Global geopolitics

This is both a wide-ranging and detailed course that looks at the origins and the evolution of our current rules-based global order. The course is based on an international and multinational perspective. Particularly the United States, the former Soviet Union & Russia, Britain, Germany, France, the EU as well as China and Asia are dealt with extensively.
The course proceeds chronologically but a number of more thematic issues are also examined. The role of a number of bilateral relationships (US/China, US/Europe, etc.) and international organizations are considered as well as the role of underlying structures, economic forces and domestic pressure groups and personalities in global politics are analyzed.

By the end of course students will gain an analytical view of the post-Cold War era and the stability and fragility of the global order. Students will gain insights into the relations between the major great powers and their European and Asian allies. Not least students will acquire an understanding of the politics of transition. Students will be introduced to the major themes and key figures in global politics and develop an ability to assess the importance of individual actors and countries and structural forces during the late 20th and early 21st centuries.