POLS 120 INTRO TO WORLD POLITICS and International Relations

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1 POLS 120 INTRO TO WORLD POLITICS and International Relations Instructor: Kate Xiao Zhou Course Objective: The purpose of this course is to understand political power as exercised in world politics since Since this understanding requires a deep knowledge of the role of the United States, the major player in the post-war period to this day, we focus on United States foreign policy and America s interactions with the world. We trace the several strands of policy as they develop and as they are applied to the changing environments of the post WWII world, and we consider the theoretical contexts in which they operate. We challenge students as citizens to decide how the United States should engage the world in their future. The textbook for this course is American Foreign Policy Since World War II, Nineteenth Edition, by Steven W. Hook and John Spanier. Readings in the syllabus will be designated: AFP with page numbers shown. There are also 17 assigned articles, and these may be found posted on laulima in the resources section. The syllabus specifies when each article should be read. Course Grading: Grades will be based on your performance in the following areas: TAKE HOME EXAMS: Take home midterm and take home final will be worth up to 30 points each on your final grade. These will be distributed on a Tuesday (see course outline for dates), and will be collected the following Tuesday. Questions will be based on the readings and class presentations. Format will be a mix of short essay and non-essay. You may refer to the readings, to your notes, and to any other independent readings you may consider relevant. You may work in groups, but you are responsible for submitting your own exam paper, which may reflect group work, your work, or a combination of both. LAULIMA REFLECTIONS POSTINGS: Each student is responsible for twenty-five postings on laulima, reflecting his/her opinion on the material presented in the readings or discussions

2 for a given class (which can include reactions to opinions about the class posted by classmates). This will begin with the January 21 class and end with the April 22 class. DEADLINE FOR POSTING WILL BE ONE WEEK AFTER THE GIVEN CLASS!! Each quality post will be worth one point on your final grade, to a maximum of 25 points. A discussion thread will be established for each class date. ATTENDANCE: It is important that you attend class to benefit from the discussions of the material. Each student is responsible for signing the class sign up sheet before leaving each class. Good attendance is worth 10 points on your final grade. One point will be subtracted for every absence beyond three. CLASS PARTICIPATION: We want to know what you think about the materials assigned, and see some debate among your classmates. Speaking up regularly in class can earn you up to 5 points on your final grade. Easy Points: Attendance 10.0 Participation 5.0 Reflections 25.0 Subtotal 40.0 Exam Points Midterm 30.0 Final 30.0 Subtotal 60.0 Grand Total Along with the maximum points above, there will also be extra-credit opportunities announced by Professor Zhou over the course of the semester. COURSE OUTLINE Course Introduction* 3/1/17 Theories of International Relations#

3 Walt: International Relations: One World, Many Theories Founding Principles in Foreign Relations# AFP pgs Washington: Farewell Address Monroe: Monroe Doctrine Progressive Imperialism & Mission# AFP pgs Beveridge: Speech on Philippines Wilson: Declaration of War (Make World Safe for Democracy) Conclusion of WWII: Yalta & Soviet Expansion* AFP pgs Containment, Truman Doctrine, and Opening of Cold War# AFP pgs Guest Speaker, Prof. Shen Genglin, Fudan University Kennan: The Sources of Soviet Conduct Truman: Speech to Congress (Truman Doctrine) Guest Lecturer: Barry Goldwater Jr./ Jim Chapman Institution Building* AFP pgs Trouble in East Asia: Revolution&War in China&Korea, US Response (Truman, Eisenhower)* AFP pgs Kennedy, Cuba, & Russia: Bay of Pigs/Berlin Wall/Missile Crisis* AFP pgs The War in Vietnam#

4 AFP pgs Major Events of the Vietnam War Nixon, Kissinger, and the Policy of Détente* Guest Speaker, Prof. Bian Yi, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics AFP pgs Carter s Failed Idealism* AFP pgs Reagan Realism: Peace Through (U.S.) Strength# AFP pgs State of Union (Reagan Doctrine) 1983 Remarks to Evangelicals (Evil Empire Speech) 1987 Brandenburg Gate Speech (Tear Down This Wall) 1983 Star Wars Speech Kautman: The First Principles of Ronald Reagan s Foreign Policy TAKE HOME MIDTERM (BASED ON CLASSES THROUGH 3/4) DISTRIBUTED/POSTED TUESDAY DUE NO LATER THAN TUESDAY Field Trip to Wuhan, the 1911 Revolution Museum, training to Wuhan takes 3 and half hours. End of Cold War: GHW Bush Manages Collapse of Soviet Union* AFP pgs The European Miracles & National Sovereignty Issues# AFP pgs Sovereignty and the EU Woods: Globalization and Sovereignty: A Short History of the Bricker Amendment

5 America s Foreign Policy Choices & Failing States in Clinton s Unipolar World* AFP pgs , Visit Hang Zhou, where President Nixon started the peace talks (weekend by train 45 minuts) and visit Tai River, the clearest river in China. (weekend visit) Guest Lecturer: Life in a Captive Nation During the Cold War Guest Lecturer: A Libertarian View of the Cold War Guest Lecturer: Arguments on Both Sides of Hawaiian Statehood Asymmetric Challenges from Islamic Terrorism* AFP pgs /11 and the Bush Doctrine# AFP pgs Bush s National Security Strategy War in Afghanistan* AFP pgs Tuck: Afghanistan: Strategy and War Termination War in Iraq* AFP pgs Guest Speaker, US Official at Shanghai Consulate US-Iraq War 2008 U.S. Financial Crisis: Causes & Impact on U.S. Foreign Policy# AFP pgs An Obama Doctrine?# AFP pgs Krayewski: What the Syria Crisis Tells Us About the Obama Doctrine or Lack There of TAKE HOME FINAL (BASED ON CLASSES

6 DISTRIBUTED/POSTED TUESDAY DUE NO LATER THAN TUESDAY Cracks in the Unipolar Order: Arab Spring/China Rise/Nuclear Proliferation* AFP pgs Foreign Policy Recommendations from a Liberal Realist Perspective# Foreign Policy Recommendations from an Institutionalist Perspective* Wrap-Up

Course Grading: Grades will be based on your performance in the following areas:

Course Grading: Grades will be based on your performance in the following areas: POLS 120 INTRO TO WORLD POLITICS TR 1:30pm 2:45pm KUY 305 Instructor: Kate Xiao Zhou, Office Phone 956-8777; Office: Saunders 609; Office Hour: Office Hour: T. 10:45-11:45am E-mail: katezhou@hawaii.edu