GOVT 745-001 International Security Spring 2017 George Mason University Room: Hanover Hall L002 Professor: Colin Dueck Time: Wednesday 7:20pm Office: Robinson A 219 Office hours: MW 3-7 by appt E-mail: cdueck@gmu.edu Course requirements 1) Active and timely participation in seminar discussion (30%) 2) Seminar presentation (10%) Each student will make an oral presentation on selections from at least one week s required readings. The purpose of the presentation will be to critique, and not to simply summarize a major reading for that week. Students presenting should prepare a one page handout for each member of class, to complement the presentation. 3) Review essay (10%) Write one short essay, of approximately 5 pages, on one of the week s required readings. A hard copy of this essay is due in class the day of the assigned reading. 4) Research paper (50%) Write an analytical research paper of 15-20 pages on any of the issues, problems, or subjects discussed in this seminar. Due May 10 th, by e-mail only. Course readings The following books are available for purchase at the GMU bookstore: Robert Blackwill, War by Other Means (Belknap Press, 2016) Victor Cha, Powerplay (Princeton University Press, 2016) Christopher Coker, Can War Be Eliminated? (Polity, 2014)
Virginia Page Fortna, Peace Time (Princeton University Press, 2004) Sean McFate, The Modern Mercenary (Oxford University Press, 2015) Barak Mendelsohn, The Al Qaeda Franchise (Oxford University Press, 2016) Vipin Narang, Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era (Princeton University Press, 2014) Moses Naim, Illicit (Anchor, 2006) Adam Segal, The Hacked World Order (Public Affairs, 2016) Paul Staniland, Networks of Rebellion (Cornell University Press, 2014) Hew Strachan, ed., The Changing Character of War (Cambridge University Press, 2014) Jessica Weeks, Dictators at War and Peace (Cornell University Press, 2014) Course schedule January 25 - Introduction: strategy, politics, and war Carl von Clausewitz, On War, Book 1, all; Book 2, chapters 1-3; Book 3, chapters 1-5; Book 8, all Dan Reiter, Exploring the Bargaining Model of War, Perspectives on Politics 1:1 (March 2003) February 1 - Old wars versus new; revolutions in military affairs Andrew Krepinevich, Cavalry to Computer: The Pattern of Military Revolutions, The National Interest 37 (Fall 1994) The Changing Character of War, chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 13, and 18 Barry Watts, "The Evolution of Precision Strike," Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, August 6, 2013 February 8 - Causes of war Bradley Thayer, Bringing in Darwin: Evolutionary Theory, Realism, and International Politics, International Security 25:2 (Fall 2000) Allan Dafoe, Jonathan Renshon, and Paul Huth, Reputation and Status as Motives for War, Annual Review of Political Science 7 (2014) Jessica Weeks, Dictators at War and Peace (Cornell University Press, 2014)
February 15 - Civil wars The Changing Character of War, chapters 11 and 16 Henning Tamm, The Origins of Transnational Alliances: Rulers, Rebels, and Political Survival in the Congo Wars, International Security 41:1 (Summer 2016) Paul Staniland, Networks of Rebellion (Cornell University Press, 2014) February 22 - Humanitarian intervention and non-combatant immunity The Changing Character of War, chapters 8, 17, 19, 22, and 24 Roland Paris, The Responsibility to Protect and the Structural Problems of Preventive Humanitarian Intervention, International Peacekeeping 21:5 (2014) March 1 - Terrorism The Changing Character of War, chapters 7, 10, and 15 Barak Mendelsohn, The Al Qaeda Franchise (Oxford University Press, 2016) March 8 - Crime and international security Moses Naim, Illicit (Anchor, 2006) J.V. Hastings, Understanding Maritime Piracy Syndicate Operations, Security Studies 21:4 (November 2012) The Changing Character of War, chapter 12 March 15 - Spring break March 22 - Private forces and international security The Changing Character of War, chapter 14 Deborah Avant and Lee Sigelman, Private Security and Democracy: Lessons from the US in Iraq, Security Studies 19:2 (April 2010) Sean McFate, The Modern Mercenary (Oxford University Press, 2015)
March 29 - Economic statecraft, sanctions, and security Kimberly Ann Elliott, The Sanctions Glass: Half Full or Completely Empty, International Security 23:1 (Summer 1998) Daniel Drezner, Targeted Sanctions in Theory and Practice, International Studies Review 13 (2011) Robert Blackwill, War by Other Means (Belknap Press, 2016) April 5 - Alliances Victor Cha, Powerplay (Princeton University Press, 2016) James Morrow, "Alliances: Why Write Them Down?" Annual Review of Political Science 3 (June 2000) Yashuhiro Izumikawa, To Coerce or Reward? Theorizing Wedge Strategies in Alliance Politics, Security Studies 22:3 (August 2013) April 12 - Nuclear weapons and international security The Changing Character of War, chapters 5 and 9 Matthew Kroenig, Nuclear Superiority and the Balance of Resolve, International Organization 67:1 (January 2013) Vipin Narang, Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era (Princeton University Press, 2014) April 19 - Cyberwar Adam Segal, The Hacked World Order (Public Affairs, 2016) Jon Lindsay, Stuxnet and the Limits of Cyber Warfare, Security Studies 22:3 (July 2013) April 26 - War termination Virginia Page Fortna, Peace Time (Princeton University Press, 2004) Elizabeth Stanley, Ending the Korean War, International Security 34:1 (Summer 2009) Barbara Walter, "Bargaining Failures and Civil War," Annual Review of Political Science 12 (June 2009)
May 3 - Does war have a future? Christopher Coker, Can War Be Eliminated? (Polity, 2014) Robert Jervis, Theories of War in an Era of Leading Power Peace, American Political Science Review 96:1 (March 2002) Bruno Tertrais, "The Demise of Ares: The End of War as We Know It?" Washington Quarterly 35:3 (Summer 2012) Michael Boyle, The Coming Illiberal Order, Survival 58:2 (April-May 2016) May 10 - Research papers due
International Security Studies - Topics Air power Alliances Arms control Arms races Arms trade Asymmetrical warfare Biological weapons Causes of war Chemical weapons Civil-military relations Civil war Coalition warfare Coercive diplomacy Conflict resolution Counter-insurgency and irregular warfare Counter-terrorism Critical security studies Cyber warfare Defense spending Deterrence Energy and security Ethnic conflict Geopolitics Globalization and security Grand strategy Guerrilla warfare and insurgencies
Human security Humanitarian intervention Intelligence, war and security International organizations and security Laws of war Mediation Mercenaries and private security forces Military doctrine Military effectiveness Military innovation Military power National security strategy Nationalism Nation-building and stability operations Net assessment Neutrality and non-alignment Non-state actors and war Nuclear weapons Offense-defense balance Peacekeeping Peace studies Piracy Political psychology and war Proliferation Rational choice and war Refugees and war Regional security Revolutions in military affairs Sea power
Strategic culture Strategy Technology and warfare Terrorism Transnational crime War termination