- Levels of Analysis Handout
- Previous Exams are available at this site to download as Word Documents.
- COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This is an introductory course in International Relations. Its purpose is to familiarize students with the major issues
within the field and the theoretical approaches that have been developed to understand these issues.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Your grade for this class will be based on following, which will be weighted accordingly:
(a) a 75-minute examination on March 1 (20%).
(b) a 90-minute in-class examination given on April 5 (30%).
(c) an in-class final examination given during the College's regularly scheduled examination period (40%).
(d) attendance and participation in discussion sections (10%)
READING ASSIGNMENTS
The following required books have been ordered at the bookstore:
Nye, Understanding International Conflicts (3rd edition)
Stoessinger, Nations at Dawn (6th edition)
Baylis and Smith, The Globalization of World Politics
Mingst and Snyder, Essential Readings in World Politics
There are also a number of readings available in the reserve room, which are indicated as such in the syllabus.
COURSE OUTLINE
PART I: THEORY
February 4: Introduction - The Levels of Analysis Problem in International Relations
February 6: The Realist Model of International Relations
Required: Nye, ch. 1 (pp. 1-19)
Mingst & Snyder, pp. 34-38, 236-239
Morgenthau, "The Future of Diplomacy" (RESERVE)
February 8: DISCUSSION SECTIONS — The Realist Critique of Moralism and Dilemmas of International Ethics
Required: Nye, ch. 1 (pp. 19-27)
Mingst & Snyder, pp. 2-3
Handout — Morgenthau on Moralism-Legalism; Kissinger on China
February 11: Debates over the Continuing Relevance of Realism
Required: Baylis & Smith, chs. 5
Mingst & Snyder, pp. 60-66, 70-90, 139-143
February 13: Liberal Alternatives to Realism
Required: Mingst & Snyder, pp. 27-33, 39-51, 393-396, 397-413
Baylis & Smith, pp. 162-181
Johansen, "Humane World Community" (RESERVE)
February 15: DISCUSSION SECTIONS - The "Great Man" Theory
Required: Ray, "The Great Man Approach to Int. Relations" (RESERVE)
Nye, ch. 2
Mingst & Snyder, pp. 210-216
PART II: THE EVOLUTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
A. The Westphalian System
February 18: The Classical Balance of Power System
Required: Nye, ch. 3 (pp. 54-64)
Mingst & Snyder, pp. 143-148
Baylis & Smith, ch. 2
Ziegler, War, Peace, and International Politics, ch. 1 (RESERVE)
February 20: The Causes of the First World War
Required: Nye, ch. 3 (pp. 64-77)
Baylis & Smith, ch. 3 (51-55)
Mingst & Snyder, pp. 248-259
Stoessinger, Why Nations Go To War, ch. 1 (RESERVE)
February 22: DISCUSSION SECTIONS - International Law
Required: Baylis & Smith, ch. 14
Ziegler, War, Peace, and International Politics, ch. 12 (RESERVE)
February 25: Collective Security and the League of Nations
Required: Nye, ch. 4
Baylis & Smith, ch. 3 (56-72)
Mingst & Snyder, pp. 4-5
B. The Cold War International System
February 27: Ideological Conflict: Marxism-Leninism versus Liberal Internationalism
Required: Stoessinger, chs. 9, 10
Baylis & Smith, ch. 7
March 1 (FRIDAY 11:00 — 12:15): MIDTERM EXAMINATION #1
March 4: The Origins of the Cold War in Europe
Required: Stoessinger, ch. 11
Nye, pp. 108-125
Baylis & Smith, pp. 74-80
Mingst and Snyder, pp. 6-11
March 6: The Origins of the Cold War in Asia
Required: Stoessinger, chs. 2-4
March 8: DISCUSSION SECTIONS — Ideology and Foreign Policy during the Cold War
Required: Stoessinger, chs. 5, 6
Recommended: For an exposition of the realist critique of the role of ideology in US foreign policy, see Morgenthau, "The Lessons of Vietnam."
March 11: Bipolarity and the Structure of Cold War Conflict
Required: Mingst & Snyder, pp. 11-20, 261-267
Mearsheimer, "Why We Will Soon Miss the Cold War" (RESERVE)
March 13: The Dynamics of Nuclear Deterrence
Required: Nye, ch. 5 (pp. 131-142)
Mingst & Snyder, pp. 240-247
March 15: DISCUSSION SECTIONS — The Prisoner’s Dilemma and the Arms Race
Required: Russett, Prisoners of Insecurity, pp. 99-127 (RESERVE)
March 18: Arms Races and Arms Control during the Cold War
Required: Baylis and Smith, pp. 80-89
Stoessinger, ch. 12
Recommended: For more on the ABM Treaty, see Bundy, Danger and Survival, pp. 549-556, 570-579
C. The Erosion and Demise of the Cold War System
March 20: Détente and the Erosion of Bipolarity
Required: Baylis and Smith, pp. 80-84
Stoessinger, chs. 7, 13, 15
March 22: DISCUSSION SECTIONS - The End of the Cold War
Required: Stoessinger, ch. 14
Nye, pp. 125-131
Baylis & Smith, ch. 5
III. CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL ISSUES: INTERDEPENDENCE AND THE CHALLENGE TO THE REALIST PARADIGM
A. International Organization: Post-Cold War Possibilities and Limits
April 1: The Post-Cold War International System (I): Liberalism vs. Polarity
Required: Mearsheimer, "The Future of the American Pacifier"
Mingst and Snyder, pp. 157-168, 346-353
Baylis and Smith, ch. 6, 12 April 3: The Post Cold War System (II): Globalization & the "Clash of Civilizations"
Required: Mingst & Snyder, pp. 174-185, 359-365, 431-440
Baylis & Smith, ch. 21, 30
April 5: MIDTERM EXAMINATION #2
April 8: The United Nations and Collective Security
Required: Nye, pp. 155-163, 171-173
Krauthammer, "The Lonely Superpower"
April 10: The United Nations and Peacekeeping
Required: Nye, pp. 147-155, 166-171
Baylis & Smith, ch. 16
April 12: DISCUSSION SECTIONS - Nuclear Nonproliferation
Required: Mingst & Snyder, pp. 278-282
Baylis and Smith, ch. 19
April 15: Human Rights
Required: Mingst & Snyder, pp. 335-343, 456-460
Baylis & Smith, ch. 28
April 17: Humanitarian Intervention
Required: Mingst & Snyder, pp. 268-276, 283-287, 331-335
Baylis & Smith, ch. 22
Nye, pp. 152-155 (reread)
B. International Political Economy
April 19: FRIDAY LECTURE - Theories of International Political Economy
Required: Mingst & Snyder, pp. 289-295
Baylis & Smith, ch. 13
Galtung, "Structural Theory of Imperialism" (RESERVE)
April 22: North-North Relations: GATT and the WTO
Required: Mingst & Snyder
Baylis & Smith, ch. 24
April 24: North-South Relations: Trade, Foreign Investment, and Aid
Required: Baylis & Smith, ch. 26
Mingst & Snyder, pp. 52-59, 308-326
April 26: DISCUSSION SECTIONS - The Debate over Economic Globalization
Required: Mingst & Snyder, pp. 223-233, 422-446
"Readings on the NICs" (RESERVE)
April 29: OPEC and Oil Power
Required: Nye, pp. 189-193
"Readings on OPEC" (RESERVE)
C. Globalization, Realism, and the Nation-State
May 1: Supranational Institutions — The European Union
Required: Baylis & Smith, ch. 23
May 3: DISCUSSION SECTIONS - Transnational Actors — Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
Required: Baylis & Smith, ch. 17
Mingst & Snyder, pp. 187-200
May 6: Economic Interdependence and Globalization as Challenges to Realism
Required: Nye, ch. 7 (177-189, 193-204)
"Readings - Economic Challenges to Realism" (RESERVE)
May 8 & 10: The Rise of Transnational Issues & the Global Environment
Required: Nye, ch. 8
Baylis & Smith, 18
Mingst & Snyder, 446-456 |