[1.] Understanding international relations. How does international relations affect us? -- Who is involved in international relations? -- How can we understand and analyze international relations? -- How can we view world politics from different perspectives? -- [2.] The emergence of a global system of states, 1500-today. Starting point: the world in 1500 -- The formation of the international political system, 1500-1900 -- World War I and World War II, 1900-45 -- The global struggle of the Cold War, 1945-89 -- The view from the south: decolonization, the non-aligned movement, and the quest for a new international economic order -- The contemporary international order, 1989-present -- [3.] Theories of international relations. The realist tradition -- The liberal tradition -- The Marxist tradition -- The constructivist tradition -- Critical theory and the feminist tradition -- Comparing traditions -- [4.] The analysis of foreign policy. Foreign policy analysis: connections to international relations -- Core concepts of foreign policy -- The sources of foreign policy -- How and why states change their foreign policy -- [5.] Framing international relations: the role of laws and organizations. Basic concepts and distinctions -- Domains of international law and organizations -- Theoretical explanations for the existence of international law and organizations -- Theoretical explanations for the effectiveness of international law and organizations -- [6.] War and its causes. Wars between countries -- Immediate causes of war -- Underlying causes of war: the individual level of analysis -- Underlying causes of war: the state level of analysis -- Underlying causes of war: the international level of analysis -- Internal wars and their causes -- [7.] Pathways to interstate peace. The international distribution of power as a condition for peace -- State strategies for achieving interstate peace -- International law and institutions as mechanisms for peace -- Transnational mechanisms for peace -- [8.] Technology, the use of force, and weapons of mass destruction. Technology and the historical evolution of warfare -- Nuclear weapons and the nuclear revolution -- Nuclear proliferation and efforts to halt it -- Chemical and biological weapons -- Weapons of mass destruction, non-state actors, and terrorism -- New technologies and new challenges: drones and cyber-warfare -- [9.] International economics: basic theory and core institutions. Basic elements of international trade theory and policy -- Basic elements of international money -- Multinational enterprises and international political economy -- The institutions of the world economy -- [10.] States and markets in the world economy. Two great eras of economic globalization -- States and markets: three great traditions of thought -- Economic liberalism -- Economic nationalism -- Marxism -- States and markets in a world of anarchy -- The two-sided government: managing domestic and international relations -- State building, war, and markets -- Great powers and the world economy -- Leadership and the liberal world economy -- The contemporary world economy: globalization and its challenges -- [11.] Dilemmas of development. What and where are the developing countries? -- International relations and challenges to developing countries -- Is international trade a path to development? -- Is international finance a path to development? -- Development strategies and emerging powers -- [12.] Non-state actors and challenges to sovereignty. States, sovereignty, and the Westphalian system -- Challenges to sovereign states -- International responses to weak and failed states -- Whither the state? -- [13.] The environment and international relations. Sources of problems for the global environment and natural resources -- Challenges for the world's environment and natural resources -- Management of international environmental problems -- [14.] Facing the future: six visions of an emerging international order. Model 1: A world of geo-economic competition -- Model 2: A return to a multipolar balance-of-power system -- Model 3: A return to bipolarity -- Model 4: A democratic peace -- Model 5: A clash of civilizations -- Model 6: Global fracture: pre-modern, modern, and post-modern zones.