International Relations (IR) is concerned with transnational interactions among countries, an issue that has gained added significance in the wake of the new world disorder of post-September 11, 2001. As a sub-discipline of political science, the field of IR examines a wide variety of cross-border relationships among subnational groups, international organizations, transnational movements, private organizations, and even individuals. Courses at HPU provide a wide range of perspectives on global tensions and potential resolutions.
Three features characterize the study of International Relations:
- Relations between and among the approximately 190 states of the world.
- External behaviors of states - that is, with the foreign policies of countries.
- The global context in which foreign relations occur.
Because IR is carried out within a global society that is informally regulated by norms, rules, and institutions, scholars refer to the global environment as an "international system." An important goal of this study is to describe the nature and evolution of contemporary global structures.
A major in International Relations prepares students to take their place as citizens of the world. The emphasis on political science, economics, and history positions the students to become employed by a wide range of public and private sector firms, organizations, and agencies (including NGOs). The B.A. in International Relations has also proven to be a successful undergraduate degree for graduate programs and law school. Many careers today demand that people be qualified to go beyond their own physical and intellectual borders to deal with the issues in a global context.
Program Objectives
Students will:
· Become familiar with various theoretical approaches intrinsic to the study of international relations.
· Work within conceptual frameworks to analyze the global arena of politics and economics.
· Grasp the historical context out of which the modern world has evolved.
· Become competent in a second language as a means to understand a culture different from one's own.
· Graduate prepared to enter advanced-degree program or careers related to this major.
· Understand international relations to include an emphasis on communication and research skills, various cultures in the world, and global systems.
· Explore and ultimately define their value systems and how they make choices based on these systems.
· Grasp the geographical context out of which the modern world has developed.
