Pls 150 intro to international

1.

PLS 150 INTRO TO INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
DR MAJA SAVEVSKA
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science and International Relations
SSH | Nazarbayev University
Office: 8.502
Email: [email protected]
21-08-22
Intro to IR
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

2.

Agenda for Week One
Monday
Wednesday
Friday
• Introduction
• Overview
of the
syllabus
• Q&A
• Overview
of the
syllabus
• Lecture on
what is IR
• Q&A
• Visit by the
Writing
Center
• Visit by our
subject
librarian
• Lecture

3.

Personal Introduction
Dr Maja Savevska
Educational
Background
Research Interests

4.

Introduce Yourselves
What is your name?
Where are you from?
Which major you want to declare?

5.

Agenda for Week One
Monday
Wednesday
Friday
• Introduction
• Overview
of the
syllabus
• Q&A
• Overview
of the
syllabus
• Lecture on
what is IR
• Q&A
• Visit by the
Writing
Center
• Visit by our
subject
librarian
• Lecture

6.

Communication
Office Hours:
Wednesday and Friday 2:00pm-3:00pm
Email: [email protected]
Moodle

7.

My Teaching Philosophy
Understanding foundational concepts
Current events and applied theory
No need for memorization
Interactive format
There are no stupid questions

8.

Learning Objectives
Solid understanding of core topics in IR
Well acquainted with conceptual vocabulary
Deep knowledge of foundational concepts
Critical thinking
Analytical skills
Writing skills
Research proficiency

9.

Course Format
Monday
• Current
Events
(10min)
• Lecture
(40min)
Wednesday
• Current
Events
(10min)
• Lecture
(40min)
Friday
• Kahoot
(10 min)
• Lecture
(20min)
• Interactive
activities
(rest)

10.

Course Requirements
Midterm (25%) – Week 7
Final Exam (25%) – Exam Period
News Report (20%) – Week 5
Research Tasks (10%) – Week 9 and 13
Current Events Interventions (10%) – rolling basis
Discussion Board (5%) – Week 4 and 10

11.

Grade Score
Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
F
Point
4.00
3.67
3.33
3.00
2.67
2.33
2.00
1.67
1.33
1.00
0.00
Percentage
95-100%
90-94%
85-89%
80-84%
75-79%
70-74%
65-69%
60-64%
55-59%
50-54%
0-49%

12.

Expectations
Readings
Attendance
Newspapers
Assignments
Academic Misconduct
Technology
Academic Journals
Library Resources

13.

TA
We might get two GTAs

14.

Textbooks
Uploaded on Moodle

15.

What is International Relations?
Scientific Discipline
Social Science
Field
Political Science

16.

Object of Inquiry
What do we study?
World politics
Problem-oriented inquiry:
Observation of empirical regularities,
outliers, events
Building a hypothesis
Testing plausible explanations
Theory building

17.

Actors
What it is?
Basic unit of analysis
Purposive behavior
Key Actors?
State
Central authority
Sovereign

18.

Sovereignty
What it entails:
Supreme legal and political authority within
borders
Monopoly over the use of violence
Non-intervention in domestic affairs
All sovereigns are equal
How is it exercised?
Diplomatic recognition

19.

Agenda for Week One
Monday
Wednesday
Friday
• Introduction
• Overview
of the
syllabus
• Q&A
• Overview
of the
syllabus
• Lecture on
what is IR
• Q&A
• Visit by the
Writing
Center
• Visit by our
subject
librarian
• Lecture

20.

Key Analytical Concepts
Interests
Interactions
• Preference
over
outcomes
• Cooperation
• Bargaining
• Conflict
Institutions
• UN
• WTO
• IMF

21.

Cooperation vs Bargaining

22.

Cooperation
Coordination
No incentives for
unilateral
defection
Dilemma of
common aversion
Collaboration
Incentives to
defect
Dilemma of
common interest

23.

Cooperation
Coordination
Examples:
Creation of common
standards
Collaboration
Examples:
Trade liberalization
Nuclear build-up

24.

25.

Key Puzzle
Collective Action Problems
Public goods
Conflict between
collective and individual
interests
Free-ride problems
Unilateral defection vs.
collective action
Why It Arises?
Nations are sovereign

26.

Q&A
Dr Maja
Savevska
Thank you for your attention