International Relations in Practice

Course goals

Students will:

-have the academic skills to identify, formulate, analyse and suggest possible solutions to problems in the field of History of International Relations.  
-have the academic skills to conduct research on the History of International Relations and report on it in a manner that meets the customary standards of the discipline.  
-possess professional and academic skills, particularly in relation to the History of International Relations.  
-be able to apply knowledge and insight in a way that demonstrates a professional approach in the work or profession.  
-be able to communicate conclusions, as well as the underlying knowledge, grounds and considerations, to an audience composed of specialists or non-specialists.   
- learn to analyse relevant primary sources.
- learn to write primacy sources, such as resolutions, declarations and policy memos from a policy advisor's perspective in order to prepare yourself for a career in policy making.
- learn to present prepared materials orally in a simulated working situation.  

Content

This course focuses on primary sources related to international diplomacy. Students not only learn how to interpret primary sources such as resolutions, declarations, speeches and policy memos, but they also slip into the skin of policy advisors in the field of foreign policy and international politics themselves, by actually writing these kinds of diplomatic sources themselves. Rather than passively analysing other people’s sources, students will thus actively engage in past and current affairs. Through these practice-oriented assignments this course raises awareness of the fact that the sources they usually study merely as static historical objects have actually been part of a dynamic process, which was intended to shape the future rather than reflect the past. After selecting and studying a wide range of sources in depth, students will write their own policy memo, resolution or declaration, while taking the political context and the relevant goals into account. At the end of the course, students also participate in the simulation of a large international organisation, such as the UN, so as to put their knowledge of International Relations in practice.

To pass this course students are expected to attend the extracurricular Meet the Experts Seminar Series. These seminars are meant to increase your knowledge and understanding of how IR works in practice.   

Career Orientation
By learning to write policy memos, resolutions and declarations and testing and defending these in a practical working situation, and by attending and actively participating in seminars with experts from the field you prepare yourself for a career in (foreign) policy making.

This course is for students in the MA International Relations in Historical Perspective; students from other M.A. programmes can only enroll with consent of the programme coordinator.

Additional information

Career Orientation
By learning to write policy memos, resolutions and declarations and testing and defending these in a practical working situation, and by attending and actively participating in seminars with experts from the field you prepare yourself for a career in (foreign) policy making.

This course is for students in the MA International Relations in Historical Perspective; students from other M.A. programmes can only enroll with consent of the programme coordinator.