2026 - 2027 Curriculum

We live in interesting times. International Order and Disorder invites students to explore the human quest for order in a disorderly world. Specifically, we will explore (1) the idea-foundations and institutions of political order; (2) the history of international order and disorder, particularly over the past two centuries; (3) the current unravelling of the Liberal International Order built under American leadership in the aftermaths of the Second World War and Cold War; and (4) scenarios for the future of world (dis)order. The seminar aims at a deep and textured historical, conceptual, and comparative examination of human attempts – successful and unsuccessful – to establish, maintain, and adapt international orders. Through shared engagement with texts drawn from political theory, international relations, security studies, and memoir, it seeks to explore different logics of order and to explain the history of international relations in the modern era. Attention will be paid to the dominant role played by European (and later American) conceptions of international relations, but also to nonterritorial, Sinocentric, and Islamic international societies that point to alternative modes of world politics. As such, the seminar seeks to equip MLA students with a unique set of tools with which to navigate our tumultuous era.