1 International Politics (draft) GOVT 540-003 Prof. Ming Wan Fall 2017 Research340 Tuesday: 7:20-10 pm Tel: 703-993-2955 West 1001 Email: mwan@gmu.edu Office hours: T: 6:30-7:10 pm; R: 1:30-2:30 pm 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. The course is designed to help students develop a critical view of international relations theories, engage in extensive class discussions, conduct research and present research findings. While primarily focused on theory, the course also discusses the methodologies IR scholars in different approaches use and how research is actually conducted. Grading: Short essays (3 X 4-5 double-spaced pages) 15% Participation (discussions and attendance) Weekly 30% Panel Presentation (7 minutes) Nov. 28 and Dec. 5 10% Research paper (20-25 double-spaced pages) Due December 5 45% Total 100% 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 3 panels (about 3 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). Three panels:
2 1) The Brexit 2) The North Korean Nuclear Crisis 3) President Trump s foreign policy 4. Research paper: Your research paper should answer a specific research question. Your research paper proposal, due on September 26, 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. 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. Required books: This course requires four books. There are additional readings that can be downloaded from GMU library database or will be put on electronic reserve or sent to you by me. 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. David A. Baldwin, Power and International Relations: A Conceptual Approach (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016). 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). 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).
3 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). Gary King, Robert O. Keohane and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1994). August 29: 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. 1-12. 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. 23-48. GMU library database. September 5: 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. 44-6 (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. 215-233. GMU library database. September 12: Realism: Structuralism
4 Stephen Walt, International Relations: One World, Many Theories, Foreign Policy, no. 101 (Spring 1998), pp. 29-46. Waltz, Theory of International Politics, Chapters 3, 7-8. John Mearsheimer, Reckless States and Realism, International Relations, vol. 23, no. 2 (2009), pp. 241-56. Suggested readings: Stephen G. Brooks, Dueling Realisms, International Organization, vol. 51, no. 3 (1997), pp. 445-77. John Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, updated ed. (Norton, 2014). September 19: Realism: Wars Stephen Van Evera, Offense, Defense and the Causes of War, International Security, vol. 22, no. 4 (Spring 1998), pp. 5-43. 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. 171-94. (on reserve) Robert Pape, The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, American Political Science Review, vol. 97, no. 3 (2003), pp. 343-61. Robert M. Sapolsky, A Natural History of Peace, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2006. 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). September 26: Realism: Alliances James D. Morrow, Arms versus Allies: Tradeoffs in the Search for Security, International Organization, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Spring 1993), pp. 207-233. (E- Journal finders, JSTOR). Glenn Snyder, The Security Dilemma in Alliance Politics, World Politics 36, 4 (July 1984), pp. 461-95. (E-Journal finders, JSTOR). Robert O. Keohane and Lisa L. Martin, The Promise of Institutional Theory, International Security, vol. 20, no. 1 (Summer 1995), pp. 39-51. GMU library database.
5 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. 571-94. 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). September 26: September 26: First short essay due Research paper proposal due October 3: Liberal Institutionalism: Assumptions and Preferences 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. 1-24. 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. Jonathan Mercer, Prospect Theory and Political Science, Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 8 (June 2005), pp. 1-21. 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. 67-92. (GMU E-Journal Finder=Annual Review) Robert Jervis, Perception and Misperception in International Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976). October 10: Columbus Day. No Class October 17: 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. 185-205.
6 Lisa Martin and Beth Simmons, Theories and Empirical Studies of International Institutions, International Organization, Vol. 52, No. 4 (1998), pp. 729-57. Use E-Journal finder in the GMU library site. 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. 118-146. On reserve and electronic 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. 1151-69. Judith L. Goldstein, Miles Kahler, Robert O. Keohane and Anne-Marie Slaughter, eds., Legalization and World Politics (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2001). 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). October 24: Global Financial Crises Paul Krugman, The Myth of Asia s Miracle, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 73, No. 6 (November/December 1994), pp. 62-78 (HeinOnline). IMF Staff, The Asian Crisis: Causes and Cures, Finance & Development, Volume 35, Number 2 (June 1998) found at the IMF Homepage: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/1998/06/imfstaff.htm 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. 257-276 (JSTOR). Ben S. Bernanke, Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke, at the Sandridge Lecture, Virginia Association of Economics, Richmond, Virginia, March 10, 2005, <http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2005/200503102/default. htm>. Suggested readings: Joseph E. Stiglitz, Freefall: America, Free Markets and the Sinking of the World Economy (New York: W. W. Norton, 2010).
7 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). October 24: Second short essay due October 31: 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. 391-416. GMU library database. November 7: Norms and Identities Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics, Chapter 7. Rawi Adelai, Yoshiko M. Herrera, Alastair Iain Johnston and Rose McDermott, Identity as a Variable, Perspective on Politics, vol. 4, no. 4 (December 2006), pp. 695-711. 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. 1-16. On print and electronic reserve. Ming Wan, China s National Identity in Diplomacy: Noninterference in Internal Affairs. In Gilbert Rozman, ed. East Asian National Identities: Common Roots and Chinese Exceptionalism (Stanford: Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Stanford University Press, 2012), pp. 257-72. Will be sent to you. 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). November 7: Third short essay due November 14: Rational Choice Theory
8 Fearon, James and Alexander Wendt. Rationalism v. Constructivism: A Skeptical View. In Walter Carlsnaes, Thomas Risse, and Beth A. Simmons, eds. Handbook of International Relations (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2002), pp. 52-72. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, et al, An Institutional Explanation of the Democratic Peace, American Political Science Review, vol. 93, no. 4 (1999), pp. 701-807. James Fearon, Rationalist Explanations for War, International Organization, vol. 49, no. 3 (Summer 1995), pp. 379-414. 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). November 21: Evolutionary Theory George Modelski, Evolutionary Paradigm in the Social Sciences, International Studies Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 3 (September 1996), pp. 321-42. William R. Thompson, Evolving toward an Evolutionary Perspective, in William R. Thompson, ed., Evolutionary Interpretations of World Politics (New York: Routledge, 2001), pp. 1-14. Raphael D. Sagarin and Terence Taylor, eds., Natural Security: A Darwinian Approach to a Dangerous World (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008). Get a chapter. Suggested readings: William R. Thompson, ed., Evolutionary Interpretations of World Politics (New York: Routledge, 2001). November 28: Panel Presentations December 5: Panel Presentations December 5: Research Paper Due
9 HONOR CODE POLICY The Honor Code policy endorsed by the members of the Department of Public and International Affairs relative to the types of academic work indicated below is set out in the appropriate paragraphs: 1. Quizzes, tests and examinations. No help may be given or received by students when taking quizzes, tests, or examinations, whatever the type or wherever taken, unless the instructor specifically permits deviation from this standard. 2. Course Requirements: All work submitted to fulfill course requirements is to be solely the product of the individual(s) whose name(s) appears on it. Except with permission of the instructor, no recourse is to be had to projects, papers, lab reports or any other written work previously prepared by another student, and except with permission of the instructor no paper or work of any type submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of another course may be used a second time to satisfy a requirement of any course in the Department of Public and International Affairs. No assistance is to be obtained from commercial organizations which sell or lease research help or written papers. With respect to all written work as appropriate, proper footnotes and attribution are required.