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My enrollment into POLI367B began with paying a fee of five dollars to an online service that instantly sends a notification when a student drops the class allowing a seat to open up. After consistent bad luck, I sat down with a Political Science advisor who managed to pull strings and enroll me in the class.

I was attracted to POLI367B for many reasons. Initially I liked the sound of the course because I thoroughly enjoyed the content in POLI260. It provided the opportunity to familiarize myself with the basics of IR scholars and theories. POLI260 gave me a taste of IR theory, however, I am eager to have a firm understanding of Liberalism, Realism, Marxism, Constructivism and other IR theories. Colleagues who sit among myself on the UBC Political Science Student Association board of executives raved about the about the course content and Professor Crawford’s dynamic and engaging lecture style. This course also compliment my other courses this semester, including; Political Economy and International Finance. Together, POLI366, ECON356 AND POLI367B, facilitate a well rounded conceptualization of the political international system. For the reasons stated above, I was very motivated to secure a seat in the course.

I am a Political Science major and an Economics minor. My main interest lies in the field of Political Economy and Macroeconomic Policy. I believe that furthering my studies in IR theory will challenge my assumptions about International Relations. Upon completing my undergraduate degree, I aspire to attend a Canadian Law school to pursue a Juris Doctorate degree. I believe that a firm understanding of International Relations Theories is an important and handy prerequisite in studying Theoretical Perspectives in Law.

I generally gravitate to Realist theories in International Relations. Thur far in the course it is no surprise that I am very interested in Classical Realist and Structural Realist theories. I look forward to doing further readings written by Walt and Mearsheimer.

In terms of current events, the current relations and discourse between China, the United States and North Korea make it an exciting, terrifying time to be studying state dynamics in the anarchic world system with a realist lens. In today’s lecture, Mearsheimer’s perspective on states operating in a “collision course for war” left me eager to learn more.