MGT4610 - International Relations for Global Managers

Course Description

This course is a survey of the subject of International Relations. It is designed primarily for students to acquire a broad understanding of fairly recent and current world events. The course can help students to identify and implement sustainable and profitable business strategies in regions and industries with a history of political intervention. Thus, in this course, we will examine the identity, background, incentives and operations of relevant national and supranational political actors (e.g. nations, alliances, NGOs, business groups and MNCs); and the process by which they generate policies and actions that can adversely or favorably affect firms. Firms whose success depends on an understanding of the contending forces in the geopolitical arena and an ability to predict and even influence policy outcomes will serve as examples of the strategic importance of developing and maintaining an understanding of the global political environment with respect to firm strategy formulation.

At the end of the course, students should have a broad understanding of the recent and current world events, some relevant (summarized) history and the origins of conflict and compromise in the world system and how  international relations works. The main world regions to be specifically covered as part of the background on international relations are:

1. Europe and recent (20th century) European international relations and history. Some brief background on Russia included.

2. North America (primarily U.S.) international relations and history from the U.S. Civil War period (emphasis on main events in last century).

3. Middle East international relations and history: the origins and legal issues of the current middle eastern conflicts.

4. The Pacific (background primarily on Japan, China and the post-war period).

Although some history of these regions will be covered, lecture material on history will be generally kept brief. Students who believe they need to learn more about the historical background of certain regions may request additional handouts from the instructor. The background history discussed will be enough to help students understand current and recent events, as well as form a base for understanding of international relations and the current world system. In addition, students will learn the key sources from which to continue to stay current with the international business environment and world affairs.

Schedule of International Relations (IR) Classes and Assignments

#	Summary	Reading
1	The World and You	Chapter 1
2	World Politics in Flux	Chapter 2
3	System-level Analysis and IR;	Chapter 3;
4	State-level Analysis and IR; Application: The Role of Business Groups in the Presence of Institutional Voids	Chapter 4 Modern India (HBS Case 9-797-108); House of Tata--1995: The Next Generation (HBS Case 9-798-037)*
5	Causes of War	Handout
6	Power and Diplomacy; Application: WWI and Fighting the ‘Last {previous} War’, Application: WWII, appeasement and today	Chapter 10; Case: Mintzberg – France and WWI
7	Individual-level Analysis and IR	Chapter 5
8	Application: group decision making and groupthink	Groupthink
9	International Political Economy	Chapter 14
10	Economic Competition	Chapter 15
11	Additional Topics: The Middle East Taiwan, China and business Risk assessment for business	Gilboy, George J. 2004. The Myth Behind China's Miracle. Foreign Affairs. July-August, 83(4), 33-48.   Carter, Ashton B. 2004. How to Counter WMD. Foreign Affairs, Sep/Oct, Vol. 83(5), 72-85.   Doran, Michael Scott. 2003. Palestine, Iraq, and American Strategy. Foreign Affairs. January-February, 82(1): 19-33.