MVZb1002 A History of International Relations

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Vladimír Černý, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Denis Janšta (seminar tutor)
Ing. Mgr. Adriana Ilavská, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Zdeněk Kříž, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites
! MVZ102 History of Intl. Relations && !NOW( MVZ102 History of Intl. Relations )
Ability to read and understand study materials in Czech and English.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 23 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course provides the students with an overview of the development in international relations during 1648–2003. Main objective of the course is to understand basic trends in the historical development of international relations, characteristics of international system and its actors.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course the students will be able 1. to understand the history of international relations during 1648–2003; 2. to outline main milestones of economic and military history; 3. to interpret main historical events in the period 4. to use the knowledge to argument about this topic on an expert level. As a general outcome, the students will gain the ability to understand the history of IR and describe its main trends.
Syllabus
  • 1) An introduction to the topic. International relations and great power policy in Europe 1648-1815. Rise of Great Powers, Congress of Vienna.
  • 2) Concert of Great Powers, Imperialism and colonialism.
  • 3) Entente powers and the Central powers. Processes leading to the Word War I, its outbreak and its consequences.
  • 4) Versailles system, the world between two world wars.
  • 5) The impact of World War II on the international system.
  • 6) Cold War, policy of Detente and its consequences.
  • 7) Arab-Israeli conflict and its impact on international politics during the Cold War.
  • 8) The question of decolonization. The collapse of colonial empires after the Second World War.
  • 9) The formation of the Soviet Bloc, US-Soviet relations since 1979, the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet bloc.
  • 10) Arming and disarmament after 1945 and its impact on international politics.
  • 11) International politics after the end of the Cold War. Limits of US hegemony.
  • 12) Bloody '90s. Developments in the successor states of the Soviet Union, the break-up of Yugoslavia, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the American War on Iraq 2003.
  • 13) International system and world politics after 1991 and its perception in contemporary academic literature.
Literature
    required literature
  • FERRO, Marc. Dějiny kolonizací : od dobývání po nezávislost 13.-20. století. Vyd. 1. Praha: NLN Nakladatelství lidové noviny, 2007, 503 s. ISBN 9788071060215. info
  • HOCKING, Brian and Michael SMITH. World politics : an introduction to international relations. 1st publ. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1990, xii, 368 s. ISBN 0-7450-0175-9. info
  • KENNEDY, Paul. Vzestup a pád velmocí :ekonomické změny a vojenské konflikty v letech 1500-2000. Praha: Lidové noviny, 1996, 806 s. ISBN 80-7106-173-5. info
  • KISSINGER, Henry. Umění diplomacie :od Richelieua k pádu Berlínské zdi. 2., opr. vyd. Praha: Prostor, 1997, 946 s. ISBN 80-85190-59-1. info
  • LUŇÁK, Petr. Západ : Spojené státy a Západní Evropa ve studené válce. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 1997, 460 s. : i. ISBN 80-85983-29-X. info
  • MASON, David S. A concise history of modern Europe : liberty, equality, solidarity. 2nd ed. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011, xviii, 229. ISBN 9781442205345. info
  • NÁLEVKA, Vladimír. Světová politika ve 20. století. Vyd. 1. Praha: Aleš Skřivan ml., 2000, 287 s. ISBN 80-902261-6-7. info
  • PLECHANOVOVÁ, Běla and Jiří FIDLER. Kapitoly z dějin mezinárodních vztahů 1941-1995. Praha: Institut pro středoevropskou kulturu a politiku, 1997, 240 s. ISBN 808524179X. info
  • PŠEJA, Pavel, Petr SUCHÝ, Oldřich KRPEC and Zdeněk KŘÍŽ. Moc a zájmy v mezinárodním systému. Procesy, aktéři a problémy v mezinárodních vztazích (Power and Interests in the International System. Processes, Actors, and Issues in the International Relations). Brno: CDK, 2015, 368 pp. ISBN 978-80-7325-409-4. info
  • VESELÝ, Zdeněk. Dějiny mezinárodních vztahů. 3. upr. vyd. Plzeň: Vydavatelství a nakladatelství Aleš Čeněk, 2014, 605 s. ISBN 9788073804992. info
  • CROZIER, Brian. Vzestup a pád sovětské říše. Translated by Nina Vrbovcová. 1. vyd. v čes. jazyce. Praha: BB art, 2004, 679 s. ISBN 8073413493. info
  • Eichler, J. (2006): Mezinárodní bezpečnost na počátku 21. století. Praha, s. 98-148 (50 stran).
    recommended literature
  • DAVIES, Norman. Evropa : dějiny jednoho kontinentu. Translated by Kateřina Keilová. V českém jazyce 2., rev. v. Praha: Prostor, 2005, 1365 s. ISBN 8020013342. info
  • GELLNER, Ernest André. Národy a nacionalismus. Translated by Jiří Markuš. Praha: Hříbal, 1993, 158 s. ISBN 80-900892-9-1. info
  • HONZÁK, František. Evropa v proměnách staletí. 3. aktualiz. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2001, 767 s. ISBN 807277025X. info
  • LAMB, Peter - ROBERTSON-SNAPE, Fiona: Historical Dictionary of International Relations. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
  • PALMER, Alan. Úpadek a pád Osmanské říše. Translated by Olga Kovářová - Martin Kovář. Vyd. 1. Praha: Panevropa, 1996, 351 s., [8. ISBN 80-85846-05-5. info
  • SKŘIVAN, Aleš. Evropská politika, 1648-1914. Vyd. 1. Praha: Aleš Skřivan ml., 1999, 272 s. ISBN 80-902261-3-2. info
  • ŠEDIVÝ, Ivan. Češi, české země a Velká válka 1914-1918. 2., dopl. vyd. Praha: NLN, Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2014, 493 s. ISBN 9788074223020. info
Teaching methods
Evaluation:
Mid-term tests will be written every week. After each lesson, student will have time to access a written test (5 questions) based on the compulsory course literature and lectures through the IS app on three dates (Thursday–Sunday). The multiple choice test (a–d) must be processed within ten minutes. The final grade will be based on all the tests and included in the weighted average. Only two of the worst written mid-term tests can be retaken. Students will be informed of the retake dates in a timely manner. Generally, they will be at the beginning of the examination period.
The grading scale is as follows:
A 65-61 points
B 60-55 points
C 54-59 points
D 48-44 points
E 43-39 points
F 38-0 points.
Reflective essays:
To be admitted to the exam, students have to write a reflective essay of 8–10 standard pages in Word and submit it to the IS by 6 April 2020. Each essay must include bibliography. Annotations are only necessary if the quotes are direct and in the format of Politologický časopis magazine. Every essay will be based on least eight academic resources listed in the bibliography. At least five sources will be outside of the compulsory course literature. There is no need to register for the essay. Students simply choose a topic and write an essay on it. Before the actual writing, students are recommended to read short texts by Chris Blattman and Henry Farrell containing advice and recommendations on how to write a good reflective essay. Generally, it is expected that the essay will contain the main argument, the data to support it, counterarguments and different interpretative lines, the data to disprove them, and a brief conclusion. The essay should be 9,000–10,000 characters long, i.e. in about five standard pages. If the student wants to write an essay on another topic, it is possible by prior arrangement with the teacher. Students will get the feedback on their work by 1 May 2021. If the first version of the essay is rejected, students can amend it by 31 May 2021.
Essay topics:
1. The role of personality in international politics vs. the logic of historical development.
2. Are democracies less likely to use war as an instrument of foreign policy or How to attain eternal peace?
3. Nationalism as a sign of awakening of dormant nations in the 19th century? The “nation” and “national identity” and the possibility of the political abuse of these terms both in the past and present.
4. The positives and negatives of European colonialism. Is it the white man’s burden really a burden?
5. Germany – indeed the only culprit of the two world wars? 6. Arms vs. control arms. Who starts the war: weapons, or the man?
7. The role of force in solving problems of international politics within the Westphalian order.
8. The Arab-Israeli conflict and its vicissitudes.
9. The loss of the relative position of the West. An inevitable phenomenon or the consequence of stupid politics?
10. China – really a hegemonic leader of the 21st century or The more circles, the more Audi?
11. The rise and fall of the great powers. How easily and quickly go bankrupt or From a little man to a master in a hundred years.
12. Third world countries – active players in international relations, or dull outsiders?
13. Why it is unnecessary to know the history of international politics or Rationalism is better than empiricism.
14. Why the history of international politics is essential for the study of international relations or Empiricism is better than rationalism.
Essay evaluation methodology:
The evaluation will lay a great emphasis on the fact whether the submitted essay meets the formal features of a reflective essay. Essays with significantly different features (e.g. papers or interpretations) and lacking the reflective essay formal features will be awarded F and returned to students for revision. The essay is expected to include a clearly stated central argument linked to the chosen topic. and the central line of argument should “frame” the entire text. The evaluation will focus on the logical construction of the argumentation and the coherence of the individual topics, the ability to interpret historical facts, and the sophistication of the arguments. In their arguments, students should avoid political activism and they should approach the topics from a researcher’s view. Failure to meet the basic formal requirements (the deadline, the specified range, bibliography) will be awarded F or at least a reduced total mark (non-standard bibliographic references, bad language, or a bad typographic layout).
Assessment methods
Completion of the course:
The course will be completed in the form of a written test based on the compulsory course literature (see the syllabus above). In the test, students will answer five open questions (for 0–3 points). The final test will be written only by the students awarded A–E for their essays and at least 39 points (E) for their mid-term tests.
The final grade will be a weighted average of the exam written test, the results of mid-term tests, and the reflective essay. The grade for the written exam test will be counted twice. If the final written exam is graded as unsatisfactory, the final grade will be automatically unsatisfactory.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
Teacher's information
Detailed syllabus is available on the information system of univerzity, in the „document“ section of this course. Students could find there all necessary and useful information about course and examinations. Students are asked to familiarize themself with it.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
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