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SYLLABUS
GOALS:
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. While
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.” APPROACHES
TO THIS COURSE:
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 the group,
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 12. During the simulation, students will be asked to step
into the shoes of their real-life counterparts. A set of simulation rules
is available on the web page (http://www.u.arizona.edu/~volgy/issp/simrules.html
) and we will discuss these assignments and the nature of the simulation
more thoroughly as we progress through the course. GRADES:
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. EXPECTATIONS: 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 once 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. Simulation involvement: Every person in this course will be assigned a role, and will be part of a group. Both the preparation for the simulation and the simulation itself will require you to work with others in collaboration. That is also how international politics and foreign policies are developed and conducted. Sometimes, however, this leads some students to think that they can slack off and let the other members of the group take up the extra work. Warning: it won’t work. You will be doing a tremendous disservice to yourself, to other members of the group, and ultimately, it will be reflected in your grade. In this class you will have to work with others; learn to depend on others, and allow them to depend on you as well. 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 8th,
unless there is a very unusual circumstance. Plagiarism: There is nothing worse at a university than the theft of one’s work. Plagiarism comes in many forms, including paying for a paper one didn’t write, copying someone else’s work, failing to appropriately cite the work or ideas of another. All of these actions are punished strongly, including failing the course, and the possibility of expulsion from the University. Given these risks, (irrespective of the ethical issues involved), and the likelihood that one will get caught, it doesn’t make sense to plagiarize. University policy on plagiarism and other codes of conduct issues can be found at: http://studpubs.web.arizona.edu/policies/cacaint.htm Other
issues:
I hope I don’t need to remind you of this, but just in case, it
is expected that we treat each other with respect and dignity. This
includes not coming to class late and interrupting others; turning off
cell phones before arriving to class, etc. University policies regarding
these issues can be found at: http://policy.web.arizona.edu/~policy/threaten.shtml.
On another note: if you need assistance or looking for support with
special needs, they can be located at either the S.A.L.T center (http://www.salt.arizona.edu/)
or at the Disability Resources center (http://drc.arizona.edu/).
Calendar of Reading
Materials: M.
K. Cusimano, Beyond
Sovereignty: Issues for a Global Agenda (3nd Edition). Note:
in addition, there are required readings, placed on electronic
reserve. These readings are indicated by ® next to the reading
assignment. They can be found on my web page, at http://www.u.arizona.edu/~volgy/POL365.html.
You can click on the sub-page called required readings and the required
reading and the assignment should appear in alphabetical order. Additionally,
there are some other materials of value for you, and especially related to
the simulation, at: http://www.u.arizona.edu/~volgy/issp02.html.
Links to useful Internet sources are at: http://www.u.arizona.edu/~volgy/issp/resources.html.
I
strongly suggest as well (but will not require) that you get a
subscription to the New York Times (alternatively, you can access
it electronically at www.nytimes.com),
for free. This syllabus, along
with some other materials can be found on my web page at: http://www.u.arizona.edu/~volgy/POL365.html.
Note
also that for each week’s assignment, there are one or more questions
for you to think about as you read the assigned readings and think about
the topic. Please be prepared to discuss these questions in class. DATE
TOPIC and Week
1
(Aug
20)
Introduction to Course. (Another Brick in the Wall/Pink Floyd)[1] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 2(August 27)
Introduction to approaches, nature of international
politics. ((Political Science/Randy Newman) ---------------------------
Methods of Control: Some Vital Concepts
(Power/Temptations) Questions:
1) What is power (see appendix 1A through 1C)?
2) Which is the most powerful nation today? The second most
powerful?
3) Which is the least powerful nation today?
(see
also appendix 1A-1C in syllabus). -------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE:
Monday September 3rd is Labor Day…no class --------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 3
(Sept
10)
The Impact of Domestic Factors on International Politics.
(For What Its Worth/Buffalo Questions:
1) See the scenario and question in appendix 2.
2) How would you have expected Syrian foreign policy to change
after the death of Hafiz al-Assad? How much does it matter for Russian
foreign policy that Putin replaced Yeltsin in
Siegman, 2000.“Being Hafiz al-Assad,” Foreign Affairs ® -----------------------
Formulating Foreign Policy: How Decisions Are Made. (Peace, Love and
Understanding/Elvis Costello) Questions:
1) What did the
2) If George W. Bush had been president in 1962, would he have made
the same decision?
Maynes, 2000.“Bottom
Up Foreign Policy” Foreign Policy® -------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 4(Sept
17)
Formulating Foreign Policy (continued).
(We Didn’t Start the Fire/Billy Joel) -----------------------
Defense Policy: A Special Case of Decision Making. (99 Red Balloons/Nena) Questions:
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?
Lewis, 1999.
“National Missile Defense….” Foreign Policy®
“A Survey of Defense
Technology” The Economist (1995) ®
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 5(Sept 24)
Defense Policy
(continued). (War/Bruce
Springsteen)
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RANK |
Military
Spending |
Armed
Forces |
GNP |
GNP
per capita(wealth) |
Top
Exporters[2] |
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1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
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5 |
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6 |
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7 |
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8 |
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9 |
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10 |
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11 |
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