International Relations

Our international politics field encompasses a wide range of theoretical perspectives and empirical approaches. Our faculty train graduate students and conduct research in international security, international political economy, foreign policy decisionmaking, and international organization using a wide range of tools, including statistics, game theory and historical case studies.

Faculty: Bear Braumoeller, Richard Herrmann, Ted Hopf, Jennifer Mitzen, John Mueller, Brian Pollins, Randall Schweller, Donald Sylvan, Alexander Thompson, Daniel Verdier, and Alexander Wendt

The four basic subfields are:

• Foreign Policy
• International Organization
• International Political Economy
• International Security

Required Courses:

• Theories of International Politics
• Research Approaches in International Politics
• Research in International Politics

Recent Ph.D. Placements:

• Dartmouth College
• University of Arizona
• University of Kansas
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Texas - Austin
• University of Illinois - Chicago
• University of Wisconsin
• Central Intelligence Agency
• Institute for Defense Analysis
• Joint Warfare Analysis Center, Department of Defense

Recent Ph.D. Dissertations:

"Democracy from Above? Regional Organizations and Democratization"
"Agency under Capital Mobility: Domestic Political Institutions and the Policy Autonomy/Exchange Rate Stability Tradeoff"

"Civil-Military Relations and Strategy: Theory and Evidence"

"The Invisible Hand of Peace: Capitalism, the War Machine, and Liberal International Relations Theory"

"A Dyadic Theory of Conflict: Power and Interests in World Politics"

Majors in International politics are often complemented by minors in Comparative Politics, Political Psychology, Political Economy, Political Methodology, and Formal Theory

Related programs at Ohio State University include the Mershon Center for National Security Studies and the Military History Program.