Colby College
Department of Government
Prof. Rodman
Miller 255 x3270
Fall 1996

ETHICS AND REALPOLITIK:
DILEMMAS OF JUSTICE AND POWER
IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Government 339

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The traditional realist paradigm sees world politics taking place in a condition of "anarchy" - i.e., the absence of a central governing body with the authority to make laws and settle disputes. In such a system, survival and security are the overriding concerns for statesmen. Moral considerations play a subordinate role to caclulations of expediency and prudence in pursuit of more traditional national interests.

The purpose of this course is to examine the degree to which ethical considerations can or should play a larger role in international relations than predicted by the realist paradigm. The questions explored are both normative and empirical. First, should ethical constraints or moral obligations compete with or replace traditional conceptions of realpolitik? Second, to what extent have states actually incorporated ethical concerns into their calculations of national interest?

The course is divided into three sections. The first section examines the philosophical foundations of the debates - i.e., ethical reasoning in international relations, the "moral skepticism" of the classical and modern realist scholars, and normative critics of realism. The remainder of the course applies these theoretical questions to specific case studies dealing with ethical dilemmas of warfare and human rights. The second section analyzes "Just War" theories, focusing on the question of when war is justifiable and what moral restraints should be imposed on the conduct of warfare. The third section addresses human rights. It begins by examining what what constitutes human rights - i.e., are certain rights universal or ought cultural differences and developmental imperatives lead us to accept a relativist view of rights? It concludes by addressing the question of whether human rights can be promoted through international organizations, foreign policy initiatives, economic sanctions, humanitarian intervention, or nongovernmental organizations.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Students are expected to read required assignments prior to the lecture to which they pertain. The following books are required and I recommend you purchase them at the Colby bookstore in Roberts Union:

Nye, Nuclear Ethics Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars (revised edition) McElroy, Morality and American Foreign Policy Donnelly, Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice Henkin, Right versus Might: International Law and the Use of Force (2d ed.) Claude & Weston, eds., Human Rights and the World Community (2nd edition)

There will also be a number of packets of readings to be passed out over the course of the semester



WRITTEN AND ORAL ASSIGNMENTS

A. Seminar Participation

Attendance and class participation will count for 10% of your final grade. You will receive formal discussion assignments prior to each class after September 11 and you are responsible for the material which you have been assigned.

B. Papers

Students are required to write three seminar papers to be assigned from a list of topics handed out during the first week of class. All papers are due at 5:00 the day before the class to which they are assigned. Late papers will be penalized as follows:

- 1/3 of a grade if handed in after 5:00 the day before class - 2/3 of a grade if handed in the day of the seminar - a full grade off if handed in after the seminar plus an addition 1/3 of a grade for each day late

The first two papers will be assigned from a list of topics covering the following dates: (a) October 2-October 21, and (b) October 23-November 11. Each paper should be roughly 6-10 pages and each will count for 25% of your final grade.

The final paper will be assigned from the topics from November 18 through December 11. A first draft of 5-8 pages is due the day before the class to which it is assigned. A final draft of 15-20 pages is due on December 21, the last day of the examination period. This assignment will count for 40% of your final grade.

COURSE OUTLINE

PART I: PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACHES TO ETHICS & STATECRAFT

September 9: Ethical Reasoning in International Relations

Required

Nye, chs. 1-3

Recommended

Frankena, Ethics Nardin, "Ethical Traditions in International Affairs" in Nardin & Mapel, eds., Traditions of International Ethics, pp 1-22 Russell Hardin, "International Deontology" and Thomas Donaldson, "International Deontology Defended" in Ethics and International Affairs (1995), pp. 133-154

September 11: Classical Realism (I): Anarchy and "Necessity"

Required Walzer, ch. 1 Reader - selections by Thucydides, Hobbes

Recommended Smith, Realist Thought from Weber to Kissinger, chs. 1, 2 Forde, "Classical Realism," in Nardin & Mapel, Traditions in International Ethics, pp. 62-84

September 16: Classical Realism (II): The Ethics of Statecraft

Required Reader - Machiavelli, Thucydides, Nolan

Recommended Stephen A. Garrett, "Political Leadership and the Problem of 'Dirty Hands'" Ethics and International Affairs (1994), pp. 159-175. Michael Walzer, "Political Action: The Problem of Dirty Hands" Philosophy and Public Affairs (Winter 1973)

September 18: Modern Realism

Required Reader - Selections by Morgenthau, Kennan, Schlesinger McElroy, ch. 1

Recommended Smith, Realist Thought from Weber to Kissinger, chs. 3-6 Donnelly, "Twentieth Century Realism" in Nardin & Mapel, Traditions in International Ethics, pp. 85-111 Christenson, ñKennan and Human Rightsî Human Rights Quarterly (August 1986), pp. 345-373

September 25: Normative Critiques of Realism

Required Walzer, chs. 2, 8 McElroy, chs. 2-5 Reader - Selections by Beitz, Cohen

Required Hoffmann, Duties Beyond Borders, ch. 1 Donaldson, ñKantÍs Global Rationalismî in Nardin & Mapel, eds., Traditions in International Ethics, pp. 136-157

PART II: ETHICS AND WAR

September 30: Jus ad Bellum (I): The Legalist Paradigm

Required Walzer, chs. 4, 5, 6 Henkin, ch. 4 Reader - Smith

Recommended Walzer, ñThe Moral Standing of Statesî Philosophy and Public Affairs (Spring 1980) Osgood, ñForce in International Relations: The Moral Issuesî in Thompson, ed., Ethics and International Affairs, pp. 49-58 Hoffmann, Duties Beyond Borders, ch. 2 Mastanduno & Lyons, ed., State Sovereignty and Intervention

October 2: Jus ad Bellum (II): The Persian Gulf War

Required Walzer, introduction Henkin, ch. 5 (sections of the Gulf War) Gulf War Handout

Recommended David C. Hendrickson, "The Ethics of Collective Security" Ethics & Inter- national Affairs (1993), pp. 1-16 Elshtain, ed., Just War Theory Walzer, "Justice and Injustice in the Gulf War," Weigel, "From Last Resort to Endgame," and Elshtain, "Just War as Politics," all from Elshtain, ed., Was it Just? James Turner Johnson, Just War and the Gulf War Geyer & Breen, Lines in the Sand: Justice and the Gulf War

Oct. 7 & 9: Jus ad Bellum (III): Ideology and Intervention

Required: Henkin, chs. 1, 2, 3, 5 (on Panama) Reader - Tucker, Krauthammer, Beitz

Recommended DeMuth, The Reagan Doctrine Johnson, Robert H. ñMisguided Morality: Ethics and the Reagan Doctrineî Political Science Quarterly (Fall 1988) Charles Maechling, "Washington's illegal invasion," Foreign Policy, Summer 1990, pp. 119-132 Farer, "Panama: Beyond the Charter Paradigm" American Journal of International Law (April 1990), pp. 503-515 D'Amato, "The Invasion of Panama Was a Lawful Response to Tyranny" American Journal of International Law (April 1990), pp. 516-524

October 16 & 21 Jus in Bello (I): The War Convention and Noncombatant Immunity: Hiroshima and the Gulf War

Required Walzer, introduction (reread section on just means), chs. 3, 9, 14, 16 McElroy, ch. 6 Reader - Selection by Stimson

Recommended Nardin, Law, Morality, and the Relations of States, ch. 11 James Turner Johnson, Can Modern War be Just? Hare & Joynt, Ethics and International Affairs, ch. 4 (on Hiroshima) Alperovitz, Messer & Bernstein, ñMarshall, Truman, and the Decision to Drop the Bombî International Security (Winter 1992), pp. 204-222 Bundy, Danger and Survival: Choices About the Bomb in the First Fifty Years, ch. 2 Alperovitz, "Hiroshima: Historians Reassess" Foreign Policy (Summer 1995), pp. 15-34 James R. Van De Velde, "Opinion: The Enola Gay Saved Lives" Political Science Quarterly (Fall 1995): 453-460

October 23: Jus in Bello (II): The Ethics of Nuclear Deterrence

Required Walzer, ch. 17 Nye, chs. 4-7 "Nuclear Deterrence Handout"

Recommended Schell, The Fate of the Earth and The Abolition James Turner Johnson, Can Modern War be Just? ch. 4 National Conference of Catholic Bishops, ñNuclear Strategy and the Challenge of Peace,î The Nuclear Reader, Kegley and Wittkopf, 1985. Draper, Theodore ñNuclear Temptations: Doctrinal Issues in the Strategic Debate,î The Nuclear Reader, Kegley and Wittkopf, 1985. Wohlstetter, Albert ñBishops, Statesmen, and Other Strategists on the Bombing of Innocents,î The Nuclear Reader, Kegley and Wittkopf, 1985. Kattenburg, Paul M. ñMad is the Moral Position,î The Nuclear Reader, Kegley and Wittkopf, 1985. National Conference of Catholic Bishops, ñNuclear Strategy and the Challenge of Peace: The Moral Evaluation of Deterrence in Light of Recent Developmentsî in Kegley & Wittkopf, eds., The Nuclear Reader, 2nd edition, pp. 54-71 Thompson, ñThe Nuclear Problem: Response to the BishopsÍ Letterî in Thompson, Ethics and International Relations, pp. 59-73 Susan Moller Okin, "Taking the Bishops Seriously" World Politics (July 1984), pp. 527-554.

October 28: Jus in Bello (III): Guerrilla Warfare and Counterinsurgency

Required Walzer, ch. 6 (on Vietnam only), 11, 19 (skim all but sections on Vietnam)

Recommended McClintock, Instruments of Statecraft: US Guerrilla Warfare, Counter-Insurgency and Counter-Terrorism Shafer, Deadly Paradigms: The Failure of U.S. Counterinsurgency Policy George C. Herring, "Why the United States Failed in Vietnam" in Thomas G. Paterson, ed., Major Problems in American Foreign Policy, Volume II: From 1914, 2nd ed., pp. 626-635. Guenter Lewy, America in Vietnam

October 30: Jus in Bello (IV): Terrorism and Reprisal

Required Walzer, chs. 12, 13

Recommended Walzer, "Terrorism: A Critique of Excuses" and Fullinwider, "Understanding Terrorism" in Luper-Foy, ed., Problems of International Justice, pp. 237-259 Burchael, "Framing a Moral Response to Terrorism" and Livingstone, "Proactive Responses to Terrorism" in Kegley, ed., International Terrorism, pp. 213-227 Phillips, War and Justice, ch. 3 Chomsky, The Culture of Terrorism Wilkins, Terrorism and Collective Response Rapoport & Alexander, The Morality of Terrorism: Religious and Secular Justifications

PART III: HUMAN RIGHTS AND WORLD POLITICS

November 4: The Liberal Roots of International Human Rights

Required Donnelly, chs. 1, 2, 4, 5 Claude & Weston, chs. 1, 2

Recommended Vincent, Human Rights and International Relations, ch. 3 Shue, Basic Rights

November 6: Human Rights and Cultural Relativism

Required Donnelly, ch. 3, 6-8 Claude & Weston, chs. 3, 10

Recommended Pollis & Schwab, eds., Cultural and Ideological Perspectives An Na'im, ed., Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives: A Quest for Consensus Cook, ed., Human Rights of Women: National and International Perspectives Donnelly, ñHuman Rights and Cultural Relativismî Human Rights Quarterly (Nov. 1984) Renteln, ed., International Human Rights: Universalism versus Relativism Arat, Democracy and Human Rights in Developing Countries Welch, ed., Asian Perspectives on Human Rights Howard, "Evaluating Human Rights in Africa" Human Rights Quarterly (May 1984), pp. 160-179 Welch, ñHuman Rights and African Womenî Human Rights Quarterly (August 1993) Slack, ñFemale Circumcisionî Human Rights Quarterly (Nov. 1988), pp. 437-486 Bell, "The East Asian Challenge to Human Rights" Human Rights Quarterly (Aug. 1996)

November 11: The Development-Rights Tradeoff?

Required Donnelly, chs. 9, 10 Claude & Weston, chs. 9, 12

Recommended Amartya Sen, ñFreedom Needs: Why Political Rights Are Primary Even in the Face of Economic Need" New Republic (January 10 & 17, 1994), pp. 31-38 Vincent, Human Rights and International Relations, ch. 6 Howard, "The Full-Belly Thesis: Should Economic Rights Take Priority over Civil and Political Rights" Human Rights Quarterly (November 1983) , 467-490 O'Manique, ñHuman Rights and Developmentî Human Rights Quarterly (February 1992), pp. 78-103 Barsh, ñThe Right to Development as a Human Rightî Human Rights Quarterly (August 1991) , pp. 321-338 Todaro, ñEthics, Values, and Economic Developmentî in Thompson, ed., Ethics and International Relations, pp. 75-98 Shepherd & Nanda, Human Rights and Third World Development Falk, ñComparative Protection of Human Rights in Capitalist and Socialist Third World Countriesî in Falk, Human Rights and State Sovereignty, 125-152 Felice, "The Case for Collective Human Rights: The Reality of Group Suffering" Ethics and International Affairs (1996), pp. 47-62

November 13 & 18: International Organizations and Human Rights

Required Donnelly, ch. 11 Claude & Weston, ch. 4, 8, 13, 16, 17, 19

Recommended Franck, Nation against Nation, pp. 231-242 Donnelly, "Human Rights at the U.N.: The Question of Bias" International Studies Quarterly (Spring 1988), pp. 275-304 Farer, ñThe UN and Human Rights: More Than a Whimper; Less Than a Roarî in Roberts & Kingsbury, eds., United Nations, Divided World, pp. 95-138 Forsythe, "The United Nations and Human Rights" Political Science Quarterly (Summer 1985) Kuper, Genocide and The Prevention of Genocide Hannum, "International Law and the Cambodian Genocide" Human Rights Quarterly (February 1989), pp. 82-138 Loescher & Scanlan, Calculated Kindness: Refugees and AmericaÍs Half-Opened Door 1945-Present Loescher, Beyond Charity: International Cooperation and the Global Refugee Crisis

November 20 & 25: Humanitarian Intervention

Required Walzer, ch. 6 (reread section of humanitarian intervention and self-determination) Claude & Weston, ch. 21 Bosnia Handout

Recommended Kelly Kate Pease & David P. Forsythe, "Human Rights, Humanitarian Intervention, and World Politics," Human Rights Quarterly (May 1993), pp. 290-314 McMahan, ñThe Ethics of International Intervention,î in Ellis, ed., Ethics and International Relations Stedman, Stephen John, "The New Interventionists," Foreign Affairs: America and the World 1992-93, pp. 1-16. Roberts, ñHumanitarian War: Military Intervention and Human Rightsî International Affairs (July 1993), pp. 429-450 Mandelbaum, "The Reluctance to Intervene" Foreign Policy (Summer 1994), pp. 3-19 Weiss, "UN Responses in the Former Yugoslavia: Moral and Operational Choices" Ethics and International Affairs (1994), pp. 1-22 Damrosch, "The Collective Enforcement of International Norms Through Economic Sanctions" Ethics & International Affairs (1994), pp. 59-76 Weiss & Chopra, "Sovereignty under siege : from intervention to humanitarian space" and Donnelly, "International intervention : the case of human rights" in Mastanduno & Lyons, ed., Beyond Westphalia Damrosch, ed., Enforcing Restraint: Collective Intervention in Internal Conflicts McMahan, "Intervention and Collective Self-Determination" and Kegley, "International Peacemaking and Peacekeeping" Ethics & International Affairs (1996) Pierce, "Just War Principles and Economic Sanctions" Ethics and International Affairs (1996)

December 2 & 4: Human Rights and Foreign Policy

Required Donnelly, ch. 12 Claude & Weston, ch. 20, 22, 24 McElroy, ch. 5 Reader - selection by Halpern & Scheffer

Recommended

Forsythe, Human Rights and World Politics, ch. 3 Forsythe, The Internationalization of Human Rights, ch. 5 Hoffmann, Duties Beyond Borders, ch. 3 Cingranelli, Ethics, American Foreign Policy, and the Third World Schoultz, Human Rights and United States Policy Toward Latin America Donnelly, ñHuman Rights and the New World Orderî World Policy Journal (Spring 1992), pp. 249-278 Carothers, In the Name of Democracy: U.S. Policy toward Latin America in the Reagan Years Gaddis Smith, Morality, Reason, and Power: American Diplomacy in the Carter Years Carleton & Stohl, ñThe Foreign Policy of Human Rights: Rhetoric and Reality from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reaganî Human Rights Quarterly (1985), pp. 205-222 Vogelsgang, American Dream, Global Nightmare: The Dilemma of U.S. Human Rights Policy

December 9 & 11: Nongovernmental Organizations

Required Claude & Weston, chs. 5, 25, 27 Readings - Sikkink

Recommended Peter Willetts, "The Conscience of the World": The Influence of Nongovernmental Organizations in the UN System Thomas G. Weiss & Leon Gordenker, NGOs, the UN & Global Governance Otto, "Nongovernmental Orgnaizations in the UN System: The Emerging Role of International Civil Society" Human Rights Quarterly (February 1996), pp. 107-141