COURSE MANUAL

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
L-CA-0032
2023-24
BALLB 2023, Sec A

Instructors
Bhavika Behal
Madhumita Das

CONTENTS
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS........................................................................................................................................
PART I........................................................................................................................................................................
General Information.......................................................................................................................................
PART II.......................................................................................................................................................................
a. Course Description..............................................................................................................................
b. Course Aims.............................................................................................................................................
c. Intended Learning Outcomes.......................................................................................................
d. Grading of Student Achievement................................................................................................
PART III.....................................................................................................................................................................
a. Keywords of the Syllabus................................................................................................................
b. Course Policies and Guidelines for class work, assignments and
presentations......................................................................................................................................................
c. Academic Integrity and Plagiarism..........................................................................................
d. Disability Support and Accommodation Requirements................................................
e. Safe Space Pledge.................................................................................................................................
PART IV.....................................................................................................................................................................
Weekly Course Outline and Readings...................................................................................................
 PART I

General Information

Course title International Relations

Course Code L-CA-0032
Course Duration One Semester
Credits 4
Level B.A./B.B.A./B.Com. LL.B.
Hours of Instruction 4 hours per week
Medium of Instruction English
Pre-requisites None
Pre-cursors None
Equivalent courses None
Exclusive courses None

PART II

a. Course Description
International Relations is the compulsory course intended for first year students
of BALLB/BBALLB/BCom.LLB. International Relations is focused on the basic
concepts and issues in international politics. It engages with major theories of IR,
namely Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Marxism, Feminism. It also
introduces the history of international relations and the role of Nation States
therein, including discussions on colonialism, globalization, political economy. In
its final segments, it offers an overview of the concepts, approaches and practices
pertaining to the functioning of major global institutions and selected
contemporary global concerns.

The course with the help of major theories attempts to discuss the major changes
and developments in the international order. It will also work towards
understanding the ways global governance works.

b. Course Aims
The course aims to enable an immediate engagement with the most urgent and
outstanding issues in International Relations. With the help of major theories,
the course will also discuss major developments and events in the international
politics. It will attempt to provide a perspective on how states and other actors
interact and what motivates them to behave in the way they do. What makes
states and other actors cooperate and what makes them be antagonistic towards
each other? With the ongoing pandemic issues of human security and
 sovereignty have become ever more pertinent, and the course will attempt to
provide a perspective on these ongoing issues as well.

A detailed engagement with these issues will not only equip students to better
understand international politics and also think critically and creatively about
the international order.

c. Intended Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, students can be expected to:

a. Understand the International politics and how and why states behave in certain ways.

b. With the use of the various theories, the students should be able to understand the
developments in the field of International Relations. How states and global institutions
have evolved.

c. Understand the relations between nations and global institutions.

d. The students should also be able to understand and analyse the various challenges
which the world faces and how they affect the states and people.

d. Grading of Student Achievement

To pass this course, students must obtain a minimum of 50% in the cumulative aspects
of coursework, i.e. internal assessment, and final examination.

Breakdown of Assessment Marks-

1. Exam: It will constitute 50% of the overall assessment weightage.

2. Internal Assessment: It will constitute 50% of the overall assessment weightage.

Details of evaluations will vary from one course instructor to another. Broadly, it might
include, mid-semester exam, marks for attendance and class participation, research
paper, group project, book review.

In order to be eligible to appear for end semester examination the student must achieve
more than 70% attendance over the duration of the semester. In the event that the
student is short of 70% attendance but has greater than 65% attendance, the student
may be allowed to take the examination if the average attendance of the student in all
courses that semester is greater than 70%. Please note that there will be no attendance
granted for medical leaves and on-duty work.

The details of the grades as well as the criteria for awarding such grades are provided
below.
Letter Percentage Grade Definitions
Grade of marks
O 80% and above Outstanding Outstanding work with strong
evidence of knowledge of the
subject matter, excellent
organizational capacity, ability to
synthesize and critically analyse and
originality in thinking and
presentation.
A+ 75 to 79.75% Excellent Sound knowledge of the subject
matter, thorough understanding of
issues; ability to synthesize critically
and analyse
A 70 to 74.75% Good Good understanding of the subject
matter, ability to identify issues and
provide balanced solutions to
problems and good critical and
analytical skills.
A- 65 to 69.75% Adequate Adequate knowledge of the subject
matter to go to the next level of
study and reasonable critical and
analytical skills.
B+ 60 to 64.75% Marginal Limited knowledge of the subject
matter, irrelevant use of materials
and poor critical and analytical
skills.
B 55 to 59.75% Poor Poor comprehension of the subject
matter; poor critical and analytical
skills and marginal use of the
relevant materials.
B- 50 to 54.75% Pass “Pass” in a pass-fail course. “P”
indicative of at least the basic
understanding of the subject matter.
F Below 50% Fail Fails in the subject

NEW COURSE LETTER GRADES AND THEIR INTERPRETATION

Letter Percentage Grade
Interpretation
Grade of Marks Points
Pass 1: Pass with Basic understanding of
P1 45 - 49 2
the subject matter.
Pass 2: Pass with Rudimentary
P2 40 - 44 1
understanding of the subject matter.
Fail: Poor comprehension of the subject
matter; poor critical and analytical skills
F Below 40 0
and marginal use of the relevant materials.
Will require repeating the course.
I Incomplete Extenuating circumstances preventing the
student from completing coursework
 NEW COURSE LETTER GRADES AND THEIR INTERPRETATION
Letter Percentage Grade
Interpretation
Grade of Marks Points
assessment, or taking the examination; or
where the Assessment Panel at its
discretion assigns this grade. If an “I” grade
is assigned, the Assessment Panel will
suggest a schedule for the completion of
work, or a supplementary examination.

PART III

a. Keywords of the Syllabus

International Relations, Global order, International Institutions, Security,

Human Security, Nations, Sovereignty, Colonialism, Global Governance,
Nation States, Identity, Recognition

b. Course Policies and Guidelines for class work, assignments, and

presentations

 Present reasoned arguments (both orally and written) in a clear and concise
format and style that reflects the assimilation of theoretical understanding,
empirical evidence, and classroom debates and discussions.
 Students must learn and demonstrate capacity to seek and utilize library,
electronic and appropriate online data sources (that include databases, journal
articles).
 All mobile phones should be switched off in class except for designated class
activities. We do not appreciate students answering calls, taking pictures, playing
games, surfing the internet, or writing text messages in class.
 All students are expected to read the assigned readings for the class.
 Please write down class notes.
 We wish for you to engage with the texts prescribed and we encourage you to
ask questions and/or clarify the readings as we go along.
 Class participation and a lively engagement with the issues at hand are a course
requirement.

c. Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Learning and knowledge production of any kind is a collaborative process.

Collaboration demands an ethical responsibility to acknowledge who we have learnt
from, what we have learned, and how reading and learning from others have helped us
shape our own ideas. Even our own ideas demand an acknowledgement of the sources
and processes through which those ideas have emerged. Thus, all ideas must be
supported by citations. All ideas borrowed from articles, books, journals, magazines,
case laws, statutes, photographs, films, paintings, etc., in print or online, must be
credited with the original source. If the source or inspiration of your idea is a friend, a
casual chat, something that you overheard, or heard being discussed at a conference or
in class, even they must be duly credited. If you paraphrase or directly quote from a web
source in the examination, presentation or essays, the source must be acknowledged.
The university has a framework to deal with cases of plagiarism. All form of plagiarism
will be taken seriously by the University and prescribed sanctions will be imposed on
those who commit plagiarism.

For a quick guide to the what, how, what-if’s of plagiarism, please see the following
sources.
https://www.plagiarism.org/article/preventing-plagiarism-when-writing
https://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-plagiarism
https://ctl.yale.edu/writing/using-sources/understanding-and-avoiding-plagiarism

d. Disability Support and Accommodation Requirements

JGU endeavours to make all its courses accessible to students. In accordance with the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (2016), the JGU Disability Support Committee
(DSC) has identified conditions that could hinder a student’s overall well-being. These
include physical and mobility related difficulties, visual and hearing impairment, mental
health conditions and intellectual/learning difficulties e.g., dyslexia, dyscalculia.
Students with any known disability needing academic and other support are required to
register with the Disability Support Committee (DSC) by following the procedure
specified at https://jgu.edu.in/disability-support-committee/

Students who need support may register any time during the semester up until a month
before the end semester examination begins. Those students who wish to continue
receiving support from the previous semester, must re-register within the first month of
a semester. Last minute registrations and support might not be possible as sufficient
time is required to make the arrangements for support.

The DSC maintains strict confidentiality about the identity of the student and the nature
of their disability and the same is requested from faculty members and staff as well. The
DSC takes a strong stance against in-class and out-of-class references made about a
student’s disability without their consent and disrespectful comments referring to a
student’s disability.

All general queries are to be addressed to disabilitysupportcommittee@jgu.edu.in

e. Safe Space Pledge

This course may discuss a range of issues and events that might result in distress for
some students. Discussions in the course might also provoke strong emotional
responses. To make sure that all students collectively benefit from the course, and do
not feel disturbed due to either the content of the course or the conduct of the
discussions. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all within the classroom to pledge to
maintain respect towards our peers. This does not mean that you need to feel restrained
about what you feel and what you want to say. Conversely, this is about creating a safe
space where everyone can speak and learn without inhibitions and fear. This
responsibility lies not only with students, but also with the instructor.

PART IV

Weekly Course Outline and Readings

Week 1: Introduction to International Relations Theory

Primary readings:

Patricia Owens, John Baylis, and Steve Smith, “From International Politics to World
Politics,” in The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International
Relations, 8th edition, eds. John Baylis, Steve Smith, and Patricia Owens (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2020), 5–14.

Suggested readings:

Steve Smith, “The United States and the Discipline of International Relations:
“Hegemonic Country, Hegemonic Discipline,” International Studies Review 4, No. 2
(2002): 67–85.

Issac Kamola, “From Globalizing IR to Anti-Imperial Worldmaking” in Antonia Witt, Felix

Anderl, Amitav Acharya, Deepshikha Shahi, Issac Kamola & Scarlett Cornelissen (ed.)
How to Problematize the Global?, in Millennium: Journal of International Studies, Vol 51,
Issue 1 (2022): 54-57.

Week 2 & 3: Nation-State, Colonialism & Post-Colonialism

Primary readings:

Craig Calhoun, “State Nation and Legitimacy,” in Nationalism (Minneapolis: University of

Minnesota Press, 1997), 66–85.

Robbie Shilliam, “Discovery, Conquest and Colonialism” in Stephen McGlinchey (Ed.)

Foundations of International Relations, London, Bloomsbury (2022), 25-41

Ella Shohat, “Notes on the “Post-Colonial”, Social Text, No. 31/32 (2003) 99-113

Suggested readings:

David Held, “Development of the Modern State”, in Stuart Hall et. al (eds.) Formations of
Modernity, Cambridge: Polity Press (1992): 72-102.
Paul Hirst and Grahame Thompson, “Globalization and the future of the nation state,”
Economy and Society 24, No. 3 (1995): 408–442, 10.1080/03085149500000017.

Walker Connor, “When is a Nation?,” Ethnic and Racial Studies 13, No. 1 (1990): 92–103.

MSS Pandian, “Nation Impossible,” Economic and Political Weekly 44, No. 10 (2009): 65–
69.

Week 4-5: Realism and the Concept of Sovereignty

Primary readings:

Tim Dunne & Brian C Schmidt, “Realism”, in The Globalization of World Politics: An
Introduction to International Relations, 8th edition, eds. John Baylis, Steve Smith, and
Patricia Owens (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), 130-144.

Joanne Barker, “For Whom Sovereignty Matters” in Sovereignty Matters: Location of

Contestations and Possibilities in Indigenous Struggles for Self-Determination, Ed. Joanne
Barker (Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 2005), 1-4

Suggested readings:

Santina Andrunes and Isabel Camisaom, “Realism,” in International Relations Theory,

eds. Stephen McGlinchey, Rosie Walters, Christian Scheinpflug (London: E-International
Relations Publishing, 2017), 15–22.

E.H. Carr, The Twenty Years’ Crisis (London: MacMillan, 1946) [excerpts].

Hans Morgenthau, Scientific Man vs. Power Politics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1946) [excerpts].

Week 6-7: Liberalism and Human Rights

Primary readings:

Tim Dunne, “Liberal Internationalism,” in The Globalization of World Politics: An

Introduction to International Relations, 8th edition, eds. John Baylis, Steve Smith, and
Patricia Owens (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), 103–114.

Moyn, Samuel, “The Future of Human Rights”, International Journal of Human Rights,
v.11, n. 20 (2014)

Suggested readings:

G. John Ikenberry, “The end of liberal international order?” International Affairs 94, No.
1 (2018): 7–23, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iix241.

Jack Goldsmith and Stephen D. Krasner, “The Limits of Idealism,” Daedalus 132, No. 1
(2003): 47–63 (On International Justice),
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/20027822.pdf.
Week 8: Mid-Term Examination/ Assignment

Week 9 & 10: Marxism, Imperialism & Climate Crisis

Primary readings:

Stephen Hobden and Richard Wyn Jones, “Marxist Theories of International Relations,”
in The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations, 8th
edition, eds. John Baylis, Steve Smith, and Patricia Owens (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2020), 115–129.

Ellen Meiksins Wood, “Capitalism” in Ben fine, Alfredo Saad-Filho, Marco Boffo (ed.)
Elgar Companion to Marxist Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, Cheltenham, UK,
2013 (Chapter 6)

Harriett A. Bulkeley and Peter Newell, Governing Climate Change (Abingdon: Routledge,
2015), 35–53 [Chapter 2: Introductory guide to the political economy of climate
change].

Suggested readings:

Shoshana Zuboff, “Surveillance Capitalism and the Challenge of Collective Action,” New
Labour Forum 28, No. 1 (2019): 10–29.

Two podcast episodes by David Harvey on the Geo-Politics of Capitalism (recorded

2019):
1. Anti-Capitalist Chronicles: The Geopolitics of Capitalism (1/2)
Anti-Capitalist Chronicles: The Geopolitics of Capitalism (2/2)

Week 11: Constructivism and Justice

Primary readings:

Michael Barnett, “Social Constructivism,” in The Globalization of World Politics: An

Introduction to International Relations, 8th edition, eds. John Baylis, Steve Smith, and
Patricia Owens (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), 192–206.

Ellen Lutz and Kathryn Sikkink, “The Justice Cascade: The Evolution and Impact of
Foreign Human Rights Trials in Latin America,” Chicago Journal of International Law 2,
no. 1 (2001): 1–7, 29–33

Suggested readings:

Alexander Wendt, “Anarchy is what States Make of it: The Social Construction of Power
Politics,” International Organization 46, No. 2 (1992): 391–425.

Week 12: Feminism and Power

Primary readings:
Geeta Chowdhry & Sheila Nair, ‘Power in Postcolonial World: Race, Gender, and Class in
International Relations’, in Geeta Chowdhry & Sheila Nair (Ed.), Power, Postcolonialism
and International Relations: Reading Race, Gender and Class (Routledge, London & New
York, 2002) 1-32

Suggested readings:

Jasbir K. Puar, “The Sexuality of Terrorism” in Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism

in Queer Times (Durham & London: Duke University Press, 2017)

Jacqui True, “Bringing Back Gendered States”, in Revisiting Gendered States: Feminist
Imaginings of the State in International Relations, ed. Swati Parashar (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2018), 33–48.

Week 13-14: International Law AND/OR the Rise of Illiberalism

Primary readings:

Alexander Cooley and Daniel H. Nexon, “The Real Crisis of Global Order: Illiberalism on
the Rise,” Foreign Affairs 101, no. 1 (2022): 103–18.

AND/OR

B S Chimni, “Third World Approaches to International Law: A Manifesto”, International

Community Law Review, 8 (2006) 3-27

Suggested readings:

David Held, Global Governance ...into the Future, 2015,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEBPV1oRmqs, ~20 minutes.

Richard Devetak, Governing the World: International Organisations, 2019,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUUSzOwyn3I, ~7 minutes.

Anthony Anghie, Imperialism, sovereignty and the making of international law

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), [Introduction].

Richard Peet, “The Washington-Wall Street Alliance”, in Richard Peet, The Unholy
Trinity: The IMF, World Bank and WTO (London, New York: Zed Books, 2003)