210060 LK BAK8: International Politics (2023S)

This reading course builds on the topics covered by the lecture “Internationale Politik” in order to provide an introduction to some of the intersections between political economy and socioecological issues in the Latin American context. The course is taught in English.

The first few sessions of the course discuss the intro literature to IR Theory. Then, some contemporary issues in the LA context will be raised and discussed from an IR perspective, with emphasis in analytical tools provided by political economy and political ecology perspectives. Students will have the chance to familiarize themselves with issues related to the “civilizatory crisis” (“Crisis civilizatoria”) (E. Lander) in Latin America, including the contradictions of (neo-) extractivism, socio-ecological and territorial inequalities that often involves persistent patterns of conflict and violence.

The students are provided with interdisciplinary tools in order to develop a critical analytical understanding of IR in concrete contexts. By the end of the semester students should be familiar with the basic theories and concepts of International Politics and be able to critically apply them to a Latin American context.

The sessions of the course will draw on the student’s analytical contributions, by way of short input presentations and participation in the discussions. During the semester, there will be homework on the texts, a presentation and a short written essay. This essay can either focus on a theoretical research question or an empirical case related to the focus of this reading course.