Case Work in International Studies

Knowledge

You will know:

• The basic facts of a number of historically consequential cases of international crisis, including political circumstances, the key actors and their strategic interaction.
• How analytical frameworks from the negotiation literature can be applied to actual cases in order to understand the political dynamics at work.

Skills

You will be able to:

• Analyze a complex problem in international affairs from several perspectives.
• Develop and present advice to policy-makers or negotiators.
• Evaluate policy advice presented by others.
• Be able to communicate academic knowledge in writing and orally and provide constructive criticism of other students’ assignments.
• Understand the dynamics involved in strategic interaction.

Competences

You will:

• Know how to write a decision memo or a position paper, useful in many work situations.
• Grasp a complex case quickly and under time pressure, dissect complexity and draw a time line.
• Have experience with working in groups.

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

This course is only for students at the Bachelor's Programme in International Studies.

Lectures and seminars.

Compulsory activities:

This course has mandatory teaching and requires physical presence at seminars.

• Attend at least five of the eight seminars
• Hand in and present four pieces of written work in the seminars:
  • two lead authorships of cases
  • two written comments to other students work

See the faculty's rules for reassignment of seminar groups and requirements for compulsory activities.

Absence from compulsory activities:

If you are ill or have another valid reason for being absent from compulsory activities, your absence may be approved or the compulsory activity may be postponed.

• Report absence from or the need for a postponed deadline on a compulsory activity

Access to teaching:

A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, and does not have to in order to retake the exam. If a student have only partially approved compulsory activities, they must complete those again to take a new exam, along with any other compulsory activities they haven't yet passed. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.

Portfolio examination.

Guidelines to the portfolio examination:

• Write two lead authorship policy notes.
• Give feedback on two other lead authorship policy notes.
• The word limit for the memo is 2500 words. The word limit for the comments is 500 words.
• Fulfill the formal requirements for submission of written assignments.

The four parts are evaluated together and given one, overall grade.

You must have passed the compulsory activities in order to sit the exam.

Previous exams and examinations guidelines.

• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Resitting an examination