FSS:MVZ157 Sm. Europ. St. in Con. W. Pol. - Course Information

MVZ157 Small European States in Contemporary World Politics

Extent and Intensity

1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Teacher(s)

PhDr. Michal Kořan, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

PhDr. Petr Suchý, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.

Timetable

Mon 16:00–17:40 U43

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 18 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

The course is designed to offer a comprehensive introduction into the issue of small European states research and identify their position and role in world politics. The structure of the course will consist of three parts.
The goal of the first part is to map the antecedent development and results in the field of small states’ foreign and security policy research. It will be concerned with the following points: what explanations of their foreign-policy behavior are offered by the main theories of international relations (selected are – realism, liberalism, pluralism and constructivism); small states research based on Foreign Policy Analysis; various approaches to defining the size of states; the usefulness of the small state concept as such; characteristic attributes and patterns in the behavior of small states in the history of international relations (emphasis will be placed for example on the ideas of neutrality and the development of the understanding of state sovereignty).
The second part will be dedicated to the comparative analysis of the foreign policy of small European states (the following states will be included: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Luxembourg, Scandinavian states, Switzerland, Ireland). The behavior of these states will be described on an individual, state and system level.
The third part will summarize the information from the comparative section. This part will form the basis for answering questions whether it is for example possible to talk of a universal interest of small states in today’s world, or how this interest manifests itself; whether the position and behavior of small states is changing in the polarized international system characterized by growing interdependence and deepening integration; whether the small size of the state represents an advantage or disadvantage in the international arena; whether the fundamental sources of foreign policy lay on the level of the system, in domestic politics (bureaucracy, actors, national identity and so on) or on the level of the top representatives of individual states.
By the end of this course students should gain a comprehensive understanding of the foreign-policy operation and international position of small states.

Syllabus

• 1. Antecedent development in the field of small states’ research, definition of a “small state”, the concept of analytic levels;
• 2. The characteristic of the current international system, the reformulation of the foreign policy of „small states” after the end of the Cold War;
• 3. The definition and development of neutrality in the history of international relations;
• 4. The adaptation of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of „small states” to the current international situation;
• 5. Austria
• 6. Hungary
• 7. Slovakia
• 8. Czech Republic
• 9. Norway, Finland, Sweden
• 10. Ireland
• 11. Switzerland
• 12. The evaluation of the existing „small state” theories in the light of the information from the previous lectures and seminars
• 13. Exam week

Literature

• HEY, Jeanne, A. K. Small States in World Politics. Explaining Foreign Policy Behavior. London Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003. ISBN 1-55587-943-8. info
• KOŘAN, Michal. Evropská otázka a předčasné volby v Rakousku. Edited by Šedo, Jakub. In Evropská otázka ve volebních kampaních. Brno: Mezinárodní politologický ústav, 2004, p. 84-125. ISBN 80-210-3212-x. info
• KOŘAN, Michal. Rakousko a ostatní státy Visegradské skupiny. In Hloušek, Vít - Sychra, Zdeněk (eds.) Rakousko v evropské a středoevropské politice. 1st ed. Brno: Mezinárodní politologický ústav Masarykovy univerzity v Brně, 2004, 125 pp. ISBN 80-210-3589-7. info
• NEACK, Laura and Jeanne A. K. HEY. Foreign Policy Analysis. Continuity and Change in its Second Generation. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1995. ISBN 0-13-060575-1. info
• NEACK, Laura. The New Foreign Policy. New York, Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003. ISBN 0-7425-0147-7. info
• Small states in Europe and dependence. Edited by Otmar Hőll. Boulder: Westview Press, 1983, 341 s. ISBN 0-8133-0303-6. info

Assessment methods

The course will consist of lectures and seminars. The requirement to successfully completing the course is the elaboration of an essay (the topics will be specified in the beginning of the semester, minimum of 12 pages length). The essay will be evaluated as follows: the formulation of the research question (max 3p.); the appropriateness of the selected theoretical concept (max 3p.); the ability to employ the theoretical concept (max 6p.); the innovativeness of the research (max 2p.); elaboration method – handling work with empirical data (max 4p.); language and style (max 4p.); work on the conclusion, summarization of results and presentation (max 4p.); formal requirements (max 4p.). The maximum obtainable amount of points for the essay is 30. The second requirement is the successful completion of the written test (max 30p.). To pass the course a minimum of 41p. is required. Grading scale: 60 – 57 A; 56 – 53 B; 52 – 49 C; 48 – 45 D; 44 – 41 E

Language of instruction

Czech

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Study Materials
The course is taught annually.

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2008, recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2008/MVZ157