POL 240: Introduction to International Politics
Prof. Alex Montgomery
ahm@reed.edu
(503) 517-7395
Course Description and Goals
Full course for one semester. This course introduces the study of international relations. It examines
central questions in world politics from a variety of different perspectives–including realism, liberalism,
and feminism–and provides a working knowledge of world affairs.
Students will learn to perform basic research and analysis through writing and thinking about events in
world politics from multiple different perspectives. Readings are drawn from historic and contemporary
scholars of international relations, cover a wide variety of issues, and are grouped together in
conflicting pairs where possible. Assignments are a mixture of analysis, research, and experiential
learning.
Requirements
Class Participation
Students will have the opportunity participate in the class both during and outside of classroom hours.
Each student will be assigned to three days during the semester in which they will co-author a short memo
(300-400 words) comparing and contrasting that day’s readings and posing questions for discussion.
These memos should be posted in the forums on the course website by 8 PM the day before the
readings are to be discussed. Students are encouraged to respond to the memos as part of their
participation.
Readings
Readings for the course are drawn from two books (one of which is a collection of condensed articles) and
E-Readings, which can either be downloaded off the course website or through library E-Reserves. Most
of the E-Readings can even be downloaded directly from the links on the syllabus. Two books are for sale
at the bookstore and are also on reserve at the library:
-
Robert J.
Art
and
Robert
Jervis (2005)
International
Politics:
Enduring
Concepts
and
Contemporary
Issues.
7th edition.
New
York:
Pearson/Longman,
ISBN
0321209478
-
Scott D.
Sagan
and
Kenneth N.
Waltz (2003)
The
Spread
of
Nuclear
Weapons:
A
Debate
Renewed.
2nd edition.
New
York,
NY:
W.W.
Norton,
ISBN
0393977471
Students are also expected to keep up with world events through daily reading of international news.
Recommended news sites will be posted on the course web site and on the online library research guide,
available at <http://library.reed.edu/instruction/politicalscience/pol240.html>.
Course Website
Frequent reading of the course website <https://moodle.reed.edu/course/view.php?id=6> will be helpful
for success in the class. Discussion and collaboration with your peers in both sections of the class is
available to you through the website; supplemental and core readings will be made available there; and
assignments will be turned in electronically using the site.
Simulations
Two of the four assignments will center around simulations. The first will take place during class hours on
September 15th on the front lawn of Eliot. The second will take place from October 26th-28th and will
take about a total of nineteen hours. Participating in these simulations is required for completing the first
and third assignments and therefore the course. If you cannot participate in these simulations, you must
come talk to me immediately.
Assignments
There are four formal assignments for this course.
-
The
first
assignment
(due
the
beginning
of
week
4)
will
be
a
short
(600-800
word)
essay
analyzing
the
simulation
at
the
end
of
week
3.
-
The
second
assignment
(due
the
beginning
of
week
7)
will
be
a
1000-1200
word
essay;
students
will
analyze
a
contemporary
conflict
from
a
list
of
options
using
the
theories
we’ve
covered
in
class
up
to
that
point.
-
The
third
assignment
(due
at
the
end
of
week
10)
will
be
another
essay;
students
will
analyze
the
arms
control
negotiation
that
they
participated
in
at
the
end
of
week
9.
This
will
be
an
account
(from
a
personal
or
national
point
of
view)
of
the
negotiations
and
an
analysis
of
why
the
negotiations
ended
the
way
they
did.
This
assignment,
1400-1600
words,
should
be
based
on
the
negotiation
record,
which
will
be
compiled
from
email
correspondences.
-
The
fourth
assignment
(due
at
what
would
be
the
beginning
of
what
would
be
week
16)
will
be
a
1800-2000
word
essay;
students
will
pick
a
topic
from
a
list
of
options.
Citation and Plagiarism
A major goal of this course is to encourage good reading, research, and citation habits. Good research
requires good documentation of sources and the ability to put one’s own analysis and thoughts into a paper
rather than relying on others. Plagiarism and cheating are violations of academic integrity and thus
violations of Reed’s Honor Principle. As specified by Reed’s academic conduct policy, such violations
will result in disciplinary actions, including suspension or permanent dismissal from the College. For the
purposes of this class, plagiarism is submitting a piece of work which in part or in whole is not entirely the
student’s own work without attributing those same portions to their correct source. For more information
see: <http://web.reed.edu/academic/gbook/comm˙pol/acad˙honesty.html>.
Accommodations
If you’d like to request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Assistant Dean of
Student Services, Adrienne Wolf-Lockett, Eliot 109, (503)777-7534. If you have a letter from Student
Services, please let me know so we can discuss those accommodations.
1 Power and Morality
08/28/06:Introduction
08/30/06:Power and Morality, 31 pages
-
Hans J.
Morgenthau (2005b)
Six
Principles
of
Political
Realism. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
7–14
-
J. Ann
Tickner (2005)
A
Critique
of
Morgenthau’s
Principles
of
Political
Realism. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
15–28
-
Thucydides;
Rex
Warner
and
M. I.
Finley,
editors (1972)
Chap.
V:
84-116
in
History
of
the
Peloponnesian
War. Harmondsworth,
Eng.:
Penguin
Books,
400–408,
ISBN
0140440399
09/01/06:Dena Hutto
2 Anarchy
09/04/06:Labor Day - No Class
09/06/06:Anarchy, 55 pages
09/08/06:Realism and Levels of Analysis, 41 pages
-
Robert
Jervis (2005b)
Offense,
Defense,
and
the
Security
Dilemma. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
178–198
-
John J.
Mearsheimer (2005)
Anarchy
and
the
Struggle
for
Power. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
50–60
-
J. David
Singer (1960)
International
Conflict:
Three
Levels
of
Analysis. World
Politics:
A
Quarterly
Journal
of
International
Relations. 12(3),
453–461
<http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-8871%28196004%2912%3A3%3C453%3AICTLOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-J>,
ISSN
00438871
-
EXTRA:Kenneth N.
Waltz (2005a)
The
Anarchic
Structure
of
World
Politics. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
29–49
3 Mitigating Anarchy
09/11/06:Alliances and Dominoes, 25 pages
-
Stephen M.
Walt (2005)
Alliances:
Balancing
and
Bandwagoning. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
96–103
-
Jack
Snyder (1991)
Introduction. In
Robert
Jervis
and
Jack
Snyder,
editors
Dominoes
and
bandwagons
:
strategic
beliefs
and
great
power
competition
in
the
Eurasian
rimland.
New
York:
Oxford
University
Press,
ISBN
0195062469. chapter 1,
3–19
09/13/06:Cooperation, 37 pages
-
Kenneth A.
Oye (2005)
The
Conditions
for
Cooperation
in
World
Politics. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
69–82
-
David A.
Baldwin (1993)
Neoliberalism,
Neorealism,
and
World
Politics. In
David A.
Baldwin,
editor
Neorealism
and
neoliberalism
:
the
contemporary
debate.
New
York:
Columbia
University
Press,
ISBN
0231084404,
3–25
09/15/06:Anarchy in Practice: Croquet, 8 pages
4 Critiques of Realism
09/18/06:Discussion; Assignment 1 due at the beginning of class
09/20/06:Institutions, 57 pages
09/22/06:Feminism, 26 pages
-
Francis
Fukuyama (1998)
Women
and
the
Evolution
of
World
Politics. Foreign
Affairs. 77(5),
24–40
<http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=1065792>,
ISSN
00157120
-
J. Ann
Tickner (1999)
Why
Women
Can’t
Run
the
World:
International
Politics
according
to
Francis
Fukuyama. International
Studies
Review. 1(3),
3–11
<http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1521-9488%28199923%291%3A3%3C3%3AWWCRTW%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y>
-
Reread
Tickner
International
Politics,
15–28
-
EXTRA:Robert O.
Keohane (1989)
International
relations
theory:
contributions
of
a
feminist
standpoint. Millenium. 18(2),
245–253
and
Cynthia
Weber (1994)
Good
girls,
little
girls
and
bad
girls:
male
paranoia
in
Robert
Keohane’s
critique
of
feminist
international
relations. Millenium. 23(2),
337–349
5 Domestic Theories of IP
09/25/06:Constructivism, 41 pages
09/27/06:Democratic Peace, 58 pages
09/29/06:Organizations, 30 pages
6 World Wars
10/02/06:World War I, 75 pages
10/04/06:World War II, 61 pages
10/06/06:The Bomb and the Cold War, 35 pages
7 Cold War
10/09/06:Discussion; Assignment 2 due at the beginning of class
10/11/06:Atomic Strategy, 66 pages
10/13/06:End of the Cold War, 68 pages
8 Fall Break - No Class
9 Nuclear Weapons
10/23/06:Spread of Nuclear Weapons, 182 pages
10/25/06:Diplomacy and Nonproliferation, 24 pages
10/26/06:Simulation Day 1: Country meetings, 5 PM–8 PM
10/27/06:Simulation Day 2: Simulation, 1 PM–9 PM
10/28/06:Simulation Day 3: Simulation, 9 AM–6 PM
10 Post-Proliferation
10/30/06:Discussion of Simulation
11/01/06:Proliferation Networks, 51 pages
11/03/06:No Class; Assignment 3 Due by 9 PM
11 Networked Politics
11/06/06:Human Rights, 52 pages
-
Margaret E.
Keck
and
Kathryn
Sikkink (2005)
Transnational
Activists
Networks. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
551–557
-
Richard
Price (1998)
Reversing
the
Gun
Sights:
Transnational
Civil
Society
Targets
Land
Mines. International
Organization. 52(3),
613–644
<http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0020-8183%28199822%2952%3A3%3C613%3ARTGSTC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2>
-
Rhoda E.
Howard
and
Jack
Donnelly (2005)
Human
Rights
in
World
Politics. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
558–570
11/08/06:Terrorism, 27 pages
-
Robert A.
Pape (2005)
The
Logic
of
Suicide
Terrorism. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
232–250
-
Jessica
Stern (2005)
Al
Qaeda:
The
Protean
Enemy. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
431–438
-
EXTRA:Valdis E.
Krebs (2002)
Mapping
Networks
of
Terrorist
Cells. Connections. 24(3),
43–52
11/10/06:Crime, 37 pages
-
Phil
Williams (2002)
Transnational
Criminal
Networks. In
John
Arquilla
and
David F.
Ronfeldt,
editors
Networks
and
Netwars.
Santa
Monica,
CA:
RAND
Corporation,
ISBN
0833030302. chapter 3,
61–97
12 IPE
11/13/06:Intro to IPE, 35 pages
11/15/06:International Law, 38 pages
-
Stanley
Hoffmann (2005)
The
Uses
and
Limits
of
International
Law. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
114–118
-
Stephen R.
Ratner (2005)
International
Law:
The
Trials
of
Global
Norms. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
589–594
-
Martha
Finnemore (1999)
Rules
of
War
and
Wars
of
Rules:
The
International
Red
Cross
and
the
Restraint
of
State
Violence. In
John
Boli
and
George M.
Thomas,
editors
Constructing
world
culture
:
international
nongovernmental
organizations
since
1875.
Stanford,
CA:
Stanford
University
Press,
ISBN
0804734216. chapter 6,
149–165
11/17/06:The Cost of Iraq, 40 pages
13 Globalization
11/20/06:What is Globalization, 29 pages
-
Jeffrey
Frankel (2005)
The
Globalization
of
the
International
Economy. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
325–340
-
Kenneth N.
Waltz (2005b)
Globalization
and
Governance. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
352–364
11/22/06:Globalization: Good or Bad, 36 pages
-
Dani
Rodrik (2005)
Trading
in
Illusions. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
365–373
-
John
Micklethwait
and
Adrian
Wooldridge (2005)
Why
the
Globalization
Backlash
is
Stupid. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
374–380
-
Joseph E.
Stiglitz (2002)
Chap. 1
in
Globalization
and
its
discontents. New
York:
W.
W.
Norton,
3–22,
ISBN
0393051242
11/24/06:Thanksgiving Break - No Class
14 Contemporary Problems
11/27/06:Global Ecological Politics, 26 pages
-
Garrett
Hardin (2005)
The
Tragedy
of
the
Commons. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
525–530
-
Julian L.
Simon (2005)
The
Infinite
Supply
of
Natural
Resources. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
531–538
-
Thomas
Homer-Dixon (2005)
Cornucopians
and
Neo-Malthusians. In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
539–541
and
Thomas C.
Schelling (2005)
What
Makes
Greenhouse
Sense?
In
Art
and
Jervis
International
Politics,
542–550
11/29/06:Clash of Civilizations, 36 pages
12/01/06:American Empire, 34 pages
15 Morality and Power Redux
12/04/06:Genocide, 39 pages
12/06/06:Just and Unjust War, 13 pages
-
Michael
Walzer (1977)
Chap. 1-2
in
Just
and
unjust
wars:
a
moral
argument
with
historical
illustrations. New
York,
NY:
Basic
Books,
1–33,
ISBN
0465037046
12/11/06:Final Assignment Due by 9 PM