Introduction to Global Politics

Introduction to Global Politics

In this course, Professor Indrajit Roy (University of York) provides an introduction to key trends and theories within the study of global politics. In the first module, we outline some important themes and concepts in the field, particularly relating to power and its changing distributions between states. The second module then examines the highly influential arguments made by realist international relations scholars. In the third module, we look at liberalism and how the liberal international order has shaped global politics since the Second World War. In the fourth and fifth modules, we think about the more critical perspectives of Marxist, dependency, and postcolonial theorists on the global order as resulting from colonial and capitalist exploitation of the Global South. The sixth module provides an account of constructivist theory, which emphasises how subjective perceptions and identities shape states’ behaviour in the international sphere. We conclude with a seventh module applying the theoretical perspectives discussed across the course to understand how the rise of China will affect global politics.

Introduction to Global Politics

In this module, we think about some of the key themes and concepts within the study of global politics. We focus on: (i) the distribution of the global population by continent of origin and primary language; (ii) why the concept of power is central to the study of global politics, and the different forms of power states might exercise; (iii) some of the key areas of contemporary scholarship on global politics; (iv) changes in the global distribution of power between states from the rise of the Mongols, through European colonialism and the Cold War, to the present emergence of China as a superpower; (v) the importance of theory in helping to frame and understand global politics.