Functional Tracks

Environment and Development

The environment and development track offers a wide variety of courses covering a broad range of environment and development related topics. In different ways, these courses inform students about key debates and policy and management issues surrounding efforts to integrate environmental protection measures with the promotion of economic and social development to achieve sustainable development. Some courses focus on the activities of major international organizations and industrialized and developing countries. Other courses emphasize more regional and/or issue-specific perspectives and concerns.

Foreign Policy and Security Studies

The foreign policy and security studies track focuses on the ways in which governments formulate and execute policies toward other states or non-state actors that are designed to promote what policymakers deem to be the national interest. The courses in this track will examine the projection of national power and influence (military, economic, political, and cultural–which is sometimes designated as “soft” power) throughout the world. They will probe the institutional framework for the development of foreign and security policies, the influence on that process exerted by domestic interest groups (political, economic, social, religious, and ethnic), and the consequences of those policies both at home and abroad

International Business and Economics

The international business and economics track offers a wide array of courses in international business and economics and explores the relationship between the two. Several courses in the track also address the manner in which politics interacts with both markets and business to influence patterns of international trade, finance, money and production. This interdisciplinary track covers issues related to the functioning of firms, economies and political actors in the advanced industrialized and developing nations alike and includes courses on both general global forces and on various countries and regions.

Note: Students planning to take the International Economics and Business track must take CAS EC 392 or SMG IM 345 rather than CAS IR 292 as a principal required course. CAS EC 202 is a prerequisite for CAS EC 392. CAS EC 202 will be credited toward the International Economics and Business track.

International Political Economy

The international political economy track explores the relationship between political and economic issues in international relations.  It focuses on the influence of politics on the functioning of the international economy and the impact of economic developments on politics.  It pays close attention to the role played by nation-states, multinational corporations, interest groups, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and other actors in international political economy.  The track offers both broad issue-based courses and region- and country-specific courses focusing on East and Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and the advanced industrialized nations.

International Systems & World Order

International Systems & World Order takes international politics beyond the traditional concerns of state to state relations and encompasses the wide range of other organizations, economic as well as political, that help shape world affairs. Formal international law and the collection of formal and informal rules and bodies by which cooperation and conflict resolution are achieved are also emphasized.  Challenges to current systems and modes of action also receive attention.

Regional Politics and Cultural Anthropology

The regional politics and cultural anthropology track offers a wide array of courses across disciplines and regions that provide perspectives on sub-regional, national, or local history, cultures, societies, and politics, and additional bases for a more systematic comparative analysis. It is intended to enhance appreciation of the distinctive dynamics and patterns in different parts of the world, with special emphasis on the internal forces and factors that provide background and context for both the formal and informal interactions of international relations.