International Relations - profiling: International Trends and Global Politics

Theories of World Political Development

1st semester (3 credits)

The goal of the discipline is to develop a holistic and comprehensive vision of various paradigms and approaches to determining the key patterns and trends of world development and their reflection in the works of representatives of the modern complex of international relations sciences.

The objectives of the discipline are:

1. characteristics of the subject, functions and main methods of theories, world political development;
2. the modern definition of the problem field;
3. identification of trends in the development of national research schools: American, British, French, German, Russian and analysis of the formation of the Belarusian school at the beginning of the XXI century;
4. identification of key geopolitical and geo-economic approaches to the study of world development;
5. defining the types of international order;
6. characteristics of state foreign policy models
7. scientific assessment of the formation of a global network society and its consequences for global political development.

THE CONTENT OF ACADEMIC COURSE

Topic 1. Subject, functions and basic methods of theories of world political development

1. Subject of theories of world political development. Correlation with history and theory of international relations.
2. Functions of the world development study.
3. Basic methods of theories of world political development.
4. Theories of world political development as an academic course.

Topic 2. The problematic field of theories of world development at the beginning ХХI century

1. Globalization of the world economy, its technological preconditions and political consequences.
2. The influence of global processes on the national political developments.
3. National foreign policy strategies in the context of globalization. Isolationist, cooperative and mixed approaches.
4. The problem of defining and classification wars in the present world.

Topic 3. Modern American school of world development study

1. The prerequisites for the US leadership maintaining in the world development study at the beginning ХХI century.
2. Evolution of classical approaches. Neoclassical realism, neorealism, neo-conservatism. Neoliberalism and theory of democratic peace. World order 2.0 of Richard Haas. Constructivism and quantum physicalism of Alexander Wendt. The problem of developing and applying relevant interdisciplinary methodology.
3. Critical theories of world development in the US. Neo-Marxism and Feminism.

Topic 4. Leading European schools of world development study

1. The British school at the present stage. Theory of international society. Communitarianism.
2. Key trends of the evolution of the French school. Realism and transnationalism in France.
3. World development study in Germany at the beginning of the XXI century. Main features of German transnationalism and realism. Theory of communicative action of Jürgen Habermas.

Topic 5. World development studies in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus

1. The Russian school of world development studies. Impact of Alexej D. Bogaturov, Marina M. Lebedeva, Pavel A. Tsygankov. Russian understanding of neo-realism, neo-idealism, neo-Marxism. Isolationism.
2. Formation of the national school of world development study in the Republic of Belarus. Influence of leading international affairs researchers.

Topic 6. Geopolitical and geoeconomic approaches to world development study

1. Geopolitics as a leading area for world development study in the Post-Soviet states.
2. The classic geopolitical approach at the beginning ХХI century.
3. Formation of a critical approach in geopolitics.
4. Geoeconomic approach and its main directions. World-systems theory, contribution to its development of Fernand Braudel and Immanuel Wallerstein. Peripheral capitalism and dependence theory. Theory of technological orders.

Topic 7. Types of international order

1. Formation of international order. The Westphalian type.
2. Legitimate and revolutionary types of international order of Henry Kissinger.
3. Bipolar type of international order.
4. Post-bipolar type of international order: evaluations and forecasts. Views of Francis Fukuyama, John Mearsheimer, Henry Kissinger, Samuel Huntington. Main features of the emerging new type of international order.

Topic 8. Foreign policy models

1. Modeling foreign policy: main tasks and directions.
2. Foreign policy models of Graham T. Allison. Characteristics of the classical, regulatory and institutional models
3. Value-oriented and ideological models of foreign policy.

Topic 9. Formation of a global network society and its consequences

1. Independent network structures as new participants in international relations. Network society concept of Manuel Castells and Jan van
2. Information strategies of states in the context of globalization. Main features of restrictive and interventionist strategies.
3. Prospects for the formation of a global network society in ХХI century. Its main directions and trends.

Urgent Problems of World Politics

1st semester (3 credits)

The purpose of the discipline is the developing of the ability of undergraduates to properly evaluate the events and processes that have a decisive impact on the situation on the international arena, the formation of understanding of main trends in the development of the modern system of world politics.

         The objectives of the academic discipline are as follow:

1. to characterize the main actors of the modern system of world politics, to reveal the features of its functioning, to identify the leading approaches to assessing its formation and development;
2. to reveal the main security threats from the state and non-state levels, to show the role of international law in regulating world politics;
3. to consider the main challenges for the system of world politics: technological, socio-economic, environmental;
4. to determine the place and role of local conflicts in the functioning of the system of world politics, in particular by the example of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (1989-2019) and the conflict in Ukraine (2013-2019).

THE CONTENT OF ACADEMIC COURSE

Section 1. Institutional Framework of World Politics

Topic 1.1 Neoliberal, neorealist and neo-Marxist approaches to the study of world politics.  

The main value approaches to the study of world politics as exemplified by the works of leading representatives of the neoliberal (Joseph Nye), neorealist (Henry Kissinger) and neo-Marxist (Immanuel Wallerstein) movements. The views on world political processes of representatives of Islamic fundamentalism, anti-globalism and some alternative approaches. 

Topic 1.2. The system of world politics at the beginning of the 21st century.

         The structure of the modern system of world politics. Transformations undergone by the actors of world politics at the beginning of the 21st century. Changes in the ratio of the influence of nation states, interstate regions, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, TNCs and TNBs, and prominent individuals on the course of world politics.

Topic 1.3. The functioning of the modern system of world politics.

         Features of the functioning of world politics system in the 21st century. The use of soft and hard power. Smart and sharp power. The new features of globalization. The process of democratization of the world. Strengthening of nationalism and radicalism in the world. The problem of global controllability.

Section 2. Confronting Challenges in World Politics

Topic 2.1 Security threats in world politics emanating from the state level.

         The different levels of the category international security. The policies of nation states as a source of threats on the world stage. The role of the UN Security Council in maintaining international peace and security. The role of the OSCE in ensuring European security. Activities of regional organizations in the sphere of politico-military security (NATO, the SCO, the CSTO).

Topic 2.2. Security threats in world politics emanating from the non-state level.

         New threats and new actors in the sphere of politico-military security at the beginning of the 21st century. The threat of international terrorism. International organized crime. The complexities of confronting cybercrime. Fake news and other threats in the information space.

Topic 2.3. The role of international law in regulating world politics.

         The problem of the relationship between the principles of the territorial integrity of states and the self-determination of peoples in international law. The problem of the relationship between the principle of national sovereignty and humanitarian intervention by the international community. The grounds for armed intervention in world politics. Types of international armed intervention.

Section 3. Traditional and New Challenges for World Politics

Topic 3.1 Technological challenges to the global policy system.

         Sources and consequences of the scientific and technological revolution. Opportunities and challenges for ensuring innovative development of the world economy and individual states. New technologies as a means of solving socioeconomic and political problems. ICT as a challenge to traditional forms of governance. Artificial Intelligence: an existential threat to humanity or the most effective way to counter existing and future threats.

Topic 3.2. Socioeconomic challenges for the system of global politics.

         Features of the development of the post-industrial economy at the beginning of the 21st century. The problem of socio-economic inequality as a challenge for world politics. The impact of the scarcity of a range of natural resources on world politics. Regional economic integration. The role of economic mega-partnerships in the modern system of international relations. 

Topic 3.3. Environmental challenges for the system of world politics.

         Global, regional and national environmental problems. Activities of the international community to confront global environmental challenges. The role of ecological challenges in the emergence of green economy, green politics and non-ethnic and non-elitist forms of mass consolidation. 

Section 4. The Problem of Political Conflict Resolution

Topic 4.1 Local conflicts as a form of world politics.

         International and non-international armed conflicts. S. Huntington's concept of the clash of civilizations. Symmetrical, asymmetrical and identity conflicts in world politics. Separatist movements. Forms of secession. Strategies of impact on local conflict in the contemporary system of international relations.

Topic 4.2. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (1989-2019).

         Sources and causes of the unleashing of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The role of the union and republic governments in the escalation of the conflict during the existence of the USSR. The consequences of the armed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding areas. The positions of the parties to the conflict. Possible scenarios for overcoming it. The role of international mediators in the process of seeking solutions to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Topic 4.3. The conflict in Ukraine (2013-2019).

         The causes of the second Maidan in Ukraine (2013). The direct and indirect participants in the conflict in Ukraine. Consequences of the annexation. Armed conflict in the East of Ukraine. International efforts to localise and de-escalate it. The Minsk agreements. Methods of conflict resolution during the presidency of Petro Poroshenko and approaches of President Vladimir Zelensky. International consequences of the Ukrainian conflict.

Geopolitics

1st semester (3 credits)

The goal of the discipline is to contribute to the formation of students' skills to analyze the potential, multi-vector and multi-variant geopolitical development of states, unions of states and individual regions on the basis of mastering the basic geopolitical concepts of modern world development.

The objectives of the discipline are:

1. consider the subject of the academic discipline from three angles: as a scientific discipline, as a branch of knowledge and as a practical mechanism for the realization of state interests;
2. to reveal the goals, objectives, categories, and functions of geopolitics and geostrategy;
3. to trace the development of geopolitical concepts in the XIX and XXI century;
4. to characterize the processes of formation and development of geopolitical thought in Russia;
5. identify and assess the geopolitical position of the Republic of Belarus;
6. identify the main approaches to the geopolitical structuring of the world;
7. determine the place of the post-Soviet place in the global political situation;
8. to establish the place and role of Atlanticism in modern geopolitics, including the role of the United States;
9. to trace the geopolitical transformation under the auspices of the EU;
10. to determine the features of China's functioning in the current geopolitical balance of power;
11. to characterize the countries of the Middle East and South Asia as objects and subjects in the global balance of power;
12. to reveal the specifics of the geopolitics of the countries of Africa and Latin America.

 

CONTENT OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL

Topic 1. Introduction. The subject of geopolitics, its modern understanding

1. The subject of geopolitics.
2. The term of modern geopolitics
3. Geopolitical and geostrategic picture of the modern world

 

Topic 2 The evolution of geopolitical concepts. in the West in the XIX-XX c.

1. Ratzel and the German School of Geostrategy
2. Geopolitical doctrine of R. Kjellen
3. Mackinder's views on geostrategy
4. Mahan as a founder of the concept of sea power
5. Geopolitics and geopolitical concepts of the second half of the twentieth
6. The basic conceptual approaches of geopolitics in the works of N. Spykman

Topic 3. Formation and development of geopolitic al thought in Russia. Geopolitical position of the Republic of Belarus

1. The origins of Russian geopolitics and geostrategy
2. The geopolitical context of the formation of the Russian alternative civilization
3. The concepts of the Eurasianism and their modern P. Savitsky, P. Gumilev and others.
4. Contemporary geopolitical views in Russia
   • Modern legal nationalistic geopolitical concepts in Russia
   • Patriotic and moderatecentrist concepts in modern Russian geopolitics
5. Reflection of Russian geopolitical concepts in the foreign policy of the Russian Federation
6. Geopolitical orientation of the Republic of Belarus
   • Geopolitical features of the localization of Belarus in the modern world;
   • Implementation of the principle of multi-vector foreign policy of the Republic of Belarus

 

Topic 4. Basic approaches to modern geopolitical structuring of the world

1. Geopolitical teachings about the divergence of countries and peoples
2. Ideas of mondialism in geopolitics
3. Civilizational development of the world and the concept of Huntington
4. "Clash of Civilizations" and the discuss ion around the concepts of neomondialism
5. Centripetal trends in world politics
6. Impact of globalization on contemporary geopolitics
7. Regional conflicts and their impact on the geopolitical picture of the world
8. Influence of scientific and technological revolution on the geopolitical picture o f the world
9. Geopolitical context of information secur ity
10. The concept of cyber power, information and cyber warfare

 

Topic 5. Post-Soviet space and its place in the geopolitical development of the world

1. Geopolitical context of the collapse of the USSR
2. Geopolitical alignment in the post-Soviet space (since mid-2008)
3. 1. Geopolitical position of the subjects of the CIS;
4. 2. Contemporary problems of collective security in the post-Soviet space;
5. 3. The evolution of the geopolitical status of post-Soviet Russia;
6. 4. Russian leadership in the post-Soviet space as an embodiment of the concept of neo-Eurasianism
7. 5. Belarus in the system of modern geopolitical relations
8. 6. Independent Ukraine in regional and world geopolitics;
9. 7. Geopolitical knot of relations in the post-Soviet South Caucasus;
10. 8. Geopolitical prospects of Moldova's survival;
11. 9. Geopolitical interests of the post-Soviet countries of Central Asia.
12. The place of the CIS countries in the modern geopolitics of the leading states of

the world

3. 1. Russia, the European Union and their common neighbors in modern

geopolitics;

3. 2. Problems of geopolitical self-identification in the post-Soviet space;
4. 3. Evolution of modern foreign policy vectors of Ukraine's development;
5. 4. Global reaction to the demonstration of the geopolitical power of the Russian

Federation.

 

Topic 6. The place and role of Atlanticism in modern geopolitics. Role of the USA

1. Modern school of US geopolitics
2. Features of the geopolitical position of the United States.
3. Geopolitical aspects of the collapse of the unipolar world
4. Superpower of the United States in the new conditions of globalization

 

Topic 7. Geopolitical transformation under the auspices of the EU

1. Geopolitical concepts of structuring the European space
2. Regional aspects of geopolitics and geostrategy of the EU
3. EU and Eastern European countries
4. Fundamentals of EU geopolitical security
5. EU's Eastern Partnership policy, The European Neighborhood Policy

 

Topic 8. China in the modern world

1. Features of the geopolitical strategy of the PRC
2. 1. The main lines of geopolitics of the PRC
3. 2. Concepts that make up the geopolitical doctrine of the PRC
4. 3. China's Geo-economic Strategy
5. 4. External strategic and military-strategic goals of the PRC in the XXI century.
6. China and the post-Soviet space
7. 1. Chinese geopolitical Eurasian superproject
8. Geopolitics of the PRC in Africa and Latin America
9. China's rivalry with the US and the EU on the geopolitical map of the world

 

Topic 9. Geopolitical orientation of the countries of South, South-West and South-East Asia

1. Trends in the regional geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific region
2. Geopolitical factors of India's development and its role in the modernization of the world
3. Afghan-Pakistani geopolitical zone
4. Iran in the modern world
5. Geopolitics of the Middle East
6. Influence of Islamism on the geopolitics of Muslim countries

 

Topic 10. Geopolitics of Africa and Latin America

1. Geopolitical features of African countries
2. Mutual influence of natural resources and geopolitics of African states
3. The alienation of Africa from world geopolitical processes
4. Geopolitical factors of stability in Africa
5. Geostrategic position of South Africa
6. The special role of South Africa in Africa
7. Geopolitical alignment of Latin American countries
8. Modern geopolitical shifts in Latin America
9. Conclusion. The main conclusions of the lecture course.

Research Seminar

1st semester

THE CONTENT OF ACADEMIC COURSE

Section 1. A topic and a research plan.

Purpose, subject and object of a research. Formulating the problem. Problem construction. Justification of the problem. Structure and the detailed plan of a dissertation.

Section 2. Working with sources of the information: methodology and planning technique.

Drawing up a long-term plan. Drawing up a schedule of the working week. Elements of network planning. Documentary sources. Catalogs, bibliographic indexes. The sequence of searching for documentary sources of information. Methodology for working with literature. Search for literature on the topic.

Section 3. Methodology for the preparation and execution of the thesis.

Scientific literature on the topic. Scientific facts. The structure of the content of the stages of the research process. Analysis of the state of the problem under study. Methodology for the preparation of scientific and literary work. Work registration rules. Formation of an idea and drawing up a preliminary plan. Selection and preparation of materials. Manuscript processing. Typical structure of a printed work.

Section 4. The leading role of theory and methodology in scientific knowledge

Topic 4.1. Theory as a form of scientific knowledge. Substantial essence of scientific theory and its constituent components. Classification of scientific theories. Functions of scientific theory.

Topic 4.2. Methodology as a scientific and academic discipline. Features of modern research methodology of the history of international relations and foreign policy.

Topic 4.3. Social functions of research on the history of international relations and foreign policy: memory function, scientific and cognitive, educational, ideological and political. Historical consciousness and historical memory. Historical consciousness and historical science. Objectivity and reliability of historical knowledge.

Topic 4.4. Research principles on the history of international relations and foreign policy: objectivity, historicism, consistency, and values in history.

Topic 4.5. Formation of the science of international relations. International relations as an academic discipline and a product of modern philosophy. Three waves of debate in the international relations political realism versus political idealism; modernists versus traditionalists; rationalism versus reflectivism.

Section 5. Methods and methodology

Topic 5.1. Historians and philosophers of the 19th century: ideas about international relations of the past. Positivism. Formation of historiographic schools. Critical method and principles of historical research. Positivism, Marxism, neo-Kantianism.

Topic 5.2. History in the XX century: crises and revolutions in historical knowledge. The relativity of historical knowledge. Economic history. Civilizational and cultural-historical approaches to the study of the past. History as a problem. "New Historical Science". Social history and historical anthropology. "New local history" and microhistory. Modernist and postmodern paradigms.

Topic 5.3. Modern historical science: new problems and approaches. Sociocultural history, historical biography, "new biographical history", intellectual history and international studies.

Topic 5.4. Positivist paradigms in international relations (classical theories). Realism (first paradigm): classical, geopolitical, neorealism (structuralism). Liberalism (second paradigm): classical, neoliberalism, institutionalism, theories of globalization. English school in international relations (intermediate paradigm). Marxism (third paradigm).

Topic 5.5. Post-positivist paradigms: critical theory, postmodernism, feminism, historical sociology, constructivism.

Section 6. International research: concept, structure, and methods

Topic 6.1. The concept of the method and its place in the science of international relations. Methodology and method. Classification of scientific methods. Research strategy.

Topic 6.2. The logic of international research. International research and its types. Research stages. Research elements.

Topic 6.3. Conceptual apparatus as a tool for international research. Scientific categories, concepts and their varieties. Methods for working with concepts in international studies.

Section 7. Methods of collecting information on the history of international relations and foreign policy

Topic 7.1. Search and selection. Methods for finding documentary information. Methods for analytical and synthetic processing of scientific information. Selective research in the practice of an international historian.

Topic 7.2. Methods for analyzing sources on the history of international relations and foreign policy. Methods for formalizing information from diplomatic and other sources. Special methods of text analysis.

Topic 7.3. Sociological tools in international studies. Oral history as a technology for collecting information. Organizational and methodological problems of sociological research. Sociological survey: types, technology. Sociological observation.

Section 8. Methods of systematization in international research

Topic 8.1. Data Models: Text and Numeric. Scheme. Map.

Topic 8.2. Statistical methods for systematizing international information. Data summary. Grouping method in scientific research. Statistical tables. Graphical representation of numerical data.

Topic 8.3. Computer data models. Technologies for processing textual information and numerical data. Database technologies. Image processing technologies. Geoinformation technologies. Multimedia technologies. Expert systems.

Section 9. Methods of analysis in international research

Topic 9.1. Traditional methods of analysis: structural and functional approaches. Basic methods of international research. Logical procedures. Classifications and their role in understanding international processes. Typology. System analysis.

Topic 9.2. International phenomena and processes in the context of causal analysis. Historical and dynamic analysis. Historical and comparative method. Historical and genetic method.

Topic 9.3. Mathematical and statistical methods of analysis in the study of international relations and foreign policy. Statistics and international research. Statistical indicators and their types. Average values. Variation indicators. Analysis of the dynamics of international processes. Correlation analysis. Multivariate statistics and modeling.

Section 10. Qualification scientific work in the Republic of Belarus

Topic 10.1. Types of qualifying scientific works.

Topic 10.2. Basic requirements for qualifying research papers.

Topic 10.3. Registration of structural parts of qualifying scientific work.

Section 11. Scientific ethics in the process of research activities

Topic 11.1. Scientific ethics as a criterion for the objectivity and independence of the researcher.

Topic 11.2. Technical errors in qualifying work and how to correct them.

Topic 11.3. Establishment of plagiarism as an illegal act in relation to intellectual property.

Topic 11.4. Methods and criteria for checking scientific research for plagiarism and incorrect borrowing.

Section 12. Personal presentation of the main provisions of master's thesis

Topic 12.1. Criteria for determining the relevance, research object, research subject, essence of the dissertation novelty.

Topic 12.2. Characteristics of the provisions submitted for the defense of the thesis.

Topic 12.3. Thematic disclosure of each part of the thesis.

Topic 12.4. Completeness and sufficiency of the use of bibliography.

Topic 12.5. Validity of the formulated conclusions and generalizations

Topic 12.6. Results of approbation / practical implementation of the dissertation results.

Topic 12.7. The results of checking the dissertation for plagiarism and incorrect borrowing.

Research Seminar

3st semester (6 credits)

THE CONTENT OF ACADEMIC COURSE

Section 1. A topic and a research plan.

Purpose, subject and object of a research. Formulating the problem. Problem construction. Justification of the problem. Structure and the detailed plan of a dissertation.

Section 2. Working with sources of the information: methodology and planning technique.

Drawing up a long-term plan. Drawing up a schedule of the working week. Elements of network planning. Documentary sources. Catalogs, bibliographic indexes. The sequence of searching for documentary sources of information. Methodology for working with literature. Search for literature on the topic.

Section 3. Methodology for the preparation and execution of the thesis.

Scientific literature on the topic. Scientific facts. The structure of the content of the stages of the research process. Analysis of the state of the problem under study. Methodology for the preparation of scientific and literary work. Work registration rules. Formation of an idea and drawing up a preliminary plan. Selection and preparation of materials. Manuscript processing. Typical structure of a printed work.

Section 4. The leading role of theory and methodology in scientific knowledge

Topic 4.1. Theory as a form of scientific knowledge. Substantial essence of scientific theory and its constituent components. Classification of scientific theories. Functions of scientific theory.

Topic 4.2. Methodology as a scientific and academic discipline. Features of modern research methodology of the history of international relations and foreign policy.

Topic 4.3. Social functions of research on the history of international relations and foreign policy: memory function, scientific and cognitive, educational, ideological and political. Historical consciousness and historical memory. Historical consciousness and historical science. Objectivity and reliability of historical knowledge.

Topic 4.4. Research principles on the history of international relations and foreign policy: objectivity, historicism, consistency, and values in history.

Topic 4.5. Formation of the science of international relations. International relations as an academic discipline and a product of modern philosophy. Three waves of debate in the international relations political realism versus political idealism; modernists versus traditionalists; rationalism versus reflectivism.

Section 5. Methods and methodology

Topic 5.1. Historians and philosophers of the 19th century: ideas about international relations of the past. Positivism. Formation of historiographic schools. Critical method and principles of historical research. Positivism, Marxism, neo-Kantianism.

Topic 5.2. History in the XX century: crises and revolutions in historical knowledge. The relativity of historical knowledge. Economic history. Civilizational and cultural-historical approaches to the study of the past. History as a problem. "New Historical Science". Social history and historical anthropology. "New local history" and microhistory. Modernist and postmodern paradigms.

Topic 5.3. Modern historical science: new problems and approaches. Sociocultural history, historical biography, "new biographical history", intellectual history and international studies.

Topic 5.4. Positivist paradigms in international relations (classical theories). Realism (first paradigm): classical, geopolitical, neorealism (structuralism). Liberalism (second paradigm): classical, neoliberalism, institutionalism, theories of globalization. English school in international relations (intermediate paradigm). Marxism (third paradigm).

Topic 5.5. Post-positivist paradigms: critical theory, postmodernism, feminism, historical sociology, constructivism.

Section 6. International research: concept, structure, and methods

Topic 6.1. The concept of the method and its place in the science of international relations. Methodology and method. Classification of scientific methods. Research strategy.

Topic 6.2. The logic of international research. International research and its types. Research stages. Research elements.

Topic 6.3. Conceptual apparatus as a tool for international research. Scientific categories, concepts and their varieties. Methods for working with concepts in international studies.

Section 7. Methods of collecting information on the history of international relations and foreign policy

Topic 7.1. Search and selection. Methods for finding documentary information. Methods for analytical and synthetic processing of scientific information. Selective research in the practice of an international historian.

Topic 7.2. Methods for analyzing sources on the history of international relations and foreign policy. Methods for formalizing information from diplomatic and other sources. Special methods of text analysis.

Topic 7.3. Sociological tools in international studies. Oral history as a technology for collecting information. Organizational and methodological problems of sociological research. Sociological survey: types, technology. Sociological observation.

Section 8. Methods of systematization in international research

Topic 8.1. Data Models: Text and Numeric. Scheme. Map.

Topic 8.2. Statistical methods for systematizing international information. Data summary. Grouping method in scientific research. Statistical tables. Graphical representation of numerical data.

Topic 8.3. Computer data models. Technologies for processing textual information and numerical data. Database technologies. Image processing technologies. Geoinformation technologies. Multimedia technologies. Expert systems.

Section 9. Methods of analysis in international research

Topic 9.1. Traditional methods of analysis: structural and functional approaches. Basic methods of international research. Logical procedures. Classifications and their role in understanding international processes. Typology. System analysis.

Topic 9.2. International phenomena and processes in the context of causal analysis. Historical and dynamic analysis. Historical and comparative method. Historical and genetic method.

Topic 9.3. Mathematical and statistical methods of analysis in the study of international relations and foreign policy. Statistics and international research. Statistical indicators and their types. Average values. Variation indicators. Analysis of the dynamics of international processes. Correlation analysis. Multivariate statistics and modeling.

Section 10. Qualification scientific work in the Republic of Belarus

Topic 10.1. Types of qualifying scientific works.

Topic 10.2. Basic requirements for qualifying research papers.

Topic 10.3. Registration of structural parts of qualifying scientific work.

Section 11. Scientific ethics in the process of research activities

Topic 11.1. Scientific ethics as a criterion for the objectivity and independence of the researcher.

Topic 11.2. Technical errors in qualifying work and how to correct them.

Topic 11.3. Establishment of plagiarism as an illegal act in relation to intellectual property.

Topic 11.4. Methods and criteria for checking scientific research for plagiarism and incorrect borrowing.

Section 12. Personal presentation of the main provisions of master's thesis

Topic 12.1. Criteria for determining the relevance, research object, research subject, essence of the dissertation novelty.

Topic 12.2. Characteristics of the provisions submitted for the defense of the thesis.

Topic 12.3. Thematic disclosure of each part of the thesis.

Topic 12.4. Completeness and sufficiency of the use of bibliography.

Topic 12.5. Validity of the formulated conclusions and generalizations

Topic 12.6. Results of approbation / practical implementation of the dissertation results.

Topic 12.7. The results of checking the dissertation for plagiarism and incorrect borrowing.