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Course Syllabus

MSc in Shipping and Sea Transport: Economics and Politics

Winter Semester:

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND POLITICS IN SHIPPING AND SEA TRANSPORT

By

Professor Spyridon N. Litsas:

I currently serve as a Professor of International Relations Theory at the University of Macedonia, the second-largest academic institution in North Greece and one of the most innovative Universities in South Eastern Europe according to the annual lists of the European Union. I sincerely believe in the supreme academic motto ‘Publish or Perish’; thus, I am keeping a steadily growing publishing record with books, monographs, chapters, edits, and peer-reviewed articles in most of the top academic publishers of the Western world.

I obtained my Ph.D. from the University of Durham, UK; I have taught International Relations Theory, Security, Eastern Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern Politics as a visiting scholar in the UK (University of Durham), France (the University of Grenoble in the Alps), the International University of Greece,  the University of Piraeus in Attica, Greece, the Zayed Military University in the UAE, the Supreme Joint School of War of the Hellenic Armed Forces and the Army Cadets’ School ‘Evelpidon’ of the Hellenic Armed Forces. In 2015, I was granted the US State Department Scholarship in the ‘Scholars Exchange Program for US Foreign Policy.’

Intro:

International Relations is the study of the states’ interaction with each other, international organizations, and various non-state actors. The final yet continuously changing and perpetually ongoing outcome is what defines the political process at an international level. This course will cover the influence that International Relations, at a systemic level, Geopolitics, and International Politics have on International Shipping and Global Sea Transport. Just consider that 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by the Oceans and that a significant part of the global economy and of the energy sector are directly or indirectly affected by the status of security or diplomacy in the Seas. By the end of the course, the student will be able to facilitate theoretical and empirical knowledge of Why, When, and What is taking place in the Seas today and how and to what extent the security and diplomatic status of International Shipping is being influenced.

Weekly agenda:

1^sT Lecture: Introduction to the Course

2^nd Lecture: What is International Relations: Discussion on the various theoretical Schools of thought  

3^rd Lecture:  Theory of Geopolitics and Maritime Studies

4^th Lecture: Sea Transports and Security: Piracy & Armed State Intervention

5^th Lecture: The US Maritime Grand Strategy

6^th Lecture: The Russian Maritime Grand Strategy

7^th Lecture: The Chinese Maritime Grand Strategy

8^th Lecture: The British Maritime Grand Strategy

9^th Lecture: The French Maritime Grand Strategy

10^th Lecture: The Greek Maritime Grand Strategy

11^th Lecture: The international system today and the maritime challenges ahead

12^th Lecture: Course Summary

Grading System

3 hours final exam (60% of the final grade)

and an obligatory 25-minute essay presentation will be presented inside the class from week 2 until week 11 on the following topics (40%).

• 2^nd week: ‘Which school of thought can offer the most persuasive explanations regarding the evolution of Humanity in the international system since the dawn of times’

• 3^rd week: ‘What are the limits of Geopolitical Analysis in Global Maritime today?’

• 4^th week: ‘Choose a rogue state that is facing the problem of Piracy and examine its official policy to counter the phenomenon. An evaluation will also be mandatory.

• 5th week: ‘Is it possible for the US to preserve its present leading role in global maritime in the future too?’

• 6^th week: ‘Can Russia compete with the US in the Eastern Mediterranean?’

• 7^th week: ‘Which are the main political issues deriving from the Taiwan Strait Crisis today?’

• 8^th week: ‘Is Britain a great naval power today?’

• 9^th week: ‘Is France a great naval power today?’

• 10^th week: ‘What needs to be done for Greece to become a great naval power in the 21^st century?’

• 11^th week: ‘To what extent does the international volatility today influence the Sea Transports and the Shipping Policies of the Great Powers?’ (2 students)

Besides the presentation, the paper must also be prepared as an essay within 7 days after the presentation itself to my email: litsas@uom.edu.gr

Selected Recommended Bibliography:

• Kenneth Waltz, Theory of International Politics, Addison – Welsley, 1979
• Colin S. Grey & Geoffrey Sloan (eds.), Geopolitics: Geography and Strategy, Routledge, 2013
• Ruxandra – Laura Bosilca, et al (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Maritime Security, 2022
• Spyridon N. Litsas, US Foreign Policy in the Eastern Mediterranean: Power Politics and Ideology under the Sea, Springer, 2020
• Andrew Monaghan, Russian Grand Strategy in the Era of Global Power Competition, Manchester University Press, 2022
• Thomas M. Kane, Chinese Grand Strategy and Maritime Power, Taylor & Francis, 2016, 3^rd
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BUMHHGkzsM
• https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/breaking-ice-how-france-and-uk-could-reshape-credible-european-defense-and-renew
• Admiral James Stavridis, Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World's Oceans, Penguin Press, 2017
• David Abdulafia, The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean, Penguin, 2012