International Relations

Transcription

1 International Relations GOVT , Summer 2017 George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 in Enterprise 277 Instructor: Joseph Kochanek ( Office Hours: TBD appointments always welcome This course is a graduate-level seminar offering an overview of international relations, examining significant conceptual approaches to the study of international relations, both in their own right and as they allow greater insight into salient issues of world politics. Course Requirements: 1) Regular attendance and well-informed participation in seminar discussion throughout the term. I expect students to be prepared to speak about the readings in each class, and I will routinely call on students during class to answer questions. This course works best when discussion is driven by your questions about the material, and you will be encouraged to submit topics for discussion at the beginning of each class. 2) In-class presentation: each student will give a ten minute presentation evaluating an assigned text (or texts), and offering analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of significant arguments offered in that reading. A brief question-and-answer period will follow the presentation. We will schedule inclass presentations during the first week of the term. 3) Literature critiques: each student will write three essays of words each (no more than one for any week), treating one or more of the texts from a given class, and due in hard copy at the beginning of that class. The purpose of this assignment is to evaluate the arguments offered in the texts you analyze. Literature critiques focused on mere summary of the arguments found in the reading are much less successful than literature critiques focused on evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments found in the reading. Students may turn in literature critiques whenever they choose, but subject to these constraints: (a) the first literature critique must be turned in by the fifth meeting, and (b) students may not submit two literature critiques on a single week s reading. Literature critiques will not be accepted after class begins. 4) Research paper: each student will write a research paper of words on a topic relevant to the subject of the course. A one-page prospectus for this paper is due June 22; early prospectus submissions are encouraged. The research paper will require substantial reading outside of the assigned texts for the course. I will be happy to recommend books and articles relevant to the paper you would like to write. The research paper is due on July 27, 2017, submitted by ; no extensions of this deadline will be possible. All written work in this course should use a standard system of citation to cite all sources used, whether directly quoting a text or paraphrasing it. If you have not listed the page number of the book or article that you are citing, or an equally specific reference for sources without page numbers, then you have not cited your sources correctly. Students not familiar with any systems of citation should contact me as soon as possible. Grading Breakdown: Class Participation: 10% Literature Critiques: 30% (10% each) In-class Presentation: 10% Research Paper: 50%

2 Most texts for this course will be available via electronic journal archives, such as JSTOR, accessible through the GMU library website. Others will be available on the course website. Contact me immediately if you cannot find the reading assignments in one of these two ways. A few books have been assigned as recommended reading. Doctoral students should complete the recommended readings as well as all the other reading assignments. All other students may consider these recommended readings optional. Books available for purchase at the GMU bookstore are listed below: Kenneth Waltz: Theory of International Politics (recommended) Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye: Power and Interdependence (recommended) Alexander Wendt: Social Theory of International Politics (recommended) Course Schedule: June 6: Introduction and Levels of Analysis Kenneth Waltz, Man, the State, and War, ch. 1. Robert Jervis, Theories of War in an Era of Leading-Power Peace, American Political Science Review 96:1 (2002), David Singer, The Level of Analysis Problem in International Relations, World Politics 14:1 (1961), June 8: Foundations Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War (selections including explanation of the causes of the war, Mytilenean Debate, and Melian Dialogue). Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy (selections). Hobbes, Leviathan (XIII-XIV; XVII, XXI, XXX). Kant, Perpetual Peace. Weber, Politics as Vocation. June 13: Realism Hans Morganthau, Six Principles of Political Realism. Robert Jervis, Cooperation under the Security Dilemma, World Politics 30:2 (1978) John Mearsheimer, Back to the Future: Instability in Europe after the Cold War, International Security 15:1 (1990), John Mearsheimer, America Unhinged, National Interest 129 (2014). Kenneth Waltz, Theory of International Politics 5, III (88-99); 6, II ( ). Kenneth Waltz, Structural Realism after the Cold War, International Security 25:1 (Summer, 2000), Recommended: Kenneth Waltz, Theory of International Politics. June 15: Liberalism Michael Doyle, Liberalism and World Politics, American Political Science Review 80:4 (1986), Stanley Hoffmann, "Liberalism and International Affairs," from Janus and Minerva, Westview Press, 1986), Andrew Moravcsik, Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics, International Organization 51:4 (1997), Kenneth Oye, Explaining Cooperation under Anarchy: Hypotheses and Strategies, World Politics 38:1 (1985), John M. Owen, How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace, International Security 19:2 (1994), Recommended: Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye, Power and Interdependence.

3 June 20: Constructivism (Note: The first literature critique is due no later than June 20) Jeffrey Checkel, The Constructivist Turn in International Relations Theory, World Politics 50:2 (January 1998), Alexander Wendt, Anarchy is what States Make of it: The Social Construction of Power Politics, International Organization, 46:2 (1992), John Ruggie, What Makes The World Hang Together? Neo-Utilitarianism and the Social Constructivist Challenge, International Organization, 52:4 (1998), Kathryn Sikkink, Transnational Politics, International Relations Theory, and Human Rights, Political Science and Politics 31:3 (Sep., 1998), Recommended: Alexander Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics. June 22: International Institutions (Note: The paper prospectus is due June 22) John Mearsheimer, The False Promise of International Institutions, International Security 19:3 (1994/95), Robert Keohane and Lisa Martin, The Promise of Institutionalist Theory, International Security 20:1 (1995), Charles A. Kupchan and Clifford A. Kupchan, The Promise of Collective Security, International Security 20:1 (1995), John Gerard Ruggie, The False Premise of Realism, International Security 20:1 (1995), Alexander Wendt, Constructing International Politics, International Security 20:1 (1995), June 27: Domestic Politics and International Relations Robert Putnam, Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two-Level Games, International Organization 42:3 (1988), James Fearon, Domestic Political Audiences and the Escalation of International Disputes, American Political Science Review 88:3 (1994), Peter Gourevitch, The Second Image Reversed: The International Sources of Domestic Politics International Organization 32:4 (1978), Graham Allison, Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis, American Political Science Review, 63:3 (1969), June 29: Psychology and International Relations Alexander George, The Operational Code: A Neglected Approach to the Study of Political Leaders and Decision-Making, International Studies Quarterly 13:2 (1969), Robert Jervis, War and Misperception, The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 18:4 (1988), Jack Levy, Prospect Theory, Rational Choice, and International Relations, International Studies Quarterly 41:1 (1997), Rose McDermott, Prospect Theory in International Relations: The Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission, Political Psychology 13:2 (1992), July 6: International Political Economy and Globalization Jagdish Bhagwati, Free Trade: Old and New Challenges, Economic Journal 104:423 (1994), Kevin H. O Rourke and Jeffrey G. Williamson, When did Globalization Begin? NBER Working Paper 7632, April Helen Milner, Globalization, Development, and International Institutions: Positive and Normative Perspectives, Perspectives on Politics 3:4 (2005), Michael Ross, Political Economy of the Resource Curse, World Politics 51 (1999), Immanuel Wallerstein, After Developmentalism and Globalization, What? Social Forces 83:3 (2005),

4 July 11: International Relations After the Cold War William Wohlforth, Realism and the End of the Cold War, International Security 19:3 (1994/95), Francis Fukuyama, The End of History? National Interest 16 (1989). Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations? Foreign Affairs, 72:3 (1993), Stanley Hoffmann, Clash of Globalizations, Foreign Affairs 81:4 (2002), John J. Mearsheimer, Why We Shall Soon Miss the Cold War. Atlantic Monthly 226: 2 (1990). G. John Ikenberry, Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Persistence of American Postwar Order, International Security 23:3 ( ), July 13: Civil War and International War Virginia Fortna, "Does Peacekeeping Keep the Peace? International Intervention and the Duration of Peace after Civil War," International Studies Quarterly 48:2 (2004), Kristian Gleditsch, Idean Salehyan and Kenneth Schultz, Fighting at Home, Fighting Abroad: How Civil Wars Lead to International Disputes, Journal of Conflict Resolution 52:4 (2008), James Fearon and David Laitin, Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War, American Political Science Review 97:1 (2003), Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder, Democratization and the Danger of War, International Security 20:1 (1995), July 18: Human Rights, Global Poverty, and International Politics Hannah Arendt, Origins of Totalitarianism, ch. 9, The Decline of the Nation-State and the End of the Rights of Man, Maurice Cranston "Are There Any Human Rights?" Daedalus 112:4, Human Rights (Fall, 1983), pp Stanley Hoffmann, Reaching for the Most Difficult: Human Rights as a Foreign Policy Goal, Daedalus, 112:4 (1983), Thomas Pogge, Severe Poverty as a Human Rights Violation, UNESCO Poverty Project, Ethical and Human Rights Dimensions of Poverty: Towards a New Paradigm in the Fight Against Poverty, Andrew Kuper and Peter Singer, Debate: Global Poverty Relief, Ethics and International Affairs 16:1 (2002), July 20: Just War Theory and Military Intervention Michael Walzer, The Triumph of Just War Theory (and the Dangers of Success), and Emergency Ethics, from Arguing About War (New Haven: YUP, 2004), 3-22, Nicholas Rengger, On the Just War Tradition in the Twenty First Century, International Affairs 78:2 (2002), Responsibility to Protect: Report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (2001). July 25: International Relations and Environmental Challenges Garrett Hardin, The Tragedy of the Commons, Science 162 (1968), Thomas F. Homer-Dixon, Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflict, International Security 19:1 (1994), Joshua Busby, Who Cares about the Weather? Climate Change and U.S. National Security," Security Studies 17:3 (2008), Elinor Ostrom, Beyond Markets and States: Polycentric Governance of Complex Economic Systems, American Economic Review, 100:3 (2010), The third literature critique should be turned in no later than July 25. The research paper is due July 27, Please submit the research paper over as a PDF attachment. No extensions of the deadline will be possible.

5 Academic Ethics: GMU is an Honor Code university; please see the Office for Academic Integrity for a full description of the code and the honor committee process. The principle of academic integrity is taken very seriously and violations are treated gravely. What does academic integrity mean in this course? Essentially this: when you are responsible for a task, you will perform that task. When you rely on someone else s work in an aspect of the performance of that task, you will give full credit in the proper, accepted form. Another aspect of academic integrity is the free play of ideas. Vigorous discussion and debate are encouraged in this course, with the firm expectation that all aspects of the class will be conducted with civility and respect for differing ideas, perspectives, and traditions. When in doubt (of any kind) please ask for guidance and clarification. Electronic Devices: Laptops and similar devices may be used for taking notes or for consulting assigned texts in electronic format. Please do not use cellular phones or similar devices in the classroom. Mason uses only Mason accounts to communicate with enrolled students. Students must activate their Mason account, use it to communicate with their department and other administrative units, and check it regularly for important university information including messages related to this class. Disability resources: If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Office of Disability Services at or ods.gmu.edu. All academic accommodations must be arranged through that office. Important deadlines for this semester: Students are responsible for verifying their enrollment in this class. Schedule adjustments should be made by the deadlines published in the Schedule of Classes. Last Day to Add: June 12, 2017 Last Day to Drop: June 19, 2017 After the last day to drop a class, withdrawing from this class requires the approval of the Dean and is only allowed for non-academic reasons.