The tectonic shift is the movement of the plates that make up Earth’s crust. By applying this analogy to the “crust” of international relations, this course aims to examine the changing international balance of power as a result of the (re)-emergence of a number of actors including from the so called “global South”, the new Trump’s Administration worldview and monumental technological advancements such as AI.

The course has two main goals:
1. To provide students with a solid background and the conceptual tools to understand contemporary international relations and to make sense out of the multipolar international system and balance of power. To that end, the course will examine the main schools of thought in international relations, namely, Realism/Neorealism, Liberalism and Constructivism as well as alternative theoretical constructs such as critical theory, dependency and Marxist approaches and the role of gender in international relations. Students will become familiar with key concepts in international relations such as anarchy, sovereignty, balance of power, state and non-state actors, norms and the role of agency.
2. To provide students with an overview of current and emerging powers in the international system in addition to the United States and Europe and explain how the global balance of power is shifting. In recent years, one observes a return of the so called “Global South”. Moreover, a number of states are rapidly advancing in terms of political and economic influence on the international system. At the same time, we are witnessing monumental developments in technology and communication, such as Artificial Intelligence, which, inevitably, directly affect the geopolitical balance. On top of that we have the new Trump’s Administration worldview which is challenging the fundamentals of traditional US foreign policy and its status as the leading world power. The course will examine (i) the role and the impact of emerging global powers such as China, Russia, India, Brazil, Turkey and the Africa continent and (ii) it will assess how and in which direction the global system and balance of power will be shaped in the future addressing also the impact of new factors such as AI.