Pol. Sci. 170
Mr. Grow
Winter, 2002
Carleton College

INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND WORLD POLITICS

The Political Science Department's course in Introduction to International Relations and World Politics introduces methods for analyzing the relationships between groups that act on the world stage--nations, states, tribes, empires, etc.. The goal of the course is to introduce the student to a set of themes and definitions that can be used to analyze and evaluate world political activity. Students are expected to master a series of arguments, learn how to apply these arguments to situations in world politics and, hopefully, develop a set of values and preferences that will guide thinking about the role of our community in international affairs.

Political Science 170 is divided into four sections and each of these sections is based on a question that is at the heart of the study of international relations. Part I looks at the variety of ways that people see the world and asks what the factors are that push communities to take action, and the condition that bring them into conflict with one another. Part II evaluates policy making in different situations and asks how policy comes about. Part III focuses on theories of conflict and the tendency of the system to resort to war, and asks what it is about the human condition that leads so often to communal violence. Part IV examines the different ways that nations, states, and empires interact with one another, concentrating on topics such as military and economic power, world trade, nuclear deterrence, and war, and asks about theories of conflict resolution

Readings:

The following books will be used as texts:

- Watershed in Ruanda

- The One-Hundred Hour War

Handouts will also be distributed during the term.

Grading:

Grades for the course will be based on a combination of two exams, three short written essays, a number (about 20) one-page un-graded "daily journal exercises," and class attendance/participation.

1st Exam
25%

2nd Exam

25%

Short Essays #1

5%

Short Essay #2

10%

Short Essay #3

10%

Ungraded journal exercises (20), participation/attendance
25%

Attendance is required in all classes; reading assignments should be completed before coming to class; journal exercises due on date listed on journal assignment.

Jan 4 Fri INTRODUCTION

PART I: WAR, PEACE, AND THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM

International relations/world politics investigates the relationships between the world’s polities. These relationships are influenced by a number of factors including the nature of economic systems, moral and cultural values, and the arrangement of domestic institutions. In this section, we look at the role of the nation-state and ask questions about the importance of other actors. What factors structure the interaction of nation-states? What assumptions do we bring to our evaluation of conflict and peace---its onset and resolution? Are there other forms of human organization that challenge or undercut the role of the modern nation-state?

Jan 7 Mon NATIONS, STATES, AND WORLD CONFLICT

Regular Session: (Assigned Classroom)

Evening Session: (6:30-8:00 p.m. Boliou 104)

FILM: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

      Time Magazine, Articles, (Oct. 2, 1939)
      Newsweek, Article, (Aug. 5, 1940)
      Carletonian, Articles, 1939-40

Jan 9 Wed LESSONS OF WAR: Just and Unjust Wars

Jan 11 Fri JUST AND UNJUST WARS: The Idealist Argument

Jan 14 Mon THE REALIST POSITION

Jan 16 Wed THE LIBERAL RESTATEMENT

Jan 18 Fri SOME "RADICAL" CRITIQUES

PART II: FOREIGN POLICY FORMATION: TWO CASE STUDIES

Foreign policies are the strategies used by governments to guide their acts in the international arena. These policies derive from a number of sources: the actions of state leaders, the influence of important bureaucracies and political groups, and the perceptions and fears of important community constituencies. In this section we ask which of these actors is most important? How does policy come about? What options are available to policy makers?

Jan 21 Mon AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY PERSPECTIVES

Jan 23 Wed CASE STUDY: CENTRAL AFRICA IN THE 1990’s

Jan 25 Fri THE MAKING OF FOREIGN POLICY

Jan 28 Mon GREAT POWER CONFRONTATION

Jan 30 Wed CASE STUDY: RUSSIA, KOSOVO, AND THE 1999 WAR

Exam Question #1 Distributed

Jan 31 Fri THE DEBATE OVER POLICY

Feb 4 Mon Mid-Term Break

PART III: POWER, CONFLICT, AND WAR

Disagreement and conflict are at the heart of international relations. States have different needs and goals, and these differences structure the interaction of governments with one another. In this section we ask how conflict comes about, how these conflicts tend to be resolved. How important is the use of violence and war in this conflict resolution? Why is war such a common feature of conflict resolution? Is it learned behavior? Or, is it endemic to the human condition?

Feb 6 Wed POWER

Feb 8 Fri THE EXERCISE OF POWER

Feb 11 Mon WAR AND THE BREAKDOWN OF THE SYSTEM (1) Systemic explanations

Feb 13 Wed WAR AND THE BREAKDOWN OF THE SYSTEM (2) State Structure Explanations

Regular Session: (Assigned Classroom)

Evening Session: (6:30-8:15 p.m. Boliou 104)

FILM: Lord of the Flies

Feb 15 Fri WAR AND THE BREAKDOWN OF THE SYSTEM (3) The Role of Human Behavior

Feb 18 Mon WAR AND THE BREAKDOWN OF THE SYSTEM (4)

Essay #3 Due

PART IV THE SEARCH FOR ORDER AND STABILITY

This section looks at the ways governments might use to short-circuit the slide into violence and to bring about desired goals. These methods include the formation of international regimes, the creation of military balances, the development of economic orders, and the struggle to achieve hegemonic position. Which are most effective? Which are most commonly used? Which have the greatest chance to move our world beyond the kinds of cataclysmic meltdown that have characterized the great 20th century confrontations?

Feb 20 Wed EXPLAINING THE ‘DEMOCRATIC PEACE’

Feb 22 Fri ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND TRADE REGIMES

Feb 25 Mon ECONOMIC POWER AND POLITICAL POWER

Feb 27 Wed ECONOMIC CHANGE AND POLITICAL CONFLICT

Mar 1 Fri THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMY (1)

Mar 4 Mon THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMY (2)

Mar 6 Wed BALANCE OF TERROR: BASIC CONCEPTS

Mar 8 Fri BALANCE OF TERROR: EVOLUTION OF THE THEORY

Mar 11 Mon INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN A CHANGING WORLD

Readings: Daily Exercises

You will complete about 20 "daily exercises" during the course of the term. Many of these exercises involve a critical reading of a scholarly work or popular article. Following is a list of articles required for this part of the course. Most are in the photocopied handout volume; all must be considered part of the "required readings" for the 2nd exam and the final paper.

Cyrus Vance, "The Human Rights Imperative," Foreign Policy, (Summer, 1986)

George Schultz, "Morality and Realism in American Foreign Policy," Dept. of State Bulletin, (1985)

Madeline Albright, "The North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Partnership for Peace," Vital Speeches, March 1997

Walter Clemons, "An Alternative to NATO Expansion," International Journal (Spring 1997)

Zbigniew Brzezinski, "A Plan for Europe," Foreign Affairs (January/February, 1995)

Robert Keohane, "Realism, Neorealism and the Study of World Politics" in Keohane, Neorealism and Its Critics, pp. 1-26

Robert Keohane and Joe Nye, "Realism and Complex Interdependence," World Politics in Transition, pp. 23-37

Ken Waltz, "Reflections on Theory of International Politics" in Keohane, Neorealism and Its Critics, pp. 301-321

James Lee Ray, "The Democratic Path to Peace" Journal of Democracy, (April 1997)

John Owen, "How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace" pp. 87-125

Richard Ashley, The Poverty of Neorealism, in Keohane, Neorealism and Its Critics, pp. 255-300

Garett Hardin, "The Tragedy of the Commons" Science, December 1968, pp. 1243-67

Michael Doyle, "Liberalism and World Politics," pp. 233-245

Joseph Grieco, "Anarchy and the Limits of Cooperation" pp. 70-74

Francis Fukuyama, "Women and the Evolution of World Politics," Foreign Affairs, (Sept.-Oct 1998)

Barbara Ehrenreich, "Men Hate War Too," Foreign Affairs (Jan/Feb 1999)

Carol Cohn, "Emasculating America’s Linguistic Deterrent," in Rocking the Ship of State, pp. 133-152

Catherine Marshall, "Women and War," in Militarism versus Feminism, pp. 35-43

Patrick Glynn, "The Age of Balkanization," Commentary (July, 1993)

Francis Fukuyama, "Against the New Pessimism, Commentary, February, 1994

Sam Huntington, "The Lonely Superpower," Foreign Affairs, (March/April, 1999)

Joe Nye, "Redefining the National Interest," Foreign Affairs (July/Aug. 1999)

Amitai Etzioni, "The Evils of Self-Determinism" Foreign Policy (Winter 1992-3)

James Kurth, "The Real Clash," The National Interest (Fall, 1994)

Michael Mandelbaum, "A Perfect Failure," Foreign Affairs (Sept./Oct., 1999)

Aryeh Neier, "Asia’s Unacceptable Standard" Foreign Policy (Fall, 1993)