17.445 | Fall 2015 | Undergraduate, Graduate

International Relations Theory in the Cyber Age

Course Description

This course examines cyber dynamics and processes in international relations from different theoretical perspectives. It considers alternative theoretical and empirical frameworks consistent with characteristic features of cyberspace and emergent transformations at all levels of international interaction. Theories …

This course examines cyber dynamics and processes in international relations from different theoretical perspectives. It considers alternative theoretical and empirical frameworks consistent with characteristic features of cyberspace and emergent transformations at all levels of international interaction. Theories examined include realism and neorealism, institutionalism and liberalism, constructivism, and systems theory and lateral pressure. The course also highlights relevant features and proposes customized international relations theory for the cyber age.

Students taking the graduate version are expected to pursue the subject in greater depth through reading and individual research.

Learning Resource Types
Written Assignments with Examples
Instructor Insights
A slim, formally dressed balding man stands at a podium in front of a huge projection screen.
The Right Honourable Lord William Hague speaks at the London Conference on Cyberspace in 2011. At the time, Hague was the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. (Image courtesy of Chatham House on flickr. License CC BY.)