Material Detail

This is a free course offered by the Saylor Foundation.

'This course will provide you with a basic understanding of two core concepts in International Relations and, more generally, Political Science: international governance and international government.  Governance refers to the processes of decision-making, while government is the formal institutions associated with those processes. These two dynamics are interdependent; it is necessary to study both to fully understand this subfield of international relations. Thus, this course will serve as the basis for further studies in the International Relations field within the Political Science major; it also serves as a companion course or “alter-ego” for the International Law course.

You will begin studying the fundamental issues of international organization by exploring some conceptual frameworks pertaining to governance dynamics.  This will be followed by investigating the three primary ways in which the participants in global affairs, both state and non-state actors, organize themselves: intergovernmental, nongovernmental and transnational organizations.  The United Nations will be given special attention due to the truly global scope of its activities and impact.  Your examination of the formal institutions will include questions pertaining to their structures, functions, activities and relevance for global events and issues.  Throughout your studies you will compare and contrast political/security, social/humanitarian and economic organizations; global and regional organizations and, finally, single and multipurpose organizations. By the end of the course, you will have a firm understanding of the interplay between international governance and government and how they shape international relations.'

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