Profile of the Programme
The disciplines of Political Science and International Relations synchronically have the characteristics of art and science. Politics refers to "art of governing" whilst international relations can be viewed as "art of interpretation and implementation of the relations between countries." Besides, it can be argued that both politics and international relations have been colored by science in recent decades.
Globalization, as it is known, is a process that leads to new and rapid developments all over the world in social, economic, cultural and political fields. This process affects and reorganizes the scientific world as well as the fields listed above, and the professions are also affected by these developments. With globalization, the international political system and the nation-state, which is the most important political actor of this system, are also being reshaped; The role of the nation-state is being redefined. Here, in such a new world order, the field of political science and international relations gains more importance than before. Both of these fields are trying to transform themselves in order to keep up with globalization. Baskent University has designed the program as a political science and international relations department, not as a stand-alone political science or political science and public administration department, as is common in Turkey. The reason for this should be sought in the phenomenon of globalization. The period we live in is a period in which the concept of 'governance' gains utmost importance. Governance; it involves a horizontal, flexible, non-hierarchical network of relations and the fulfillment of the management function by a larger number of actors. In the globalizing world, supra-national and sub-national organizations are partners in the management power, civil society is at the forefront. In this framework, the weight of public administration in the field of science has weakened. The importance of the disciplines of political science and international relations in the context of domestic politics and foreign relations is gradually increasing, and they are developing by renewing themselves within the framework of emerging new forms of politics and relations. Considering the inadequacy of an international relations department that is not fed from or based on political science, Baskent University preferred to establish a department that combines both fields and complements each other instead of establishing two separate or independent departments.
The duration of the program is four years. In the first year, students take courses to gain social science formation. In the second year, they take introductory courses in political science and international relations. In the third and fourth years, there are departmental courses that build on the foundations gained by the students in the first two years. In the third and fourth years, students have to take twelve elective courses that they choose according to the field they want to specialize in. In addition to the department courses, intensive professional English courses are also included in the program for four years.
The Department of Political Science and International Relations is located within the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at Bağlıca Campus. |
