PSCI 104: International Politics (Sample Syllabus) Political Science Department Queens College

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1 PSCI 104: International Politics (Sample Syllabus) Political Science Department Queens College Section: 4-LEC (2208) Classroom: Powdermaker 211 Meets: M, W 10:50-12:05 Professor Peter Liberman Office: PH 200T; (718) ; liberman@qc.cuny.edu Office Hours: M, W 12:15-1:15 and by appointment Course Description This course provides an introduction to international politics, which concerns how nations (as well as international organizations, multinational corporations, and other non-state actors) struggle and cooperate to obtain power, security, wealth, and other goals. International politics is worth understanding, because it has a huge impact on the physical security, prosperity, and health of all life on earth. World Cultures and Global Issues Requirements This course satisfies the requirements for the Pathways flexible core area of World Cultures and Global Issues, by meeting the course objectives listed below. 1. Gather, interpret, and assess information from a variety of sources and points of view. The required readings for the course provide are by numerous authors representing viewpoints. These readings include surveys of political science research, monographs, memoires, policy advocacy, and journalistic accounts. Students will also engage additional readings found through their own research. Class lectures highlight competing theoretical perspectives such as realism, liberalism, and constructivism. Students will interpret these readings in class discussion and in papers. 2. Evaluate evidence and arguments critically and analytically. Class lecture and discussion will model critical and analytical thinking by working through competing arguments, evaluating the logic and evidence on which they are based, and identifying their strengths and weaknesses. Students develop critical thinking skills further by engaging in class discussion and by writing analytica; papers. 3. Produce well-reasoned and evidence-based written and oral arguments using evidence to support conclusions. Students will write in-class essays and/or take-home papers requiring the analysis and presentation of deductive and evidence-based arguments. The course will review the basic requirements of good expository writing, which students will be required to implement in their papers. 4. Identify and apply the fundamental concepts and methods of political science exploring global issues. This course exposes students to fundamental debates over the utility of force, threats, and positive inducements in international politics, as well as over the roles of international law and organization, globalization, ideas, domestic politics, and the distribution of power. It will introduce students to what political scientists have learned about international politics, including the struggle and cooperation of nations and non-state actors over power, security, wealth, and other goals. 5. Analyze globalization and describe and event or process from more than one point of view. This course analyzes the nature of globalization, its causes, and its consequences for international politics. Students will engage multiple perspectives on these questions in course readings and lectures. Case studies on particular topics like global textile and apparel trade and climate change will also expose students to the impact of these processes on the prosperity and well-being of different societies and social groups, sometimes from the point of view of affected individuals and policymakers. 6. Analyze the historical development of one or more non-u.s. societies, including the impact of globalization on China and the development of the European Union. The course uses case studies

2 2 to analyze in depth the role of globalization in the development, well-being, and power of China and the development of the European Union. PLAS Requirement PSCI 104 satisfied PLAS criteria in a number of ways. The subfield of International Relations (IR) is concerned with global politics writ large. IR specialists examine relationships between not only nation states but other organizations such as corporations, banks, paramilitary groups, and terrorist organizations, just to name a few examples. Students in an introduction to IR become acquainted primarily with theoretical approaches to the study of power and domination in the global arena. Topics explored throughout the semester include the causes of war and peace, the influence of international law, treaty-making, policy-making, and the rise and fall of non-governmental organizations. Variables for analysis included in the study of IR include wealth and resources, leadership, and technological development. These elements of the subfield are examined through two primary analytic methods. The first approach emphasizes case studies and thus introduces students to qualitative, textual analytic methods. The second, game theory, emphasizes abstract logical reasoning procedures and economic modeling in order to unmask the power dynamics that operate on the international scene. Processes reviewed in the course include the making of conflict and cooperation, cost-benefit analyses, and war. Course Requirements All students must have QC Active Directory/CAMS and CUNY Portal accounts in order to use Blackboard (for help with these, see An Active Directory account is also necessary for using QC s proxy server, which is useful for accessing the library s online journal subscriptions from off-campus. Students are expected to complete all of the day s assigned readings before coming to class, and be prepared to discuss and debate the readings in class. The readings average pages/week. Internet use and text messaging are not allowed in class. Grades are based on a mid-term (25%), final (25%), two 5-page papers (2 x 20%), and class participation (10%). All exams and assignments must be completed to receive a passing grade in the course, and late papers will be penalized. Finally, all students must agree to abide by the CUNY policy on academic integrity, which can be found at: Plagiarism and other forms of academic cheating will result in a failing grade and referral to the dean. Readings The following texts have been ordered from the campus bookstore. Additional required articles from the library s online journal subscriptions can be accessed using the links in the syllabus (a copy with active links will be posted on Blackboard). These readings can be directly accessed when connected to the campus network, or from off-campus using the college proxy server (for proxy instructions, see remember to type INSTR\ before your username when logging in). A few other readings can be downloaded directly from Blackboard. 1. Russell Bova, How the World Works: A Brief Survey of International Relations. New York: Longman, ISBN [Note: you need the 2 nd edition of this book] 2. Robert F. Kennedy, Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: W.W. Norton, ISBN: [Note: any edition of this book is fine.] 3. Stanley Michalak, A Primer in Power Politics (Scholarly Resources Books, 2001). ISBN Pietra Rivoli, The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade, 2 nd ed. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2009). ISBN [Note: you need the 2 nd edition of this book]

3 3 Agenda Introduction: IR Theories and History M 8/29 W 8/31 M 9/5 W 9/7 Overview; why study IR? Contending theories of world politics Bova chap 1, pp No class: Labor Day Almost 500 Years of international history in one week Michalak, Primer in Power Politics, 1-17 (up to Star Wars case study). Bova chap 2, pp M 9/12 Bova chap 2, How did the Cold War bring us to the brink of annihilation? Kennedy, Thirteen Days, pp (to There were almost daily communications ) W 9/14 M 9/19 Kennedy, Thirteen Days, pp (to the end of Kennedy s memoir) In-class viewing of documentary: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age, Part 5: On the Brink (PBS, 1989); also available at Rosenthal Library Media Center. How are foreign policies made? Bova chap 3, Power, War, and Peace W 9/21 M 9/26 W 9/28 M 10/3 W 10/5 M 10/10 When does deterrence work and when does it fail? What are states vital interests? Michalak, Primer in Power Politics, , pp Michalak, Primer in Power Politics, pp No classes scheduled Was Saddam Hussein an aggressive lunatic or a calculating opportunist? Kenneth M. Pollack, Next Stop Baghdad? Foreign Affairs (March/April 2002), 32-47, John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, An Unnecessary War, Foreign Policy (Jan/Feb 2003), 50-59, What causes revisionism? Michalak, Primer in Power Politics, Peter Liberman, Writing Political Science Papers: Some Useful Guidelines, available on Blackboard. Columbus Day college is closed.

4 4 W 10/12 M 10/17 W 10/19 M 10/24 Can armaments and war be banned? Michalak, Primer in Power Politics, Is war becoming obsolete? Bova, ch. 4, pp PAPER #1 DUE Screening of documentary TBA MIDTERM EXAM International Law, Organization, and Human Rights W 10/26 M 10/31 W 11/2 M 11/7 International law and the United Nations Bova, chap 5, pp Human rights norms and institutions Bova, chap 6, pp Humanitarian intervention (and non-intervention) case studies Samantha Power, Bystanders to Genocide, Atlantic Monthly (September 2001), pp , &VName=PQD Michalak, Primer in Power Politics, , pp International Trade, Development, and Environmental Politics W 11/9 The rise of world trade: Who does it benefit? Who does it hurt? Bova, chap. 7, Rivoli, Travels of a T-Shirt, xvii-xx, M 11/14 Rivoli, Travels of a T-Shirt, W 11/16 Rivoli, Travels of a T-Shirt, M 11/21 Politics of trade policy: the case of clothing Rivoli, Travels of a T-Shirt, W 11/23 Rivoli, Travels of a T-Shirt, M 11/28 W 11/30 Trade, Aid, and Economic Development Bova, chap 7, Peter Singer, The Singer Solution to World Poverty, New York Times Magazine, September 5, 1999; available from: The European Union and the future of globalization Bova, chap 7,

5 5 Rivoli, Travels of a T-Shirt, M 12/5 W 12/7 F 12/12 TBA International environment, disease, and transnational forces Bova, chap 8, PAPER #2 DUE Screening of documentary TBA. Hypothetical futures Bova, chap 9, FINAL EXAM