HA 1001 Introduction to International Relations and Foreign Policy

Academic Year 22/23

Semester 1

Professor: Nilay Saiya

Teaching Assistant: Barbora Valockova

Course Information

Asynchronous Online Lectures: Online (pre-recorded on NTU Learn)

Synchronous Online Lectures: Wednesdays, 12:30-2:30pm (via Zoom, ID 692-553-7233/Password 872970)
Tutorials: Thursdays (LHS-TR-46)
Professor Email: nilay.saiya@ntu.edu.sg
Teaching Assistant Email: barborav001@e.ntu.edu.sg
Office Hours: By Appointment

Course Description

This course introduces the study of international relations and foreign policy. It covers several theoretical
approaches to and empirical issues in the field of international relations. The course is divided into four
parts: (I) Fundamentals; (II) Theories (realism, liberalism, and constructivism); (III) International History
(World War I, World War II, and the Cold War) and (IV) Contemporary Issues (terrorism, globalization,
human rights, and the rise of China).

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Course Requirements

Students are required to attend all the lessons, complete all the assigned readings before coming to class,
participate actively in all classes, take two tests, and write a term paper.

A. Required Readings

All course readings have been uploaded to NTU Learn.

In addition to the official course readings, it is essential that students monitor the news in some
systematic and rigorous way: through newspapers, magazines, television, internet, or a
combination of sources.

B. Lectures and Tutorials

1. Lectures: There will be two types of lectures: asynchronous and synchronous. The
asynchronous lectures have been uploaded to NTU Learn. You can review them at your own
pace. We will also be meeting synchronously via Zoom on Wednesdays at 12:30pm. The
purpose of these meetings will be to briefly review the material from that week’s lesson and
for students to ask any questions related to the online lessons.

2. Tutorials: Tutorials will be held on Thursdays and led by the teaching assistant. The primary
purpose of the tutorials will be class discussion.

C. Grading

1. Tests: Students will take two in-class tests. The tests will be comprised of 50 multiple choice
questions. Tests will account for 50 percent of the final grade (25 percent each).

2. Attendance and Class Participation: All students are required to attend and actively
participate in each tutorial. Students should come to class prepared to raise comments and
questions related to the readings and lectures. Attendance and class participation will account
for 25 percent of the final grade.

3. Essay: Students are required to write an essay of around 1500 words. Please see the appendix
for information on the essay. Soft copies should be emailed to the professor by 11:59pm on 2
November.

Grades will be calculated on the following course requirements:

Tests (50 percent)

Attendance/Participation (25 percent)
Essay (25 percent)

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Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. Describe the major concepts and terminologies relating to international relations;

2. Identify major characteristics of world politics as well as general causes of international conflict
and cooperation;
3. Explain the characteristics of and differences between mainstream international relations theories;
4. Debate some of the major issues in contemporary global affairs; and
5. Research independently to form arguments on issues of importance in international relations.

Academic Integrity Policy

Plagiarism is to use or pass off as one's own, writings or ideas of another, without acknowledging or
crediting the source from which the ideas are taken. As defined under the NTU Honour Code, this
includes:

The use of words, images, diagrams, graphs, or ideas derived from books, journals, magazines, visual
media, and the internet without proper acknowledgement; copying the work of another student, having
another person write one's assignments, or allowing another student to borrow one's work; copying of
work from the internet or any other sources and presenting as one's own; and submitting the same piece of
work for different courses.

Plagiarism undermines academic integrity as it is a form of intellectual dishonesty. It affects the

University's reputation and devalues the degrees offered.

Plagiarism is regarded as a very serious offence by the University. It is considered a violation of the NTU
Honour Code, which could warrant disciplinary actions ranging from failing the assignment, failing the
course, suspension, and ultimately expulsion from the University.

If you plagiarize, you will receive no mark for this course.

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Course Calendar (subject to change)
Part I: Fundamentals

Week 1. Introduction

Date: August 10/11

Readings: Stephen M. Walt, “How to Get a B.A. in International Relations in 5

Minutes,” Foreign Policy, May 19, 2014.

Videos: Main Lecture #1 (Blackboard)

International Relations: An Introduction (Blackboard)

Special Note: No Tutorial

Week 2. Anarchy and Sovereignty

Date: August 17/18

Readings: Richard N. Haass, “Sovereignty,” Foreign Policy, October 20, 2009.

Kai He, “International Anarchy and the Failure to Cope with COVID-19,”
East Asia Forum, May 6, 2020.

Videos: Main Lecture #2 (Blackboard)

Anarchy (Blackboard)

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Part II: Theories

Week 3. Realism

Date: August 24/25

Readings: Thucydides, The Melian Dialogue.

Hans J. Morgenthau, “Six Principles of Political Realism,” in Politics

Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace, 1978.

Stephen M. Walt, “The World Wants You to Think Like a Realist,” Foreign
Policy, May 30, 2018.

Videos: Main Lecture #3 (Blackboard)

Classical Realism (Blackboard)

Structural Realism (Blackboard)

Week 4. Liberalism

Date: August 31/September 1

Readings: Jeffry W. Meiser, “Introducing Liberalism in International Relations Theory,” E-

IR, February 18, 2018.

Tana Johnson and Andrew Heiss, “Liberal Institutionalism—Its

Threatened Past, Its Threatened Future,” The Brookings Institute, July 18,
2018.

Videos: Main Lecture #4 (Blackboard)

Realism & Liberalism (Blackboard)

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Week 5. Constructivism

Date: September 7/8

Readings: Sarina Theys, “Introducing Constructivism in International Relations Theory,”

E-IR, February 23, 2018.

Thomas Rausch, “What if the Covid19 World is What States Make of It?” New
Perspectives on Global Economic Dynamics, April 16, 2020.

Videos: Main Lecture #5 (Blackboard)

Theory in Action: Constructivism (Blackboard)

Constructivist Theory (Blackboard)

Part III: History

Week 6. World War I

Date: September 14/15

Readings: John Kieger, “Thinking the Causes of World War I,” Horizons, 2014.

Brian Frydenborg, “The Urgent Lessons of World War I,” Modern War Institute,
December 12, 2018.

Videos: Main Lecture #6 (Blackboard)

History of International Relations—World War I (Blackboard)

The 4 M-A-I-N Causes of World War I (Blackboard)

Special Note: Test 1 during your tutorial (will not cover World War I)

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Week 7. World War II

Date: September 21/22

Readings: Jan Ryden, “The Causes and Circumstances of the Outbreak of the Second
World War,” ENRS, January 7, 2020.

Jeremy Kahn, “World War II Offers Lessons—and Warnings—for the

Coronavirus Fight,” Fortune, April 5, 2020.

Videos: Main Lecture #7 (Blackboard)

World War II: Its Causes, Stages, and Aftermath (Blackboard)

Week 8. Mid-Semester Break (No Class)

Date: September 28/29

Week 9. The Cold War

Date: October 5/6

Readings: Kenneth Waltz, “The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: More May Be Better,”
Adelphi Papers, 1981.

Ramesh Thakur, “If You Want the Peace of the Dead, Prepare for Nuclear
War,” United Nations.

Videos: Main Lecture #8 (Blackboard)

Cold War in 9 Minutes (Blackboard)

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Part IV: Contemporary Issues

Week 10. Terrorism

Date: October 12/13

Readings: Omar Taspinar, “Fighting Radicalism, Not ‘Terrorism’: Root Causes of an

International Actor Redefined,” SAIS Review, 2009.

Andrew Hanna, “ISIS Offensive Exploits Pandemic,” The Wilson Center, June 8,
2020.

Videos Main Lecture #9 (Blackboard)

Terrorist Pirates of Southeast Asia (Blackboard)

Week 11. Globalization

Date: October 19/20

Readings: Peter Vanham, “A Brief History of Globalization,” World Economic Forum,

January 17, 2019.

Henry Farell and Abraham Newman, “This is What the Future of Globalization
Will Look Like,” Foreign Policy, July 4, 2020.

Videos: Main Lecture #10 (Blackboard)

Globalization (Blackboard)

Globalization Theories (Blackboard)

Week 12. Law and Human Rights

Date: October 26/27

Readings: United Nations, “Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” 1948.

Michael E. O’Hanlon, “Doing It Right: The Future of Humanitarian

Intervention,” The Brookings Institute, September 1, 2000.

Lindsay Maizland, “China’s Repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang,” Council

on Foreign Relations, June 30, 2020.

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 Videos: Main Lecture #11 (Blackboard)

What Are Basic Human Rights? (Blackboard)

The Story of Human Rights (Blackboard)

Week 13. The Environment

Date: November 2/3

Readings: United Nations, “Climate Change.”

The Nature Conservancy, “Five Chances to Change the World in 2020,” Nature,
January 5, 2020.

Videos: Main Lecture #12

Why Humans Are So Bad at Thinking About Climate Change (Blackboard)

Special Note: Term paper due by 11:59pm

Special Note: No synchronous lecture

Week 14. The Post-American World

Date: November 9/10

Readings: Charles Glaser, “Will China’s Rise Lead to War?” Foreign Affairs, 2011.

Francesco Sisci, “China’s Rise May Not Be Inevitable,” Asia Times, March 14,
2020.

Videos: Main Lecture #13 (Blackboard)

China: Rise of an Asian Giant (Blackboard)

Special Note: Test 2 during your tutorial (will cover material not covered in the first test)

Special Note: No synchronous lecture

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 Appendix

Term Paper Requirements

All students will write a term paper on a topic of their choosing. This will be a persuasive paper designed
to convince the reader of a particular position with respect to international relations or foreign policy.
Empirical evidence and theoretical argumentation will be paramount to a successful paper. You must
write on one of the following questions:

1. Is liberalism a superior theory to realism?

2. How should Singapore handle the rise of China?
3. What does international history teach us about dealing with COVID?
4. Are human rights universal?

In writing your term paper, please do the following: 1) clearly and concisely lay out the issue at hand; 2)
lay out a clear logic that explains your thinking; 3) use empirical evidence to support your position. It also
helps to discuss alternative explanations and to show why they are wrong. Be tough-minded and rigorous
in laying out your answer to the question you have chosen and you will do well. The more you engage
with the course materials, the better you will do.

The format of the paper is as follows: the paper should be around 1500 words, double-spaced, have 1-inch
margins on all four sides, and have a standard 12-point font. As this is designed to be a persuasive essay,
no references or bibliography is necessary. Instead, please use hyperlinks to outside sources within the
body of the text. Students should be sure to proofread their papers so as to guard against spelling and
grammatical errors, which, if present, will result in a lower grade.

Soft copies should be emailed to the professor by 11:59pm on 2 November. Papers received after that
time will be dropped one letter grade for each day past the due date. Only one submission will be
accepted. Finally, I urge you to see me if you need direction or encounter problems in the writing process.
I would be more than happy to help you.

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