Class Summary (10/22)

Bram
We discussed the economic situation in North Africa since the 1980s.  We began with quickly going over what the IMF, World Bank, and WTO are.  Then we looked at the Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) that the IMF implemented in North African states in the 1980s to stabilize their economies.  We talked about how these programs [...]

Class Summary: 10/9/07: Tunisia!

The first part of our discussion was mainly about Tunisia during the early stages of colonization. We discussed the differences between Tunisia and neighboring Algeria, as well as how the Tunisian economy grew increasingly dependent on the French.  The conversation then turned to two most prominent Tunisian leaders- Bourguiba and Ali. Habib Bourguiba ruled for thirty years, [...]

1.10.07 – A brief history of North Africa

Today’s class was a general overview of similarities and differences between the post 1830 histories of Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Libya. First, we defined what we mean when we say “North Africa”, or the maghreb.
Later, we discussed the differences between ways countries came to power (some through conflict, others diplomacy), the fact that reform [...]

28.09.07 – Alternative Approaches to International Relations (Meredith)

We first discussed the difference between Explanatory (theories explain the existing world) and Constitutive Theory (theories by individuals shape the world). We also defined Foundational theory as accepting that there is an objective truth and anti-foundational theory as the idea that we cannot measure if theories are true or not. We discussed the theory of [...]

Class Summary from Sept. 27, 2007 (Eve)

Today we finished talking about critical theory which says that individuals should interact in the government, which should be able the people, not about the state. It is different from Marxism because critical theory is for the super structure, and wants to have a better relationship with nature instead of focusing on economy. [...]

9/25: Marxist Theories

We began class today with the question: Is Marxism useless and/or dead? First we discussed the principal ideas of Marxism, namely emancipation, a materialist conception of history, the importance of the class system and a belief in totality. We then split into groups to discuss the different Marxist theories: World-system theory, Gramscianism, Critical theory and [...]

9/24 – Neo-realism vs. Neo-liberalism

Today in class, we noted that, although neo-realist and neo-liberalist thought differs in many ways, the two theories agree on the basic concepts that anarchy is at the core of international relations, and that states are the most important international actors. We then had a debate between neo-realists and neo-liberals and discussed how the [...]

9/20

Today in class we wrapped up our discussion of the effects of 9/11. It was not surprising that the attack happened, or that it happened in the United States, but rather that the U.S. plunged into a “war on terror”.
We introduced the concept of Realism, the most commonly accepted theory in international relations. We had [...]

The Post Cold War Era

In class, we talked about the three different responses to why the Cold War, and more broadly, the three interpretations of IR in general: Realism, Liberalism and Radicalism. We introduced prominent people in each party of thought. We looked at the age between 1989 and 9/11, and the international trends that occurred, including genocide, EU [...]

9/14 – Globalization and Global Politics

We beIn this class, we discussed the concept of globalization as an ongoing process, but one that has not affected every state equally. We considered how the traditional Westphalian international order based on territoriality, sovereignty, and autonomy has changed in recent years because of globalization. We also discussed the concept of “distorted” global [...]