TURBULENCE IN WORLD POLITICS
|
|
Political Science 343 addresses the lingering questions
left in the wake of the Cold War. More importantly, this
course attempts to identify the problems and opportunities
that will command our interest into the twenty-first
century. I developed Political Science 343 to be an addendum
to Political Science 170 (International Relations &
World Politics). In the introductory course, students were
exposed to the major approaches in studying global political
phenomena. Furthermore, they became acquainted with some of
the major issue areas in the field. In Turbulence in World
Politics, we will delve deeper in analyzing major
international issues. By reviewing major theoretical
approaches by leading scholars in the field of world
politics, we can better analyze and make sense of the
changes and challenges that lie before the United States and
world.
|
The key idea behind this course is that the post-Cold War world is
divided between a zone of peace (characterized by liberal free market
democracy) and a zone of turmoil (characterized by ethnonationalist,
religious, and territorial conflict). Given that the key security
concerns of the United States will emanate not from Western Europe,
but from the former Communist states and the geopolitical periphery
of the Third World, it is vitally important that we understand the
security concerns of states in the throes of development.
In a world caught up in revolutionary change, where instability,
turbulence, and violence are widespread, no one can predict the shape
of events to come. The level of danger to Americans will vary, but
our political and economic interests are global. The world's
attitudes toward, and perceptions of, American leadership - and its
role as a force for democracy and international stability - affect
not just our political relations, but also our economic relationships
and markets.
COURSE OBJECTIVES AND STRUCTURE
A principal focus of Turbulence in World Politics will be a review
of the major theoretical debate in world politics between Realism and
Liberalism, as well as an examination of the changed world order
since the end of the Cold War. Of particular concern is the
formulation of American national security policy in the "new world
entropy." With American forces now deployed in Bosnia, we will
explore the issue of military intervention in the volatile Second
Tier (the former Communist states and Third World). Such intervention
should be examined from the standpoint of protecting American
interests and values. Much of the turmoil in the Second Tier stems
from the legacy of weak state institutionalization, ethnic conflict,
and the pains of socioeconomic transformation.
The role of cultural identity as a crucial variable in world
politics will be taken up as well. With ethnic and religious conflict
occurring around the world, Communitarianism is now vying with
Realism and Liberalism as a political force. Will we see a "clash of
civilizations" or are the nations of the Third World on the road to a
universal Liberalism?
This course will be organized as a seminar. Students are
responsible for completing the assigned readings before each class
session. In-class seminar discussion is indispensable to the learning
process and will make up 24% of the grade. Volunteers will lead
discussion of readings each class session. All students should come
to class with a list of major points brought out in the readings as a
guide to discussion. In addition, I will set up an electronic
discussion conference and strongly encourage students to participate
in outside-class discussions of global political issues.
In addition to discussion, students are required to write an
abstract of a data-based article on world politics (4% of grade).
Abstracts are short, one-and-a-half to two page papers analyzing
data-based journal articles. In the abstract, students are to list:
1) the query, or the question to be tested and explained; 2) the
explanatory and outcome variables and the putative relationship
between the two; 3) the indicators used in measuring the variables
and the strength of relationship between them; 4) data sources that
the author used; 5) any data manipulation used (e.g., regression,
analysis of variance); and 6) the findings.
I am assigning three eight-to-nine page examinations on the major
theoretical themes of the course. These exams will make up 14% apiece
(42% total). The purpose is to give students an opportunity to
critically evaluate arguments made on the emerging world order.
Finally, there is a 20-to-25-page term paper (30% of grade) on a
major international or American national security topic (e.g., the
"rogue state threat" or American intervention policy). The paper
topic must be approved by the instructor.
All late exam essays are subject to a one-third-grade deduction
penalty per day (e.g., a "B+" paper shall receive a "B" if one day
late, a "B-" if two days late, and so on).
I will put some flexibility into the course outline in order to
take advantage of any "in time" developments that may occur. I
strongly encourage students to read the major world
politics/international securities affairs journals in staying current
on world events. These journals include International Security,
Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, World Politics, Current History,
and Orbis. You should also become a regular reader of a
newsweekly, such as The Economist.
BOOKS
Arthur Stein, Why Nations Cooperate: Circumstance and Choice in
International Relations (1990)
Richard Haass, Intervention: The Use of American Military Force
in the Post-Cold War World (1994)
Robert Litwak, Rogue States and U.S. Foreign Policy:
Containment After the Cold War (2000)
COURSE OUTLINE
I. After the Dawn: The Changed World Order
January 4
Jervis, "The Future of World Politics," in Art &
Jervis, ed., International Politics: Enduring Concepts and
Contemporary Issues (1996): 401-414.
Beedham, "The New Geopolitics," The Economist Survey
(July 31, 1999).
Kugler, "Global Political Trends: Integration or
Disintegration?" in Strategic Assessment 1999 (1999):
1-17.
January 9
Gaddis, "International Relations Theory and the End of
the Cold War," International Security 17 (Winter
1992/93): 5-58.
Lebow, "The Long Peace, the End of the Cold War, and the
Failure of Realism," in Lebow and Risse-Kappen, ed.,
International Relations Theory and the End of the Cold War
(1995): 23-56.
January 11
Schweller & Wohlforth, "Power Test: Evaluating
Realism in Response to the end of the Cold War," in Security
Studies 9 (Spring 2000).
Deudney & Ikenberry, "Realism, Structural Liberalism,
and the Western Order," in Kapstein & Mastanduno, ed.,
Unipolar Politics: Realism and State Strategies After the
Cold War (1999): 103-137.
Exam I - Explaining the End of the Cold War (due by January
22)
II. Realism and the neo-Liberal Challenge
January 16
Baldwin, "Neoliberalism, Neorealism, and World
Politics," in Neorealism and Neoliberalism: The Contemporary
Debate (1993): 3-25.
Jervis, "Realism, Neoliberaism, and Cooperation,"
International Security (Summer, 1999): 42-63.
Mearsheimer, "The False Promise of International
Institutions," in Brown, Lynn- Jones, and Miller, ed. Perils
of Anarchy: Contemporary Realism and International Security
(1995): 332-376.
January 18
Grieco, "Anarchy and the Limits of Cooperation," in
Art & Jervis, ed., International Politics: Enduring
Concepts and Contemporary Issues (1996): 76-80.
Brooks, "Dueling Realisms" International Organization
(Summer 1997): 445-477.
Legro & Moravcsik, "Is Anybody Still a Realist?"
International Security (Fall 1999): 5-55.
January 23
Stein, Why Nations Cooperate (1990): 25-86,
115-150.
Kirschner, "The Political Economy of Realism," in Kapstein
& Mastanduno, ed., Unipolar Politics: Realism and State
Strategies After the Cold War (1999): 69-102.
January 25
Copeland, "Economic Interdependence and War,"
International Security (Spring 1996): 5-41.
Owen, "How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace" in Brown,
Lynn-Jones, and Miller, ed., Debating the Democratic
Peace (1996): 116-154.
Elman, "Testing the Democratic Peace Theory," in Elman, ed.,
Paths to Peace: Is Democracy the Answer? (1997):
473-506.
Exam II - Realism v. Liberalism as relevant paradigms in
the post-Cold War world (due by February 5)
III. Zones of Uncertainty: Russia, China, and the Third
World
January 30
Wohlforth, "The Stability of a Unipolar World,"
International Security (Summer 1999): 5-41.
Mastanduno, "Preserving the Unipolar Moment: Realist Theories
and U.S. Grand Strategy after the Cold War." International
Security (Spring 1997): 49-88.
February 1
Porter, "Russia and Europe After the Cold War: The
Interaction of Domestic and Foreign Policies," in Wallender,
ed. The Sources of Russian Foreign Policy After the Cold
War (1996): 121-145.
MacFarlane, "Realism and Russian Strategy after the Collapse of
the USSR," in Kapstein & Mastanduno, ed., Unipolar
Politics: Realism and State Strategies After the Cold War
(1999): 218-260.
Shambaugh, "Containment or Engagement of China?"
International Security (Fall 1996): 180-209.
Johnston, "Realism(s) and Chinese Security Policy in the
Post-Cold War Period," in Kapstein & Mastanduno, ed.,
Unipolar Politics: Realism and State Strategies After the Cold
War (1999): 261-318.
February 6
Ayoob, The Third World Security Predicament
(1995): 115-137.
David, "Why the Third World Still Matters," International
Security (Winter 1992/93): 127-159.
Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations?" in Foreign Affairs
Agenda, The Shape of World Politics: Contending Paradigms
in International Relations (1997): 67-91.
Tarock, "Civilizational Conflict? Fighting the Enemy Under a
New Banner," Third World Quarterly (Spring 1995): 4-18.
O'Hagan, "Civilizational Conflict? Looking For Cultural
Enemies," Third World Quarterly (Spring 1995): 19-38.
Exam III - Dealing with Russia & China/ Does the Third
World Matter? (Due by February 19)
IV. Rogue States - "the search for new enemies"?
February 8
Litwak, Rogue States and US Foreign Policy
(2000): 1-46.
Tanter, Rogue Regimes: Terrorism and Proliferation
(1998): 1-43.
February 13
Litwak, Rogue States and US Foreign Policy
(2000): 47-119.
George & Simons, ed., The Limits of Coercive
Diplomacy, 2nd ed. (1994): 7-21; 229-264.
February 15
Litwak, Rogue States and US Foreign Policy
(2000): 123-197.
February 20
Litwak, Rogue States and US Foreign Policy
(2000): 198-255.
Ayoob, The Third World Security Predicament (1995):
165-188.
Brown, "The Causes of Internal Conflict," in Brown,
Coté, Lynn-Jones, and Miller, ed., Nationalism and
Ethnic Conflict (1997): 3-25.
February 22
Byman & Van Evera, "Why They Fight: Hypotheses on
the Causes of Contemporary Deadly Conflict" Security Studies
7 (Spring 1998): 1-50.
V. Redefining American Security Interests
Posen & Ross, "Competing Visions for U.S.
Grand Strategy," International Security (Winter
1996/97): 5-53.
Haass, Intervention (1994): 1-48.
February 27
Haass, Intervention (1994): 49-122.
March 1
Haass, Intervention (1994): 123-156.
Brown & deJonge Oudraat, "Internal Conflict and
International Action," in Brown, Coté, Lynn-Jones, and
Miller, ed., Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict (1997):
235-264.
Dziedzic, "Troubled States: How Troubling, How Manageable?"
in Strategic Assessment 1999 (1999): 229-244.
March 6
Sagan, "The Causes of Nuclear Proliferation,"
Current History (April 1997): 151- 156.
Karl, "Proliferation Pessimism and Emerging Nuclear Powers,"
International Security (Winter 1996/97): 87-119.
March 8
Snow, National Security (1998): 318-336.
National Defense University, Strategic Assessment
1997: 231-242.