Political Science 260 An Introduction to Global Politics Welcome to POLI 260! I hope you will enjoy this course! This is the outline of the introductory lecture. These slides (and the web based slides for all of the class lectures) provide the structure of each class, but only a little of the content. These slides to do not provide a replacement for class attendance!!

Political Science An Introduction to Global Politics What is Global Politics/International Relations? Learning Objectives: Define Global Politics/International Relations Use the “level of analysis” tool Understand the central issues in the study of Global Politics

What is International Relations? Definition Place in Social Sciences and the Humanities Boundaries

The “Level of Analysis” Tool Three Levels: Individual State/Group System The concept of the “international system”

Using the “Level of Analysis” Tool What different explanations exist for the outbreak of WWI? Study Tip: Use the “level of analysis” as a tool, come up with different explanations for the US invasion of Iraq, Israel’s attack on Lebanon, and North Korea’s decision to acquire nuclear weapons.

What are the Issues in Global Politics? What theoretical framework best describes and explains the world?

Different theories of IR Realism=power politics Liberalism=interdependence Marxism=dependence Postmodern/constructivist=belief systems Feminism=gender

What are the issues? What is the problem?

What are the issues? What are the lessons of the past?

What are the issues? Is the international system integrating or fragmenting?

What are the issues? What is the future of the international economy?

What are the issues? Is the state in decline?

What are the issues? What will be the impact of the technology revolution?

What are the issues? How can security be achieved?

What are the issues? The United States and global politics

Additional Questions How do foreign policy decisions get made? What is the future of international organizations (like the UN)? What is the best path to the development of the world’s poor places? Is China the next superpower? How can terrorism be defeated or eliminated? Is the world economy stable?

And the most important question of all is… How will YOU make a difference? Do the problems facing the world seem overwhelming? Does it appear that forces beyond your control are making the world an increasingly unstable and unsustainable place? Does it seem that nothing you do will ever make a difference? The study of global politics can leave students and scholars frustrated and pessimistic about the prospects for the future. Never let anyone tell you that you cannot make a difference. You will make a difference, and you already are. How can you not? You are young, intelligent, and live in one of the most wealthy and privileged places on Earth. You are attending university, something the majority of people on this planet can only dream of. Opportunities to make a difference lie before you more than most. The question is, what kind of a difference will you make? And how will you make it?

Summary After our first class, you should be able to provide a friend (or your parents!) with a definition of global politics/international relations, and describe the core research questions in this field of study. You should be able to use the “levels of analysis” as a tool to think about different explanations for historical or current events. So far, so good? Next, we will begin our examination of the contending theoretical frameworks in the field.