ClassInfo

This course is an introduction to international law for students of world politics. A dense and expanding network of international rules and regulations now cover the globe. The primary purpose of this course is to enhance your understanding of the ways in which international legal rules order international and domestic politics. How and to what extent has international law helped resolve conflicts between countries or helped governments achieve common goals? What is law's relationship with countries' foreign policies? How does international law interact with or impact domestic politics and legal systems? Throughout the course, we emphasize the relationship between law and politics to understand why international law operates as it does. A special effort is made to relate the course material to global developments in the past decade or so: new technologies and the use of force; racial biases in war crimes accountability; trade wars & investment disputes; forced migration, refugees, and climate change; systemic racism, gender-based violence, and human rights; the international law of pandemics; and backlash against global governance.

Students from all concentrations are welcome to enroll. This is advanced, specialized course that examines in-depth the politics of international law and global governance. It includes readings and assignments at the most intellectually demanding undergraduate level. While there are no course prerequisites, you would benefit from previous coursework in international politics or global studies, such as POL 3835: International Relations.

Requirements fulfilled by this course:

· Liberal Education

· Global Perspectives Theme

· Writing Intensive

As a result of taking this course, you will be able to:

· Understand the basic structures and norms of the international legal system

· Articulate how and why various actors use international law to express values or achieve goals

· Better understand how law relates to important current issues

· Describe clearly when and how international law shapes global politics and policy

· Explain persuasively when and how international law shapes domestic politics and policy

· Use comparative and critical thinking and writing skills to bring together theory and practice

Policy Memo: 15%

Analytical Essay: 15%

Online Comprehension Quizzes: 26%

International Agreement Group Project: 20%

Attendance & Participation: 24%

This course adopts an in-person, synchronous modality with partial online delivery of academic content.

The course will be split between:

- Synchronous in-person discussion & simulation sessions during scheduled course time (once per week)

- Online lectures followed by comprehension quizzes