International Politics

You are about to learn powerful, expert-level skills to understand and speak about most problems of international politics like a confident expert even without prior university education in Politics or International Relations.

"Stop following world news all the time. Start understanding the world"

Trump, Brexit, terrorism... There is so much happening in the world. And whether we like it or not, we are constantly flooded with news headlines, giving us the illusion of understanding what's really happening.

In reality, rather than getting more clarity and understanding, we become more confused. We read a headline, and we don’t have the time to process it, because we are very soon exposed to a new headline, with even more up-to-date piece of information. 

Our understanding does not deepen. 

Our horizons do not widen.

The focus is on speed rather than nutrition of the information we consume. The headlines have to be short and tell us the key message, because very likely we will not read the rest of the story. 

We don’t have the time to do this, because there is yet another headline just a scroll away. So the information presented to us is fragmented. Different pieces are disconnected. 

For example, the coverage of world politics focuses too often on individuals and personalities, just to make the story more interesting.

And here is the truth most people don't know about:

"Knowing facts is NOT the same as having knowledge, understanding and ability"

What you mostly get by following the news are the simple facts of what happens, when, and who is involved. 

By the end of this course, you will know that there are far more important questions to ask. These include: 

• Why things happen? 

• Why political leaders act the way they do? 

• Why do states continue to act in certain ways even though we know from history that wars never bring any good? 

• Why wars and conflicts continue to erupt regularly? 

• Why issues such as Brexit develop in this particular way? Were they inevitable? 

• What are the connections between different problems?

Over the many years of researching and teaching international politics, I am now convinced that these questions are 100 times more important than the simple ‘what happened and when’ kind of information.

What You Will Get in This Course

Through this course, you will gain access to state-of-the-art, research-informed tuition delivered through highly-engaging and easy-to-follow video lectures and practical exercises.

Inside you will learn: 

• Specific theories and concepts which will allow you to take most problems of international politics, such as Trump's foreign policy or Brexit, and speak about them confidently with more depth and understanding.

• How the so-called 'Levels of Analysis' framework can enable you to fill the gaps left by most news stories  you will read on the Internet.

• The working basics of the three most fundamental Theories of International Relations, so that you can incorporate the principles of those theories to your arguments, or you can spot when others operate with those theories even without realizing it.

• How to skyrocket the impact of your arguments with concepts like: system level, anarchy, balance of power, realism, liberalism, norms and values, social construction, bureaucratic behavior, cognitive biases.

• Very specific, word-for-word examples of how you can instantly apply your powerful new knowledge to write and speak about international politics topics which interest you.

• How to take what you are about to learn in this course and start using it instantly. To that end, in addition to illustrating each point with examples throughout the course, I have also prepared a number of case studies concerning some of the timeliest and most pressing international problems, including Islamic terrorism, Brexit and Trump’s foreign policy.

• The university-level material which any teacher will take as a clear sign of your excellent preparation for the discussion or assessment.

• The analytical framework which will automatically take your blog, articles or comments to the next level, demonstrating that you are indeed an expert.

• How powerful but at the same time unacknowledged the concept of ‘anarchy’ is. It is truly a ‘silent hero’ of international politics.

• How the seemingly boring idea of ‘bureaucracy’ can tell you significant things about how foreign policy develops.

• How people think and act differently when working in groups, and what disastrous consequences this may have for foreign policy decisions.

• The biases we all share, including Simplification Bias, Consistency Bias and Poor Estimation Bias, which can fundamentally impact foreign policy and international politics.

• An ability to recognize the missing bits from the media coverage of international politics and to explain what is missing to other people.

• What books to read thanks to my Recommended Reading List, so that you can keep educating yourself with the right literature and really take your skills to the next level.

I carefully read your feedback and adapt my courses to help you learn better. In this big update, I have added new video content to make the course even more in-dept and rich in useful knowledge. Here are the new video lectures:

• System Level in Depth: The challenges associated with the system level analysis

• State Level in Depth: The challenges associated with the state level analysis and which political systems are best for international peace

• Individual Level in Depth: Human nature: Do wars and conflicts happen because people are stupid and selfish?

• Trump's Foreign Policy in 2020: NATO

I have also added helpful Practice Activities for each lecture.

From a student: "Very thorough, well delivered and interesting. The effort put in is admirable."

From a student: "This course is ideal for those who want a sturdy foundation in Political Science or International Relations and a great starting point for more advanced studies, or for those who want to discuss current events or the news on solid ground. Highly recommended. "

From a student: "This is a great course for anyone new to International Relations, or looking to brush up on the basic concepts. They also mention avenues and reading to go further, which is helpful for students looking for more academic depth and challenging rigor. The brief assignments challenge you to apply what was learned to real-life situations and examples. This is an important course in our modern world of soundbites taken as stories and angry opinions taken as fact."

From a student: "The teacher is a well-versed expert on the topic. I've only recently started the course, but his thoughtful approach to the material and its delivery is very obvious. I'm finding the course to be educational and very engaging."

From a student: "Good course that will provide a decent set of basic toolbox for your politics analysis needs. Very well structured and clearly explained with good samples. Yes, it did get my blood boiling on a few analytical conclusions which we'll have to agree to disagree about but.. this is exactly what good politics could should be doing. I hope to revisit for updates on analytics on future subjects. We live in a VERY interesting period of political changes and the tools will come handy. I can definitely see myself repeating the course in a few months/year to ensure the concepts remain fresh. Thanks. "

My Promise to You

I promise that the tuition in this course is of the highest quality, based on genuine university-level teaching and research. It is presented in a highly-accessible and engaging way, designed specifically for those who do not have prior university degree in Politics or International Relations.

I invite you to send me a message if you have any questions about the content of this course.