Barry B. Hughes, Continuity and Change in World Politics: Competing Perspectives.

M. K. Cusimano, Beyond Sovereignty: Issues for a Global Agenda

Note: in addition, there are required readings, copied and placed on reserve in the Reserve Room of the main library; these assignments are indicated by ® next to the reading assignment. Articles followed by (x) are also on my web page, and can be accessed by clicking on them in the syllabus, once you find it under the POL 250 sub-page.

In addition, I strongly suggest (but will not require) that you get a subscription to the New York Times.

Week 1

(Aug 22) Introduction to Course.

Political Cartoon: "Life After Wartime," Ted Rall

(Aug 24) Introduction to approaches, nature of international politics.

READINGS:  Hughes, Chapters 1 and 2

                        Cusimano, Chapter 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: No class August 29^th and 31^st; it is the annual American Political Science Association Conference

--------------------------------------------------------------------

(Sept. 5) Methods of Control: Some Vital Concepts

1) What is power (see appendix 1)?

2) Which is the most powerful nation today? The second most powerful?

3) Which is the least powerful nation today?

READINGS: Hughes, pps. 72-90 (see also appendix 1 in syllabus).

(Sept 7) The Impact of Domestic Factors on International Politics.

1) See the scenario and question in appendix 2.

2) How would Syrian foreign policy look without Hafiz al-Assad? Does it matter for Russian foreign policy if Putin has replaced Yeltsin in Russia?

READINGS: Hughes, Chapter 7

Siegman, "Being Hafiz al-Assad," Foreign Affairs (2000)®(x)

(Sept. 12)

(Sept 14) Formulating Foreign Policy: How Decisions Are Made.

Questions: 1) What did the U.S. decide to do about the Cuban Missile Crisis? Why?

2) If Bill Clinton had been president in 1962, would he have made the same decision?

READINGS: Allison, "Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis," APSR (69) ® (x)

Hughes (look again at Chapter 7, especially pps. 177-182)

Maynes, "Bottom Up Foreign Policy" Foreign Policy (96)®

Week 4

(Sept 19) Defense Policy: A Special Case of Decision Making.

(Sept 21)

1) Do nuclear weapons make the world more dangerous? Why?

2) How would you go about making sure that your opponent doesn’t use nuclear weapons?

READINGS: Hughes, pp. 94-110; 118-122.

Cusimano, Chapter 3

Lewis, "National Missile Defense…." Foreign Policy(1999)®(x)

"A Survey of Defense Technology" The Economist (1995) ® (x)

Johnston, "China’s New Old Thinking..." International Security (1995/96) ® (optional)

Waltz, "More May be Better," ®

The New York Times: Antimissile Defense (optional)

(Sept 26) Other Inputs: The Salience of Nationalism and Ideology.

1) What is nationalism? How does it differ from ideology?

2) How important are nationalism and ideology for Mexico? Russia? France? How do you know?

READINGS: Hughes, Chapter 13, Chapter 10

Etzioni, "The Evils of Self Determination," Foreign Policy (92/93)®

(optional) Barber, "Jihad Vs. McWorld," Atlantic Monthly (x)

Political Cartoon: "Cold Wall World" by Kal

(Sept 28) The Technological Environment of International Politics.

1) What are the key technological questions facing us today?

2) Why are they so difficult to address?

READINGS: Klare, "Redefining Security," Current History(96) ® (x)

Cusimano, Chapter 7, 8

Gelbspan, "A Global Warming," The American Prospect (1997), ®(x)

Hughes (optional), Chapters 15, 16.

(Oct 3) A World of Penetrated States: New and Changing Actors.

Question: 1) What is the difference between penetration and influence? Can you identify examples of each? (See charts)

READINGS: Cusimano, Chapter 10;

Cusimano, Chapter 2; Chapter 5

Hughes, Chapter 12

(Oct5) A World of Penetrated States: Terrorism in International Politics.

Question: 1) Is international terrorism a problem for your group? Why? Is there an effective way you can address this issue? (see Chart)

READINGS:

Cusimano, Chapter 4

Kegley, International Terrorism, pps. 11-38; ®

Kegley, International Terrorism, pps. 219-240 ®

(Oct. 10) Introduction to International Structures: Organizations as Actors, Tools, and Structures.

READINGS:

Cusimano, Chapter 11

Keohane, "International Institutions: Can Interdepence work?" Foreign Policy (98) ®

(See charts)

(Oct 12) International Organizations: Actors, Structures, Tools.

1) What’s wrong with the UN? What’s right with the UN?

2) Did the UN fail in Bosnia? Why?

READINGS: 

Hughes, Chapter 9

Cusimano, Chapter 9

The Commission on Global Governance, "Reforming the United Nations,"® (optional)

(Oct 17) International Law as a Structure for Action.

Questions: 1) What is law? Using your definition, is there such a thing as international law? How do you know?

READINGS: Hughes, Chapter 6

"International Law: The Trials of Global Norms," Foreign Policy (98) ®

(Oct 19) MIDTERM EXAM

(Oct 24)

(Oct. 26) Alliances as Structures and Constraints/Global Architectures.

Questions: What is meant by bipolarity? What is meant by multipolarity? What’s a hegemon? How do you know when you see one?

What is the major disagreement between Kagan and Maynes? Why? On what major issue do they agree?

READINGS: Hughes, pps. 63-72; 110-122

Kagan, "The Benevolent Empire" and Maynes, "The Perils of (and for) an Imperial America," Foreign Policy (98) ®

Week 10

(Oct 31) Crisis Behavior.

Questions: 1) Have you ever had a crisis in your life? Why did you think of it as a "crisis"? What’s a crisis?

READINGS: Holsti, "Theories of Crisis Decision-making," ®

(See chart)

(Nov 2) Negotiations and Bargaining.

Questions: 1) How appropriate is the analogy of poker for the process of bargaining? Where does it fit, and where doesn’t it?

READINGS: Morgenstern, "Cold War as Cold Poker," ®(x)

(Nov 7) Discussion of Group Research Projects.

(Nov 9) Discussion of Simulation Rules.

READINGS: Frank and Weisband, Chapters 7 and 8

(Nov 14) Simulation Begins

(Nov 16) Simulation (continued)

(Nov 21) Simulation (continued)

(Nov 23) No Classes Thanksgiving Recess

(Nov 28) Simulation (continued)

(Nov 30) Simulation (continued)

(Dec 5) Simulation ends/ Debriefing.

FINAL EXAM: December 12, 11:00 to 1:00PM

Although the course title indicates that this course is about contemporary international politics, that title should not lead you to think that the course is only about today’s current events. Although current events will be used to illustrate the general trends in the course, the major goal here is to develop our abilities to think critically about international politics through the development of a number of important, general principles of international politics, through which we can understand both "contemporary" and future international politics.

Please note as well that this course satisfies the Study Area requirement of "individuals, Societies and Institutions...affording students an opportunity to examine systematically individual and collective behavior, and to explore the basic concepts and theories used in analyses of personal, social, cultural, political, economic, philosophical, religious and scientific issues. As a result, students should come to understand more clearly issues of self-identity, social difference and social status, the role of science in society, and the effects of major institutions on individual experiences."

There are two general approaches used for understanding the contents of this course. One is traditional: trying to focus on the subject by virtue of the common readings, class discussions and class lectures (occasional). The second approach will have us utilize these materials in a more concrete way by applying them to more specific situations. This second approach is based on a method called role playing and it involves a simulation component.

Role playing will involve the following steps:

• Each student is asked to choose a specific "role" to play. On the basis of these choices, students will be placed into groups (usually countries) and into specific roles within these groups.
• Each group in the class will be asked to do some research on their groups, and to present the research in writing.
• Groups will be asked to play out their roles in two fundamental ways. First, as we move through the course, and each group develops expertise about itself, members of the group will be called upon in class to blend their expertise with the generalizations we are discussing during a particular week. For example, when we discuss nationalism, we may ask the French group to respond to the question of how French nationalism affects French foreign policy. Second, we will have an actual simulation, starting on Week 11. During the simulation, students will be asked to step into the shoes of their real-life counterparts. A set of simulation rules is available one the web page and we will discuss these assignments and the nature of the simulation more thoroughly as we progress through the course.

Grades will be based on the following:

Exams: there will be a midterm (around the eight week of class) and a final exam. Together they will be worth 50% of the course grade;

Role performance and simulation: the combination of your research, written presentation, and role performance in class and in the simulation will be worth 40% of the course grade;

Class participation: the quality of your class participation will be worth 10% of the course grade. In order to assist you with your class participation, the weekly course focus on the syllabus includes a number of questions to think about in the context of the readings. You should be ready to discuss your answers to those questions in class.

Examination policy: There will be two exams in the course and their times and dates are listed in the syllabus. Therefore, it is assumed that you will plan your schedule accordingly, and will take these exams when they are scheduled. If you cannot, for any reason, attend the midterm or the final, you must notify me at least one week prior to the exam. I will not give make-up exams unless your failure to take the exam involved an extremely unusual hardship or unavoidable circumstance.

Attendance policy: I consider discussion in this class, and the occasional lectures you will hear to be a crucial component of this course. Furthermore, the parts of the class focusing on role playing and simulation are essential to your grade. Just as importantly, this course meets only twice a week; this means that missing one class means missing a substantial amount of the content of this course. Missing class will mean that it will be virtually impossible for you to do well in the course. Therefore it is assumed that you will come to every class, and your attendance during the simulation and role playing is mandatory. While attendance is generally on the honor system, I reserve the right to take attendance on occasion.

Withdrawal policy: Technically, the university allows students a number of weeks before they can no longer withdraw from a course. Unfortunately, in this class, due to the large waiting list for the course, it is a luxury that we do not have. Furthermore, since you will be working with a group, withdrawal at a later date will cause no amount of grief for the rest of your group. Therefore, I will not allow withdrawals from the course after September 5th, unless there is a very unusual circumstance.

1 USA China USA Luxembourg

2 Russia** USA China U.S.A.

3 France** Russia Japan Switzerland

4 U.K.** India Germany Canada

5 Germany Vietnam France Norway

6 Japan Turkey U.K. Iceland

7 Italy*** N. Korea Italy Australia

8 Iraq (?) S. Korea Brazil Germany

9 China* Iraq (?) India Sweden

10 Saudi Arabia Germany Canada Denmark

11 India Pakistan Russia France

12 Canada Iran Indonesia Finland

13 Iran France Mexico Japan

14 Spain Brazil Spain U.K.

15 S. Korea Italy Australia Italy

16 Holland Egypt S. Korea Holland

17 Australia Syria Turkey Belgium

18 Taiwan Taiwan Holland Austria

19 Egypt U.K. Pakistan New Zealand

20 Sweden Spain Argentina Israel

=================================

You have been appointed by the President of the United States to the National Security Council (NSC). This is our third meeting. Today, I have convened this meeting at the request of the President in order for us to make a recommendation to him with respect to a new, major problem facing us. Consider the following information brought to us last night:

According to our intelligence sources, Russian nuclear submarines, armed with thermonuclear weapons, have been detected off the shores of the following areas:

San Diego;

San Francisco;

Miami;

New York;

Boston.

In all five cases, the submarines are within 100 miles of our continental shores. Apparently, all submarines were moved into their present locations over the last forty eight hours.

The CIA, using both our capabilities, and secure Russian sources, has confirmed the placement of the submarines this morning. We also have confirmation of the missile capabilities on the submarines. This is a close proximity to our continental shores, and we are not aware of a single previous instance, even during the Cold War, of any prior attempts by Russia or the former Soviet Union to attempt this pattern of deployment this close to our shores.

Thus, the situation has become a serious national security problems, and perhaps as well, a serious national security threat.

We have a request from the President for an immediate set of recommendations to him on an appropriate course of action to take.

Before we can recommend an appropriate course of action, we will need to decide what are Russian intentions. In other words, why would the Russians take this course of action? Our response to this issue will critically affect our recommendations.

I need you to answer this why question at our next meeting. Consider the situation carefully! Our national security is at stake!

Below, please indicate your top three preferences, in the order of your preference, by circling the assignment you would most desire, and add the numbers 1,2,3 next to the circle to indicate your preference ordering, to the groups of your choice.

Name (print full name)__________________________________________

United States

Russian Federation

Peoples Republic of China

Japan

Germany

France

Great Britain

Ukraine

Israel

Syria

Iran

Iraq

Palestinian Authority

Taiwan

Pakistan

India

If you have a "burning desire" to play another country, indicate here your preference, along with a brief reason for your interest:  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The first assignment for each group is to divide the group into available roles for each nation. The chief decision-maker will have overall responsibility for the group.

The second assignment is to learn as much about your group as possible by the end of the sixth week of class. At a minimum, you will want to answer the following questions:

1. What seem to be the major foreign policy goals, interests, objectives of your group (be specific)? Why? Are there any particular domestic problems in your nation with strong implications for your foreign policy objectives and interests?
1. Which other nations and groups seem to be your most important "friends," "enemies"? Why?
1. To what extent do the five domestic variables (which we will discuss in class) affect the foreign policies of your country? To what extent do these domestic variables help in understanding the manner in which domestic problems in your nation are/or are not having an effect on your foreign policy objectives and interests?
1. What range of resources do you have available to you to help pursue your foreign policy objectives, including military and economic capabilities (make sure you answer this question in the context of your answers to question 1)? How dependent are you on resources outside of your country?
1. How important is ideology to your group? How about nationalism?
1. How actively are you involved with regional or global organizations and alliances? Why?

To do the research necessary to answer these questions, it is strongly advised that you work as a group and divide responsibility for the research, coordinate the effort, and pool the research each of you will pursue. In cases of groups where your research may be highly interdependent (e.g., Bosnia and Serbia, etc.), for the purposes of the research only, it is permissible for these groups to work with each other and share information during the research phase. (CAUTION: each member of the group will be held responsible for the overall group project.)

In doing your research, you will want to consult several sources, including, but not limited to the following:

• Current events sources: check through at least one of the following sources, for at least the last three years for your country: New York Times Index; Keesing’s Contemporary Archives; Facts on File; FBIS (Foreign Broadcast Information Service, available through Sabio). There are current events sources for several of your nations as well on the Internet, through World Wide Web pages, and especially for the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America. You can also see your nation’s involvement in the UN and (indirectly perspectives of your nation’s decision makers on international relations through the General Debates of the Plenary Session of the United Nation’s General Assembly.
• National resources: a good world almanac of the most recent vintage. Further information is available as well from the annual volumes of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, SIPRI, publications of the World Bank and IMF, and the UN Yearbook of International Statistics.
• General foreign policy analysis: see these journals for articles regarding your country’s foreign policy: Foreign Policy; Foreign Affairs.
• Faculty resources: there are a number of faculty who have expertise in your area, both in the political science department, and in other departments on campus. You may wish to chat with them. Caution: don’t go unprepared! If you want their help, have very specific question ready to ask of them.
• Look on the web page for this class. It links to several salient resources. Look for Internet Resources.

As a group, you are required to write a position paper, no longer than 20 pages in length, covering the questions noted above. This research paper will function both to give you a strong insight into your group, and as an intelligence source for the other groups about you. The paper must be done in WORD, and submitted on a disk, which then will be made available on my web page for all the other groups to read, comment on, and discuss in class. The research paper is due on the 8^th week of class.

CAUTION: keep a list of references, in a separate WORD file. These you will need to turn in at the end of the semester. They will have to reflect the full array of references you used in compiling the paper, and any other references you had used in addition before starting the simulation. The references are due at on the last day of classes (one set of references from each group)

(As part of the first assignment, the chief decision-maker in each group is responsible for turning in the sheet which follows on the next page. Each member of the group should keep the information as well with respect to who plays which role and their respective phone numbers.)

_______________________ _______________________ ____________  ______________ _______________

_______________________ _______________________ _______________ ______________ _____________

_______________________ _______________________ _______________ ______________ ______________

_______________________ _______________________ _______________ ______________ ______________

_______________________ _______________________ _______________ ______________ ______________

_______________________ _______________________ _______________ ______________ ______________

_______________________ _______________________ _______________ ______________ ______________

Evaluate your own participation in your group. How helpful were you to others in the group? How much did you personally contribute to the group’s performance?

Evaluate each one of the other members of your group separately, using the same questions which you used to evaluate yourself.

On the basis of these evaluations, assign a letter grade to yourself, and to each other member of the group.

(This assignment is due on the last day of classes.)

Each group is asked to provide a final evaluation of its own group. This is your last opportunity to explain, justify, and rationalize your group’s behavior in the simulation.

Instead of rehashing all you did in the simulation, you should focus on the following:

1) How realistically did your group behave? What criteria are you using to justify your "realism"?

2) If you did not behave realistically at critical times, discuss how you could have changed your behavior to make it more realistic?

3) What decision-making processes did you use to decide what you were going to do?

4) How did you use your knowledge of alliance systems to guide your activities?

5) How did you take care to integrate considerations of domestic variables with your foreign policy behavior?

(Note: these evaluations will be due the last day of classes. Before turning in the evaluation, all members of the group who worked on the evaluation must sign on the first page.)