Anotace
International power shifts and the rise and fall of great powers are traditional core topics of International Relations. Today, a key debate in International Relations concerns the rise of new global powers and what this means for world politics.
Against this background, this course examines in-depth three critical debates concerning the rise of new powers and its implications. First, to what extent has power really shifted? Is the United States really in decline, or are rumours of the death of American hegemony greatly exaggerated? Second, can China’s rise be peaceful? Are the United States and China bound for conflict, and if so, why? Or is there reason to suppose that conflicts can be managed and the potential for violent confrontation minimized? Third, is the liberal international order in crisis? To what extent is globalization in retreat, and will international institutions become irrelevant as great power competition re-emerges? In the course we will examine contrasting arguments in the literature on each of these questions, and we will seek to understand why well-informed, reasonable scholars can disagree so strongly.
In doing so, we will pay particular attention to issues of conceptualization and method. Thus students should not only become acquainted with three important debates in world politics; they should also observe first-hand the crucial role of theory, concepts, and methods in shaping our answers to the key questions of our time.