ASTK18011U Core Subject: Theory and Practice in Foreign Policy

The aim of the course is to offer a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of foreign policy.

The course enhances the students’ ability to think critically and to combine complex theories with insights from the contemporary political world. Emphasis will be on the ability to present a coherent argument, to discuss and evaluate competing claims, and to write in concise and clear manner. The course will be relevant for students interested in working with complex issues in politics and elsewhere.

The first part of the course focuses on theory. We discuss the main theoretical traditions including various approaches within each tradition and their applicability for understanding different aspects of foreign policy. Discussion include International Relations theories such as Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism and Post-Structuralism as well as specific theories and models for foreign policy analysis.

The second part of the course focuses on practice. To balance the security policy focus of much foreign policy analysis, we zoom in on foreign economic policy, both the hard foreign economic policy (sanctions, unilateralism and trade war) and the soft foreign economic policy (incentives, multilateralism and persuasion). We discuss diplomacy, both the classical diplomacy and new diplomatic challenges, before we turn to the foreign policies of such countries as the United States, China, Russia, Iran, Turkey and the Nordic countries.

Students will choose their own paper topics within the overall thematic of the course and discuss these with other students and a supervisor in two paper workshops.