ASTK12299U Course: Ideas in Political analysis and International Realations

Volume 2014/2015
Education
Bachelorlevel: 10 ECTS
Masterlevel: 7,5 ECTS
Content

This course will consider the extent to which ideas are important explanatory variables in politics and international relations. In recent years there has been a marked increase in the volume of work that takes ideas seriously. Such ‘ideational’ scholarship emerges from different traditions – rationalism, constructivism, post-structuralism to name but three – but each departs in significant ways from older forms of idealism and/or a focus simply on ‘ideology’. But such work is also open to critique and some of the most lively debates in contemporary social science surround the extent to which ideas are important. Are ideas merely the rhetorical devices to justify the pursuit of interests? Or do ideas explain social and political transformations? If they do, is it the case that ideas always matter? Or do ideas only change political outcomes in time of crisis when uncertainty prevails? Can the articulation of an idea shape reality in the image of that idea? Do political actors really believe the ideas that they espouse? And how would we know if they did? This course will examine critically the scope of contemporary work on ideas through a wide range of  empirical examples. 

  1. Introduction – what are ‘ideas’? Traditions of ideational analysis
  2. Ideas and power
  3. Does it matter what we say? Ideas and rhetoric
  4. Ideas as causes: rationalist treatments of ideas
  5. Ideas and the constitution of …: constructivist approaches
  6. Ideas and the politics of reality: post-structuralist approaches
  7. Ideas and change 1: when do ideas matter?
  8. Ideas and change 2: risk, uncertainty, ambiguity?
  9. Measuring the importance of ideas
  10. The diffusion of ideas
  11. Expertise, ideas and authority in politics
  12. The politics of ‘bad’ ideas, pseudoscience and bullshit
  13. The reality effects of ideas: self-fulfilling prophecies and performativity
  14. Conclusions

 

  1. Competency description

This course offers a comprehensive and detailed overview of so-called ‘ideational’ approaches to the study of politics and international relations. As such it will be useful grounding for students interested in developing a project or thesis from a relevant theoretical perspective. The course seeks to enhance key analytical and critical skills that are transferable beyond academic study to a wide range of careers. 

Learning Outcome

On completion of the course, students should (a) be able to demonstrate familiarity with the main strands of ideational analysis in political science and international relations; (b) be able to relate concepts and theories about eh explanatory power of ideas to concrete empirical cases; (c) be able to make informed, analytical evaluations of both different approaches to the study of ideas and their principal critics (d) be able to think critically about the broader analytical significance of debates about the role of  international relations.  

 

An extensive week by week reading list, featuring core an supplementary reading for each topic will be made available in January 2015. The following list offers an illustration of some of the key texts used on the course:

Abdelal, R, Blyth, M and Parsons, C (eds) Constructing the International Economy (Cornell University Press 2010)

Beland, D and Cox, R Ideas and Politics in Social Science Research (Oxford University Press, 2010)

Best, J ‘Ambiguity, Uncertainty and Risk: rethinking indeterminacy’, International Political Sociology 2(4), 2008, pp. 355-374

Blyth, M Great Transformations (Cambridge University Press 2002)

Campbell, J ‘Institutional Analysis and the Role of Ideas in Political Analysis’, Theory and Society 23(3), 1998, pp. 377-409.

Chwieroth, J ‘Testing and Measuring the Role of Ideas’, International Studies Quarterly 51(1), 2007, pp. 5-30.

Epstein, C The Power of Words in International Relations (MIT Press 2008)

Frankfurt, H.G On Bullshit (Princeton University Press 2005)

Gofas, A and Hay, C (eds) The Role of Ideas in Political Analysis (Routledge, 2010)

Goldstein, J and Keohane, R.O Ideas and Foreign Policy (cornell University Press 1993)

Hall, P.A ‘Policy Paradigms, Social Learning and the State’, Comparative Politics 25(3), 1993, pp. 275-296.

Hay, C and Rosamond, B ‘Globalization, European Integration and the Discursive Construction of Economic Imperatives’, Journal of European Public Policy 9(2), 2002, pp. 147-167.

Hirschmann, A.O The Rhetoric of Reaction (Harvard University Press 1991)

MacKenzie, D An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets (MIT Press 2006)

Merton, R.K ‘The self-fulfilling prophesy. The Antioch Review 8(2), 1948, pp. 193-210.

Owen, j.M The Clash of Ideas in World Politics (Princeton Univeristy Press 2010)

Schmidt, V ‘Discursive Institutionalism: the Explanatory Power of Ideas and Discourse’, Annual Review of Political Science 11, 2008, pp. 303-326.

 

Students should have a solid basic understanding of the main approaches to political science and international relations. A background in other social science fields is also valid
The course uses a mixture of mini-lectures, small-group problem-solving/​discussion exercises, role-plays, and plenary debates.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 28
  • Total
  • 28
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Written assignment
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Criteria for exam assesment
  • Grade 12 is given for an outstanding performance: the student lives up to the course's goal description in an independent and convincing manner with no or few and minor shortcomings
  • Grade 7 is given for a good performance: the student is confidently able to live up to the goal description, albeit with several shortcomings
  • Grade 02 is given for an adequate performance: the minimum acceptable performance in which the student is only able to live up to the goal description in an insecure and incomplete manner