Geopolitics 2751-KONJA-G

1. Geopolitics and its definition
2–3. Classical geopolitics
4. Cold War geopolitics
5–6. Postmodern geopolitics, geostrategy, and geoeconomics
7. Polish geopolitical thought
8–9. Geopolitical determinants and geostrategy of the United States
10. Geopolitical determinants and geostrategy of the People's Republic of China
11. Geopolitical determinants and geostrategy of Russia
12. Geopolitical determinants and geostrategy of India
13. Geopolitical determinants and geostrategy of the European Union
14–15. Geopolitical determinants and geostrategy of Poland
Examination

Total student workload

5 ECTS credits × 25 hours = a minimum of 125 hours of total student workload, including: I. Hours involving the instructor (2,5 ECTS credits) a. Attendance and active participation in classes (30 hours) b. Examination and examination review (7.5 hours) c. Consultations with the lecturer (25 hours) II. Hours devoted to individual student work (2.5 ECTS credits) a. Individual student work: preparing and supplementing notes, collecting and selecting relevant materials for classes (7.5 hours) b. Reading the literature (45 hours) b. Preparation for the final written examination (10 hours)

Learning outcomes - knowledge

The student acquires knowledge of the most important concepts in geopolitics. The student acquires knowledge of the geopolitical determinants of the most important actors in international relations — the United States, the People's Republic of China, Russia, India, and the European Union. The student acquires knowledge of the geopolitical determinants of Poland.

Learning outcomes - skills

The student can search for, analyze, and interpret texts concerning political, economic, and social processes over a long period of time. The student can search for and analyze information obtained from online sources. The student can formulate, substantiate, and defend their own arguments in both Polish and English.

Learning outcomes - social competencies

The student understands the importance of self-directed learning for intellectual development. The student recognizes the moral challenges associated with participation in public life, from the level of an individual student to that of state leaders. The student recognizes gaps in their knowledge and the limitations of their interpretations of events, and understands the need to broaden their knowledge and improve their interpretations.

Course coordinators

Paweł Hanczewski

Teaching methods

Informative lectures combined with problem-oriented lectures.

Prerequisites

Knowledge of the most important concepts in the field of international studies, as well as knowledge of the most important political, economic, social, and cultural issues on a global scale.

Assessment criteria

Written test. Students choose one of three problem questions. Their task is to address the thesis contained in the selected question. For assessment purposes, it is irrelevant whether students agree or disagree with the thesis.
Students write an essay of between two and four pages on paper provided by the lecturer. The examination lasts two hours.
Detailed assessment criteria
The following question, which will not be used in the actual examination, serves as an example of the assessment criteria:
"The 21st century will be the century of China."
Satisfactory (3.0) – reproduction of the basic elements of knowledge related to the selected topic; for example, in response to the question above, a description of the most important events that contributed to China's internal development at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Satisfactory plus (3.5) – reproduction of the basic elements of knowledge concerning China's internal development, as described above, as well as knowledge of China's foreign policy during the same period.
Good (4.0) – the elements mentioned above, together with an indication of China's internal and external problems.
Good plus (4.5) – the elements mentioned above, together with a presentation of the attitudes of other Asian and non-Asian countries toward China's growing importance on the international stage.
Very good (5.0) – an essay comparing the rise of China's importance on the international stage in the political, economic, military, and cultural spheres with similar processes in major powers from the 19th century to the present day.
The final grade may be increased depending on the student's level of participation and activity during classes.

Bibliography

Black J., Geopolitics and the Quest for Dominance, Bloomington 2016
Brzeziński Z., Wielka szachownica: główne cele polityki amerykańskiej, Warszawa 1998
Eberhardt P., Twórcy polskiej geopolityki, Kraków 2006
Flint C., Introduction to geopolitics, London 2006; pol. wydanie: Wstęp do geopolityki, Warszawa 2008
Geopolitics: grounded in the past, geared toward the future, ed. by Leszek Sykulski, Częstochowa 2013
Grosse G.T., Międzymorze: geopolityka, geoekonomia, geokultura, Warszawa 2026
Jean C., Geopolityka, Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków 2003
Kelly P., Classical geopolitics: a new analytical model, Stanford 2016
Kennedy P., The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, New York 1987; pol. wydanie: Mocarstwa świata: narodziny, rozkwit, upadek: przemiany gospodarcze i konflikty zbrojne w latach 1500-2000, Warszawa 1994
Kissinger H., Porządek światowy, Warszawa 2024
Kumar Y., Geopolitics in the era of globalistation, London 2021
Kuźniar R., Polityka i siła. Studia strategiczne – zarys problematyki, Warszawa 2005
Mackinder H., Geograficzna oś historii, opr. R. Potocki, Częstochowa 2009
Moczulski L., Geopolityka: potęga w czasie i przestrzeni, Warszawa, 2004
Otok S., Geografia polityczna. Geopolityka. Ekopolityka. Globalistyka, Warszawa 2009
Ó Tuathail G., Critical Geopolitics: the Politics of Writing Global Space, London 1997
Potulski J., Wprowadzenie do geopolityki, Gdańsk 2010
Przeklęte miejsce Europy? Dylematy polskiej geopolityki, red. J. Kłoczkowski, Kraków 2009
Sakhuja V., Asian maritime power in the 21st century : strategic transactions: China, India and Southeast Asia, Singapore 2011
Short J.R., Geopolitics: Making Sense of a Changing World, London 2021
Skrzyp J., Geostrategiczne położenie Polski, Warszawa 1998
Skrzyp J., Lach Z., Geopolityka i geostrategia, Warszawa 2007
Smoleń K., Geostrategiczne położenie państwa, Lublin 2021
Sułek M., Potęga państw. Modele i zastosowania, Warszawa 2013
Sykulski L., Geopolityka czyli pochwała realizmu. Szkice teoriopoznawcze, Warszawa 2011
The Ashgate Research Companion to Critical Geopolitics, ed. by Kuus M., Dodds K., London 2016
The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary International Political Economy / edited by Timothy M. Shaw, Laura C. Mahrenbach, Renu Modi, Xu Yi-chong, London 2019
Toffler A., Toffler H., Budowa nowej cywilizacji: polityka trzeciej fali, Poznań 1996
Trubowitz P., Burgoon B., Geopolitics and Democracy, The Western Liberal Order from Foundation to Fracture, Oxford 2023.

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2751-KONJA-G in USOSweb