Dear students, the updated (2013) syllabus for the course is now available for download. The classes take place Monday 12.30 to 13.50 in J4020, more or less every odd week of the semester (with a break on April 1st due to Easter holiday). I am looking forward to seeing on February 18th. Please read the assigned readings for the first class, uploaded in the SIS.
Put very formally, the purpose of the course can be described in the following terms (see the last year's syllabus for more details): The course discusses the major theoretical and conceptual insights into how international institutions work. The substance and importance of the theoretical debates is demonstrated on the cases of global economic institutions, primarily the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. The focus of the course are the general problems international institutions face and the tools the discipline of IR o�ffers to address these problems. The particular economic institutions discussed are used here as the empirical base, instances of the problems discussed, rather than as the substantive core of the course. The course is intended for students with background in the discipline of IR but other students with strong interest in the covered topics are welcome as well.