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 is a short (600-1000 word) essay analyzing the September 15th anarchy simulation; it is due on September 18th at 1 PM.
• The second assignment is a short (800-1200 word) essay analyzing one of three current international crises; it is due on Monday, October 9 at 1 PM.
• The third assignment is a short (1200-1600 word) essay analyzing the arms control negotiation that you just participated in. 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 should be based on the negotiation record, which will be compiled from email correspondences and any postings made to Moodle by the participants. It is due on Friday, November 3 at 9 PM.
• The final assignment is an optional medium-length (1400-1800 word) essay analyzing any current international crisis; it is due on Monday, December 11 at 9 PM.

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.

01. Power + Morality (31 Pages)

• Hans J. Morgenthau (2005) Six Principles of Political Realism. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 7–14 <EReadings/ArtJervis2005International007-014.pdf>
• J. Ann Tickner (2005) A Critique of Morgenthau’s Principles of Political Realism. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 15–28 <EReadings/ArtJervis2005International015-028.pdf>
• Thucydides; Rex Warner and M. I. Finley, editors (1972) Chap. V: 84-116 in History of the Peloponnesian War. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin Books <EReadings/Thucydides1972HistoryV..84-116.pdf>, 400–408, ISBN 0140440399

02. Anarchy (96 Pages)

• John J. Mearsheimer (2005) Anarchy and the Struggle for Power. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 50–60 <EReadings/ArtJervis2005International050-060.pdf>
• Thomas Hobbes (1909 [1651]) Leviathan. Oxford: Clarendon Press <EReadings/Hobbes1909Leviathan94-98.pdf>, 94–98
• Robert Jervis (2005) Offense, Defense, and the Security Dilemma. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 178–198
• Immanuel Kant; M. Campbell Smith, editor (1917 [1795]) Perpetual peace: a philosophical essay. London: G. Allen and Unwin Ltd. <EReadings/Kant1917Perpetual106-142.pdf>, 106–142
• John Locke (1824 [1689]) Two Treatises of Government. London: Rivington <EReadings/Locke1824Two-Treatises338-350.pdf>, 338–350
• J. David Singer (1960) International Conflict: Three Levels of Analysis. World Politics: A Quarterly Journal of International Relations. 12(3), 453–461 <EReadings/Singer1960International.pdf>, ISSN 00438871

Optional

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau; G. D. H. Cole, editor (1913 [1755]) A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. London: J.M. Dent and Sons <EReadings/Rousseau1913A-Discourse174-246.pdf>, 174–246
• Kenneth N. Waltz (2005) The Anarchic Structure of World Politics. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 29–49

03. Mitigating Anarchy (70 Pages)

• Stephen M. Walt (2005) Alliances: Balancing and Bandwagoning. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 96–103 <EReadings/ArtJervis2005International096-103.pdf>
• 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 <EReadings/Baldwin1993Neoliberalism.pdf>, ISBN 0231084404, 3–25
• Kenneth A. Oye (2005) The Conditions for Cooperation in World Politics. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 69–82
• 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 <EReadings/Snyder1991Introduction.pdf>, ISBN 0195062469. chapter 1, 3–19
• Rules of Backyard Croquet. United States Croquet Association <EReadings/USCA2006Rules.pdf>

04. Critiques of Realism (84 Pages)

• Francis Fukuyama (1998) Women and the Evolution of World Politics. Foreign Affairs. 77(5), 24–40 <EReadings/Fukuyama1998Women.pdf>, ISSN 00157120
• Robert O. Keohane and Lisa L. Martin (1995) The Promise of Institutionalist Theory. International Security. 20(1), 39–51 <EReadings/KeohaneMartin1995The-Promise.pdf>, ISSN 01622889
• John J. Mearsheimer (1994) The False Promise of International Institutions. International Security. 19(3), 5–49 <EReadings/Mearsheimer1994The-False.pdf>
• J. Ann Tickner (1999) Why Women Can’t Run the World: International Politics according to Francis Fukuyama. International Studies Review. 1(3), 3–11 <EReadings/Tickner1999Why-Women.pdf>

Optional

• Robert O. Keohane (1989) International relations theory: contributions of a feminist standpoint. Millenium. 18(2), 245–253 <EReadings/Keohane1989International.pdf>
• 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 <EReadings/Weber1994Good.pdf>

Reread

• Tickner International Politics, 15–28

05. Domestic Theories of IP (129 Pages)

• Graham Allison (1969) Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis. American Political Science Review. 63(3), 689–718 <EReadings/Allison1969Conceptual.pdf>
• Michael W. Doyle (2005) Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 83–95
• Ted Hopf (1998) The Promise of Constructivism in International Relations Theory. International Security. 23(1), 171–200 <EReadings/Hopf1998The-promise.pdf>
• Christopher Layne (1994) Kant or Cant: The Myth of the Democratic Peace. International Security. 19(2), 5–49 <EReadings/Layne1994Kant.pdf>, ISSN 01622889
• Alexander Wendt (1995) Constructing International Politics. International Security. 20(1), 71–81 <EReadings/Wendt1995Constructing.pdf>

Optional

• Alexander Wendt (2005) Anarchy Is What States Make of It. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 61–68

06. World Wars (171 Pages)

• Robert J. Beck (1989) Munich’s Lessons Reconsidered. International Security. 14(2), 161–191 <EReadings/Beck1989Munichs.pdf>, ISSN 01622889
• Barton J. Bernstein (1995) The Atomic Bombings Reconsidered. Foreign Affairs. 74(1), 135–152 <EReadings/Bernstein1995The-Atomic.pdf>, ISSN 00157120
• George F. Kennan (1947) The Sources of Soviet Conduct. Foreign Affairs. 25(4), 566–582 <EReadings/Kennan1947The-Sources.pdf>, ISSN 00157120
• Scott D. Sagan (1986) 1914 Revisited: Allies, Offense, and Instability. International Security. 11(2), 151–175 <EReadings/Sagan19861914.pdf>
• Scott D. Sagan (1988) The Origins of the Pacific War. Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 18(4), 893–922 <EReadings/Sagan1988The-Origins.pdf>, ISSN 00221953
• Stephen Van Evera (1984) The Cult of the Offensive and the Origins of the First World War. International Security. 9(1), 58–107 <EReadings/Van-Evera1984The-Cult.pdf>

Optional

• Jack Snyder (1984) Civil-Military Relations and the Cult of the Offensive, 1914 and 1984. International Security. 9(1), 108–146 <EReadings/Snyder1984Civil-Military.pdf>

07. Cold War (134 Pages)

• Carol Cohn (1987) Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defense Intellectuals. Signs. 12(4), 687–718 <EReadings/Cohn1987Sex-and-Death.pdf>
• Richard Ned Lebow (1994) The Long Peace, the End of the Cold War, and the Failure of Realism. International Organization. 48(2), 249–277 <EReadings/Lebow1994The-Long.pdf>, ISSN 00208183
• Thomas C. Schelling (1966) Chap. 1 in Arms and influence. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press <EReadings/Schelling1966Arms1-34.pdf>, 1–34, ISBN 0300002211
• William C. Wohlforth (1994-1995) Realism and the End of the Cold War. International Security. 19(3), 91–129 <EReadings/Wohlforth1994Realism.pdf>, ISSN 01622889

09. Nuclear Weapons (206 Pages)

• Tanya Glaser (1983) Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. Conflict Research Consortium Book Summary <EReadings/Glaser1983Getting.pdf>
• Hans J. Morgenthau (2005) The Future of Diplomacy. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 104–113
• Treaty On The Non-Proliferation Of Nuclear Weapons.  <EReadings/NPT1968.pdf>
• Scott D. Sagan and Kenneth N. Waltz (2003) Chap. 1-5 In Sagan and Waltz The Spread of Nuclear Weapons, 3–184

Reread

• Morgenthau International Politics, 7–14

10. Post-Proliferation (47 Pages)

• Alexander H. Montgomery (2005) Ringing in Proliferation: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb Network. International Security. 30(2), 153–187 <EReadings/Montgomery2005Ringing.pdf>
• Alexander H. Montgomery (2006) Proliferation Networks in Theory and Practice. Strategic Insights. 5(6), 12 <EReadings/Montgomery2006Proliferation.pdf>

11. Networked Politics (116 Pages)

• Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink (2005) Transnational Activists Networks. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 551–557 <EReadings/ArtJervis2005International551-557.pdf>
• Rhoda E. Howard and Jack Donnelly (2005) Human Rights in World Politics. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 558–570
• Robert A. Pape (2005) The Logic of Suicide Terrorism. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 232–250
• Richard Price (1998) Reversing the Gun Sights: Transnational Civil Society Targets Land Mines. International Organization. 52(3), 613–644 <EReadings/Price1998Reversing.pdf>
• Jessica Stern (2005) Al Qaeda: The Protean Enemy. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 431–438 <EReadings/Stern2005Al-Qaeda.pdf>
• Phil Williams (2002) Transnational Criminal Networks. In John Arquilla and David F. Ronfeldt, editors Networks and Netwars.  Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation <EReadings/Williams2002Transnational.pdf>, ISBN 0833030302. chapter 3, 61–97

Optional

• Valdis E. Krebs (2002) Mapping Networks of Terrorist Cells. Connections. 24(3), 43–52 <EReadings/Krebs2002Mapping.pdf>

12. IPE (106 Pages)

• Robert Gilpin (2005) The Nature of Political Economy. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 281–297 <EReadings/ArtJervis2005International281-297.pdf>
• Steven J. Davis, Kevin M. Murphy, and Robert H. Topel (2003) War in Iraq versus Containment: Weighing the Costs.  <EReadings/DavisMurphy2003War-in-Iraq.pdf>
• Martha Finnemore (1996) Chap. 3 in National interests in international society. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, Cornell studies in political economy <EReadings/Finnemore1996National3.pdf>, 69–88, ISBN 0801483239
• Stanley Hoffmann (2005) The Uses and Limits of International Law. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 114–118
• Paul R. Krugman (1993) What Do Undergrads Need to Know About Trade? The American Economic Review. 83(2), 23–26 <EReadings/Krugman1993What.pdf>, ISSN 00028282
• John Mueller and Karl Mueller (1999) Sanctions of Mass Destruction. Foreign Affairs. 78(3), 43–53 <EReadings/MuellerMueller1999Sanctions.pdf>, ISSN 00157120
• William D. Nordhaus (2002) Iraq: The Economic Consequences of War. New York Review of Books., 9 <EReadings/Nordhaus2002Iraq.pdf>
• Stephen R. Ratner (2005) International Law: The Trials of Global Norms. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 589–594
• Bruce R. Scott (2005) The Great Divide in the Global Village. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 311–324

Optional

• Linda Bilmes and Joseph E. Stiglitz (2006) The Economic Costs of The Iraq War: An Appraisal Three Years After the Beginning of the Conflict. In annual conference of the Allied Social Science Association.  Boston, MA <EReadings/BilmesStiglitz2006The-Economic.pdf>, 36

13. Globalization (65 Pages)

• Jeffrey Frankel (2005) The Globalization of the International Economy. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 325–340 <EReadings/ArtJervis2005International325-340.pdf>
• John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (2005) Why the Globalization Backlash is Stupid. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 374–380
• Dani Rodrik (2005) Trading in Illusions. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 365–373
• Joseph E. Stiglitz (2002) Chap. 1 in Globalization and its discontents. New York: W. W. Norton <EReadings/Stiglitz2002Globalization1.pdf>, 3–22, ISBN 0393051242
• Kenneth N. Waltz (2005) Globalization and Governance. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 352–364

14. Contemporary Problems (95 Pages)

• Julian L. Simon (2005) The Infinite Supply of Natural Resources. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 531–538 <EReadings/ArtJervis2005International531-538.pdf>
• Thomas Homer-Dixon (2005) Cornucopians and Neo-Malthusians. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 539–541 <EReadings/ArtJervis2005International539-541.pdf>
• Thomas C. Schelling (2005) What Makes Greenhouse Sense? In Art and Jervis International Politics, 542–550 <EReadings/ArtJervis2005International542-550.pdf>
• Tarak Barkawi (2004) On the pedagogy of ‘small wars’. International Affairs. 80(1), 19–38 <EReadings/Barkawi2004On-the-pedagogy.pdf>, ISSN 00205850
• Garrett Hardin (2005) The Tragedy of the Commons. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 525–530
• Samuel P. Huntington (2005) The Clash of Civilizations? In Art and Jervis International Politics, 415–430
• Robert Jervis (2005) Explaining the Bush Doctrine. In Art and Jervis International Politics, 439–453
• Condoleezza Rice (2000) Promoting the National Interest. Foreign Affairs. 79(1), 45–62 <EReadings/Rice2000Promoting.pdf>, ISSN 00157120

15. Morality + Power Redux (72 Pages)

• Richard K. Betts (1994) The Delusion of Impartial Intervention. Foreign Affairs. 73(6), 20–33 <EReadings/Betts1994The-Delusion.pdf>, ISSN 00157120
• Samantha Power (2001) Bystanders to Genocide: Why the United States Let the Rwandan Tragedy Happen. Atlantic Monthly. 288(2), 84–108 <EReadings/Power2001Bystanders.pdf>, ISSN 10727825
• Michael Walzer (1977) Chap. 1-2 in Just and unjust wars: a moral argument with historical illustrations. New York, NY: Basic Books <EReadings/Walzer1977Just1-2.pdf>, 1–33, ISBN 0465037046