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International Relations

 

Are you interested in understanding the complexity of pressing global challenges and the myriad ways of addressing them?

Learn about the political, economic, social and security interactions between states and societies across the globe. The major includes a wide variety of course offerings that include:

  • the numerous ways that economic and security dynamics shape policies across the globe and their impact;
  • the foreign policies of the U.S., Russia and China;
  • international law and global governance;
  • power relations, colonial legacies, environmental, resource and sustainable development challenges;
  • the politics of international economic relations;
  • international security, simulations focused on solving world crises, regional politics, conflict and cooperation in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East;
  • and the persistence of authoritarianism and the fragility of democracy globally.
IR faculty members offer many co-curricular opportunities tied to their courses, a Human Rights Laboratory for student learning and policy relevant research and practice, community-engaged student research in the mid-Michigan region, and host or coordinate a variety of summer study abroad opportunities with partner universities in all regions around the world.

View Courses & Degree Requirements 

The curriculum encourages students to think creatively about a variety of issues:

  • What are the causes and consequences of global poverty and inequality? What roles do international organizations play in addressing or exacerbating these challenges?

  • How does a country’s domestic politics influence its foreign policy?  How do foreign events affect domestic political decisions?

  • How do identities influence international behavior?  What other types of identities – like nationalism, religion, race, or ethnicity – matter to international actors? 

  • Under what conditions can governments collaborate to address or exacerbate collective problems - for example, disease prevention, climate change, and human migration?

  • Why do countries comply with international legal commitments under some circumstances and not others?

  • How can governments promote sustainability, while ensuring the most vulnerable people have access to needed resources?

  • Under what conditions do countries experience democratization, autocratization, or democratic backsliding? 

Some classes will use case studies in which students will be examining real or hypothetical foreign policy dilemmas and developing solutions to them. Others will evidence the importance of theories and models for comprehending and influencing world events. 

IR graduates have gone on to careers in the foreign service, politics, international organizations, academics, law (including international law), public relations, lobbying, economic development work, intelligence gathering and analysis, the news media, and international business. It is also, of course, an excellent preparation for law school and for graduate study in international affairs or international business.

Sample Courses

MC326 US Foreign Policy
MC363 Global Governance
MC325 State and Society in Comparative Perspective
MC324C Regional Politics, Cooperation and Conflict in Latin American and the Caribbean

Majors

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