International Politics Draft syllabus

Transcription

1 1 International Politics Draft syllabus GOVT Prof. Ming Wan Spring 2019 FH515/Research 340 Tuesday: 7:20-10 pm Tel: FH468 Office hours: T: 6:00-7:10 pm or by appointment Course Description: This graduate course examines in depth international relations theory. It offers a survey of major approaches to IR scholarship and examines some prevailing questions and concepts. It groups assumptions, concepts and theories into distinct research programs. Students will engage in extensive class discussions, conduct research and present research findings in teams. Learning objectives: 1. Students develop a critical view of international relations theories. At the end of the class, students should be able to determine whether and how a theory is logically coherent and whether and how a theory may be applicable empirically. 2. Students combine a critical view of IR theories with a sharper understanding of the methodologies IR scholars in different approaches use and how research is actually conducted. 3. Students become more comfortable and competent discussing IR issues theoretically in public. 4. Students acquire the ability to recognize the assumptions, concepts, theories, methodologies and facts in what they read and hear. 5. Students begin to construct their own research program with assumptions, concepts, theories, methodologies and facts. Grading: Short essays (3 x 4-5 double-spaced pages) 15% Participation (discussions and attendance) Weekly 30% Panel Presentation (7 minutes) April 28 and 30 10% Research paper (20-25 double-spaced pages) Due April 30 45% Total 100%

2 2 1. Short essays: Write three 4-5-page short essays summarizing and critiquing the assumptions and one or two signature theories of realism, liberal institutionalism and constructivism. 2. Discussions: Each weekly session starts with discussions. Discussion questions are distributed in advance. Students should sign up for questions to lead discussion of those questions in class. Performance is based on how many times students sign up (counting only one question per session) and how prepared they are for the questions. Theoretical thinking is valued. In addition, performance is based on participation in discussion of questions students have not signed up for. 3. Panel presentation: Students should sign up to be part of four panels (5-6 students each). I will ask for your top two picks and will try my best to accommodate your preferences. Members belonging to a panel should work as a team and strategize early on how to present at the end of the semester (each presenter responsible for one dimension of the issue, for example). Panels: 1) The Brexit 2) The North Korean nuclear crisis 3) President Putin s foreign policy 4) US-China trade war 4. Research paper: Your research paper should answer a specific research question. Your research paper proposal, due on February 19, should have the following elements: a clear question, a hypothesis or what you think might be the answer to your question, and a preliminary literature review. You can use your research paper as the basis for your panel presentation if they are similar. You can use any citation system as long as it is consistent. Special needs: If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at All academic accommodations must be arranged through the DRC. Academic integrity: Faculty in the Schar School will strictly enforce Mason s honor code. Late work policy: Request for extension and incomplete has to be made in writing 24 hours before due time. Request will be granted by the instructor if there is a legitimate reason such as family emergency and illness.

3 3 Required books: If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at All academic accommodations must be arranged through the DRC. This course requires four books. There are additional readings that can be downloaded from GMU library database or will be put on e-reserve at the GMU library. Reading is due before class. I have suggested some additional important readings for each topic for your reference. You may read them now or in the future. Suggested readings do not have to be read before class. Kenneth N. Waltz, Theory of International Politics (Waveland, 2010). Robert O. Keohane, After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005) Alexander Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics (Cambridge University Press, 1999) Stephen M. Walt, The Hell of Good Intentions: America s Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018) Those who need to have a better understanding of International Relations and Political Science may want to read the following books. James E. Dougherty and Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr., Contending Theories of International Relations: A Comprehensive Survey, 5 th ed. (New York: Pearson, 2009). Karen Mingst and Ivan M. Arreguin-Toft, Essentials of International Relations, 6th. ed. (New York: W.W. Norton, 2013). Joseph S. Nye, Jr. and David A. Welch, Understanding Global Conflict and Cooperation: An Introduction to Theory and History, 10 th ed. (New York: Pearson, 2016). Robert Gilpin, Global Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic Order (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001). Paul Pierson, Politics in Time: History, Institutions and Social Analysis (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004). Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Principles of International Politics: People s Power, Preferences and Perceptions, 5th ed. (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2013).

4 4 Gary King, Robert O. Keohane and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1994). January 22: Introduction Reading Assignments Keohane, After Hegemony. Preface to the 2005 edition, pp. ix-xx. Kenneth Waltz and James Fearon, A Conversation with Kenneth Waltz, Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 15 (June 2012), pp GMU library database. Stephen Walt, The Relationship between Theory and Policy in International Relations, Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 8, no. 1 (June 2005), pp GMU library database. January 29: Realism: Assumptions and Power Waltz, Theory of International Politics, Chapters 1, 5-6. David A. Baldwin, Power and International Relations: A Conceptual Approach (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016). Keohane, After Hegemony, pp (in Chapter 3 on hegemony). Suggested readings: Joseph S. Nye, Jr. The Future of Power (New York: PublicAffairs, 2011). Terry M. Moe, Power and Political Institutions, Perspectives on Politics, vol. 3, no. 2 (June 2005), pp February 5: Realism: Structuralism Stephen Walt, International Relations: One World, Many Theories, Foreign Policy, no. 101 (Spring 1998), pp GMU library database. Waltz, Theory of International Politics, Chapters 3, 7-8. Stephen G. Brooks, Dueling Realisms, International Organization, vol. 51, no. 3 (Summer 1997), pp GMU library database. Suggested readings: John Mearsheimer, Reckless States and Realism, International Relations, vol. 23, no. 2 (2009), pp John Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, updated ed. (Norton, 2014).

5 5 February 12: Realism: Wars Stephen Van Evera, Offense, Defense and the Causes of War, International Security, vol. 22, no. 4 (Spring 1998), pp GMU library database. Jacek Kugler and A.F.K. Organski, The Power Transition: A Retrospective and Prospective Evaluation, in Manus I. Midlarsky, ed., Handbook of War Studies (Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1989), pp (e-reserve) Robert Pape, The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, American Political Science Review, vol. 97, no. 3 (August 2003), pp GMU library database. Robert M. Sapolsky, A Natural History of Peace, Foreign Affairs, January/February GMU library database. Suggested readings: Richard K. Betts, ed., Conflict after the Cold War: Arguments on Causes of War and Peace (New York: Longman, 2002). Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1980). February 19: Realism: Alliances James D. Morrow, Arms versus Allies: Tradeoffs in the Search for Security, International Organization, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Spring 1993), pp GMU library database. Glenn Snyder, The Security Dilemma in Alliance Politics, World Politics 36, 4 (July 1984), pp GMU library database. Robert O. Keohane and Lisa L. Martin, The Promise of Institutional Theory, International Security, vol. 20, no. 1 (Summer 1995), pp GMU library database. Andrew Yeo, Not in Anyone s Backyard: The Emergence and Identity of a Transnational Anti-Base Network, International Studies Quarterly, vol. 58, no. 3 (2009), pp GMU library database. Suggested readings: Michael Green, Arming Japan (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998). Andrew Yeo, Activists, Alliances, and Anti-U.S. Base Protests (Cambridge University Press, 2011). February 19: First short essay due February 19: Research paper proposal due February 26: Liberal Institutionalism: Assumptions and Preferences

6 6 Keohane, After Hegemony, Chapters 1-2, 7. James N. Druckman and Aurthur Lupia, Preference Formation, Annual Review of Political Science, Vol. 3 (June 2000), pp GMU library database. Joseph Grieco, Anarchy and the Limits of Cooperation: A Realist Critique of the Newest Liberal Internationalism, International Organization, vol. 42, no. 3 (Summer 1988), pp GMU library database. Jonathan Mercer, Prospect Theory and Political Science, Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 8 (June 2005), pp GMU library database. Suggested readings: Graham T. Allison, Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1971). J.M. Goldgeier and P.E. Tetlock, Psychology and International Relations Theory, Annual Review of Political Science, no. 4 (2001), pp (GMU E-Journal Finder=Annual Review) Robert Jervis, Perception and Misperception in International Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976). March 5: Liberal Institutionalism: Structuralism Keohane, After Hegemony, Chapters 1-4. Stephen Krasner, Structural Causes and Regime Consequences: Regimes as Intervening Variables, International Organization, vol. 36, no. 2 (Spring 1982), pp GMU library database. Lisa Martin and Beth Simmons, Theories and Empirical Studies of International Institutions, International Organization, Vol. 52, No. 4 (1998), pp GMU library database. Jeffry Frieden and Lisa L. Martin, International Political Economy: Global and Domestic Interactions, in Ira Katznelson and Helen Milner, eds., Political Science: The State of the Discipline (New York: W.W. Norton, 2002), pp (E-reserve) Suggested readings: Stephen D. Krasner, ed., International Regimes (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1983). Michael Doyle, Liberalism and World Politics, American Political Science Review, vol. 80, no. 4 (1986), pp Judith L. Goldstein, Miles Kahler, Robert O. Keohane and Anne-Marie Slaughter, eds., Legalization and World Politics (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2001).

7 7 Peter J. Katzenstein, ed., Between Power and Plenty: Foreign Economic Policies of Advanced Industrial States (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1984). Hendrik Spruyt, The Sovereign State and its Competitors (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994). March 11-17: Spring recess March 19: Global Financial Crises Paul Krugman, The Myth of Asia s Miracle, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 73, No. 6 (November/December 1994), pp GMU library database. IMF Staff, The Asian Crisis: Causes and Cures, Finance & Development, Volume 35, Number 2 (June 1998) found at the IMF Homepage: Ben S. Bernanke, Nonmonetary effects of the financial crisis in the propagation of the Great Depression, American Economic Review, vol. 73, no. 3 (June 1983), pp GMU library database. Ben S. Bernanke, Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke, at the Sandridge Lecture, Virginia Association of Economics, Richmond, Virginia, March 10, 2005, < htm>. Suggested readings: Joseph E. Stiglitz, Freefall: America, Free Markets and the Sinking of the World Economy (New York: W. W. Norton, 2010). Paul Krugman, The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 (W.W. Norton, 2008). Charles P. Kindleberger, Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises (New York: Basic Books, 1978). March 19: Second short essay due March 26: Constructivism: Assumptions and Theories Alexander Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), Chapters 1, 3-4, 6. Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink, Taking Stock: The Constructivist Research Program in International Relations and Comparative Politics, Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 4 (June 2001), pp GMU library database.

8 8 April 2: Norms and Identities Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics, Chapter 7. Rawi Abdelai, Yoshiko M. Herrera, Alastair Iain Johnston and Rose McDermott, Identity as a Variable, Perspective on Politics, vol. 4, no. 4 (December 2006), pp GMU library database. Robert Axelrod, An Evolutionary Approach to Norms, American Political Science Review, vol. 80, no. 4 (December 1986), pp GMU library database. Gilbert Rozman, Introduction. In Gilbert Rozman, ed. East Asian National Identities: Common Roots and Chinese Exceptionalism (Stanford: Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Stanford University Press, 2012), pp (Ereserve). Suggested readings: Samuel Huntington, Who Are We? The Challenges to America s National Identity (Simon & Schuster, 2006). Henry R. Nau, At Home Abroad: Identity and Power in American Foreign Policy (Cornell University Press, 2002). Ernest Geller, Nations and Nationalism, 2nd ed. (Cornell University Press, 2009). April 2: Third short essay due April 9: Rational Choice Theory Duncan Snidal, Rational Choice and International Relations, in Walter Carlsnaes, Thomas Risse, and Beth A. Simmons, eds., Handbook of International Relations (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2002), pp Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, et al, An Institutional Explanation of the Democratic Peace, American Political Science Review, vol. 93, no. 4 (December 1999), pp GMU library database. James Fearon, Rationalist Explanations for War, International Organization, vol. 49, no. 3 (Summer 1995), pp GMU library database. Suggested readings: James D. Morrow, Game Theory for Political Scientists (Princeton University, 1994). Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Principles of International Politics: People s Power, Preferences and Perceptions, 5th ed. (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2013).

9 9 April 9: American foreign policy Stephen M. Walt, The Hell of Good Intentions: America s Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018). April 28: Panel Presentations April 30: Panel Presentations April 30: Research Paper Due

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