At key points in history, major states have attempted to organize the political, military, economic and social dimensions of the international system in ways that best suit their own political and economic structures or ideological perspectives. This course explores how great powers, through war, imperialism, post-war peace settlements, and the creation of international organizations, have competed over and collaborated in shaping the international order. The course begins by examining the concept of international organization and how state power may shape and reshape the international system. The course then looks at several cases, from the Holy Roman Empire, Imperial and Revolutionary France and the Concert of Europe, to Great Britain's maritime hegemony and German efforts to shape the European and world order in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The course examines how American concepts of international order have shaped its goals, strategies and policies since World War I, and the far-reaching effects of these policies on the actual organization of the international system after World War II. The final part of the course will examine the contemporary debate over the relationship between state power and international order after the Cold War. Requirements: midterm exam, final exam and a 7- to 8-page paper. No prerequisites. International Relations Subfield.

Hour: SILVERSTONE