10205 Introduction to International Relations

Credits: 6 intermediate credits in International Relations

Prerequisites: none

The course is based on a Hebrew translation of World Politics: Trend and Transformation (7th ed.), by C.W. Kegley, Jr. and E.R. Wittkopf (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999), which discusses a wide range of topics, and particularly emphasizes recent global changes in the economy, the environment, technology and communications, among others.

The course acquaints students with the field of international relations as a branch of political science, which deals with the study of political phenomena in the international arena. It presents basic concepts and the accepted approaches and assumptions of this relatively young scientific field. In addition to the book, which focuses on changes in the international arena in the areas of economics, ecology, technology and communication, the following topics are also studied: the nation state; war; strategy in the era of non-conventional weapons; diplomacy; power.