Why study International Relations?• help understand our role in

the world & how we can change it

• understand how the world affect us

• help understand & evaluate policy decisions

• Understanding the international system gives us a better chance of solving important global problems

This class will help you better understand how we affect and are affected by the world

• Is global warming a threat to the US? – Daily Show: Global Warming debate• http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-december-

14-2009/world-of-warmcraft (start at 3:15)

• Why did Bin Laden attack the US?• Who are our “enemies?” & how do we prevent

another attack?– Daily Show clip:_difference_between Sunnis & Shiites.wmv

How else does the world affect us?

• Financially–Goods, jobs, capital

• Environment–Population growth–Global warming

• Diseases

What is politics?

• Harold Lasswell:–Politics is the study of who gets what, when

& how • International Relations is the interaction of

forces in the international arena

Why take Political Science?• Politics affects everything – Should we send more troops to Afghanistan?• Should we set a timetable for troop withdrawal?

– Should we give “amnesty” to illegal immigrants?

– Why did Barak Obama win the Nobel Peace Prize?

• Politics is serious, but can be fun if we don’t take it too seriously (Daily Show clip)

WHO

• States• Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)– United Nations– NATO

• Transnational organizations– Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)– Multinational Corporations (MNCs)

• Individual leaders

What

• Power– Hard versus Soft

• Security– terrorism

• Economic growth– trade

• Resources– Water– Energy

• Environment – Health

• Note: if you add in “supplemental” spending for the wars, the US share is MORE than the rest of the world combined

How

• Military force• Diplomacy • Pressure– International Law

Issues facing the US & the world• How best to stop international terrorists (Al Qaeda)• What should we do about global climate change?–How to balance economic growth with the

environment?• How should we handle nationalist separatist

movements?• Is a united Europe good or bad for the US?• The answers to these questions often depend on

your world view (“paradigm” – see next lecture)