CURRENT ISSUES IN WORLD POLITICS PROGRAMME COURSE DESCRIPTION

Code	Name of the Course Unit	Semester	In-Class Hours (T+P)	Credit	ECTS Credit
POL450	CURRENT ISSUES IN WORLD POLITICS	8	3	3	8

GENERAL INFORMATION
Language of Instruction :	English
Level of the Course Unit :	BACHELOR'S DEGREE, TYY: + 6.Level, EQF-LLL: 6.Level, QF-EHEA: First Cycle
Type of the Course :	Compulsory
Mode of Delivery of the Course Unit	-
Coordinator of the Course Unit	Prof. NEZİHA MUSAOĞLU
Instructor(s) of the Course Unit	Assist.Prof. AYŞE KÜÇÜK
Course Prerequisite	No

OBJECTIVES AND CONTENTS
Objectives of the Course Unit:	This course provides an opportunity to gain an analytically deeper understanding and reflect critically upon some of the most topical issues that currently confront international relations and which shape the development of the contemporary international order. These include but are not limited to violent conflict in the Middle East; international terrorism; the rise of China; tensions between Russia and the West; North Korea and the challenge of nuclear proliferation; US foreign policy under President Donald Trump; challenges to multilateral cooperation and liberal internationalism; human rights; humanitarian intervention; financial crises; poverty and global inequality; climate change and environmental security; migration and refugees. The course encourages students to engage in debating the nature of, and possible responses to, contemporary challenges and crises in international politics. The course applied policy focus while emphasizing the need for critical analytical depth when reflecting on the origins, nature and implications of current affairs. Students will develop an awareness of the relationship between the discipline of International Relations as a field of knowledge and the practices of world politics.
Contents of the Course Unit:	This course will provide an overview of the major conflict and security related issues in world affairs since the end of the Cold War. The events and issues we are going to discuss will be analized through the lenses of the major International Relations (IR) theories (realism, liberalism, and constructivism), thus it is essential that students who take this course have a firm grasp of these theories. Our main focus will be how the concepts and theories we learn in the course apply to current international events. In the final weeks of the course, we will be debating Turkey’s “grand strategy” by taking reference five very recent articles written by leading Turkish IR scholars.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES OF THE COURSE UNIT (On successful completion of this course unit, students/learners will or will be able to)

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to: (1) learn and critically think about the major sources of contention in world politics; (2) identify the major bodies of research in the field of international conflict and security; (3) acquire analytical thinking skills with respect to the grand subjects of International Relations; i.e. conflict and cooperation; (4) debate Turkey’s current role in world affairs

WEEKLY COURSE CONTENTS AND STUDY MATERIALS FOR PRELIMINARY & FURTHER STUDY
Week	Preparatory	Topics(Subjects)	Method
1	-	Introduction and general information on course requirements	-
2	-	IR theories and the relationship between theory and policy in IR	Lecture and discussions
3	-	Revolution and War	Lecture and discussions
4	-	Liberalism and Intervention	Lecture and discussions
5	-	Authoritarianism, natural resources, and international conflict	Lecture and discussions
6	-	Iran’s Nuclear Program	Lecture and discussions
7	-	Post-Soviet Russian-Turkish Relations	Lecture and discussions
8	-	MID-TERM EXAM	-
9	-	NO classes – Official Holiday (National Sovereignty and Children’s Day)	Lecture and discussions
10	-	The end/decline of U.S. primacy and the fall of the liberal order	Lecture and discussions
11	-	The resurgence of Russia under Vladimir Putin	Lecture and discussions
12	-	NO classes – Official Holiday (Ramazan Bayramı)	Lecture and discussions
13	-	Who is to blame for the 2014 Ukrainian Crisis/War? (Discussion)	Lecture and discussions
14	-	Debating Turkey’s Grand Strategy (I)	Lecture and discussions
15	-	Debating Turkey’s Grand Strategy (II)	Lecture and discussions
16	-	FINAL EXAM	-
17	-	FINAL EXAM	-

SOURCE MATERIALS & RECOMMENDED READING
Stephen Walt (1998), “International Relations: One World, Many Theories”, Foreign Policy, No. 110, pp. 29-46.
Stephen Walt (2005), “The Relationship Between Theory and Policy in International Relations”, Annual Review of Political Science, No. 8, pp. 23–48.
Stephen Walt (1992), “Revolution and War”, World Politics, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 321-368
Stephen G. Brooks, John Ikenberry & William C. Wohlforth (2012), “Don’t Come Home America: The Case against Retrenchment,” International Security, Vol. 37, No. 3, pp. 7-51
John J. Mearsheimer & Stephen M. Walt (2016) “The Case for Offshore Balancing: A Superior U.S. Grand Strategy,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 95, No. 4, pp. 70-83
David Shambaugh (2018), “U.S.-China Rivalry in Southeast Asia: Power Shift or Competitive Coexistence?” International Security, Vol. 42, No.4, pp. 85-127
Mustafa Kibaroğlu (2007), “Iran’s nuclear ambitions from a historical perspective and the attitude of the West”, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 43, No.2, pp. 223-245
Şener Aktürk (2017), “Turkey’s Role in the Arab Spring and the Syrian Conflict,” Turkish Policy Quarterly 15, no. 4, pp. 87-96.
John J. Mearsheimer (2019) “Bound to fail: The rise and fall of the liberal international order”, International Security, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 7-50
Michael McFaul and Stephen Sestanovich (2014), “Faulty Powers: Who started the Ukraine crisis?”, Foreign Affairs, 93(6), pp. 167-171
Şener Aktürk (2021), “Turkey’s Grand Strategy as the Third Power: A Realist Proposal”, Perceptions, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 152-177

ASSESSMENT
Assessment & Grading of In-Term Activities	Number of Activities	Degree of Contribution (%)	Description

Level of Contribution
0	1	2	3	4	5

KNOWLEDGE
Theoretical
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Define the basic theoretical, political, economic and administrative theories used in the field of Political Science and International Relations.				3
2	Explain the political history, political ideas, intellectual accumulation of understanding international relations and the way that the history of diplomacy has passed from past to present.					4
3	List the norms of universal law and human rights, the principles of the modern legal system, the names of modern bureaucratic and administrative structures.					4

KNOWLEDGE
Factual
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Explain the Turkish state tradition, the influence of Islam, the accumulation of political thought and its historical background, and compare this accumulation with the current approaches.				3
2	Evaluate the chronological development of relations between political and diplomatic developments and political / diplomatic facts / events / ideas / actors from past to present.					4
3	Analyze the structure and functioning of actors, organizations and organizations that determine international relations.						5

SKILLS
Cognitive
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	In the light of current theoretical debates, apply relevant concepts to current political and international developments.						5
2	Evaluate the Turkish political tradition, developments with the Turkic community.						5
3	Use information on the field when comparing the administrative structures of different countries and their diplomatic traditions.	0

SKILLS
Practical
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Formulate the current political developments, developments and arrangements in international relations in the historical and theoretical accumulation.						5
2	Analyze the functioning of modern political regimes in the light of political and public bureaucratic structures, regulations and developments.						5
3	Examine and analyze current political developments in the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa and the Caucasus in terms of both Turkish political history and international relations discipline.						5

OCCUPATIONAL
Autonomy & Responsibility
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	To conduct a field-specific study individually and to complete it with discipline and responsibility.						5
2	To assume duties and responsibilities in a team work as leader or team member and to fulfil them flawlessly.				3

OCCUPATIONAL
Learning to Learn
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Follow the political and administrative developments in the international political system and the bureaucratic organizations operating in this system.						5
2	Examine the international problems and conflicts, and the problems in the field of administration and politics in detail.						5

OCCUPATIONAL
Communication & Social
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Follow the current developments in the field of Political Science and International Relations and collaborate with leading names in the field.	0
2	Examine and analyze academic resources and the written and oral studies on the political developments in the region and the world, especially in the Middle East.						5
3	Debate in the field of political science and public administration with different target groups in multicultural environments.					4

OCCUPATIONAL
Occupational and/or Vocational
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	With the current historical and theoretical knowledge of the field, suggest sustainable, organizational and administrative arrangements aimed at meeting specific goals and solving certain problems.			2
2	To follow latest developments in the field and direct personal studies accordingly within the framework of the lifelong learning principle.Using the theoretical, economic, political and managerial knowledge, and produce reports on current developments, conflicts and agreements in geography related to world politics and especially in the Middle East.					4
3	Construct arguments on the current developments in Turkish politics in the light of the laws, regulations, and the important changes in the constitution and administrative law that determine Turkish political life and foreign relations.					4

WORKLOAD & ECTS CREDITS OF THE COURSE UNIT
Workload for Learning & Teaching Activities
Type of the Learning Activites	Learning Activities (# of week)	Duration (hours, h)	Workload (h)
Lecture & In-Class Activities	14	3	42
Preliminary & Further Study	0	0	0
Land Surveying	0	0	0
Group Work	1	20	20
Laboratory	0	0	0
Reading	14	5	70
Assignment (Homework)	1	20	20
Project Work	0	0	0
Seminar	0	0	0
Internship	0	0	0
Technical Visit	0	0	0
Web Based Learning	0	0	0
Implementation/Application/Practice	0	0	0
Practice at a workplace	0	0	0
Occupational Activity	0	0	0
Social Activity	0	0	0
Thesis Work	0	0	0
Field Study	0	0	0
Report Writing	0	0	0
Final Exam	1	1	1
Preparation for the Final Exam	1	24	24
Mid-Term Exam	1	1	1
Preparation for the Mid-Term Exam	1	24	24
Short Exam	0	0	0
Preparation for the Short Exam	0	0	0
TOTAL	34	0	202