International Relations (20222/M)

This course will deal with a comparative analysis of various political systems worldwide. As analytical references we will use the ideal models of democratic and authoritarian rule. It is therefore necessary to clearly define what are democracies and what are authoritarian regimes. In a first step, criteria for the categorization will be presented and discussed. Based on classic literature of political science, it will be further analyzed what kind of factors (such as actors, institutions, and long-term economic and social structures) contribute to a development with either democratic or authoritarian features. A third category, hybrid regimes, which contain both democratic and authoritarian elements, needs to be introduced to better understand the existing political structures in the real world.
After the discussion of the before-mentioned theoretical concepts, several contemporary case studies from all around the world will be taken to apply the criteria and models on existing political systems. These country analyses will deepen the understanding of the differences and similarities between various forms of currents government systems in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

This course will provide an introduction into the fields of politics, foreign policy, and diplomacy in two world regions. The course will focus on two major geographic regions: Europe (or more specifically the European Union and its member states) and America (or more specifically mainly the United States of America). The lecturer and the students will analyze critically significant political, strategic, and socio-economic topics related to historic and current foreign policy issues in both regions.
In the last 500 years, Europe was for a long time the world leader in terms of political and economic power. In this time, European countries colonized large parts of the world and impacted the history of all other continents (North and South America, Africa, Australia, and Asia) to a great extent. After two world wars the political and economic power of Europe has declined in recent years, but it is still a highly developed region with significant economic and political clout. European Business, trade and politics are heavily influenced by the creation of the European Economic Community in the 1950s, which later transformed into the European Union. In the seminar we will explain the partially supranational EU and its foreign policy as well as some of its most relevant member states (Germany, France).
The United States of America, on the other hand, is a relatively young country, founded by immigrants (mostly from Europe) with a specific economic and political tradition in the 18th century. Particularly after the Second World War the USA rose to a world superpower. Until today it is the biggest economy worldwide and the world’s leading military power.
In this seminar we will learn and discuss about politics, foreign policy, diplomacy but also to some extent about the respective political and business cultures. Finally, we will also deal with the mutual diplomatic, economic, and political relations between both regions.

This course will provide an introduction into the fields of politics, foreign policy, and diplomacy in two world regions. The course will focus on two major geographic regions: Europe (or more specifically the European Union and its member states) and America (or more specifically mainly the United States of America). The lecturer and the students will analyze critically significant political, strategic, and socio-economic topics related to historic and current foreign policy issues in both regions.
In the last 500 years, Europe was for a long time the world leader in terms of political and economic power. In this time, European countries colonized large parts of the world and impacted the history of all other continents (North and South America, Africa, Australia, and Asia) to a great extent. After two world wars the political and economic power of Europe has declined in recent years, but it is still a highly developed region with significant economic and political clout. European Business, trade and politics are heavily influenced by the creation of the European Economic Community in the 1950s, which later transformed into the European Union. In the seminar we will explain the partially supranational EU and its foreign policy as well as some of its most relevant member states (Germany, France).
The United States of America, on the other hand, is a relatively young country, founded by immigrants (mostly from Europe) with a specific economic and political tradition in the 18th century. Particularly after the Second World War the USA rose to a world superpower. Until today it is the biggest economy worldwide and the world’s leading military power.
In this seminar we will learn and discuss about politics, foreign policy, diplomacy but also to some extent about the respective political and business cultures. Finally, we will also deal with the mutual diplomatic, economic, and political relations between both regions.