INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL POLITICSGovt 204

Summer 2004

Sue Peterson Morton 13

Office Hours: M 2-3, W 3-4 221-3036

Course Description and Goals

This course provides an introduction to the study of politics among nation-states by

exploring the causes and consequences of conflict in the international system. It seeks to

familiarize students with the main theoretical approaches to the study of international politics; to

encourage the critical application and evaluation of these theories as explanations of international

events; to introduce important historical and contemporary issues in international relations; and

to facilitate the interpretation and critical evaluation of contemporary issues and events.

Course Requirements

Course grades are based on four requirements:

Participation 25%

Two short papers 40%

Final 35%

Reading: All reading assignments must be completed before class, since they serve as the

basis for lecture and discussion. Students are required to read a major daily newspaper or to

access a reputable internet news source on a daily basis.

Exam: All students are required to take the exam at the scheduled time unless I receive

appropriate notice from the Health Center or the Dean of Students Office.

Papers: All students are required to submit two short (3-4 page) reaction papers. Each

paper should use course readings and/ or lectures to make an argument about one of the films

shown in class. The papers are due in class no later than three class meetings after the film

viewing. If you are submitting a paper on the final film, it is due in my office by noon on July 2.

General grading policies:

1. All late assignments will be penalized one third of a letter grade (i.e., from an A-

to a B+) for each day or fraction of a day late.

2. No student can pass this course without completing all requirements.

3. All students must submit assignments in hard copy and are responsible for

retaining a hard copy of their papers until they have received a returned and

graded copy from the instructor.

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Other Policies

Absence: Students are required to attend class. To reschedule a test or receive a paper

extension because of an absence requires notice from the Health Center or the Dean of Students.

Late paper assignments will be penalized as stated above, unless an excuse is provided from the

Health Center or the Dean’s office.

Disability Services: Persons with documented disabilities requiring accommodations to

meet the expectations of this course should contact the Dean of Students Office. If you feel it is

important for me to know that you have a diagnosed disability that will require accommodation,

the Dean of Students Office must notify me in the first week of classes.

Blackboard: All assignments, reserve readings, and course documents are available on the

Blackboard site (http://blackboard.wm.edu).

Required Text

Robert C. Art and Robert Jervis, International Politics: Enduring Concepts and

Contemporary Issues, 6th edition (New York: Longman, 2003).

*All other readings–those marked with an asterisk–are available throughBlackBoard and for copying purposes only ($.05 a page) in Morton 19.________________________________________________________________________

COURSE OUTLINE

I. The Study of International Politics

II. The International SystemA. Anarchy and the Security DilemmaB. The Balance of PowerC. Deterrence and the Use of ForceD. Interdependence and GlobalizationE. International Institutions

III. Domestic Sources of International PoliticsA. Economic SystemsB. Political CultureC. Domestic InstitutionsD. Decision Making and Rationality

IV. Ethics and International Politics

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CLASS SCHEDULE: ALL DATES ARE TENTATIVE

I. Introduction: The Study of International Politics (June 1) What is international politics

and how do we study it? Is there a science of international politics?

II. The International System

A. Anarchy and the Security Dilemma (June 2) How does international politics differ from

domestic politics? Why is international cooperation difficult to achieve? Does technology make

states more or less secure?

Kenneth N. Waltz, “The Anarchic Structure of World Politics,” 47-67.

Joseph M. Grieco, “Anarchy and the Limits of Cooperation,” 68-72.

Robert Jervis, “Offense, Defense, and the Security Dilemma,” 180-199.

*John J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (New York: W.W. Norton,

2001), ch.2 (pp. 29-54).

B. The Balance of Power (June 3) Why don’t states go to war more often than they do? How do

states restrain each other?

Stephen M. Walt, “Alliances and Bandwagoning,” 108-115.

William C. Wohlforth, “The Stability of a Unipolar World,” 469-476.

Kenneth N. Waltz, “Balancing Power: Not Today but Tomorrow,” 484-494.

*Paul M. Kennedy, “The First World War and the International Power System,”

International Security 9:1 (summer 1984): 7-40.

C. Deterrence and the Use of Force (June 7) How is force used in international politics? Did

the advent of nuclear weapons change the nature of force? Are nuclear weapons politically

useful today?

Art & Jervis, “The Uses of Force,”

Robert J. Art, “The Four Functions of Force,” 153165

Thomas C. Schelling, “The Diplomacy of Violence,” 166-179.

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John Mueller, “The Irrelevance of Nuclear Weapons,” 207-220.

Robert Jervis, “The Utility of Nuclear Deterrence,” 221-229.

Film and Discussion: “Dr. Strangelove” (June 8 )

D. Interdependence and Globalization (June 9) How economically and militarily

interdependent are the nations of the world today? What is globalization? How do

interdependence and globalization influence the behavior and interests of states?

A. T. Kearney, “Measuring Globalization,” 325-332.

Peter F. Drucker, “The Changed World Economy,” 333-343.

Richard Rosecrance, “The Trading State–Then and Now,” 344-353.

Kenneth N. Waltz, “Globalization and Governance,” 354-366.

Jessica T. Mathews, “Power Shift,” 539-550.

Stephen D. Krasner, “The State is Alive and Well,” 551-556.

Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, “Transnational Activists Networks,” 557-563.

E. International Institutions (June 10, 14) Why and when is international cooperation

possible? What types of international institutions exist? How do they influence domestic and

international politics?

Kenneth A. Oye, “The Conditions for Cooperation in World Politics,” 81-94.

Stanley Hoffman, “The Uses and Limits of International Law,” 126-130.

Robert O. Keohane, “A Functional Theory of Regimes,” 131-137.

Adam Roberts, “The United Nations and International Security,” 138-146.

Alexander Wendt, “Anarchy is What States Make of It,” 73-80.

*Robert Jervis, “From balance to concert: a study of international security cooperation,”

in Kenneth A. Oye, ed., Cooperation Under Anarchy (Princeton: Princeton

University Press, 1986), 58-79.

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III. Domestic Sources

A. Economic Systems (June 15) How does the nature of national economic systems influence

foreign policy and the interaction among states? Is capitalism inherently imperialist?

*J. A. Hobson, “The Economic Taproot of Imperialism.” (14 pp.)

*V. I. Lenin, “Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism.” (11 pp.)

B. Political Culture (June 16) What role fo national attributes like culture and religion play in

international politics?

*Samuel P. Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations,” Foreign Affairs 72:3(17 pp).

*Fareed Zakaria, “The Politics of Port,” Slate, March 17, 1999 (2 pp.).

Film and Discussion: “Before the Rain” (June 17 )

C. Domestic Institutions (June 21) What are institutions? How do they affect states’ ability and

desire to cooperate? Are democracies more peaceful than nondemocratic states?

Michael W. Doyle, “Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs,” 95-107.

*Christopher Layne, “Kant or Cant: The Myth of the Democratic Peace,”

International Security 19:2 (Fall 1994): 5-49.

D. Decision Making and Rationality (June 22) What is rationality? Why does decision making

deviate from rationality? How do beliefs, perceptions, and emotions influence foreign policy

decisions?

*Graham Allison, “Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis.” (17 pp.)

*Stephen Van Evera, “The Cult of the Offensive and the Origins of the First World War.”

(50 pp)

*Robert Jervis, “Misperception and War.” (26 pp.)

*Richard Ned Lebow, “Miscalculation in the South Atlantic: The Origins of the

Falklands War.” (36 pp.)

Film and Discussion: “Frontline: The Long Road to War”(June 23, 24)

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IV. Ethics and International Politics (June 28, 29) Does morality play any role in international

politics? Should it? If so, what type of ethical system should inform the conduct of international

politics?

Hans J. Morgenthau, “The Moral Blindness of Scientific Man,” 7-16.

J. Ann Tickner, “A Critique of Morgenthau’s Principles of Political Realism,” 17-29.

Rhoda E. Howard and Jack Donnelly, “Human Rights in World Politics,” 30-48.

Film and Discussion: “Breaker Morant” (June 30)

EXAM July 1

SCHEDULE AND TOPICS ARE TENTATIVE AND SUBJECT TOCHANGE AT THE INSTRUCTOR’S DISCRETION.