wall optimismo to a permanent state of war: the american wars (Afghanistan, Iraq) and interethnical and civil conflicts.

 

5.2 Peacekeeping: keeping collective security and the principle of peaceful conflict resolution.

 

5.3 The Yugoslav wars: mounting of inter-ethnical and religious tension and the United Nations incapacity to keep peace.

 

 

 

6. «Clash of Civilisations»?:

 

6.1 Ideological appearances and realities: crisis of Nationalism or an emerging Neonationalism and culturalistic racism?

 

6.2 The Arab-Israeli conflict: the American strategy for the Middle East and regional alliances.

 

6.3 Identity vs. identity? Recent ideological reconstructions of «Western Civilisation» and «Islam».

 

6.4 An inevitable political Islam?: impact on democratisation and on Human Rights.

 

 

 

7. Reflection on the present European crisis: the economic recession, cause for the breakup in European solidarity and retrieval of old stereotypes?

 

Mandatory literature

Hobsbawm, Eric, 1917-2012; A^era dos extremos. ISBN: 972-23-2020-3

Comments from the literature

See list of Bibliography attached to this webpage

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theory-practical classes consist of a set of activities that include the presentation of information possibly included in photocopied texts previously made available to students, usually through multimedia presentations, analysis of written documents or films, and open discussion of the issues under study.
In tutorials, students must develop and discuss a set of tasks designed in order to prepare a critical review (or reading report) of a book, article, chapter of a collective written work, or a documentary film relevant to the theme, proposed by students and approved by the lecturer. These tasks and their timetable are established at the beginning of the semester and attached to the curricular unit's webpage.
Depending on class size (usually, of 60-70 students), students may be split into homogeneous groups designed according with the tasks they have to perform.

 

Final evaluation include both this critical review and a final written exam.

 

Software

Data Show

keywords

Humanities > History > Political history
Social sciences > Anthropology
Social sciences > Political sciences > Policy studies > International relations
Social sciences > Political sciences > Policy studies > EU policies

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Description	Type	Time (hours)	Weight (%)	End date
Attendance (estimated)	Participação presencial	68,00	63,00
	Participação presencial	13,00	12,00	2013-06-05
	Trabalho escrito	25,00	23,00	2013-06-05
	Exame	2,00	2,00	2013-06-05
	Total:	-	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Description	Type	Time (hours)	End date
	Estudo autónomo	76	2013-09-07
	Total:	76,00

Calculation formula of final grade

12,5% = assignments required in Tutorial sessions
37,5% = critical review (including its oral discussed, if required)
50% = Final Exam

See «Provas e Trabalhos Especiais»