`INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: 1648–1918

COURSE CODE: CREDIT HOURS: 3

RESOURCE PERSON: Javeria Shams
EMAIL: Javeria.shams@ucp.edu.pk

DESCRIPTION:
This course provides advanced graduate students with a survey of international relations history
with a focus on European diplomatic history from 1618 through 1919. We shall look at the
historical development of organizations that employ violence, the evolution of doctrines for the
use of force, the technological changes and attendant revolutions in military affairs.
Our focus will be on the diplomatic interactions and the social, economic, political, and cultural
contexts in which they take place. We shall emphasize certain formative conflicts: The Thirty
Years’ War, the Wars of Louis XIV, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the Wars
of German Unification, and the First world war.
Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to
 analyze European history and historical development of organizations that employ
violence, the evolution of doctrines for the use of force, the technological changes and
attendant revolutions in military affairs
 evaluate the effects of colonial competition, merchantilist policies and the process of the
French Revolution
 analyze the socioeconomic and political reasons behind the French Revolution
 learn the development process of basic rights and freedoms and their reflections
Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to
 learn the effects of Enlightenment Philosophy
 define the role of the king in the French political system on the basis of relationships
between the King – the Parliament – the Church and the Society
 define the actors of the French Revolution and their roles
 recognize the process of change in the State-Individual relationship, their modes of
organization and the struggles of people
Written Assignments:
Students are required to submit their assignments on time and submission date will be
announced in the class.
Evaluation:
Reflection Papers 10 Marks
Class participation (activities/presentation) 10
Mid Term Exam 30
Quizzes 10 Marks
Final Exam 40 Marks
Total 100 Marks

COURSE POLICIES:
A Note on Academic Honesty: It must be emphasized that university policies on academic
dishonesty will be strictly followed. Since this class includes research component, students
must also be fully aware of plagiarism. Plagiarism involves presenting someone else’s idea or
written work as your own, without giving proper citation and credit to the original source. If
you still have any question or confusion about academic dishonesty, please do not hesitate to
talk to me.
Make-up Exams and Late Assignments: There will be no make-up exams, unless there is a
valid (documented) reason for not taking the scheduled exams, or prior arrangements have
been made with the instructor.
Class Rules and Regulation: If any student misses’ classes more than prescribed numbers of
classes by the University, he or she may not be able to appear in the Final Examination or
short attendance will be treated according to the Policy of University.

COURSE OUTLINE:

Contents:
Week 1. Focus on European Politics- The role of Church
Lecture 1- European Politics:
Introduction- European History
Religious and Political factors
Lecture 2- Renaissance
Renaissance and Reformation
Prominent Scholars.
Week 2. Focus on thirty years war
Lecture 1- Thirty years war
Causes and consequences.
Lecture 2- Treaty of Westphalia
Implication and role of Westphalia treaty

Week 3.

Lecture 1-
Thirty years war and treaty of Westphalia
Lecture 2-
War of Devolution (1667–1668)

Week 4. From 1661 to 1762, Focus on the wars of Louis XIV Quiz 1
Lecture 1-
Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678)
Lecture 2-
Nine Years’ War (1688–1697)

Week 5. Focus on the French Revolutionary/Napoleonic Wars Quiz 2

Lecture 1- French Revolution of 1789
Causes of French revolution- Failure of ancient regime
Constitutional Monarchy
Lecture 2-
Wars of Louis XIV and French revolution.

Week 6. American War of Independence

Lecture1- Thirteen American colonies of British America in Congress

against Great Britain

Lecture 2- American revolution

Week 7. Mid Term Exam

Week 8
Lecture 1- Industrial Revolution
New boom of inventions- new superpowers emergence in Europe
Lecture 2- European Imperialism
French Empire in Asia and Africa
British Free-trade conquests.

Week 9-
Lecture 1- From 1815 to 1870 (Focus on the Wars of German Unification)
Lecture 2 Congress of Vienna 1815

Week 10 Quiz 3

Lecture 1-
European imperialism and Colonialism
Lecture 2-
More globalized world

Week 11- Focus on new industrialized imperialism

Lecture 1 – The new Imperialism (1875-1914)
The reemergence of colonial rivalries
New industrial states (Economic imperialism)

Lecture 2- Penetration of west in Asia and Africa

Russian Eastward expansion

Week 12- Japan and China

Lecture 1- The partitioning of China
Opium wars

Lecture 2- Japan’s rise of colonial power

 Week 13- Russian Revolution
Lecture 1- Russian Revolution, causes and consequences
Lecture 2- Balkans wars – 1912-1913

Week 14- Focus on the World War 1 Quiz 4

Lecture 1- European Political scenario Pre-world War 1

Lecture 2-
Balance of Power in Europe

Week 15- World War I: Causes and consequences

Lecture 1- World War I
Lecture 2 Revision Lecture

Week 16- Final Term

Recommended Readings

Suggested Readings
Merriman, John. A History of Modern Europe: From the Renaissance to the Present. 2nd ed.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2004
Wedgwood, Cicely V. 1938. The Thirty Years War. New York: New York Review of Books.
Lynn, John A. 1999. The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667 – 1714. London: Longman.
Blanning, Tim. 1996. The French Revolutionary Wars, 1787 – 1802. London: Hodder Arnold.
Carr, William. 1991. The Origins of the Wars of German Unification. London: Longman.
Joll, James, and Gordon Martel. 2007. The Origins of the First World War. 3rd Edition. London:
Longman