This course examines the foreign policies of a number of influential powers, including the United States, China, India, Britain and France, from 1945 to the present. In doing so, it focuses on the problems, threats and challenges that confronted these powers during the Cold War and in the period following the collapse of the old bipolar system; it assesses how these powers perceived these problems, threats and challenges, how they reacted to them and what policies they put in place to offset them. Hence, it also discusses the processes, the institutions and the actors involved in foreign policy making at national level. In addition, this course not only analyses the geopolitical, military, economic and domestic constraints under which these powers acted, but it also considers the economic and military capabilities they relied on in pursuance of their foreign policy objectives. Last but not least, it considers important developments in world politics of the 20th century such as the world wars, the changing world economy, the Cold War, decolonization and conflict in the developing world, European integration and contemporary trends following the end of bipolarity. The course is specifically designed for those postgraduate students who are interested in contemporary diplomacy and statecraft, and who are keen to understand how the world's major powers sought to pursue their national interests in a highly complex post-war international system.
