Political Science and International Relations

With Thesis:  

• The total number of credits required to be taken for a Master's Degree: 21, ECTS: 63 + 8 + 60  
• Number of must courses to be taken: 3 Courses  
• Number of elective courses to be taken: 4 Courses  

Without Thesis:

• The total number of credits required to be taken for a Master's Degree: 30, ECTS: 90
• Number of must courses to be taken: 3 courses 
• Number of elective courses to be taken: 7 courses

COURSE CONTENTS  

MUST COURSES  

GUC 501 Introduction to Security Sciences  
In this course; main conceptual discussions on the Security Sciences, which have become a discipline, the threats to societies and the measures taken by the institutions against such threats as well as the current point within the course of emerging theoretical discussions will be addressed and deliberated.   Introduction to Security Sciences has been designed to constitute the framework of the relevant Master's Degree program. In this course; the relation between the conventional security paradigm and the new security approaches will be analyzed through a comparative approach.  

GUC 502 Research Methods  
The objective of this course is to provide the students with the philosophical foundations of social research and with the knowledge of introductory nature to the objectives of the course, and to study and analyze the qualitative and quantitative research methods.   Accordingly; data collection and classification techniques and analysis methods will be studied and discussed.   Another objective of this course is to provide the students with the methodological and writing skills, which they can employ through the course of writing their thesis.  

ULU 501 International Relations Theories  
The objective of this course is to provide the students with knowledge and insight about the theories and theoretical approaches related to the discipline of international relations, and to ensure that the students gain novel instruments to examine and analyze international developments.   In that regards; classical approaches such as the Idealist, Realist and Behavioral theories as well as the the new and current approaches of the theory of international relations such as the post-modern readings, feminist approaches and other novel understandings and philosophical analyses will be covered.  

ELECTIVES

BASIC FIELD OF STUDY IN PUBLIC SECURITY AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY  

GUC 503 Security Governance  
The objective of this course is to study and analyze the "security governance" within the discipline of International Relations, which governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and other non-state actors are to implement in their struggle against the new problems of the new century.   The main new problems of the new century, which will be covered in the course, include the cross-border crimes, international terrorism, proliferation of nuclear arms, contagious diseases, drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, contagious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, armament and proliferation of nuclear arms.  

GUC 504 Strategic Thinking and Analysis Methods  
This course will be an introduction to the applications of the methods in the field of strategic thinking in the international relations.   Various methods of analysis, which decision-makers can employ for the resolution of strategic problems encountered, will be covered.   In this scope; particularly, it will be discussed how and to what extent the employment by the game theory of instrumental rationality and formal methods helps the understanding of the strategic nature of international relations.   New approaches in strategic analysis on the basis of the game theory will be covered.  

GUC 505 Terrorism, Organizational Psychology and Radicalization Process  
In this course; such topics as organizational psychology, political psychology, psychology and terrorism, terrorism as a psychological warfare, terrorism and psychopathy, terrorist patterns of behaviors, psycho-politics of violence, mental background of terror and terrorists' psychology will be studied and analyzed.   Also will be covered such topics as the reasons of radicalization in various organizations, the radicalization processes, the analysis of individual, psychological, socio-economic, cultural, religious, tradition/customs and other similar factors.  

GUC 506 Terrorism: Concepts, Approaches, Country Practices
This course is intended to cover the fundamental concepts and the conceptual framework about terror and terrorism, the reason, objective and consequences of terrorism, the political and ideological approaches, from which terrorism originates, the types of terrorism, national and international combat against terrorism specifically in different country practices, the activities of terrorist organizations (subversive, extreme left, religion-abusing) in Turkey from past to present, economy-politics of terror, technological advancements and their impacts on the combat against terror etc.  

GUC 507 Terrorism and Political Violence
This course is intended to provide the students with an introduction to the facts of terrorism and political violence, which have increasingly gained importance in the field of security studies.   The students will closely study and analyze the discussions regarding the the history of terrorism, the reasons of the same, the types of the same and its role in the international system, and will then be ensured to gain the knowledge necessary to gain insight of place within international security of terrorism and terrorist movements, which interact with media, freedoms, globalization, technological advancements and diversification. To that end, the first section of the course will cover the definitions and descriptions. Then, the course will focus on the classification of terrorism. The following section will cover modern terrorism, motivations of terrorism, organizational structures, strategies and the examples in the world. The final section will cover the policies and strategies of combating against terror and political violence.  

GUC 508 Anti-Terrorism, Democratization and Human Rights
In the scope of this course; the necessity to discuss the combat against terror through a multidimensional perspective as well as the security aspect of the same will be emphasized within the context of democratization, human rights and expansion of areas of freedom, the socio-economic developments and the development of international cooperation.  

GUC 509 Introduction to Intelligence  
This course will cover such topics as the concept, the historical background and the types of intelligence, the use of technology in intelligence operations, the methods of counter-intelligence, differentiation of tactical intelligence and strategic intelligence, the importance of strategic intelligence in anti-terror policies and practices, the analysis of strategic intelligence, the psychological operations, the types of propaganda and the methods of counteraction etc.  

GUC 510 Dispute Analysis and Resolution  
In this course; dispute analysis and resolution are covered thorough an interdisciplinary approach that is based on such disciplines as International Relations, Peace Studies, Psychology and Social Theory.   The conflicts and disputes at global level will be analyzed and studied with consideration of the theoretical and practical approached in the discipline.   In the course; the long term intra-state, inter-state and cross-state violent social conflicts will be analyzed and the possibility and capacity of resolution of the same will be studied.   Also will be discussed within the course, the theoretical and practical impacts of interventions by third parties to the dispute as well as the responsibility to protect and the practices of prevention, reconciliation and resolution of violent dispute at different levels.   Furthermore; such topics as ethnic groups and the phenomenon of nation-building, ethnicity, ethnic groups and their characteristics, ethnic studies and their characteristics, management of ethnic differences and conflicts, conflict prevention and peace-building, conflict simulation, ethnic conflict approaches, methods of intervention and their results, post-conflict peace-building processes and rehabilitation, DDR processes etc.  

GUC 511 International Security  
The other topics to be studied in this course, throughout which the main conceptual discussions about international security, the threats encountered by the international society and the measures taken by the international society against such threats as well as the historical origin of strategic theory and the theories of strategy will be covered, are as follows: strategic behavior in international relations, power, influence and pressure, the world state system and problems with contemporary strategy, impact of nuclear arms, nuclear deterrence theory, crisis management and limited warfare, control of arms and mutual deterrence.   In this course; the relation between the conventional security paradigm and the new security approaches will be analyzed through a comparative approach.  

GUC 512 Anti-Terrorism in Domestic Law and International Law

This course will cover the need for legislative process in the combat against terrorism and the domestic legal instruments, examples from other companies, the quest for balance between the effectiveness in the combat against terrorism and the human rights, and the resolutions of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights.   Also will be addressed and deliberated the threat of terrorism toward international peace and security, the essential necessity to develop multidimensional and holistic policies in the combat against terrorism, the combat against money laundering and financing of terrorism, which are of international and cross-border nature, international cooperation in the combat against terrorism and the role of and the legal framework provided by international law in that regards, the sovereign equality and independence of and the prohibition of intervention in domestic affairs and of the use of force for the states in the combat against terrorism and the matters of conflict that arise through the course of effective combat against terrorism.  

GUC 513 Political and Social Structure of Turkey
The present can only be truly understood with the thorough knowledge of the past.   The current Turkish political and social structure is the result a process of change that has begun in the final epoch of Ottoman Empire and extends until the present time.   Therefore; this course will cover the definition and explanation of the relevant concepts, following which it will discuss and study the political and social structure in the XIXth and the XXth centuries, and will be completed upon the study and analyze of Turkey in the present time.   Also, emphasis will be put on familiarization with the different social groups in Turkey, which has a fairly rich social reservoir in terms of religion, ethnicity, identity etc., the problems encountered by such groups and the solutions of such problems, and the relations among different social groups and their relations with the state.

GUC 514 Security Architecture and Anti-Terrorist Activities of Turkey
In this course; the detailed analysis and studying of the basic parameters of the approaches in the combat against terrorism, which have varied cyclically through the course of Turkey's combat against terrorism for over thirty years, (1980s, 1990s and post-2000s, the democratic initiative and the solution process) are aimed.   In addition, the course will also cover the security structure of Turkey in bureaucratic and political aspects in order for the students to understand such combat of Turkey.

GUC 515 Globalization, Nation State and Turkey
This course will cover such topics as the globalization processes, the reshaping of the relations among the individual, the society and the state by globalization, the transformative effect of globalization over the identities, differences and the national identity within the nation-state, the effect of globalization on terror and the combat against terrorism, the reflections of the relation between globalization and the nation-state specific to Turkey, the re-assessment of the problems encountered in Turkey with consideration of the globalization processes etc.  

GUC 516 Current Problems of Turkish Foreign Policy
The objective of this course is to provide the students with the knowledge that would enable them to analyze the chronic and emerging problems of Turkish Foreign Policy in the post-Cold War era and the policies developed to address such problems.   In that regards, the new position of Turkey in the international domain will be assessed, following which such topics as the relations of Turkey with various regions in the world as well as the Cyprus question, the Armenian question, the international terrorism, energy security etc. will be studied and discussed.

GUC 517 European Union - Turkey Relations and Security of Europe
The objective of this course is to study the security structures in Europe and the security policies of such structures in detail.   Accordingly; the security policies of the European Union as well as the policies developed by international organizations for the security of Europe, the reflections in Europe of such security issues as the international terrorism, ethnic nationalism and international migration and the measures developed to address such problems will be analyzed.   Furthermore; such topics as the course of Turkey's accession to the EU, the fundamental institutions, rules and operation of the EU, the relations between the EU institutions and the equivalents of the same in Turkey, the effect of the EU institutions in the shaping of Turkey's security and anti-terror policies etc.  

GUC 518 Social Change and Introduction to Sociological Analysis
In this course; the causal relations of social changes at macro-institutional level. The temporal change of different nations and different states such as economic growth, institutionalization, revolutions, democratization, dispersion of cultural and institutional rules, globalization and development will be studied and analyzed within the course.   The course will also cover various dissident social movements in societies.

GUC 519 Intelligence and National Security Strategies
The objective of this course is to provide the students with the knowledge about the intelligence society, which national security requires.   The intelligence discipline has a crucial role in the identification and the implementation of national security strategies within the chaotic world order of our time.   Political, military and economic decision-makers can only make sound and timely decisions and avoid surprises if "they know the truth".   The main reason for the said fact is not only the abundance of data but also secrecy, the lack of professionals, who are knowledgeable as to the methods of collection and processing of data, and the inability to establish suitable organizations.   In this context; the intelligence strategies will be analyzed and discussed within the scope of the course.   Anticipation of the needs of the decision-makers, collection of data/information, processing of the same professionally and making available the same for the service of decision-makers, monitoring of the results are, now, within the sphere of interest of not only states but also individuals, non-governmental organizations and private sector.   Therefore; this course, which is intended to provide the students with the ability to supply the necessary data and to produce intelligence at political, strategic and tactical level will be lectured through an interdisciplinary approach.  

GUC 520 Comparative Uprising, Uprising Suppression History and Theories
The statistics indicate that the character of wars and conflicts have been changing rapidly since the 18th century.   The said tendency transforms war from being an inter-state phenomenon into being one that takes place between states and non-state actors or non-state actors and non-state actors. Such irregular conflicts with asymmetrical character threaten the security atmosphere not only at national but also at international level. It would not be possible to properly respond to such threat and to secure order and stability without knowing the character, internal dynamics and features of such environment of conflict that necessitates the intervention of both states and international actors. Thus, the scope of this course is comprised of the different theoretical approaches of the insurgents, who follow a political and military strategy for various reasons, and the different strategies and historical experiences of those, who endeavor to suppress/ control the insurgency. In today's world; humanitarian law, media monitoring, high technology weapon systems, and the theoretical framework of handling and suppression of uprisings in the shade of democracy come to prominence, and require profound and detailed knowledge.   In this course, within the scope of which political decision-makers, diplomats, military, law enforcement officials, members of the media, academics, jurists, the staff of humanitarian aid organizations and civil servants will be studied; answers will be sought to similar questions and problems in different environments.

GUC 521 Food Security
"Food security" has inevitably become a topic of national and international security matters on account of numerous reasons such as the emergence of novel technologies such as bio-technology, the increase in the population growth rate, global climate changes, increase in the food prices and the gap in the levels of development of countries.   In that sense; international organizations such as UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Agricultural Commodity Exchanges steer the food policies in the world.   Beyond that, international cooperation among numerous countries to struggle against hunger has been increasingly gaining importance.   On the other hand; developed countries make efforts to market the surplus products the produce by tap into their advantages of advance technology to other countries.   Considering all of the said relations; food security policies is positioned as a critical area of sanctions in international relations just as energy, environment or social issues are.   Critical Security Studies, being a new approach in Security Studies, being a subsidiary branch of the discipline of International Relations, also covers food security.   The schedule of the course proposed with respect to the aforesaid scope will cover bio-diversity, effects of Gene Technology, Bio-terror, food shortage, food trade, underdevelopment, migration, and the international conventions and organizations instituted to struggle against famine and hunger.   Hence; the availability of scholars, who study in the field of Security with the knowledge necessary on the said topics, will be ensured.

GUC 522 International Security Studies  
International Security is a crucial branch of the discipline of International Relations.   This course focuses on the relations among the emergence, history, theoretical framework and the institutionalization of the discipline in order for the development of a more extensive understanding regarding security studies.   The concepts of strategic security, the Copenhagen School, Critical Security Theories and Humanitarian Security will be discussed comprehensively within the scope of the course.   Also; the concepts of supply, demand, generation, logistics, geopolitics and economic security related to energy security will be addressed and deliberated in coordination with the theories.  

BASIC FIELD OF STUDY IN ENERGY SECURITY

GUC 540 Energy and Critical Infrastructure Security
The objective of this course is to provide the students with the fundamental knowledge about energy security and also to discuss their comments about the concept of energy security and the definitions of such concept through a critical perspective.   The scope of this course will also cover the discussion of the perspectives of the consumers and producers in the global market as well as the transition countries with consideration of the increasing disputes on energy sources, energy consumption and production.   In addition to the perspectives of different actors and the policies implemented thereby in that direction; the scope of the course will also cover certain special energy security matters.

GUC 541 Energy in Turkey
The objective of this course is to study and discuss the energy sector in Turkey in details within the context of the region and Europe.   The course has been designed to study the energy sector in Turkey, the historical development of the sector and the geopolitical position and the neighbors of Turkey.   The specific topics to be covered within the context of the course are coal, nuclear, oil, gas and other energy sectors as well as energy and the energy policies of the EU and Turkey's neighbors.   Focus will be given on the historical background and current issues in that regards.   The students, who take this course, will gain insight about the energy sector of Turkey and that of Turkey's neighbors, and will have learned about the segment structures and dynamics of those sectors and the investments in and investment plans toward the energy sector, development of production capacity portfolio and the reflection of current energy policies to the domestic and foreign policy of Turkey.   The students, who take the course, will also have gained the ability to assess Turkey's domestic and foreign energy policies through critical perspective, and will gain qualifications to evaluate the interests and dilemmas of Turkey about energy and to propose solutions in order for the accomplishment of such goals.

GUC 542 Energy Law
The objective of this course is to study the legal matters of the domestic energy sector. The general models in the legal regulations of energy markets and the different typologies of the structure of the energy sector as well as the way they effect the role and position of the authorities, which issue and introduce the energy regulations. The course will also focus on certain matters within the energy law such as the electricity industry, unfair energy consumption, climate change, protection of the environment in the energy law and the effects of sustainable development on the same.  

GUC 543 International Energy Law  
This course studies the legal regulations of international energy activities. Certain topics such as the general international legal concepts and principles related to energy and natural resources activities and the permanent rights on natural resources and sustainable development. The extents, in which major actors are involved in energy activities, will be studied and analyzed within the framework of international regulations, and also the responsibilities of governments as well as the effects on the energy and natural resource activities of the jurisdictions of nation-states will also be analyzed and studied within the scope of this course.

GUC 544 Energy Economy and Energy Markets
In the context of this course; numerous topics, including the operation of global energy markets, the factors that affect energy supply and demand, the energy sustainability and energy security in different energy systems, the operation of the supply chains for oil, natural gas, coal as well as renewable forms of energy such as hydroelectricity, nuclear power and electrical power, the regulation and liberalization of energy markets and energy efficiency as well as carbon emissions and environmental matters, are aimed to be studied and discussed within the framework of energy security.   Also; energy demands in industrial, transportation and domestic use areas will be studied, and the economic and financial analyses of energy policies, energy models and projections will also be conducted within the scope of this course.

GUC 545 Environment, Climate Change and Energy
According to the United Nations; climate change is one of the major problems of the present time.   Climate change causes the relations among the business society, the society and the governments to change fundamentally.   In that context; the concept of sustainable development is proposed as a normative framework to ensure the reconciliation between economic growth and social goals.   The module is intended to ensure the said background of the developments in energy technologies and energy management to be comprehended by the participants.   The participants will, by the time the course is completed, have gained insight as to the social cost of energy projects, the importance of energy efficiency, and the development tendencies of the social and environmental impacts as well as the international and local regulations.

GUC 546 Financing of Energy Projects
The course will provide a profound perspective as to the three financing matters, being pricing, asset valuation and risk management, within the framework of energy financing.   The course will position energy markets within global markets in the introductory phase, and will subsequently develop the methods of modeling and estimation of prices of energy and derivatives for energy markets and for the purpose of hedging and risk management.   The course will also focus on the matter of valuation, and study and analyze alternative financing mechanisms in the financing of energy projects.   Emphasis will be put on the financing and instruments of financing of energy projects.

GUC 547 Energy in European Union
The objective of the course is to provide the students with introductory knowledge about the Energy Policies of Europe. Energy policies are one of the most rapidly developing set of policies among the policy fields of the European Union and one of the topics, the impacts of which on the energy sectors and the economies of member states are most significantly experienced. The course further aims at discussing how the member states of the European Union follows such policies to become of effective and to enhance their strength on the performance of their respective energy sectors. Through the course of such discussion, the issues that arise out of the intentions of the EU and the member states to implement different energy policies and the solutions developed to such issues are also aimed to be studied.   Accordingly; the three main dimensions of the Energy Policies of Europe will be studied and discussed. As a part of one of those dimensions; the internal energy market of the EU will be studied and discussed, and the students will gain knowledge about the general structure and the fashion of organization ıf, the actors in and the types and natures of the disputes that arise in such market.   Subsequently; the environmental aspects of energy will be studied, and carbon trade carried out against global warming will be assessed within the framework of the EU system. Ultimately; the course will cover the matters related to external energy security and general theories will be studied and discussed on the basis of various case studies.

GUC 548 Research Seminar: International Society and Energy Policies
This course has been designed to study and discuss the relation of various disciplines with such matters as energy security, energy transmission and energy geopolitics. Also, the international society approach will be referred to as a general framework. In that context; the literature offered by such disciplines as international relations, economics, energy law, psychology, environmental studies and natural sciences will be utilized, whereby efforts will be made to produce an interdisciplinary analysis. The objective of this course is to study and discuss the impacts of energy policies within national, international and global context.  

GUC 549 Energy Geopolitics
The objective of this course is to address and deliberate the relation between geopolitical location and security as addressed by the international relations discipline within the framework energy security.   Because, the geographical locations of countries affect their energy policies in respect of the distribution and transmission process of energy resources.   In the scope of the course; emphasis will be put on the critical geopolitics approaches that come to the fore in the current international relations discipline as well as the classical theories of geopolitics.  

GENERAL ELECTIVES  

GUC 530 History of Strategic Thinking
The objective of this course is to study and discuss the theorists, executives, events and strategies, which have contributed to the development of strategic thought throughout the history, through a comparative and historical perspective.   In that regards; the contributions of Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Hannibal, Genghis Khan, Attila, Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror, Sultan Suleyman the Magnificient, Gustavus Adolphus, Napoleon, Clausewitz, Bismarck, Moltke, Liddell Hart, Schlieffen et al to strategic thinking will be studied and discussed within the framework of historical events.

GUC 531 War Studies
The objective of this course is to conduct analytical studies of wars.   In this course, the theories and approaches set forth as to why the wars broke out, continues and how they ended are compared.   Also, emphasis will be put on the assessment of the war on both individual and state basis and how wars could be analyzed at different levels.   The scope of the course will contain empirical study to a certain extent, and wars will be studied analytically through different perspectives.  

GUC 532 Migration Policies and Securitization of Migration
The objective of this course is to understand the management of the matter of migration within the framework of international cooperation and national policies and to study the same within the context of the theories of migration policy. In this course, which will cover the study and discussion of the international cooperation about migration policies and the international organizations and their relations with the national policies in respect of securitization of migration; focus will be given to the results of migration in respect of globalization and the management of the same within the framework of the rules of international law.   Also, the manner such events, which could be considered as historical turning points, such as wars, economic crises and terrorist activities, affect the cooperation about the matter of migration and the extent, in which the emerging structure matches up with the liberalizing world economy, will be studied and deliberated.   Ultimately; the social consequences of migration and the conflicts created by the same will be addressed by way of references to the public surveys conducted on the matter.  

GUC 553 Human Rights
In this course; Human Rights will be discussed through the historical perspective at the first stage, the theoretical perspective at the second stage and the legal perspective at the last stage.   The historical perspective will cover the study and discussion of the historical course of the human rights struggle from Magna Carta to the Arab Spring.   In addition to the addressing of the theory of human rights; the legal regulations worldwide, including the European Court of Human Rights, primarily, will be studied and discussed within the scope of the legal perspective.

GUC 534 Regional Studies: Middle East
The objective of this course is to study and discuss the emergence and evolution of modern Middle East and to provide the students with a holistic approach about the region.   Middle East, being a subsidiary system of the international politics, has a fairly important place in the world politics on account of its natural resources.   Accordingly; the foreign policies of the Middle Eastern states will be discussed and the major topics of international relations in the Middle East will be studied.   Such matters as nationalism, religious movements, energy geopolitics and integration tendencies will be examined closely within the scope of the course.  

GUC 535 Regional Studies: Caucasus and Central Asia
The focus of this course is to address the transformation in the post-Cold War era in the Caucasus and Central Asia and the place of the region in the world politics, and to discuss the relevant literature in theoretical and practical aspects.   In that framework; such topics as the Soviet legacy, the dynamics of the socio-politic life and the transformation in the region, the conflict zones, the regional integration efforts, the energy geopolitics, the threats to the security of the region, the relations with the regional and global centers of power and current issues will be covered.  

GUC 536 Regional Studies: Balkans and Europe
This course is intended to provide the students with the theoretical and analytical foundation, which will enable them to explain, understand and interpret the dynamics, instruments and techniques of the transformation of Balkans and Europe through the course of history. Accordingly; while the theoretical infrastructure of the course is laid by the International Relations theories, in the practical aspect, the historical, social and political developments, which the region experienced in the 19th and the 20th centuries, will be studied and discussed on both country and region basis and within the context of international politics. The NATO and EU membership processes of the countries in the region will be addressed in particular, following which the developments that have occurred in the regional and international domain will be deliberated.

GUC 537 American Foreign Policy
The objective of this course is to provide the students with knowledge about the policy-making processes of the foreign policy of the United States of America, which is characterized as the sole superpower of the present day, and the major issues on the American foreign policy agenda.   To that end, the course of the USA's becoming a major power in the world politics and the development of America foreign policy within the international system throughout the Cold War era and in the aftermath will be studied and deliberated within a historical and analytical framework. In that context; the culture and the priorities of American foreign policy as well as the role of interest groups, the elites, political parties and the public opinion in the determination of American foreign policy will be addressed.