This seminar is offered for POL, IP and IRO students and will take place in THE HAGUE
Admission requirements
Participation in the seminar is only permitted if the propaedeutic phase has been passed (60 EC).
Description
What is the role of political leaders in international relations? Studies in IR generally focus on interactions between states on the state and/or systemic level and ignore the possible influence of the individual level of the leaders. The potential influence of leaders is not per se ignored, no one would argue for example that WWII would have been different if it was not for Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin, but the systematic study of leaders is often not incorporated into the structure-based theories of IR.
There are, however, many intriguing questions that can be investigated when we study the relations between states. Do different leadership styles lead to different foreign policy decision making? What is the impact of the images and beliefs leaders hold about ‘the enemy’? How do individual differences of leaders affect foreign policy decision making? Does it matter that many political leaders are often quite old when they come to power for their decision making?
This seminar introduces you to a selection of political psychological theories that can be applied to study the role political leaders play in international relations and use a political psychological approach.
Objectives
Objective 1: Students will learn to think,write and reflect upon:
The role of actors within international relations and foreign policy
How political mechanisms can impact all human decision making processes, including our own
Political psychological approaches to study leaders
Objective 2: Students will acquire the following skills:Appraise the strengths and limitations of political psychological approaches to IR and foreign policy.
Based on evidence and theories discussed in class, present and evaluate different scenarios on how actor-centric approaches relate to the study of IR and foreign policy
Learn to apply the concepts and theories to empirical cases
Method of instruction
Class discussion and student presentations
Study Material
Journal articles and book chapters, all accessible via the library of Leiden University. The literature list will be made available via Brightspace at least two weeks before the start of the course.
Language
In principle, we’ll speak English during the classes. In the case that all participants master Dutch, we might decide to switch to Dutch. Papers can be written in Dutch and in English. I recommend you to write in the language you feel most comfortable in.
Course Requirements and Assessment:
Your final grade is based on:
Participation: 20%
Short assignments: 40%
Final assignment: 40%
Registration
See 'Practical Information'
Timetable
See 'MyTimetable'