Political Science
441-01
Introduction to International
Relations
Spring
2008
Instructor: Scott Cole,
Ph.D.
Office: Ruffner
235
Office hours: MW 8-9 am;
TR 3:30-4:30
Phone:
2526
Email:
colens@longwood.edu
Days/time/room: MWF
11:00-11:50 am/Ruffner 256
Course
Description
Catalogue: “Study of the
factors conditioning international politics, with emphasis upon the foreign
policies of major powers.”
Course
Objectives
At the conclusion of
this class, students should be able to:
Course Requirements
·
Exams (100 points total): There are two essay exams in this
course: a midterm and a final. See
the course outline for specific dates of these tests.
·
Research
paper (40 points): Each student will write a six-page research paper (typed and
double spaced) for this class. This
paper must have a specific research question, a hypothesis, variables, and cite
relevant literature and data to buttress any conclusions. Specific topics will be determined in
consultation with the instructor.
This paper is due on 4/23.
An instruction sheet detailing the format of this paper will be provided
to you at a later date.
·
Debate group (20 points): Each student will participate in a group
presentation. The class will be
divided into groups for this project.
You must cite books, newspaper articles, and journal articles (when
available) during this debate. Look
for information in these journals: Current History, Foreign Policy, Foreign
Affairs, International Studies
Quarterly, International Affairs, and World Politics, which are available in
the library. Also explore these
news sources: The New York Times,
the Financial Times (ft.com), and
the Economist (available in the
library or at economist.com). More
information on this project will be provided later. See the course outline for exact dates
of these debates.
·
Book review (30 points):
Students will write a book review about The Parliament of Man by Paul
Kennedy. This book review will be
related to articles that were read in The
New York Times. This reflective
review should be four pages long (typed and double spaced) and include the
following items:
o
A brief summary of the book (one
page)
o
A critique of the argument,
which should include references to articles from The New York Times. Make sure to cite the strengths and
weakness of his arguments (three pages)
o
A bibliography of cited
articles
This project is due on
3/24.
*Student
conduct: Any student caught sleeping, talking, or disrupting this class will
have points deducted from his/her final grade. The penalty is 5 points for each
infraction.
*Computer
and phone usage in class: Students
are not allowed to use cell phones, email, instant messaging, or any other
aspect of the Internet during this class.
You are not allowed to play computer games either. The penalty is 5 points for each
infraction.
*Longwood’s attendance policy applies to this
class.
*This is
a writing intensive class.
*All provisions of the Longwood Honor Code
apply to this course.
Required
Paul Kennedy, Parliament of
Baylis and Smith, The Globalization of World Politics
(3rd edition).
There are also several
hyperlinked articles on this syllabus that must be read for this course, and
these must be accessed on Longwood’s campus, not off campus.
A subscription to The New York Times for the entire
semester. Material from the NYTs
will be included on both of the exams and be used for classroom discussions and
the book review. You must read this
paper Monday through Friday every week of class.
Accommodations
Students with disabilities
should register with the Office of Disability and inform the instructor of any
special needs.
Course
Outline
Background and
History
1/16 Introduction to the
course (readings: none)
·
Course
syllabus
·
Assign
projects and debate groups
1/18 Why study international
relations? (readings: Baylis and Smith ch. 1)
·
What is
IR? What are its biases? What does it focus on?
·
Why is its
useful to study international relations?
·
How does
international relations impact our daily lives?
·
How does
international relations relate to American government?
1/21 No class – Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day
1/23 World politics from
·
A discussion
of relevant historical events from the seventeenth to the twentieth
century.
1/25 World War II, the Cold War,
and the Age of Terrorism (readings: Baylis and Smith chps. 4, 5,
6)
·
A discussion
of relevant historical events from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Theories of International
Relations
1/28 Realism, neo-realism, and
international relations (readings: Baylis and Smith ch. 7 and
9)
·
What is
realism?
·
What are
some examples of realism?
·
Who
advocates this approach?
·
What are its
strengths
·
What are its
weaknesses?
·
What is
neo-realism and structural realism?
·
What is the
national interest?
1/30 Balance of power (readings:
Kissinger at http://www.jstor.org/view/00438871/di971121/97p0305d/0)
·
What is the
balance of power?
·
What are
some examples of this concept?
·
Who
advocates this approach?
·
What are its
strengths
·
What are its
weaknesses?
·
Kissinger,
Nixon, and the case of détente in the 1970s (China, SALT I)
·
2/1 Liberalism,
idealism, and foreign relations (readings: Baylis and Smith chs. 8 and
9)
·
What are
liberalism and idealism?
·
What are
examples of this theory?
·
Who
advocates this approach?
·
What are its
strengths
·
What are its
weaknesses?
·
Can there
ever be world peace?
·
What is
neo-liberalism?
2/4 Discussion of NYTs
2/6 Critical
approaches to foreign affairs (readings: Baylis and Smith ch.
10)
·
What are the
critical approaches to international relations?
·
How do
Marxists understand global politics?
·
What are
examples of the critical approach?
·
What are its
strengths?
·
What are its
weaknesses?
·
Non-Marxist
approaches to IR? World systems
theory.
2/8 Post-Modernism
and Constructivism (readings: Baylis and Smith chs. 11 and
12)
·
What is
post-modernism?
·
What is
constructivism?
·
What are the
strengths and weaknesses of each?
2/11 Neoconservatives and the
21st century (readings: none)
·
What is a
neocon?
·
Where did
they come from?
·
What do they
believe?
·
Who were
their teachers?
·
What are
examples of neoconservatism?
·
What are its
strengths?
·
What are its
weaknesses?
2/13 Debate: Should the
2/15 Discussion of NYTs
2/18 Video: “The Fog of War”
(readings: none. Take this
opportunity to start The Parliament of
Man)
2/20 Video: “The Fog of War”
continued (readings: none)
2/22 Discussion of “The Fog of War”
(readings: none)
·
Who is
Robert McNamara?
·
What are the
main themes of this movie?
·
What are its
strengths?
·
What are its
weaknesses?
·
What would
his theory of IR encompass?
2/25 Feminist interpretations of
international relations (readings: Baylis and Smith ch.
30)
·
What is
feminism?
·
How do
feminists interpret foreign affairs?
·
What are
their theories?
·
Are men or
women better diplomats?
·
Examples of
Rice, Albright, Merkel, Bachelet,
2/27 Rational actors and game
theory (readings: Axelrod at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~axe/)
·
What is a
rational actor?
·
What are its
strengths and weaknesses?
·
What is game
theory?
·
What are its
strengths and weaknesses?
·
The
prisoner’s dilemma
2/29 First exam (50 points)
Concepts and Issues
3/3 The
nation-state, sovereignty, and the individual (readings:
none)
·
What is a
nation-state?
·
Where do
states come from?
·
How do
states impact international politics?
·
Is the state
losing power in the 21st century?
·
How do small
states survive?
·
What roles
do individuals play in terms of global politics?
3/5 Nationalism and
ethnicity (readings: Baylis and Smith ch. 23 and 24)
·
What is
nationalism?
·
What is
ethnicity?
·
What is
culture?
·
How do
ethnicity, culture, and nationalism impact foreign
affairs?
·
What is the
clash of civilizations?
3/7 Power and
diplomacy (readings: Baylis and Smith 17)
·
What is
power?
·
How is power
obtained?
·
How is power
used?
·
Who has
power?
·
What are the
limits of power?
3/10-3/14 No classes
– Spring Break
3/9 International
political economy (readings: Baylis and Smith chps. 14, 27, 29)
·
What is
Bretton Woods?
·
What are the
key organizations governing the world economy?
o
What are the
IMF and the World Bank?
o
What is the
WTO?
·
Who runs
these organizations?
·
How is
global trade an issue for international politics?
·
What
economic alliances are emerging to influence international politics?
·
How do
multinational corporations impact the global economy and international
relations?
3/17 Discussion of NYTs
3/19 Debate: Does
3/21 The democratic peace thesis
(readings: Layne at http://www.jstor.org/view/01622889/di008148/00p0131y/0)
·
Do
democracies fight each other?
·
Why do they
or don’t they?
·
Will they
fight each other in the future?
·
Is promoting
democracy a potential answer to ending world conflict?
·
The case of
3/24 The United Nations (readings:
Kennedy, entire book)
·
Your book review is due today.
·
A discussion
of the United Nations and Paul Kennedy’s book.
3/26 International organizations
(readings: Baylis and Smith chps. 16 and 18)
·
What are
international organizations?
·
What do they
do?
·
How do they
operate?
·
Do they
create world peace? Can they
promote peace?
·
What are
their strengths and weaknesses?
3/28 Alliances (readings: Baylis
and Smith ch. 13)
·
How and why
are alliances formed?
·
What are
they used for?
·
What are the
limits of alliances?
·
What
alliances are important today?
·
What are the
key alliances of the future?
·
A discussion
of NATO, Warsaw Pact, and economic alliances, such as EU, Nafta, etc.
3/31 International law, ethics,
morality, and human rights (readings: Baylis and Smith chps. 15 and
31)
·
What is
international law?
·
What are the
key institutions associated with international law?
·
What role do
ethics and morals play in foreign affairs?
·
What are
human rights?
·
Where do we
get human rights from?
4/2 Discussion of NYTs
4/4 Debate: Is international law relevant in
the 21st century? (readings: none)
4/7 Non-governmental
organizations and transnational movements (readings: Baylis and Smith ch.
19)
·
What are
NGOs?
·
What do they
do?
·
How do they
impact foreign policy?
·
Are they
replacing the state?
4/9 War, peace, and
nation building (readings: )
·
What causes
war?
·
How is
conflict resolved?
·
How can
nations be rebuilt after conflict?
4/11 The global environment,
health issues, resource management, and foreign affairs (readings: Baylis and
Smith ch. 20)
·
How does the
environment impact foreign relations?
·
What are
some of the key health issues impacting international politics?
4/14 Terrorism (readings: Baylis
and Smith ch. 21)
·
How has
terrorism impacted the study of international relations?
·
What is
terrorism?
·
How is
terrorism impacting relations among states?
·
What does it
tell us about non-state actors?
·
How does
terrorism affect policymaking?
4/16 Discussion of NYTs
4/18 Nuclear proliferation
(readings: Baylis and Smith ch. 22)
·
What laws
govern nuclear proliferation?
·
What
organizations oversee nuclear weapons?
·
How can
countries be stopped from gaining nuclear weapons?
·
Should the
Western powers and others give up their weapons?
·
The case of
4/21 The decline thesis (readings:
Baylis and Smith ch. 32 and 33)
·
What is the
decline thesis?
·
What factors
make countries decline?
·
What are
some examples of decline?
·
Does it
matter if one power declines and another emerges?
·
What impact
does this have on international relations and the organization of world
politics?
4/23 Debate: Is
Your research paper is due.
4/25 Review of course; discussion
of final exam (readings: none)
4/30 Final exam at 8-10:30 am (50 points)