Dire Dawa University

College of Social Science and Humanities

Department of Political Science and International Relations
Course Code and Title: (GlTr1012) Global Trends
Course weight 2 Cr. Hrs.
Academic Year 2016 E.C/2023 G.C, Student Year II, Semester I
Course Instructor: Babey T.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
This course is basically designed to equip students with the basics of international relations so
that they will be exposed to global challenges and perspectives. The course is very
comprehensive, broad and multidisciplinary in its nature. Perhaps you may find it as an ice-
breaking course since it touches up on wide range of issues, concepts, theories, approaches and
debates that are helpful in understanding the contemporary international relations. Concepts,
such as national interest, foreign policy, actors, globalization, balance of power, cold war, multi-
polar systems, international law and other relevant concepts are being introduced. Different
debates and approaches to the study of international relations including realism, liberalism are
also given due emphasis.
Due to the vastness of the course, its contents are organized into five chapters. The first chapter
lays the foundation of the course by introducing major concepts, such as: the nature, scope,
evolution, actors and levels of analysis, structure as well as theories of international relations. In
the second chapter topics such as; national interest, foreign policy, diplomacy and Ethiopian
foreign policy under successive regimes are discussed in some length. Chapter three focuses on
the contending issues of international political economy with emphasis on global institutions of
governance. The fourth chapter elucidates the debate between regionalism and globalization and;
the last not the least, discuses about the contemporary global issues that affect international
relations.
Course Objectives
After completing this course, students will be able to:
 Understand nations, nationalism and states
 Explain the nature and historical development of international relations
 Examine the extent and degree of influence of state and non-state actors in the
international system
 Gain basic knowledge of the major theories of International Relations and develop the
ability to critically evaluate and apply such theories
 Elucidate national interest, foreign policy and diplomacy
 Assess the overriding foreign policy guidelines of Ethiopia in the past and present
 Explicate the nature and elements of international political economy
 Examine the roles major international and regional institutions play in world politics
 Explore Ethiopia’s role in regional, continental and global institutions and affairs
 Critically evaluate the major contemporary global issues

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Chapter One: Understanding International Relations
1.1. Conceptualizing Nationalism, Nations and States
1.2. Understanding International Relations
1.3. The Nature and Evolution of International Relations
1.4. Actors in International Relations
State Actors
Non-State Actors
1.5. Levels of Analysis in International Relations
1.5.1. The individual level
1.5.2. The group level
1.5.3. The state level
1.5.4. The system level
1.6. The Structure of International System
1.7. Theories of International Relations
1.7.1. Idealism/Liberalism
1.7.2. Realism
1.7.3. Structuralism/Marxism
1.7.4. Constructivism
1.7.5. Critical Theories
Chapter Two: Understanding Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
2.1. Defining National Interest
2.2. Understanding Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Behaviors
2. 2.1. Defining Foreign Policy
2.2.2. Foreign Policy Objectives
2.2.3. Foreign Policy Behavior: Patterns and Trends
2.2.4. Foreign Policy Dimensions
2.2.5. Instruments of Foreign Policy
2.3. Overview of Foreign Policy of Ethiopia
2.3.1. Foreign Policy during Tewodros II (1855-1868)
2.3.2. Foreign Policy during Yohannes IV (1872-1889)
2.3.3. Foreign Policy during Menelik II (1889-93)
2.3.4. Foreign Policy during Emperor Haile Selassie I (1916-1974)
2.3.5. Foreign Policy during the Military Government (1974—1991)
2.3.6. The Foreign Policy of Ethiopia in the Post 1991
Chapter Three: International Political Economy (IPE)
3.1. Meaning and Nature of International Political Economy (IPE)
3.2. Theoretical perspectives of International Political Economy
3.3. Survey of the Most Influential National Political Economy systems in the world
3.3.1. The American System of Market-Oriented Capitalism
3.3.2. The Japanese System of Developmental Capitalism

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 3.3.3. The German System of Social Market Capitalism
3.3.4. Differences among National Political Economy Systems
3.4. Core Issues, Governing institutions and Governance of International Political Economy
3.4.1. International Trade and the WTO
3.4.2. International Investment and the WB
3.4.3. International Finance and the IMF
3.5. Exchange Rates and the Exchange-Rate System
Chapter Four: Globalization and Regionalism
4.1. Defining Globalization
4.2. The Globalization Debates
4.2.1. The Hyper-globalists
4.2.2. The Skeptics
4.2.3. The Transformationalist
4.3. Globalization and Its Impacts on Africa
4.4. Ethiopia in a Globalized World
4.5. Pros and Cons of Globalization
4.6. Defining Regionalism and Regional Integration
4.6.1. The Old Regionalism
4.6.2. New Regionalism
4.7. Major Theories of Regional Integrations
4.7.1. Functionalism
4.7.2. Neo-functionalism
4.8. Selected Cases of Regional Integration
4.9. Regionalization versus Globalization and State
4.10. The Relations between Regionalization and Globalization
Regionalization as a Component of Globalization: Convergence
Regionalization as a Challenge or Response to Globalization: Divergence
Regionalization and Globalization as Parallel Processes: Overlap
Chapter Five: Major Contemporary Global Issues
5.1. Survey of Major Contemporary Global Issues
5.1.1. Global Security Issues
5.1.2. Global Environmental Issues
5.1.3. Global Socio-economic Issues
5.1.4. Global Cultural Issues

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Teaching and learning methods- gapped lecture, tutorials, presentation, assignments, group
discussions.

Assessment methods-continuous assessment out of 50% (quizzes, tests, assignments and

presentations group discussions) and final exam out of 50%.

Grading system- grading will be based on fixed scale grading system developed by ministry of
education and adopted by Dire Dawa University.

Course policy- students should attend class regularly and on time as it is mandatory to attend at
least 80% of the classes. Student must do and summit both individual and/or group assignments
on time. In addition tests and quizzes may be given in any of the regular class sessions. Yet,
students’ active engagement during the teaching learning process is required. In general, students
are expected to respect all the relevant rules and regulations of the University.

Basic reading materials

Balaam, David N., and Bradford Dillman. 2011. Introduction to International Political
Economy. Boston: Longman.

Bates, R. (1982). Markets and States in Tropical Africa. Berkeley: University of California
Press.

Baylis, J. and Steve S. 2001. The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to

International Relations. Oxford University Press: New York.

Booth, K. and Smith, S. (eds), International Relations Theory Today (Cambridge: Polity

Brown, Chris, Understanding International Relations (London, Macmillan, 1977)

Bull, Hedley, The Anarchical Society (Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1977)

Burchill, Scott, ‘Introduction’, in Burchill, Scott and Linklater, Andrew et al., Theories of
International Relations (London, Macmillan, 1996)

Burton, John, Systems, States, Diplomacy and Rules (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,
1968)

Carr, E.H., Twenty Years’ Crisis, (New York, Harper and Row, 1964 [1939])

Cohn, Theodore H. 1999. Global Political Economy: Theory and Practice. New York:
Longman.

Crane, George T. and Abal. Amawi (1997). The Theoretical evolution of International Political
Economy: A Reader (2nd Edition). Oxford University Press: New York.

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 Frank, A.G., Capitalism and Under Development in Latin America, (Harmondsworth, Penguin,
1971)

Giddens, Anthony, The Constitution of Society (Cambridge, Polity Press, 1984)

Gilpin, R. 2001. Global Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic Order.
Princeton University Pres: Princeton and Oxford.

Hacker, Jacob S., and Paul Pierson. Winner-Take-All Politics. New York: Simon and Schuster,
2010.

Huntington, S.P. 1996. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York:
Simon and Schuster.

Keohane, Robert and Nye, Joseph, eds, Transnational Relations and World Politics (Cambridge,
MA, Harvard University Press, 1971)

Knutsen, Torbjorn L. A History of International Relations Theory (Manchester, Manchester

University Press, 1992)

Lebow, Richard Ned. A Cultural Theory of International Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press

Lorraine Elliott, The Global Politics of the Environment. New York: New York University

Meyer, W.J. 1980. “The World Polity and the Authority of the Nation State”, In Studies of the
Modern World System, A. Bergesen (ed). New York: Academic Press.

Morgenthau, Hans, Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace (New York,
Alfred A. Knopf, 5th edn, 1978 [1948])

Payne, J.R. 2013.Global Issues: Politics, Economics, and Culture (4th eds.). Pearson Education,
Inc.: Illinois State University.

Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York:
Simon and Schuster, 1996.

Steans, Jill, Gender and International Relations (Cambridge, Polity Press, 1998)

Waltz, K., Man, the State and War: A Theoretical Analysis, (New York, Columbia University
Press, 1959)

Wendt, Alexander, Social Theory of International Politics (Cambridge, Cambridge University

Press, 1999)