COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: STRATEGY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
PIR 533	B	3	3	0	0	3	6

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	NA
Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Lisen Bashkurti , Wednesday 13:30-16:30
Second Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Elective
Classroom and Meeting Time:	E 310
Course Description:	This is a master level course focusing on international strategic studies. This course surveys the contributions of the strategic approach to international relations. It examines the political, diplomatic, security, social and economic related issues at the grand strategic level which is the level at which governments take their decisions on these issues both nationally and within the international community. First, this course introduces students to game theory, a mathematical tool that is used to examine the strategic behavior among economic, political, or social actors. Second, by reducing real-world situations to system of actors and decisions, it shows how game theory can be and is used to analyze important patterns that help us understand world politics, and where it shines and falters. After finishing this course students are expected to be able to analyze different issues in world politics by employing the game theory.
Course Objectives:	To develop answers to questions stated in the description part by addressing both strategists and strategies in international relations.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Course introduction
2	Conceptualizing grand strategy
3	Traditional grand strategy analysis
4	Traditional grand strategy analysis
5	Morality versus power
6	Management and authority
7	The fog of war as policy
8	The balance of power
9	Domestic political-economic incentives
10	Total war
11	Building post-war orders
12	Containment
13	Foreign policy as geopolitics,
14	Contemporary grand strategies

Prerequisite(s):	N/A
Textbook:	Zbigniew Brzezinski (1997), “The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives, Basic Boards”, ISBN: 0-465-02725-3. Zbigniew Brzezinski (2004),” The Choice: Globalization or Global Leadership”, ISBN: 978-0-465-00800-1. Henry Kissinger (1994), “Diplomacy”, ISBN: 0-671-65991. Lisen Bashkurti (2008), “Krizat Nderkombetare”, ADSH/ Tirane, ISBN: 978-99956-2247-3. Lisen Bashkurti (2016), “Grumbled Bridges of the Balkans”, Peter and Associated Publishing House, USA. ISBN: 9781365489365.
Other References:	N/A
Laboratory Work:	N/A
Computer Usage:	N/A
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	To provide an ability to analyze basic concepts concerning international strategy
2	To provide understanding for the relationship among power, morality and strategy
3	To provide an ability to develop strategy simulations concerning balance of power, domestic political incentives and geopolitics
4	To provide knowledge about contemporary grand international strategies

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Master of Science in Political Science and International Relations Program
1	Having and using advanced knowledge and comprehension supported by textbooks including actual knowledge in political sciences and international relations literature, materials and the other scientific resources.	5
2	Analyzing data, ideas and concepts of current political issues and international relations, determining complex events and topics, making discussions and developing new suggestions in accordance with researches.	4
3	Having knowledge and thought about actual topics and problems together with their historical, social and cultural aspects.	4
4	Introducing those who are interested in politics and international events with the topics of Political Science and IR and teaching clearly the problems and the types of solutions.	4
5	Improving skills of working together with the main social science disciplines and other disciplines which are related to Political Science and International Relations.	5
6	Improving critical thinking and skills in making research independently.	4
7	Developing solutions about the problems and conflicts which are common in national and international arena.	4
8	Improving skills for leadership and research and analyze capacity of those who is responsible with national and international ones.	4
9	Knowing any foreign language enough to communicate with colleagues and understand actual researches and articles.	4
10	Gaining IT skills to use computer and technology) in order to reach actual knowledge.	4
11	Gaining skills to follow societal, scientific and ethic values during collecting, interpreting, conducting of data related to social and political developments.	1
12	Having consciousness about human rights and environment.	3
13	Gaining the skills to follow actual developments and pursue long-life learning.	5

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Midterm Exam(s)	1	40
Term Paper	1	40
Attendance		10
Other	1	10
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	3	48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	2	32
Mid-terms	1	20	20
Assignments	1	50	50
Final examination			0
Other			0
Total Work Load:			150
Total Work Load/25(h):			6
ECTS Credit of the Course:			6