ASTK18422U Recognition and status in International Relations

Volume 2022/2023
Education

MSc in Political Science

MSc in Social Science

MSc in Security Risk Management

Bachelor in Political Science

 

Notice: It is only possible to enroll for one course having a 3-day compulsory written take-home assignment exam due to coincident exam periods.

 

 

Content

Processes of recognition and status seeking play a crucial role in shaping international politics and receive increasing attention within the discipline of International Relations (IR). International recognition takes place most visibly when an existing government announces that another political entity has become a sovereign state. However, processes of recognition also unfold as practices and social dynamics between sovereign states, and can help explain actors’ identities, the change and continuity of international social structures, and policy decisions by international actors, such as states, diplomats, politicians and institutions.

 

This course aims at providing a comprehensive discussion and understanding of the concept of recognition in International Relations. Students attending the course will get a broad introduction to recognition in international politics. The course introduces key theoretical approaches to the concept of recognition in International Relations, and it examines different approaches to recognition and misrecognition to understand how such processes influence international politics and policy outcomes. The course will also have a focus on the concept of recognition in relation to concepts of power, prestige and status in international politics.

Case studies will be used to exemplify different forms of recognition/misrecognition.  

 

Tentative themes within the course:

 

  • Introduction to the concept of recognition
  • Theoretical approaches to recognition in IR
  • Recognition in relation to status, prestige and power
  • Great powers and small states – different approaches to recognition
  • An international order of recognition and ‘pariah states’
  • Recognition in international organizations, such as NATO, UN, EU
  • Recognition unfolding in diplomatic practices  
  • Post-colonial era: a question of recognition?
  • Examples of case studies: the Kingdom of Denmark: the relationship between Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands; Scandinavian countries: the special relationship to the US; Russia and the war in Ukraine.  

 

At the end of the course, the students will have strengthened their ability to:

 

  • Apply theories of recognition to cases of international politics
  • Critically reflect on why recognition is important to study within IR
  • Discuss how processes of recognition can influence political outcomes
  • Analyze the legal, social and institutional aspects of recognition
Learning Outcome

Knowledge:

  • Demonstrate knowledge of the main theoretical understandings of recognition within International Relations.
  • Compare and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of arguments belonging to various approaches to the concept of recognition
Skills:
  • Analyze and discuss theoretical approaches within the research field of processes of recognition
  • Present analytical perspectives within the field of international recognition and compare to other relevant concepts within IR

Competences:

  • Critical thinking across various theoretical approaches on the concept of recognition
  • Develop and defend a coherent argument
  • Writing and presenting in a convincing and clear manner
  • Analyzing empirical cases 

This list is subject to change.A detailed list of required readings will be provided well ahead of the start of the course.

Broad knowledge of International Relations (IR) is an asset.
The course will employ a mix of lectures, group work in class, student presentations, close readings, case-based teaching, and possibly a guest lecture.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 28
  • Total
  • 28
Oral
Individual
Collective
Continuous feedback during the course
Feedback by final exam (In addition to the grade)
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written examination
Type of assessment details
Three-day compulsory written take-home assignment
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Re-exam

- In the semester where the course takes place: Three-day compulsory written take-home assignment

- In subsequent semesters: Free written assignment

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