PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
A survey course that focuses on interactions among the primary entities in the international system; namely, states, inter- governmental and non-governmental organizations, and other international actors governed by international law. The study of international relations and international law is absolutely critical to understanding contemporary politics, both domestic and foreign. This course addresses both structural and substantive issues related to international law. In other words, it should provide basic tools for understanding the way in which international law works, as well as introduce substantive issues of interest to students of world politics. The course will place special emphasis on the role of international organizations in the international legal system, and special attention will be paid to the European Union as an international actor within this system of law. Not open to students with credit for POLI SCI 316 prior to fall 2017
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: Sophomore standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Social & Behavioral Science Breadth - Social Science Level - Intermediate L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Fall 2025 Learning Outcomes: 1. Explain why international law exists. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Provide a clear explanation of the different sources of international law, the various means of resolving international legal disputes, and how US courts approach questions of international law. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Explain why different types of international problems are best addressed by different types of legal structures, and how this accounts for variation in the shape of international law across issue areas. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Demonstrate comfort engaging with a variety of different primary sources (e.g. judicial cases, treaties). Audience: Undergraduate 5. Demonstrate the ability to identify the key facts in a given fact pattern, identify relevant provisions of international law, and apply these legal principles to these facts to build a legal argument. Audience: Undergraduate 6. Make an argument about whether international law is successful at achieving its goals. Audience: Undergraduate 7. Assess the state of a body of scholarly literature related to course themes, identify gaps in that literature, and formulate an original research question in the context of those gaps. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Explain why international law exists. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Provide a clear explanation of the different sources of international law, the various means of resolving international legal disputes, and how US courts approach questions of international law. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Explain why different types of international problems are best addressed by different types of legal structures, and how this accounts for variation in the shape of international law across issue areas. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Demonstrate comfort engaging with a variety of different primary sources (e.g. judicial cases, treaties). Audience: Undergraduate 5. Demonstrate the ability to identify the key facts in a given fact pattern, identify relevant provisions of international law, and apply these legal principles to these facts to build a legal argument. Audience: Undergraduate 6. Make an argument about whether international law is successful at achieving its goals. Audience: Undergraduate 7. Assess the state of a body of scholarly literature related to course themes, identify gaps in that literature, and formulate an original research question in the context of those gaps. Audience: Graduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027