This course provides students with the background and conceptual tools they need to understand contemporary international relations. The course will introduce students to the wide range of issues involved in the study of international relations including the workings of the state system, the causes of international conflict and violence, and international economic relations. Students will be introduced to the literature in a broad way, to make them familiar with the main theoretical traditions in the _eld. Students will be asked, as much as possible, to read original texts, rather than from a textbook. Time permitting, we will also examine topics of particular current interest such as the evolving nature of power in the post-Cold War environment as well as special global challenges like the rise of China, nation-building and ongoing conflict(s) in the Middle East.