Understanding International Relations Theory

HSE University is one of Russia’s most prestigious research institutions, which was founded in 1992 to foster innovative research and teaching in economics and related fields, and it is now offering a course in International Relations Theory that should appeal to anybody interested in the subject.

The course focuses on the challenges of peace and war, foreign policy decision-making, and other aspects of international relations theory as a part of social science and as an analytical framework. The course blends a historical perspective with an examination of contemporary political issues. The historical section depicts the history of international relations theory from a subset of political philosophy to its development as a distinct area of political science, which is critical to comprehending the main concepts of international relations. The lectures also provide a comprehensive overview of current ideas and debates in the field of current political issues such as terrorism, China’s and other rising powers’ growth, and the US-Russian rivalry.

The 12-week course takes about 24 hours to complete and is taught by professors Timofei Bordachev and Dmitrii Suslov. The course videos are translated in numerous languages.