GTD 503 Technology and the International Political System

Transcription

1 GTD 503 Technology and the International Political System 3 credits Spring Semester 2011 Tuesdays, 5:40 8:30, Tempe LL 248 Arizona State University School of Letters and Sciences Global Technology and Development Dr. Mary Jane C. Parmentier Tel mj.parmentier@asu.edu Office Hours: Mondays 9:00 2:30, or any day by appointment Description and Objectives: This graduate seminar, designed for students in the M.S. in Technology/ Global Technology and Development concentration, and other students interested in the topic, focuses on the political aspects of globalization, and considers the impact of technology on the international system. The development emphasis is on political development, both at the level of the nation-state and the level of the international system. After examining the origins of the nation-state system and the main theories of political development, we will analyze changes that have occurred since the end of the Cold War and the advent of globalization, and try to understand the significance of these changes. We will study non-state actors, such as international organizations, international non-governmental organizations, multinational corporations, and terrorism, as we seek to understand shifts and trends in global politics. With political development, international relations, and cultural and national identity the main themes of inquiry, we will gain insight into nation-state development and global politics at the beginning of the 21 st century, with an attempt to predict possible future trends. The objectives of the course are that you will: Apply main theories of political development to current cases and develop your own view of political change and development Understand the theoretical approaches that seek to explain the behavior of nation-states in the international and global arena Formulate your own perspective on the role of technology in political development, and international politics, especially in the current era of globalization Identify significant trends and changes in the current dynamics of the international state system

2 Required course texts: Elizabeth Hanson, The Information Revolution and World Politics, Rowan & Littlefield, 2008 John Martinussen, Society, State & Market, Zed Books, 1997 (also required for GTD 501) Chris Brown, Understanding International Relations, Palgrave, 2001, FREE e-book linked to course Blackboard website Requirements and assessment: You are required to be well prepared for each class by carefully reading and analyzing the required readings, and to participate actively in all class discussions, as well as to complete three 7-10 page essays. It is also expected that you will keep up with world news and events (by reading, for example, The Economist, The New York Times, or other international news sources) Final grades are based on seminar participation and the required written work. You are also required to complete three papers (7-10 pages each) which become submissions to your ongoing GTD Research/Project Portfolio. This Portfolio will be kept throughout your course of study in the GTD program, and will help you form the basis for the development of the Applied Project, Thesis, or Comprehensive Exam. Each assignment will allow you to explore your own views on the key questions in development. One of the assigned papers will also be subject to peer review, giving each of you the opportunity to assess the work of fellow graduate students, and receive their feedback as well. You must select one of the three papers for peer review, which will be handed in first for faculty feedback, returned for editing, and then given to another designated student to critique (not to edit, but to analyze and critique!). During the last classes the selected papers will be discussed. The objective of this exercise is to increase your ability to evaluate and edit your own work, as well as that of others. The topics for the essay papers are as follows. In each case, bring the class readings into your discussions, critiquing the various approaches, plus any additional reading you have done. Paper #1: Paper #2: Paper #3 Political development and the international political system: What is political development? Is there a single model for political development? Is democratization equivalent to political development? What is the role of technology in this development? What is the role of the state in the current world system? What best explains the international behavior of states? International political change: How has the structure, context or nature of world politics changed in the last 15 years or so? Take into consideration the end of the Cold War, globalization, information technology revolution, international regimes, global terrorism, etc. A. Students who have already taken GTD 501 will complete a GTD Seminar Capstone Paper which is a literature review:

3 Looking back and reviewing the themes covered from the beginning of GTD 501 until now, what are, for you, the most important questions? How well do the relevant readings, including some outside literature (not assigned), address these questions? What areas of research still need to be done? If you wish, you may choose a geographic region or a specific country as a case to help organize your paper. The objective of this paper is to synthesize an area of GTD that is critical to you, as well as to gain practice in reviewing literature from a critical perspective. Therefore, you must find some academic literature relevant to these questions which were NOT assigned in class, but related to a class topic and readings. B. Students who have not yet taken GTD 501: It is the year What is the world like? Were any of the predictions and assessments at the beginning of the century correct? Critique the course literature from the imagined perspective of the future. Final grades are based on seminar participation and the assessment of the required written work. 90% - 3 papers (30% each) 10% - active participation in all weekly seminar discussions The Grading Rubric for written work is based on the following criteria: Analysis You show understanding and can specify main points and concepts in the literature. Critique You can identify gaps in the literature and holes in the research and argumentation. Synthesis You integrate and clarify the various views presented by the authors, articulating your own view. Communication You are able to clearly present ideas, showing proper use of language and grammar, with papers written neatly and organized logically, and you are prepared to discuss orally. Grading Rubric: A.... Discusses the literature, shows clear understanding of theories and concepts, ideas thoughtfully reflected upon, own view visibly constructed A -... Discusses literature, shows understanding of theories and concepts presented, ideas reflected upon B+... Discusses some of the literature, shows understanding of theories and concepts presented B.... Mentions some of the literature, shows some understanding of theories and concepts B-/C+.. Inadequate engagement of literature, does not show understanding of theories and concepts C/D.. Little or no engagement of literature or ideas E.... No paper

4 Weekly Schedule: 1/18 Introductions Course descriptions and requirements Participants and interests Definitions and concepts in international politics 1/25 Political development of the nation-state: theory and practice Readings: Compromising Westphalia by Krasner (on Blackboard Martinussen, State, Society and Market, pp o Origins of current nation-state system o What is political development? o What are the theoretical approaches to political development? 2/1 Political development of the nation-state: democratization, nationalism, and technology Martinussen, State, Society and Market, pp (finish) and Alexander Their & Jarat Chopra, The road ahead: political and institutional reconstruction in Afghanistan, Third World Quarterly 23, 5 (2002), pp (ASU e- journal) o Is political development equivalent to democratization? Does the Western model fit elsewhere? o What is nationalism? o How can technology be a tool for repression as well as democratization? o How has global information technology influenced national politics? 2/8 International political theory and technology Brown, Understanding International Relations, chapters 1-3 Hanson, The Information Revolution and World Politics, chapters 1 o What are the main approaches to understanding how the international system functions? o How have international realities and events influenced these theoretical approaches and paradigms? 2/15 International politics, technology and change examples from history Hanson, chapter 2 Manuel Castells, The Crisis of Industrial Statism and the Collapse of the Soviet Union, End of Millennium, Chapter I (Blackboard readings) o o How has technology influenced politics in the past? According to Castells, what caused the dramatic political changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe? 2/22 Post Cold War changes: globalization, information technologies Hanson, chapters 3 and 4 G. John Ikenberry, Liberalism and empire: logics of order in the American unipolar age, Review of International Studies 30, 4, October 2004, pp o What did the end of the Cold War signify for international politics and international political theory? o What is the role of the U.S. in the unipolar age? o How is technology impacting peace and conflict?

5 o PAPER #1 DUE 3/1 Non-state perspectives: globalization, complex interdependence and integration Brown, chapter 9 Hanson, chapter 5 Krugman, Can Europe Be Saved? (NYT, Jan. 16, 2011, on Blackboard site) Review European Union web site: - EU at a Glance, especially the history Treaty of Rome (Blackboard readings) skim o How has globalization and technology created non-state actors? o Do they have more power than in the past? 3/8 Non-state actors: International organizations and international regimes Attend Campus Lecture: Prof. Daniel Bodansky, The International Climate change Regime: A Tale of Two Architectures, Discovery room 250, 5-6 p.m. Nitza Berkivitch and Neve Gordon, The Political Economy of Transnational Regimes: The Case of Human Rights, International Studies Quarterly 52, 2008, pp Lorenzo Valeri, Securing the Internet Society: Toward an International Regime for Information Assurance, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 23:2, Apr/Jun 2000, pp (ASU e-journal) Hanson, chapter 6, pp o What are international regimes? o How do they affect states and visa versa? o How does information technology impact these regimes? Spring Break March /22 Non-state actors: terrorism and crime Jennifer Yang Hui, (2010). The Internet in Indonesia: Development and Impact of Radical Websites, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 33, 2, pp Lorraine Bowman-Grieve, (2009). Exploring Stormfront : A Virtual Community of the Radical Right, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 32, 11, pp Carl Ciovacco, (2009). The Contours of Al Qaeda s Media Strategy, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 32, 10, pp Chris Dishman, (2005). The Leaderless Nexus: When Crime and Terror Converge, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 28, pp Audrey Kurth Cronin,(2006). Cyber Mobilization, Parameters (on the website under Assignments) (optional): Audrey Kurth Cronin, Behind the Curve: Globalization and International Terrorism, International Security 27: 3, 2002/03, pp

6 3/29 Globalization and the nation-state: Are national sovereignty and power eroding? PAPER #2 DUE Attend Campus Lecture: Prof. Merlyna Lim, Revolution 2.0: Social Media and Political Changes in Egypt and Beyond, 6:30 pm, COOR L1-74 Hanson, chapter 6 B. Mendelsohn, Bolstering the State: A Different Perspective on the War on the Jihadi Movement, International Studies Review, 11, 4, December 2009, pp Maria Gritsch, The nation-state and economic globalization: soft geo-politics and increased state autonomy? Review of International Political Economy 12, 1, February 2005, pp Mark Beeson, Sovereignty under siege: globalization and the state in Southeast Asia, Third World Quarterly 24: 2, 2003, pp /5 5:45 8:30 Seminar (and Dinner) in Real Life Ethics: The Ethics of Food Access, ASU Polytechnic Campus, Cooley Ballroom, Prof.s Joseph Herkert, Christopher Wharton Relevant to the themes of socioeconomic and political development that we explore in the GTD program, the event will be cohosted by Dr. Wharton's graduate seminar in Politics, Ethics, and the American Diet and by the School of Letters and Sciences: The topic for the evening's discussion will be "The Ethics of Food Access." In particular, attendees will consider a case study of New York City s petition to USDA to disallow purchase of soda with SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) benefits.this is an exciting program the Lincoln Center has sponsored for several years to provide a forum to engage professionals, faculty and students in the informed discussion and analysis of important ethical issues and dilemmas as they actually arise in real life. After a brief introduction to the seminar format, Ms. Gentry and Dr. Wharton will provide background on what SNAP is, how it works, and how many/who it serves and then describe the issue in New York City. Following the presentation, you will join a small group of other students and faculty to form a discussion group that will analyze the case and formulate recommendations to resolve the case. While working in your small groups, an extensive buffet dinner will be available (including vegetarian and vegan options), allowing the opportunity for seminar participants to socialize while continuing to explore with each other the various issues raised by the case. Following dinner, each group will have 5-10 minutes to present and defend their recommendations for handling the case to the seminar participants. We hope you're able to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in this seminar, lending your experience and expertise to the discussion while also working with a select group of students, faculty and professionals to understand the ethical dimensions of real world problems. 4/12 Technology, conflict and security in the 21 st Century Thomas W. Smith, The New Law of War: Legitimizing Hi-Tech and Infrastructural Violence, International Studies Quarterly 46 (2002), pp Raymond Duvall and Jonathan Havercroft, Taking sovereignty out of this world: space weapons and empire of the future, Review of International Studies 34, 2008, pp Matthew Fuhrmann, Spreading Temptation: Proliferation and Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation Agreements, International Security, 34, 1, Summer 2009, pp Hansen and Nissenbaum, Digital Disaster, Cyber Security, and the Copenhagen School, International Security Quarterly, 53, 2009, pp (optional): Braun and Chyba, Proliferation Rings: New Challenges to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime, International Security 29, 2, September 2004, pp (ejournal)

7 Hayes, Identity and Securitization in the Democratic Peace: The United States and the Divergence of Response to India and Iran s Nuclear Programs, International Studies Quarterly, 53, 4, December 2009, pp /19 Technology, globalization, culture and identity Hanson, Chapter 6, pp R. Holton. (2000). Globalization s Cultural Consequences, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 570, p A. Appiah. (2006). The Case for Contamination, New York Times Magazine, January 2006, on class website R. Volkman. (2006). Dynamic traditions: why globalization does not mean cultural homogenization. Information, Communications and Ethics in Society, 3, pp UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression, URL_ID=31038&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html. 4/26 Perspectives on the future G. Schneider et al. (2010) Exploring the past, anticipating the future: a symposium, International Studies Review, March, volume 12, 1, 1-7. S. Fritsch. (2011). Technology and Global Affairs. International Studies Perspectives, 12, 1, K. Waltz. (2004). Neorealism: confusions and criticisms. Journal of Politics and Society. (linked on our website under Assignments) International Futures project at the University of Denver: PAPER #3 DUE 4/3 Last Class Peer Reviews