Student guide Faculty of Economics A.Y. 2011/12

The knowledge of political and economic decisional mechanisms, of the psychological aspects, the role of financial markets, of public opinion and of the press, are all fundamental in understanding the mentality and the point of view of different populations. Having enough information on the choices they have made allows you to understand their current affairs and to predict their future development. The focus of the course is to understand the underlying processes which have led to political and economic choices that, too often, have had negative consequences on different nations. The course would also like to stimulate your analysis on the different political, economic and social situations of the recent past and of the present with continuous highlighted links to international law, international economics and domestic politics.
The course is tailored to your needs as students of Economics. To be a good economist, with any work you will do, for an international organization, a private enterprise, a bank, or your family business, it is necessary that your specialized knowledge takes into account the environment where you will act. Your knowledge of the environment will be an added value for your professional training.  These study factors which are all bound together: economy (the economic conditions of a state, of a population, industrial and commercial capacity), finance, politics (role of parties, ruling class and its quality and capacity), social conditions, demographic conditions, public opinion, pressure groups, press, military capacities and above all psychology (personal and collective). Knowing the great decisions taken by those who govern a country is helpful.

1.The knowledge of the history of international relations: what is its meaning.
2.Relationships between the history of international relations and present international relations.
3.Relationships between the history of international relations and economics, politics, international law and military aspects.
4.The main players of the international system.
5.Some milestones of the history of international relations:    
  5.1. the First World War: the main players of the international system; political, diplomatic, economic aspects; the end of the four empires; the peace agreements and their consequences; the rise of nationalism;
  5.2. the economic interdependence among the different states: the 1929 crisis;     
  5.3. the first signs and the causes of the Second World War;   
  5.4. the end of the British Empire; the decolonisation: the economic aspects, the end of          Eurocentrism; the rise of new international players;
  5.5. the political and economic effects of the Cold War;
  5.6. the new relationships between Italy and the U.S.A;

6. Analysis of the following events:
   6.1  The subprime crisis.  
   6.2.  The rating agencies.
   6.3.  Reflections on the Italian financial crises.
   6.4.  Global warming due to uncontrolled production.
   6.5.  Revolutionary movements in the North African countries.
   6.6.  The new Russia.
   6.7.  Libya, the killing of Gheddafi and the end of his dictatorship.
   6.8.  International political reflections: Iran case study.
   6.9.  Transatlantic  relations.
   6.10.The new economy : the neuro economy.

7 American diplomacy
A more detailed syllabus will be distributed during the course

Student will be evaluated on the basis of class attendance and a final written exam.
NOTICE: It's possible to attend the course even if it has began.

- René Albrecht-Carrié, A Diplomatic History of Europe, Methuen &Co., London.
-G. Kennan, American Diplomacy, University of Chicago Press.
- Additional material will be suggested at the beginning of the course