BA in International Relations & Diplomacy

Post Campus Courses

IRD 215 Research Methods International Relations
This course will provide students with a broad overview of IRD research. Topics to be covered include: general principles of theory, and concepts;
research design, variables and hypotheses, citations and reference; international news sources and polling data; primary sources and repositories for diplomatic documents;
a basic understanding of regression analysis; and the ability to create a research or policy paper as well as research reports.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 251 International Relations
This course considers the development and characteristics of relations among states, national policy, sources of strength and weaknesses in the policies of states,
actual and potential importance of areas of the world in determining the course of world events. Must be taken by all Political Science majors.
This course fulfills the Power, Institutions, and Structures thematic cluster requirement in the core curriculum.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 262 Research Seminar – International Relations
This course will provide students with a broad overview of IRD research and current international challenges, conflicts and historical solutions.
Topics to be covered include: general principles of theory, and concepts; research design, variables and hypotheses, citations and reference;
statistics and statistical analysis; international news sources and polling data; primary sources and repositories for diplomatic documents;
a basic understanding of regression analysis; and the ability to create a research or policy paper as well as research reports.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 264 World Leaders and Foreign Policy
This course will provide students with a broad overview of IRD leaders and their impact on foreign policy. Topics included are:
an overview of the current world political and economic leaders; their role in international relations; and the major issues in the world that impact foreign policy.
Students will also be introduced to major institutions and organizations such as the World Bank, European Commission, G-7 and G-20, UN agencies such as WHO, ASEAN,
and other regional global agencies. As well, there will be a focus on understanding leadership and identifying important leadership qualities.
This aspect will include participation in a leadership role related to the class.
Credits: 3
Every Spring

IRD 291 Diplomacy and Negotiation
This course provides an introduction to the core concepts, processes, and techniques of diplomacy and negotiation.
The course focuses on the role of diplomacy by individuals and governments (Track I diplomacy) and other types of diplomacy (Track II and III diplomacy).
Credits: 3
Annually

IRD 293 International Relations Internship
Placement with a public or private entity within the domestic or international environment provides direct experience in politics and/or law.
Credits: 3
All Sessions

IRD 307 Political Aspects of Economics
This course is an examination of the political aspects of economic institutions and processes with particular attention to the relationship of governments and markets
on the domestic and international levels.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 331 Espionage and Intelligence
This course surveys the history and activities of American espionage and intelligence communities. Topics to be covered include tools of the trade, cryptography,
spies in literature and Hollywood, celebrated real-life spies, covert military operations, foreign intelligence agencies, the evolution of the CIA,
intelligence reform and congressional oversight, homeland security, and high-tech sleuthing in the 21st century.
Credits: 3
Every Fall

IRD 335 History of the US Presidency
A history of the presidency, from its creation to the early twentieth century, which will cover great presidents, failures, and those in-between.
Topics will include domestic and foreign policies, wars, achievements, blunders, and scandals. We will also examine presidents’ personalities,
speaking styles, and health crises.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 341 International Economics
This course examines the economic aspects of globalization. Attention is paid to international trade in goods and services, international flows of capital,
and migration. Topics include trade theory, tariffs and other protectionist policies, trade agreements between nations, the World Trade Organization,
balance of payments, exchange rates, and the European Monetary Union.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 345 US National Security
This course evaluates the area of U.S. national security with emphasis on military and strategic problems during the Cold War and Post-Cold War eras;
defense policy-making; conventional and nuclear dimensions of defense issues; and strategic interests of the United States around the world.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 346 American Foreign Policy I
This course covers the continuity and change in American foreign policy goals, strategies, and tactics from the 18th century to World War II.
Particular attention is devoted to constitutional issues and the decision-making process.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 350 International Organizations
A study of the origins, role, structure and function of international institutions essential to an understanding of the global system and its attempts at organization.
Possible areas of study include the United Nations, the European Union, and World Trade Organizations.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 353 International Law I
This course is a study of the concepts of sovereignty and the international community and the development of international organizations from ancient times
to the creation of the United Nations.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 361 Modern China: Political Doctrines and Society
The influence of political thought on societal change in modern China from the late Imperial Period to the present is examined.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 365 Politics of the European Union
This course covers the history, institutions and selected policies of the European Union.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 366 Politics of South and Southeast Asia
This course covers political developments in South and Southeast Asia in the 20th century such as colonialism and nationalist revolts,
new governments, their problems and politics, and conflicts of interest of the great powers.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 368 Politics of Western Europe
This course covers internal government structures, principles and practices of leading Western European powers.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 369 Politics of Eastern Europe
This course covers internal government structures, principles and practices of leading Eastern European powers.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 370 Politics of the Middle East
This course covers internal government structures, principles and practices of selected countries in the Middle East.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 371 Politics of Russia
This course is an analysis of the institutions, processes and theoretical foundations of government and politics from the Imperial period to the present.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 372 Politics of Africa
This course covers the internal government structures, principles and practices of selected countries in Africa.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 373 Politics of Latin America
This course covers the internal structures, principles and practices of leading Latin American countries.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 377 Politics of East Asia
This course is an examination of the political institutions and processes of China, Japan, and Korea.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IRD 394 Advanced Internship
Placement with a public or private entity within the domestic or international environment provides direct experience in politics and/or law.
Credits: 3
Every Fall, Spring and Summer

Brooklyn Campus Curriculum

Brooklyn Campus Courses

IR 200 Great Power Politics
This course offers an overview of the dynamics of strategic interaction between great powers, including the causes of conflict, origins of alliances, logic of coercion, sources of order, and definition of national interests. In a broad historical narrative, the course will discuss how the balance of power and the nature of relations between great powers have shifted from the pre-World War II era to the Cold War (bi-polarity), the post-Cold War period (uni-polarity), and the contemporary world system (multi-polarity).
Credits: 3
Alternate Years

IR 201 Non-State Actors
This course will examine the role of non-state actors in international relations. By examining a broad range of theoretical models and real-world exemplars, we will assess how non-state actors compromise the assumed universal authority of the state central to international relations doctrine. Over the course of the semester, we will investigate the nature of state formation and ascertain whether this is actually the necessary or even inevitable outcome of normative human sociopolitical evolution. We will identify the core features presumed necessary to the functioning of a viable state and explore whether the needs thus met could have been better satisfied through alternative means of structural governance. From this structural background, we will proceed to a thematic investigation of the non-state actors who have persistently, or recently, acted as rivals to the hegemony of a state over its own citizens and to geopolitics within the system of international relations.
Credits: 3
Alternate Years

IR 210 International Political Economy
IPE seeks to advance knowledge of how political institutions, processes, and actors influence economic interactions, and conversely, how economic institutions, processes, and actors affect political interactions. Students will investigate the role of domestic drivers in shaping global politics as well as the influence of global drivers on domestic politics. Institutions this course will focus on include: international and regional regimes, private authority structures, welfare policies, social and environmental policies, monetary and exchange rate policies, global integration, international trade, international development and equity, international finance, multinational corporations, NGOs, and corporate social responsibility.
Credits: 3
Alternate Years

IR 223 The Geopolitics of the Middle East
This course will focus on critical issues in the geopolitics of the Middle East region, broadly defined as extending from Libya to Iran. Students will be introduced to the forces structuring state relations in the post-Ottoman period, including pan-Arabism, Zionism, Baathism, nationalism, terrorism, democracy, and the Sunni-Shia divide. Critical junctures including Israeli independence, the Six-Day War, the Iran-Iraq War, The Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Arab Spring, and the rise of ISIS will be discussed.
Credits: 3
On Occasion

IR 234 The Geopolitics of South Central, and East Asia
This course will focus on critical issues in the geopolitics of East Asia in the post-World War II era, with particular attention paid to the evolution of China during this period, from civil war through Maoist ideology to modern superpower. Other case studies under consideration will include the Korean divide, the India-Pakistan confrontation, and the fate of Afghanistan.
Credits: 3
On Occasion

IR 243 Miscommunication: Lost in Translation
This course investigates the role of communication and miscommunication in politics and society. Communication is a defining trait of human identity and a critical building block in the construction of civilization. Communication – across the broad categories of spoken, visual, and written – is essential to the functioning of any viable community, spanning the spectrum of day-to-day interaction from religious doctrine to economic policy. Globalization and the increasingly immediate nature of networking online have made communication, in particular establishing the basis for mutually intelligible interchange, more important than ever. But these same forces have made the possibility of miscommunication both more likely and potentially much more dangerous. Using exemplars from history, this course will explore how miscommunication has shaped international relations, domestic politics, and cross-cultural boundaries.
Credits: 3
On Demand

IR 245 The Geopolitics of Africa
This course will focus on critical issues in the geopolitics of sub-Saharan Africa in the post-World War II era, with particular attention paid to decolonization, development, national identity, sovereignty, and regional hegemony. Case studies under consideration will include the transition from Apartheid to democracy in South Africa, civil war in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the collapse of state authority in the Congo, and the persistence of anarchy in Somalia.
Credits: 3
On Occasion

IR 301 Race, Nationalism and Identity
This course will analyze the role of identity politics in international relations. Students will explore how the interplay between national and transnational cultural identities has driven foreign policy initiatives including support for imperialist, revanchist, and secessionist agendas.
Credits: 3
On Occasion

IR 321 Technology and International Relations
This course provides an overview of the role advances in technology have played in forcing changes to traditional assumptions about international relations. Students will focus on how breakthroughs in transportation technologies (e.g., the railroad, flight, space travel) and communications technologies (e.g., radio, TV, the Internet) have enhanced social and economic interactions globally, and how the rise of weapons of mass destruction (e.g., chemical, biological, nuclear) have altered the balance of power militarily. Students will learn about how these weapons work, why states (and increasingly, non-state actors) seek to develop them, and attempts to prevent proliferation.
Credits: 3
On Occasion

IR 330 Diplomatic History and the UN
This course examines the history of classical diplomacy, the integration of regional diplomatic cultures through the League of Nations and United Nations, the establishment of foreign ministries and bilateral embassies, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), and the professionalization of diplomatic services.
Credits: 3
Not Set

IR 340 Global Language: Cross-Cultural Engagement
This course investigates the role of communication and miscommunication in politics and society. Communication is a defining trait of human identity and a critical building block in the construction of civilization. Communication – across the broad categories of spoken, visual, and written – is essential to the functioning of any viable community, spanning the spectrum of day-to-day interaction from religious doctrine to economic policy. Globalization and the increasingly immediate nature of networking online have made communication, in particular establishing the basis for mutually intelligible interchange, more important than ever. But these same forces have made the possibility of miscommunication both more likely and potentially much more dangerous. Using exemplars from history, this course will explore how miscommunication has shaped international relations, domestic politics, and cross-cultural boundaries.
Credits: 3
Alternate Years

IR 351 UN Languages and Diplomacy
An adaptation of the ESP (English for Special Purposes) model, foreign language model for special purposes. Diplomacy is one of the very constitutive "orders" of the international system, a mainstay of civilization itself. This course examines classical diplomacy and its evolution in the West, the integration of regional diplomatic cultures through the League of Nations and United Nations, the establishment of foreign ministries and bilateral embassies, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), the professionalization of diplomatic services, the nuances of diplomatic language, public diplomacy and social media, educational exchanges and intercultural dialogues, engagement with non-state actors, and the question of the future of formal diplomacy in a networked global society.
Credits: 3