Subjects and Staff
 Teaching Staff
The International Relations department of Parahyangan University has eighteen permanent lecturers specialising in areas such as strategic and security studies, conflict resolution, diplomacy, foreign policy, ASEAN, international NGOs, international media and communications, European studies and comparative studies. Thirteen out of the permanent staff of eighteen have received post graduate degrees abroad and are thus familiar with international teaching and research standards as practiced in Australia, Europe and the United States. The department has long maintained a range of working relationships with domestic and international instutions such as the University of Giessen, Flinders University and the University of Leeds. Local cooperative arrangements are in place with the Indonesian Department of Foreign Afffairs and the Coordination Desk for Terrorism Mitigation, Coordinating Ministry of Politics, Legal and Security Affairs. The department of International Relations is therefore well positioned to offer an international standard degree program with strong Indonesian focus.
Subjects available
The International Relations Program at UnPar is currently scheduled to convene ten units with others to be added as the program expands. Each unit is valued at 3 SKS - an Indonesian weighting system that translates to 150 minutes of contact hours per week (1 SKS = 50 minutes). ACICIS students are expected to complete 12-15 SKS per semester to satisfy home equivalency requirements of a full time semester workload. Students would therefore pick a minimum of four and a maximum of five units from those on offer. The program is currently under development, and the full list of subjects on offer is not yet available. However, the following units are likely to be offered in 2010 (please note that this list is not exhaustive; other units will be added as they become available):
Semester 1 (January 2010)
Foreign Policy
In the era of globalization, states continue to play a significant role in creating the international setting for other international actors. Interaction between states produces war, peace, integration, and patterns of conflict and cooperation around the globe. The fundamental question of this course is: why do nation-states do what they do? Foreign policy approaches and models from Starr, Rosenau and Rosati will be used to provide a theoretical framework for understanding the complexity of the foreign policy phenomenon. Following review of the theoretical issues, students will examine foreign policy cases from developed states as well as developing states to facilitate greater understanding of different characteristics of foreign policy.
Core reading: To be advised
The Politics of International Business
Details to be advised
Comparative Politics
Details to be advised
International Relations in the Asia-Pacific
This course aims to describe and explain the development of international relations in the Asia Pacific, understood as a region comprising all countries in the Pacific Rim. Economic and security relations among countries in this region have been promoted and institutionalized through the establishment of forums such as APEC and ARF. Two main approaches are used to understand the main patterns of international relations: first, the neo-realist approach which puts emphasis on the interactions among major powers and how they respond to the distribution of power and influence through their respective foreign policy; and second, the neo-liberal institutionalist approach with an emphasis on how countries try to institutionalize their growing interdependence in the economic and security dimensions. Special attention is given to the role of ASEAN as a group of small and medium powers trying to balance the role of major Pacific Rim powers such as the United States and China. Consideration will also be given to the role of non-state actors in international relations, and to non-traditional security issues including health and the environment.
Core reading: McDougall, Derek. 2007. Asia Pacific in World Politics. Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner.
International Relations in Southeast Asia
This course describes and analyses patterns of interaction and the structure of relationships between the nation-states of Southeast Asia. Various unique patterns of inter-state relations developed during the era of pre-colonial kingdoms in the region. These patterns continued to exert considerable influence on Southeast Asian states throughout the colonial and post-colonial era. The establishment of ASEAN significantly altered the nature of these interactions as a regional system that was susceptible to conflict shifted towards a model premised upon principles of cooperation and ASEAN values: the so-called ASEAN way. Regional stability and economic growth in the past two decades have strengthened ASEAN confidence in developing the region.
The region is not, however, isolated from the rest of the world. Interactions with external states have always shaped the dynamics of Southeast Asia. In recent times these wider regional relationships have also been institutionalised with the formation of new regional institutions such as the ASEAN Regional Forum. This unit will also examine the role of these external factors in the shaping of ASEAN relations.
Core reading: Weatherbee, Donald E. 2008. International Relations in Southeast Asia: The Struggle for Autonomy. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
US Global Politics
This unit covers various aspects of US Foreign Policy and the impact of US foreign policy on international relations across the globe.
Core reading: Art, Robert J. (2003). A Grand Strategy For America. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
International Relations in Europe
Details to be advised
International Relations in Africa
Details to be advised
NGOs, Civil Society and Empowerment
Details to be advised
Semester 2 (August 2010)
Indonesian Politics
Details to be advised
Indonesian Economy
Details to be advised
Global Issues
Details to be advised
Conflict Resolution
For the duration of the Cold War the discipline of International Relations was firmly focused on the issue of interstate conflict. In the wake of the Cold War’s conclusion, interest in interstate conflict has been supplanted by a focus on intrastate conflicts driven by strong ethnic, religious, or regional sentiments. In this unit students will discuss various aspects of intrastate conflict and the various mechanisms that may be applied in order to resolve such conflicts. The Indonesian state has long faced protracted conflicts in regions such as Aceh, Papua, Maluku and Sulawesi that have resisted state-led efforts at resolution. This unit will interrogate these various conflicts in such a way that students may critically evaluate the role of various state and non-state actors.
Core reading: Fisher, Simon, et al. 2000. Working with Conflict: Skills and Strategies for Action. Zed Books.
Indonesian Foreign Policy
This course examines the development of Indonesian foreign policy from the proclamation of independence until present. It seeks to explain each of the different historical episodes of Indonesian foreign policy so that the students may have a good understanding of how Indonesia formulates and conducts its international behaviour under various domestic and international circumstances. This course will also emphasize the development of critical opinion among students regarding the way Indonesia has achieved its national interests through international relations.
Core reading: To be advised
Strategic Studies
In this unit, students will discuss a range of military and non-military security-related issues. Students will be introduced to key theoretical debates within the field of Strategic Studies and the ways in which these theories may be employed for the analysis of contemporary Strategic issues.
Core reading: Bradley, Klein (1994). Strategic Studies and World Order : The Global Politics of Deterrence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
International Political Economy
In this unit, students will study the manner in which inter-state political relations influence levels of national prosperity, and conversely the manner in which prosperity shapes political relations. As is typically the case, these international political relations are additionally shaped by a range of non-state actors such as multi-national corporations and non-governmental organisations. This unit will place special emphasis on political and economic dynamics related to the concept of globalisation.
Core reading: Oatley, Thomas. 2004. International Political Economy: Interests and Institutions in the Global Economy. New York: Pearson Education.
International Relations in the Asia-Pacific
See above
International Relations in Southeast Asia
See above
US Global Politics
See above
International Relations in Europe
Details to be advised
International Relations in Africa
Details to be advised
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