Course syllabus

 

POLITICS 751: Great Power Relations

SEMESTER 2, 2018

15 points

 
Course Convenor: 

 Gerald Chan - gerald.chan@auckland.ac.nz

Course delivery format: 2 hours of seminar per week

(Timetable and room details can be viewed on Student Services Online)

 Summary of Course Description:              

This course focuses on the strategic competitions and realignments of great powers, including the United States, China, Japan, India, Russia and the EU. It discusses the ideas and theories relating to power strategies and foreign-policy behaviour, and investigates such issues as alliances, multilateralism, the future development of the United States, the rise of China and the power trajectories of India and other emerging powers.

 Course outcomes:

At the end of this course, we should be able to:

• Understand how great powers shape international order and relations
• Differentiate between big powers, middle power and small powers
• Identify and assess the defining features of the rise and fall of big powers
• Analyse the ways in which great powers relate to each other and to other powers
• Understand the evolving process of great power transitions
• Articulate some of the controversies surrounding the major debates about great power politics

 Assessment Summary:

10% oral presentation (tba)

50% 3,000 word essay due 9 October 2018

40% 2 hour exam (tba)

Weekly Topics:

1. Introduction

2. Guest lecture

3. The rise and fall of great powers

4. Alliances and big powers

5. Multilateralism and big powers

6. Deterrence: Europe and Asia

7. U.S.-China relations

8. Politics among veto powers

9. The G20 and the rest

10. The rise of BRICS

11. Lecturer's topic

12. Conclusion

 

Prescribed Texts:

Bisley, Nick, Great powers in the changing international order (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2012).

 Recommended Texts:

For recommended texts and readings, please refer to the full syllabus on Files.

 Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:           

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks – check course information for details.