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International Relations (IR)
112 topics across 7 chapters
Chapter 1
Foundations: meaning, nature, and core concepts
1
Key concepts toolkit
6 subtopics
2
Sovereignty and statehood (recognition, borders, authority)
3
Anarchy and self-help
4
Power (hard/soft) and national interest
5
Security dilemma
6
Interdependence and globalization
7
Levels of analysis (individual, state, system)
8
Historical evolution of the international order
3 subtopics
9
Westphalia and the modern state system
10
Cold War bipolarity and the nuclear age
11
Post–Cold War globalization and power shifts
Chapter 2
Actors and the international system
12
States and domestic politics
3 subtopics
↗ Sovereignty and statehood (recognition, borders, authority) (see Chapter 1)
13
Domestic politics and regime type
14
Foreign policy bureaucracy basics
15
Non-state actors
4 subtopics
16
International organizations overview (UN, WTO, etc.)
17
NGOs and advocacy networks
18
Multinational corporations (MNCs) and transnational business power
19
Individuals, leaders, and epistemic communities
20
System structure and polarity
2 subtopics
21
Polarity (uni/bi/multi) and system change
22
Balance of power and alliances
23
Norms, regimes, and information
3 subtopics
24
International norms and socialization
25
International regimes (rules, monitoring, coordination)
26
Media, information, and strategic narratives
Chapter 3
Major theories of International Relations
27
Realism
2 subtopics
28
Realist assumptions and core concepts
29
Structural realism (neorealism) basics
30
Liberalism
2 subtopics
31
Liberal institutions and cooperation
32
Democratic peace debate
33
Constructivism
2 subtopics
34
Identity, norms, and social construction
35
How constructivists explain change
36
Critical theories (Marxist/Gramscian/critical IPE)
2 subtopics
37
Capitalism, imperialism, and inequality
38
Critical IPE and hegemony
39
Feminist and postcolonial IR
2 subtopics
40
Gender and security
41
Empire, race, and decolonizing IR
42
Applying and comparing theories
2 subtopics
43
Choosing a theory for a case
44
Building testable hypotheses from theory
Chapter 4
Foreign policy and diplomacy (practice of IR)
45
Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA)
2 subtopics
46
Decision-making models (rational/bureaucratic/psychological)
47
Two-level games (domestic + international constraints)
48
Diplomacy and negotiation
2 subtopics
49
Diplomatic practice and protocol
50
Negotiation, mediation, and bargaining
51
Instruments of statecraft
3 subtopics
52
Deterrence and coercive diplomacy
53
Economic sanctions and economic statecraft
54
Foreign aid and development assistance
55
Crisis and conflict management
2 subtopics
56
Crisis signaling and escalation control
57
Peacekeeping operations (mandates, rules, effectiveness)
Chapter 5
Global governance, international law, and institutions
58
International law fundamentals
2 subtopics
59
Sources of international law (treaty, custom, general principles)
60
Laws of armed conflict overview
61
UN system and collective security
3 subtopics
62
Security Council politics (veto, legitimacy, enforcement)
↗ Peacekeeping operations (mandates, rules, effectiveness) (see Chapter 4)
63
Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and humanitarian intervention
64
Global economic governance
2 subtopics
65
WTO trade rules basics
66
IMF/World Bank roles and conditionality
67
Treaties, regimes, and cooperation
3 subtopics
↗ International regimes (rules, monitoring, coordination) (see Chapter 2)
68
Climate governance (Paris Agreement/COPs)
69
Arms control and nonproliferation
70
Compliance, legitimacy, and reform
2 subtopics
71
Why states comply (or don’t)
72
Reform debates (UN, WTO, global governance)
Chapter 6
Issue areas and contemporary global challenges
73
Security and strategic studies
3 subtopics
74
Nuclear deterrence basics
75
Terrorism and counterterrorism
76
Cyber conflict and security
77
International Political Economy (IPE) and development
3 subtopics
78
Trade, supply chains, and globalization backlash
↗ Multinational corporations (MNCs) and transnational business power (see Chapter 2)
↗ Economic sanctions and economic statecraft (see Chapter 4)
79
Human rights and humanitarian politics
3 subtopics
80
Human rights regimes and monitoring
↗ Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and humanitarian intervention (see Chapter 5)
81
International criminal justice (ICC)
82
Transnational challenges
4 subtopics
83
Climate change and security
84
Migration and refugees
85
Global health and pandemics
86
Technology and AI governance
Chapter 7
Research, methods, and writing in IR
87
Research design
2 subtopics
88
Crafting research questions
89
Concepts, measurement, and operationalization
90
Qualitative methods
2 subtopics
91
Case studies and process tracing
92
Interviews and fieldwork basics
93
Quantitative methods
2 subtopics
94
Descriptive statistics and datasets in IR
95
Correlation vs causation and threats to inference
96
Reading and literature reviews
2 subtopics
97
Argument mapping (claims, evidence, warrants)
98
Writing a literature review
99
Writing for academia and policy
2 subtopics
100
Policy memo structure
101
Research paper structure and citations
102
Ethics and positionality
2 subtopics
103
Research ethics and IRB basics
104
Positionality, bias, and reflexivity

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