International Relations Core Areas / Tracks
Listed below are the courses for each of the International Relations core areas / tracks available to students in IR graduate programs.
Students in programs that use the General Core Course requirement use these listings to find coursework to satisfy each of their core areas. Classes from any of the regional tracks may be used to satisfy the Regional Studies core area.
Students in the International Affairs, IR & Religion, and IR & International Communication degree programs fulfill their IR track requirements using these course lists.
These course lists are subject to change due to fluctuations in teaching schedules. Additionally, not all classes are taught every year.
Functional Tracks/Core Areas
Regional Tracks/Regional Core Options
Functional Core Areas / Tracks
Theory & Policy
CAS IR 522 (HI 566) Ideas and American Foreign Policy
CAS IR 535 Diplomacy and Statecraft
CAS IR 536 European Environmental Policy
CAS IR 546 (UNI SS 546) Power and Legitimacy as a Political Tool
CAS IR 560 (RN 560) The Politics of Religion, Ethnicity, and Nationalism in International Relations
CAS IR 561 (RN 561) The Multiple Modernities of Religion and International Relations
CAS IR 562 Politics and Religion in Modern Europe: Church-State Relations in Comparative Perspective
CAS IR 573 International Law
CAS IR 574 (PO 574) Ethics and International Relations
CAS IR 594 (GE 595) Global Environmental Negotiation and Policy
Exception: Not permitted as an IR Core class for IREP students.
CAS IR 599 (GE 599) Science, Politics, and Climate Change
GRS IR 711 (AN 711, PO 754) Civil Society and the State
GRS IR 712 International State Systems
GRS IR 718 International Migration and Diaspora in World Politics
GRS IR 721 War, Guilt, and World Politics
GRS IR 722 U.S. Foreign Policy since the End of the Cold War
GRS IR 772 Classics of International Relations
GRS IR 794 (GE 794) Current Issues in International Environmental Affairs
GRS AN 771 Political Anthropology of the Modern World
GRS HI 848 Communications Revolutions from Language to Cyberspace
GRS HI 849 History of International Relations, 1900-1945
GRS HI 850 History of International Relations Since 1945
GRS HI 866 History of American Foreign Relations Since 1898
CAS PO 523 Global Justice
CAS PO 551 Comparative Political Development
CAS PO 559 Reckoning with the Past: Reparations and Justice in Comparative Perspective
CAS PO 576 Decision Making in US Foreign Policy
CAS PO 577 Negotiation in World Affairs
CAS PO 581 National Development and International Politics
CAS PO 587 International Human Rights
GRS PO 657 Problems in Comparative Political Analysis
GRS PO 674 The United States as a World Power
GRS PO 751 Approaches to the Study of Comparative Politics
GRS PO 771 Approaches to the Study of International Relations
GRS SO 765 Religion and Society
STH TH 824 Religion, Ethnicity, and Conflict
STH TH 848 Emergence of Christianity as a Global Movement
STH TR 802 Sociology of Religion
STH TR 940 Advanced Seminar in Religion and Social Change
Political Economy
CAS IR 520 (PO 562) The State and Public Purpose in Asia
CAS IR 527 (PO 527) Political Economy of China
CAS IR 575 (PO 553) Political Economy of Mexico and NAFTA
CAS IR 587 Political Economy of the Middle East
CAS IR 590 (PO 550) Political Economy of Latin America
CAS IR 596 Globalization and Contemporary Capitalism in Advanced Industrialized Nations
CAS IR 597 Sustainable Development in Latin America
CAS IR 598 International Business Intelligence and Security Practices
GRS IR 704 Global Economic and Development Policy
GRS IR 758 (PO 785) Comparative Political Economy of China and India
GRS IR 759 International Institutions for Finance, Development, and Trade
GRS IR 760 Political Economy of the European Union
GRS IR 765 (PO 759) Japanese Political Economy
GRS IR 825 (SO 820) Graduate Study in Women and Social Change in the Developing World
CAS AN 505 (SO 505) Asian Development: The Case of Women
CAS EC 521 Development Theory
CAS EC 591 International Trade
CAS EC 595 International Finance
CAS GE 531 Political Geography of the International System
GRS GE 756 Geography of Third-World Development
CAS PO 551 Comparative Political Development
CAS PO 581 National Development and International Politics
GRS PO 621 The Political Economy of Advanced Industrialized Societies
GRS PO 842 Comparative Development and Underdevelopment
GRS SO 720 Development and Underdevelopment
GRS SO 823 Modernization and Development in Comparative Perspective
Security Studies
CAS IR 516 Intelligence and Homeland Security
CAS IR 521 Congress and National Security
CAS IR 548 United Nations Peacekeeping
CAS IR 557 Guerrilla Warfare and Terrorism
CAS IR 578 Foreign Intelligence and Security Systems
CAS IR 581 The Evolution of Strategic Intelligence
CAS IR 583 Aspects of Defense Planning and Technology
CAS IR 589 North Atlantic/European Security Issues
CAS IR 598 International Business Intelligence and Security Practices
GRS IR 703 International Security
Exception: Not permitted as a track class for MAIA students.
GRS IR 722 U.S. Foreign Policy since the End of the Cold War
GRS IR 750 Defense Policies of Nations
GRS IR 778 Problems of Strategic Intelligence
GRS IR 780 CIA’s National Clandestine Service
CAS HI 537 World War II: Causes, Course, Consequences
Regional Core Area / Tracks
Asia
CAS IR 506 India: An Emerging World Power
CAS IR 520 (PO 562) The State and Public Purpose in Asia
CAS IR 527 (PO 527) Political Economy of China
CAS IR 570 Politics and Social Change in Postwar Japan
CAS IR 577 (PO 578) Foreign Policy of the People’s Republic of China
CAS IR 579 (PO 579) Japan in International Politics
CAS IR 585 (PO 558) Problems and Issues in Post-Mao China
CAS IR 586 Islam in South Asian Politics
GRS IR 758 (PO 785) Comparative Political Economy of China and India
GRS IR 765 (PO 759) Japanese Political Economy
GRS IR 788 (PO 789) International Relations of Asia-Pacific
CAS AN 505 (SO 505) Asian Development: The Case of Women
GRS AN 718 Southeast Asia: Tradition and Development
GRS AN 744 Modern Japanese Society: Family, School, and Workplace
GRS AN 775 Culture, Society, and Religion in South Asia
GRS AN 779 China: Tradition and Transition
GRS HI 890 Modern Chinese History
GRS HI 891 Modern Japanese History
GRS RN 663 Zen Buddhism
GRS RN 675 Culture, Society, and Religion in South Asia
GRS RN 725 Topics in S. Asian Religions
Europe
CAS IR 536 European Environmental Policy
CAS IR 538 (HI 538) France, Europe, and the World: The History of French Foreign Relations in Modern Times
CAS IR 539 State-Formation and Nation-Building in Southeastern Europe: From Byzantium to Brussels
CAS IR 541 (UNI SS 541) Russia’s International Policies I
CAS IR 542 (PO 556, UNI SS 542) The Reemergence of Russia
CAS IR 543 (PO 557, UNI SS 543) The Changing Face of Eastern Europe
CAS IR 546 (UNI SS 546) Power and Legitimacy as a Political Tool
CAS IR 547 (HI 547) The Intellectuals and the Powers
CAS IR 549 Politics and International Relations of the Federal Republic of Germany
CAS IR 550 West European Integration
CAS IR 551 Social Europe: Identity, Citizenship, and the Welfare State
CAS IR 552 Nordic Europe
CAS IR 589 North Atlantic/European Security Issues
GRS IR 760 The Political Economy of the European Union
GRS IR 762 (PO 762) Turkey and the European Union: The History and Contemporary Aspects of Turkey’s European Path
CAS HI 537 World War II: Causes, Course, Consequences
CAS HI 590 The World and the West
GRS HI 822 Twentieth-Century Britain
GRS HI 838 Germany, 1914 to the Present
GRS HI 846 History of the Soviet Union and Post-Communist Russia
CAS PO 586 Nationalism in Post-Soviet Eurasia
GRS PO 621 The Political Economy of Advanced Industrialized Societies
GRS PO 661 Continental Western European Governments
GRS RN 684 The Holocaust
STH TH 936 Religion in a Divided Society: Ireland 1750-1995
Latin America
CAS IR 566 Democracy in Latin America
CAS IR 567 (PO 567) Latin American Politics
CAS IR 568 (PO 568) U.S.-Latin American Relations
CAS IR 571 Central America and U.S. Policy
CAS IR 572 The Latin American Military
CAS IR 575 (PO 553) Political Economy of Mexico and NAFTA
CAS IR 590 (PO 550) Political Economy of Latin America
CAS IR 597 Sustainable Development in Latin America
GRS IR 767 (PO 767) Latin American Comparative Politics
GRS IR 768 Reform of the State: Political and Institutional Reforms in Latin America
GRS IR 787 (PO 787) The Latin American Policies of the United States
CAS HI 582 Social Movements in Twentieth-Century Latin America
CAS HI 587 US-Mexican Borders
GRS HI 755 American Immigration History
GRS HI 886 Modern Latin America
GRS PO 842 Comparative Development and Underdevelopment
Middle East & Africa
CAS IR 503 (PO 570) United States Foreign Policy in the Middle East
CAS IR 504 The Persian Gulf/Arabian Peninsula
CAS IR 507 The Muslim and Western Worlds — Prospects for a “Clash of Civilizations”
CAS IR 508 Islamic Political Movements and U.S. Policy
CAS IR 509 (PO 573) Islam in Middle East Politics
CAS IR 511 The Middle East Today
CAS IR 587 Political Economy of the Middle East
CAS IR 591 (HI 591, UNI SS 591) The Making of the Modern Middle East
GRS IR 706 The Iranian Revolution and its Impact on the Middle East
GRS IR 707 (PO 750) Political Reform in the Middle East
GRS IR 762 (PO 762) Turkey and the European Union: The History and Contemporary Aspects of Turkey’s European Path
CAS AN 538 Human Ecology of Modern Africa: Ideologies of Attachment
CAS AN 547 Topics: Muslim Societies and Islamic Civilizations
CAS AN 548 Topics: Muslim Societies and Islamic Civilizations
GRS AN 707 Turkey & Middle East Perspective
GRS AN 712 Peoples and Cultures of Africa
GRS AN 717 Power and Society in the Middle East
GRS AN 719 Anthropology of Muslim Cultures and Politics
GRS AN 720 Women in the Muslim World
CAS HI 588 Women, Power, and Culture in Africa
CAS HI 595 Morocco: History on the Cusp of Three Continents
GRS HI 892 The Middle East
GRS HI 894 Environmental History of Africa
CAS PO 560 Politics and Society in North Africa and the Middle East
CAS PO 565 Government and Politics of Contemporary Africa
CAS PO 566 Political Systems of Southern Africa
GRS PO 760 Problems and Issues of Contemporary Africa: Transitional Justice
GRS PO 786 Africa in International Relations
GRS RN 640 The Quran
GRS RN 641 Islamic Mysticism: Sufism
GRS RN 642 Aspects of Islamic Culture
GRS RN 643 Global Islam
GRS RN 644 Islam and the West
GRS RN 645 Islamic Law
STH TM 860 African Traditional Religions
Muslim World
CAS IR 503 (PO 570) United States Foreign Policy in the Middle East
CAS IR 504 The Persian Gulf/Arabian Peninsula
CAS IR 506 India: An Emerging World Power
CAS IR 507 The Muslim and Western Worlds — Prospects for a “Clash of Civilizations”
CAS IR 508 Islamic Political Movements and U.S. Policy
CAS IR 509 (PO 573) Islam in Middle East Politics
CAS IR 511 The Middle East Today
CAS IR 586 Islam in South Asian Politics
CAS IR 587 Political Economy of the Middle East
CAS IR 591 (HI 591, UNI SS 591) The Making of the Modern Middle East
GRS IR 706 The Iranian Revolution and its Impact on the Middle East
GRS IR 707 (PO 750) Political Reform in the Middle East
GRS IR 711 (AN 711, PO 754) Civil Society and the State
GRS IR 757 Transnational Shi’ism
GRS IR 762 (PO 762) Turkey and the European Union: The History and Contemporary Aspects of Turkey’s European Path
CAS AN 547 Topics: Muslim Societies and Islamic Civilizations
CAS AN 548 Topics: Muslim Societies and Islamic Civilizations
GRS AN 707 Turkey & Middle East Perspective
GRS AN 717 Power and Society in the Middle East
GRS AN 718 Southeast Asia: Tradition and Development
GRS AN 719 Anthropology of Muslim Cultures and Politics
GRS AN 720 Women in the Muslim World
GRS AN 775 Culture, Society, and Religion in South Asia
CAS HI 595 Morocco: History on the Cusp of Three Continents
GRS HI 892 The Middle East
CAS PO 560 Politics and Society in North Africa and the Middle East
GRS RN 616 Modern Islam
GRS RN 640 The Quran
GRS RN 641 Islamic Mysticism: Sufism
GRS RN 643 Global Islam
GRS RN 644 Islam and the West
GRS RN 645 Islamic Law
GRS RN 675 Culture, Society, and Religion in South Asia
GRS RN 725 Topics in S. Asian Religions