World Politics:

An Introduction

Dmitry Pobedash
Wayne State
College
 Ground rules
• Make your voice heard
• Thou shall not judge
• Argue with ideas, not with people
• My truth is not always yours
• Can’t explain = don’t understand
 Our plans
• Kegley, Raymond
• The Internet
• Supplementary materials
• Discussions in and out of class
• Mid-term and final exams
• Group presentation
How to Study

use

repeat

write

listen
 Why study WP?
• Just for fun (and you’re paid!)
• For money (and it’s fun!)
• Make the world a better place
– Knowledge is power
• Make yourself a better person
– Knowledge is freedom

And it is my personal opinion!

 Why study IR/WP – facts
• A unique discipline
– Est. 1919 to save the world, still the only
• A solid foundation for career in
– Law,
– Politics
– Business
– Education
• An exclusive club
Guess Who Rules the World?

Epistemic communities
 What do we study?
• Personalities and
• Interpersonal relations
• States and interstate relations and …
• Non-state actors and …
• Economy, Politics, Geography, Culture,
Religion, …
 Need a Map for the Maze
• Nothing as practical as a good theory
(citation)
• NOT reality, description of reality
• No description is the final truth
 Runaway train

You
Railway switch
Decision:
1) Dogma
2) Socially imposed
3) Impulse

People tied to rails

 By December
• Identify global threats
• Survey the “maps” and tools to deal with
the threats
• Learn the academic lingo