Syllabus Information

5.1. Methodological overview

The general methodology consists of a combination of lectures by the instructor plus classwork and homework by the student.

5.2. Learning tasks

Learning activities are the following:

a) Comprehensive reading of all the compulsory texts before each individual session.

b) Class lectures by the Instructor.Students will be required to share their questions and views on the compulsory readings and subjects discussed at class.

c) Unless otherwise noted, all compulsory readings and class presentations will provide the study material for the final exam.

d) Additional materials will be used in most lectures (motion pictures, audios, current and historical news, etc.).

e) Students are required to write an individual essay

f) International Observatory: Throughout the semester, and in groups of up to four, students are required to report on the international news concerning either a certain geopolitical region or a global actor. Reports will take the form of class colloquiums and an individual written essay at the end of the semester.

Classwork Resources:

Students are authorized to use Internet in their laptops and tablets.

Students are NOT AUTHORIZED to use smartphones, to text message or to chat. In case of violation of these rules, the appropriate disciplinary measures will be adopted

5.3. Syllabus

PART I: The Era of the World Wars

• The World in 1914 and the Great War. Political, Sociocultural and Military Conditions. Causes and Development of the War. The Peace Treaties.
• International Relations in the Interwar Years: The League of Nationals. The Locarno System. The Collapse of Collective Security and the Road to War.  
• The Global Economy in the Interwar Years: The End of the First Globalization. From the Postwar Crisis to the Roaring Twenties. The Great Depression. The Rise of the State. 
• The Era of Totalitarianism: Political Realignment. Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism. Soviet Communism. Italian Fascism. German Nazism.
• World War II: Phases. Political, Military and Humanitarian Evolution. Consequences.
• Classical Geopolitics: Nation and State. Classical Theories. The Global Strategic Conceptions.

PART II: The Era of the Cold War

• Origins and Nature of the Cold War World: Ideology, Geopolitics, and Globalization. The UN.
• The Cold War, 1945-1970: The End of the Wartime Alliance. Block Formation. NATO. Fighting the Cold War. Crises, Wars, and Negotiations. Containment and Pacific Coexistence.
• The Cold War, 1971-1991: Detente and the Second Cold War.  Crises, Wars, and Negotiations. The Fall of Communism in Europe.
• The Cold War and the Third World: Decolonization: development, conflicts and wars. The Non-Alignment Movement and Superpower Interventions. Towards Failed States.
• Cold War Geopolitics: Encirclement and Counter-encirclement. The End of Global Theories. New Concepts.
• Economy, Society and Culture:  Bretton Woods and the Welfare State. Centrally Planned Economies. The Counterculture. The Oil Crises and the New Globalization. Neoliberalism. 

PART III: The World of Today

• The Unipolar World: American Hegemony and the ‘End of History’. The World and the ‘Clash of Civilizations’, 1989-2001. Humanitarian Intervention.
• The World after 9/11: New International Actors and Powers. Resources and Conflict. The Crisis of the State System. International Terrorism.
• Globalization: Economy and Technology. Deregulation and Crises. Cultural Consequences. Center and Periphery.
• Spain and the World of Today: The European Union. Spain in the World. The International Missions of the Spanish Armed Forces.
• International Observatory: Large Geopolitical Areas. Major Global Actors.

5.4. Course planning and calendar

• Calendar of Lectures: To be determined at the beginning of the semester. Moodle.
• Deadline for the Individual Essay: To be determined at the beginning of the semester. Moodle.