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Fall 1998 |
Willis 211 (3a) |
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Robert B. Packer |
Change. The word itself has become a mantra for our time. Political and economic elites evoke it; social commentators embrace it; millions fear it.
World Politics, as we approach the 21st century, is about change. But it is also about continuity. How these polar opposites resolve their struggle for supremacy gives world politics its motive force.
Much will be said over the next nine weeks about the great transformation of the international system that has occurred since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc and the end of the Cold War. Much will also be said about the continuing problems of war and armament, poverty and economic development, that still afflict much of humanity.
At no time since the end of the last global war has the world experienced the breadth and depth of change that has occurred over the past nine years. To borrow the imagery of one scholar, it is as if the tectonic plates on which world politics had operated on in the past have suddenly shifted - yielding new valleys of concern through which to cross, and new mountains of opportunity on which to scale.
The international system structure, that two generations of political scientists had studied, was that of the bipolar world of the Cold War. The United States and the Soviet Union led two great alliances in mortal combat not only for power, but also for the hearts and minds of populations yearning for a better life.
With the edifice of the Communist monolith shattered, and its internal core rotted away, global citizens have been treated to talk of "the end of history" and a "new world order." But such talk of the halcyon days of a future Nirvana has proven premature at best.
Warfare currently engulfs more than forty countries in bloody conflict. Nationalism is resurgent, spawning a new breed of ethnic hatred. Followers and scholars of the Realist (Realpolitik) paradigm stress the continued primacy of power relations as the sine qua non of world politics. For them, lack of an organized international system structure - which the Cold War provided - yields chaos.
Opposed to the Realpolitik (a.k.a. Machtpolitik or "power politics") is the Liberal paradigm. Liberals hold the view that greater economic interdependence, political democratization, and technological advancement will lead to the promotion and preservation of peace.
Liberals stress the change in world politics, and wish more of it. Realists emphasize continuity and stability, and wish to manage the change that does occur.
As in any field of inquiry, proper analysis of ongoing phenomena requires a competent knowledge of the trends and events that have led us to this point in time. This course introduces students to the field of World Politics. Its ultimate concern is with understanding the dynamics of relations among and between state and non-state actors. To do this requires an understanding of those circumstances that constitute the basic structures of the international system, and that define the context in which politics take place.
This course attempts both to clarify competing perspectives on the dynamics and structures of the international system and also to investigate the changing roles played by various states, international institutions, and transnational actors. Major parts of the course detail, respectively: competing explanations of the sources of foreign policy decisions; current world issues; and basic future trends. The overall objective is to give students sufficient awareness of the interaction of political, technological, communications, economic, and military factors to permit a critical appreciation of the contemporary international environment and ways of thinking about the future.
COURSE OUTLINE
This course will be mostly lecture. However, I strongly encourage questions on any aspect of the readings or lecture that is unclear. A central objective of the course to build student skills in critical thinking, reasoning, and effective argument. I would like all students to bring to every class-session a short list (two or three items) of what he or she believes to be the major themes of the readings assigned for that day. Two or three students will be randomly selected to start class-sessions by reading and commenting on their lists. I expect vigorous discussion of the arguments raised by authors in the course. To that end, outside of-class discussion groups may be useful. I further encourage students to take advantage of office hours.
There is a fair amount of reading for this course. A useful approach to organizing the material is to classify reading selections according to major theoretical arguments. This approach ought to facilitate comparisons within and between particular topic areas. There will be five exams given for the course. These exams will consist of one essay question each. These are to be completed outside class and typewritten. Each essay should be five to six pages (double-spaced) long. The essay questions will be based upon the readings and lecture. The examinations will be graded on your ability to demonstrate a comprehension of the reading material and to integrate it with the basic tenets of world politics. Exams must be handed in by 5PM on the due date. All late papers will be penalized one-third grade per day late (e.g., A- becomes a B+ after one day, a B after two days). The final (fifth) exam is due Nov. 19.
Attendance is essential. More than three absences may result in a lowering of grade. Grading will be based upon the exams (90%) and class participation (10%).
COURSE SCHEDULE
Sept. 11: Change and Continuity in World Politics
Gaddis, "Tectonics, History, and the End of the Cold War," in The United States and the End of the Cold War
(1992): 155-167.
Fukuyama, "The End of History?" in Betts, ed., Conflict After the Cold War: Arguments on Causes of War and Peace (1994): 5-18.
Cohen, "Military Power and International Order: Is Force Finished?" in Crocker, Hampson & Aall, ed., Managing Global Chaos (1997): 223-236.
PART 1: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN THE STUDY OF WORLD POLITICS
Sept. 14: Rival Perspectives of World Politics
Schweizer, Imaging World Politics (1997): 63-133.
Sept. 16: cont.
Holsti, "Models of International Relations: Realist and Neoliberal Perspectives on Conflict and Cooperation," in Kegley & Wittkopf, ed., The Global Agenda: Issues and Perspectives, 4th ed. (1995):129-143.
Nye, "Is There an Enduring Logic of Conflict in World Politics?" Understanding International Conflicts (1993): 1-25.
Sept. 18: International Realist Perspective First Exam handed out
Viotti & Kauppi, "Realism: The State, Power, and the Balance of Power," in Viotti & Kauppi, International Relations Theory, 2nd ed., (1993): 35-73.
Levy, "The Causes of War: Contending Theories" in Kegley & Wittkopf, ed., The Global Agenda: Issues and Perspectives, 3rd ed. (1992): 61-71.
Sept. 21: cont. (Power ... and its measurement)
Oye, "The Conditions for Cooperation in World Politics," in Art & Jervis, ed., International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues, 4th ed. (1996): 81-94.
Art, "The Four Functions of Force," in Art & Jervis, ed., International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues, 4th ed. (1996): 155-167.
Nye, "The Changing Nature of World Power," in Kegley & Wittkopf, ed., The Global Agenda: Issues and Perspectives, 4th ed. (1995): 105-117.
Sept. 23: cont. (Neo-Realism) First Exam due
Waltz, "The Origins of War in Neorealist Theory," in Betts, ed., Conflict After the Cold War: Arguments on Causes of War and Peace (1994): 88-95.
Gilpin, "Hegemonic War and International Change," in Betts, ed., Conflict After the Cold War: Arguments on Causes of War and Peace (1994): 96-109.
Critiques of Realism
Kegley, "The Neoliberal Challenge to Realist Theories of World Politics: An Introduction" in Kegley, ed., Controversies in International Relations Theory (1995): 1-24.
Sept. 25: cont.
Rosecrance, "The Worlds of International Relations: The Military-Political World, the Trading World," in Matthews, Rubinoff, and Stein, ed. International Conflict and Conflict Management: Readings in World Politics (1989): 398-411.
Keohane & Nye, "Realism and Complex Interdependence," in Crane & Amawi, ed. The Theoretical Evolution of International Political Economy: A Reader (1991): 133-139.
International Liberal Perspective
Russett, Grasping the Democratic Peace: Principles for a Post-Cold War World (1993): 24-42.
Sept. 28: cont.
Zacher & Matthew, "Liberal International Theory: Common Threads, Divergent Strands," in Kegley, ed., Controversies in International Relations Theory (1995): 107-150.
Schweizer, Imaging World Politics (1997): 240-250.
Sept. 30: The Communitarian Challenge to the Existing World Order
Hughes, Continuity and Change in World Politics (1997): 265-292.
Huntington, Clash of Civilizations and the Changing World Order (1996): 91-101; 125-130; 209-218.
Gurr, "Communal Conflicts and Global Security," in Current History (May 1995): 212-217.
PART II: INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM AND STATE INTERACTION
Oct. 2: The Levels of Analysis Problem in World Politics Second Exam handed out
Nye, "Origins of the Great Twentieth-Century Conflicts," Understanding International Conflicts (1993): 26-48.
Walt, "Alliances: Balancing and Bandwagoning," in Art & Jervis, ed., International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues, 4th ed. (1996): 108-115.
Oct. 5: Balance of Power vs. Collective Security
Nye, "Balance of Power and World War I," Understanding International Conflicts (1993): 49-73.
Nye, "The Failure of Collective Security and World War II," Understanding International Conflicts (1993): 74-97.
Oct. 7: Explaining the Cold War Second Exam due
Nye, "The Cold War," Understanding International Conflicts (1993): 98-119.
Rationality and Decision Making Models
Lieber, "A Glimpse into the Abyss: The Cuban Missile Crisis," No Common Power, 3rd. ed. (1995): 163-182.
Oct. 9: cont.
Cashman, "Governmental Decision Making," What Causes War? (1993): 77-123.
Oct. 14: Misperception and the Paradoxes of War
Patchen, Resolving Disputes Between Nations (1988): 60-94.
Van Ever, "The Cult of the Offensive and World War I," in Art and Waltz, ed. The Use of Force: Military Power and International Politics, 3rd. ed. (1988): 125-151.
Oct. 16: cont. Third Exam handed out
Christensen & Snyder, "Chain Gangs and Passed Bucks: Predicting Alliance Patterns in Multipolarity," in Viotti & Kauppi, International Relations Theory, 2nd ed. (1993): 154-186.
Betts, Surprise Attack (1982): 34-50, 56-62.
Oct. 19: cont.
Betts, Surprise Attack (1982): 119-149.
Patchen, Resolving Disputes Between Nations (1988): 108-115.
Oct. 21: cont. Third Exam due
Berman, "From Intervention to Disengagement: The United States in Vietnam" in Levite, Jentleson & Berman, Foreign Military Intervention: The Dynamics of Protracted Conflict (1992): 23-64.
Oct. 23: cont.
Stiles, "Persian Gulf War," Case Histories in International Politics (1995): 137-152.
PART III: TRANSNATIONAL POLICY ISSUES
Oct. 26: The Global Political Economy
Hughes, Continuity and Change in World Politics (1997): 302-321.
Kegley & Wittkopf, "States and Markets: Monetary and Trade Relations in an Interdependent World Political Economy," in World Politics: Trend and Transformation, 6th ed. (1997): 203-247.
Oct. 28: cont.
Spiegel, "North-South Economic Relations: The Challenge of Development," World Politics in a New Era (1995):
339-383.
Oct. 30: cont. Fourth Exam handed out
Kegley & Wittkopf, World Politics: Trend and Transformation, 6th ed. (1997): 255-257; 261-275.
Epstein, Crotty, & Kelly, "Winners and Losers in the Global Economics Game," Current History (November 1996): 377-3 81.
Nov. 2: International Security Affairs
Lamb, "The Basic Question - Why Do Wars Begin?" How to Think about Arms Control and Disarmament (1988): 176-188.
Patchen, Resolving Disputes Between Nations (1988): 195-229,
Nov. 4: cont. (Nuclear Strategy) Fourth Exam due
Lamb, "Arms Control and Nuclear Deterrence Strategy", How to Think about Arms Control and Disarmament (1988): 73-92.
Jervis, The Meaning of the Nuclear Revolution (1986): 8-23; 38-41.
Waltz, "Nuclear Weapons: More May Be Better," in Freedman, ed., War (1994): 354-355.
Nov. 6: cont.
Snow & Brown "Security Issues in a Post-Cold War Environment," The Contours of Power (1996): 426-465.
Nov. 8: cont.
Sagan, "The Causes of Nuclear Proliferation," Current History, (April 1997): 151-156.
National Defense University, "International Terrorism," Strategic Assessment 1997: Flashpoints and Force Structure (1997): 185-196.
Nov. 11: Perpetual Peace or Turbulence? ... in World Politics
Gaddis, "Great Illusions, the Long Peace, and the Future of the International System," in The United States and the End of the Cold War (1992): 168-192.
Nye, "Conflicts after the Cold War," World Politics 97/98 (1997): 28-36.
Nov. 13: Toward the New Millennium Fifth Exam handed out
Gaddis, "Toward the Post-Cold War World," in The United States and the End of the Cold War (1992): 193-216.
Hughes: Continuity and Change in World Politics (1997): 293-301, 486-499.
Nov. 19: Fifth Exam Due