COURSE INTRODUCTION AND APPLICATION INFORMATION

Course Name
History of Contemporary International Relations
Code
Semester
Theory
(hour/week)
Application/Lab
(hour/week)
Local Credits
ECTS
PSIR 240
Fall/Spring
3
0
3
5
Prerequisites
None
Course Language
English
Course Type
Elective
Course Level
First Cycle
Mode of Delivery -
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course
Course Coordinator -
Course Lecturer(s)
Assistant(s)
Course Objectives To examine the rises and falls of the major powers of the international relations in modern ages.
Learning Outcomes The students who succeeded in this course;
  • to identify the political, military, economic strengths and weaknesses of the European Great Powers such as Habsburg Spain, Bourbon and later Napoleonic France, Victorian Britain, and Wilhelmian Germany.
  • to outline the financial, military and diplomatic “revolutions” in the history of international relations as well as the historical development of the rising force of the secularist ‘realpolitik’ and that of the nation-states in western and central Europe.
  • to critique the basis for revisionism found in the peace treaties ending WW I comparing the Vienna Order of 1815 with the Paris Order of 1919
  • to discuss the political and military rise of the totalitarian regimes, the relative decline of the Western democracies and the failure of a “policy of appeasement” and the League of Nations in the Interwar Period
  • to discuss the origins and the phases of the “Cold War”, the weaknesses of the European Great Powers in the aftermath of WW II and the two superpowers’ strengths and global positions throughout the major crises of the Cold War.
  • to assess the reasons for the Soviet collapse in front of the U.S. economic and military challenge in the 1980’s and for the end of the Cold War and the bi-polar system of international relations.
Course Description “History of Modern International Relations” course focuses on states, nations, international politics, decision-makers and their interactions and conflicts through the ages. It is the study of history of relations between states or across state boundaries.
Related Sustainable Development Goals

 



Course Category

 Core Courses
Major Area Courses
Supportive Courses
Media and Managment Skills Courses
Transferable Skill Courses

 

WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

Week Subjects Required Materials
1 Introduction of the course and the course material
2 Habsburg Attempt for the Mastery of Europe, the “Thirty Years’ War” and the “Westphalian Order” Paul Kennedy, “Strategy and Economics in the Preindustrial World” in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, pp. 31-100. Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, İlkçağlardan 1918’e, pp. 70-77.
3 The “Pentarchy” and Franco-British Global Struggle, the French “Revolutionary” and “Napoleonic Wars” Paul Kennedy, “Strategy and Economics in the Preindustrial World” in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, pp. 100-142. Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, İlkçağlardan 1918’e, pp. 77-128.
4 From the “Vienna Settlement” and the “Concert of Europe” to the Polarization of the European Great Powers Paul Kennedy, “Strategy and Economics in the Industrial Era” in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, pp. 143-249. Norman Rich, “Peacemaking 1814-1815” and “Peacekeeping 1815-1823: The Concert of Europe” in Great Power Diplomacy, 1814-1914, pp. 1-43. Norman Rich, “The Unification of Italy” in Great Power Diplomacy, 1814-1914, pp. 123-144. Norman Rich, “The Unification of Germany” in Great Power Diplomacy, 1814-1914, pp. 184-215. Norman Rich, “The Breakdown of Bismarck’s Alliance System” in Great Power Diplomacy, 1814-1914, pp. 251-262. Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, İlkçağlardan 1918’e, pp. 128-210.
5 First World War: Attempts of the “Central Powers” for a Quick Victory, the US Entry into the War and the Entente’s Eventual Victory Paul Kennedy, “Strategy and Economics in the Industrial Era” in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, pp. 250-274. Norman Rich, “Confrontational Diplomacy” in Great Power Diplomacy, 1814-1914, pp. 408-420. Norman Rich, “The Coming of World War I” in Great Power Diplomacy, 1814-1914, pp. 440-461. Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, İlkçağlardan 1918’e, pp. 259-285.
6 Midterm Examination -
7 Peace Treaties Ending WW I, Impact of the “Great Depression” on International Relations and the rise of the totalitarian regimes and their revisionisms Failures of the Collective Security Principle of the “League of Nations” and the Collapse of the “Policy of Appeasement” Paul Kennedy, “Strategy and Economics in the Preindustrial World” in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, pp. 275-320. Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, 1918-1994, pp. 13-45. Paul Kennedy, “Strategy and Economics in the Preindustrial World” in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, pp. 291-343. Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, 1918-1994, pp. 45-65.
8 Second World War, the “Lightning Victories” of the Axis Powers (1939-42) and the overwhelming power of the Grand Alliance (1943-45) Paul Kennedy, “Strategy and Economics in the Industrial Era” in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, pp. 333-357. Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, 1918-1994, pp. 101-169.
9 Post-WW II Settlements, Emergence of a “Bipolar World Order”, the “Iron Curtain” in Europe and the Start of the Cold War Paul Kennedy, “Strategy and Economics, Today and Tomorrow” in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, pp. 357-395. Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, 1918-1994, pp. 170-253.
10 Superpowers’ Competition in the 1960’s, from threats of a Nuclear War to a “Balance of Power” of the Superpowers and the Détente Paul Kennedy, “Strategy and Economics, Today and Tomorrow” in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, pp. 395-437. Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, 1918-1994, pp. 253-478.
11 End of the Détente period, the “Second Cold War” and the Collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the USSR Paul Kennedy, “Strategy and Economics, Today and Tomorrow” in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, pp. 437-535. Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, 1918-1994, pp. 494-520.
12 Classroom presentations -
13 Classroom presentations
14 Classroom presentations
15 Semester Review
16 Final Exam
Course Notes/Textbooks

Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, Fontana Press. ISBN: 9780679720195.

Norman Rich, Great Power Diplomacy, 1814-1914, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1992, ISBN: 9780070522541.

Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, İlkçağlardan 1918’e, İmge Kitabevi. ISBN: 9789755330433.

Oral Sander, Siyasi Tarih, 1918-1994, İmge Kitabevi. ISBN: 9789755330051.
Suggested Readings/Materials

Eric Hobsbawm, Age of Extremes: A History of the World, 1914-1991, Vintage, New York, 1995, ISBN: 9780679730057.

Derek Urwin, A Political History of Western Europe Since 1945, Longman, Londra, 1997. ISBN: 9780582039391.

Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy, Simon&Schuster, New York, 1994, ISBN: 9780671510992

 

EVALUATION SYSTEM

Semester Activities Number Weigthing
Participation
1
15
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments
Presentation / Jury
1
25
Project
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exam
Midterm
1
20
Final Exam
1
40
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade
3
60
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade
1
40
Total

ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE

Semester Activities Number Duration (Hours) Workload
Course Hours
(Including exam week: 16 x total hours)
16
3
48
Laboratory / Application Hours
(Including exam week: 16 x total hours)
16
Study Hours Out of Class
10
3
30
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments
Presentation / Jury
1
22
Project
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exam
Midterms
1
20
Final Exams
1
30
    Total
150

 

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP

#
 Program Competencies/Outcomes
* Contribution Level
1
2
3
4
5
1

To be able to possess the knowledge in legal terminology, concepts and principles.
2

Solves the legal problems with an analytic and integral point of view.
3

Evaluates the legal knowledge and abilities obtained with a critical approach.
4

Evaluates the developments in legal theory and practice by monitoring local, international and interdisciplinary dimensions.
5

Is conscious of social, professional and scientific principles of ethic behaviour.
6

Takes responsibility in solving problems by creative and innovative thinking.
7

Interprets the sources of law by ways of legal methodology.
8

To be able to interpret the legal norms with a sense of justice respectful to human rights and in the light of principles of democratic, secular and social state of law.
9

To be able to use the daily scientific sources and court judgments in the framework of life time learning approach.
10

Informs the related persons and institutions about legal matters both verbally and in written.
11

Monitors the daily legal information/court decisions and interacts with the colleagues in a foreign language  (“European Language Portfolio Global Scale” Level B1).
12

Uses the information and communication technology together with the computer programs in a level required by the area of law (“European Computer Driving Licence, Advanced Level”).

*1 Lowest, 2 Low, 3 Average, 4 High, 5 Highest