The course is taught with Dr. Christopher Chivvis and is a Johns Hopkins SAIS history core exam. It provides an historical and global geopolitical framework for understanding how the modern global system has evolved. It focuses on three broad motifs: (1) the dialectical nature of the European State System, (2) the relationship of Europe to the rest of the world, and (3) the progressive rise of non-European Powers and the growing challenge these have posed to Europe’s dominant position in the world assilating between hegemony and the balance of power. It concludes with reflections on the contemporary international system and its principal actors, with an eye to defining prospects in the 21st century.
Course