PSC 303: International Relations TimeTable

Week 1. 7-11 Jan. 2013

Introduction to the course [Lectures]
Development of US Foreign Policy:
McCormick, Part 1: Values & Policies in American Foreign Affairs
McCormick, 5e, Ch.1: Americas' Traditions in Foreign Policy [4e notes] [3e notes]
What are the US traditions and values in foreign policy?
Why did isolationism arise and what were its effects?
Why and how does moral principle guide US foreign policy?

McCormick, 5e, Ch.2: America's Global Involvement and the Emergence of the Cold War [4e notes] [3e notes] [Lecture]
How and when did the US rise to global leadership?
What was the Truman Docrine?
How did the containment policy arise and what did it achieve?
What were the elements of containment policy?
Which was more successful: regional security pacts or economic and military assistance?
How did US public opinion affect the cold war?
How did Korea test the cold war consensus?
What were the elements of the cold war consensus among US policymakers?

McCormick, 5e, Ch.3: The Cold War Consensus 
Polar map of alliances | Map of Korean War | Maps of other conflicts 
Chapter 4 from earlier editions:  [4e notes] [3e notes] [Lecture] 
In what periods have US leaders contested US foreign policy?
What values characterized the cold war consensus, and how were they prioritized?
What were the main alliances and conflicts of the Cold War?
What were the challenges to the Cold War consensus?
What were the far-reaching effects of the Vietnam War?
What caused the end of the cold war consensus?

Presidential Doctrines:
McCormick, 5e, Ch.4: American Foreign Policy After Vietnam, From Realism to Idealism and Back Again [Nixon, Carter and Reagan]
Which presidents have been more realistic and which more idealistic in foreign policy?
How did the US adjust to the aftermatch of the Vietnam war?
How did the US adjust to the collapse of the USSR?
Was the post-cold war world a multi-polar world -- or one of hegemony?
How has the US struggled to find a world role since the Vietnam war?

PBS: Nixon's China Game; film. [Logically fits here but may be shown later in term]
Should a rising power whose ideology is repugnant, be isolated or accommodated?
Should diplomacy be conducted personally by presidents -- or institutionally by diplomats?
Should diplomacy be conducted in secrecy or by "open covenants, openly arrived at"?

Review of American values in foreign policy, using Ch. 1 [local PPT] in the light of Obama address.
President Obama's Second Inaugural address, 21 Jan. 2013, from NY Times, on YouTube [Local PPT]
Similarities in President Obama's two inaugural addresses, 2009 and 2013, CNN, 2'
President-elect Obama's foreign policy proposals (Johns Hopkins U.)
Does the US president have a coherent foreign policy doctrine?
What new foreign policy initiatives emerged from the speech?
Did the President emphasize issues of value, or policy proposals
Were any policy proposals international, domestic or intermestic?
President's State of the Union Message, T 25 Jan.'11, on TV and White House web, [67' video] [Transcript]
President Obama's address, "Competing in the Global Economy," 21 Jan. '11 [20' video mp4 on White House web] [Transcript]
President Obama's Weekly Address "We can out-compete with any nation," 22 Jan. '11 [4' video mp4 on White House web] [Transcript]
Does the US president have a coherent foreign policy doctrine?
How far has he maintained the policies (and wars) of his predecessor?
What new foreign policy initiatives emerged from the speech?
How do his domestic economic issues affect foreign relations?
How does competing economically affect our relations with other nation states?

McCormick 5e, Ch.5: Foreign Policy After the Cold War, H. Bush and Clinton Administrations [4e notes] [Lecture]

How did the Clinton administration contrast with the W. Bush administration in foreign policy?
Which of them applied more realism? Which more idealism? Which was more selective in focus?
Have US presidents taken a stronger role in foreign policy leadership in the post cold war world?
Contrast the diplomatic successes of Bush (41) and Clinton with the unilateralism of Bush (43).
Was W. Bush (43) a different president before and after the 9/11/01 attacks?

Recommended: CNN: Cold War, TV series.

McCormick 5e, Ch.6: American Foreign Policy After Sep. 11: the George W. Bush Administration [4e notes]  [old 3e notes]
[Coming in 6e: McCormick 6, Change and Continuity in Foreign Policy:  The Barack  Obama Administration]

McCormick, Part 2: The Process of Policymaking
Civilian institutions:
McCormick, 5e, Ch.7: The President & The Making of Foreign Policy [3e notes]  [Lecture]
US Constitution, Article II (via Cornell law school)
Compare the enumerated & inherent presidential authority in foreign affairs.
US Constitution, Article I (via Cornell law school)

McCormick, 5e, Ch.8: Congressional Prerogatives and the Making of Foreign Policy, [3e notes]
In what ways can the congress compete with the president in setting foreign policy?
TEST 1, see Dates page; covers all the above.  May include multiple choice, identifications, essay questions and world map quiz.

Diplomatic Institutions:
McCormick, 5e, Ch.9: The Diplomatic & Economic Bureaucracies: Duplication or Specialization [3e notes]?
Article, Gingrich Criticizes State Dept, & Response. [Brandon]
Do the many rival diplomatic and economic bureaucracies make foreign policy more complex or more effective?
Which bureaucracies are the most powerful in foreign policy?

For AWAC speaker event and Presidential State of the Union message, 2013: check Dates page.

When feasible: Test 1 returned, with exemplary written answers presented | scores page
Military institutions:
McCormick, 10: The Military & Intelligence Bureaucracies: Pervasive or Accountable? [outline needed-Matt]  [Lecture]
Do the military and intelligence bureaucracies dominate foreign policy?
Can the military and intelligence bureaucracies be consolidated under one command?
Can the intelligence community be held accountable without comppromising national security secrecy?
How close did the world come to nuclear war in the cuban missile crisis?

Informal Institutions:
McCormick, 5e, Ch.11: Political Parties, Bipartisanship & Interest Groups [3e notes]

McCormick, 5e, Ch.12: The Media, Public Opinion & the Foreign Policy Process [3e notes]
Do the media, parties and interest groups have much effect on foreign policy?
Is the public too ignorant to affect foreign policy?

PBS Frontline, Top Secret America: "A two-year examination into the massive, unwieldy, top-secret world the government has created in response to 9/11."  Documentary video, 50', PBS, 6 Sep. 2011. Includes links to related articles and reports. (partially shown in class, not yet discussed) NEW
Dana Priest, Washington Post reporter, discusses with PBS Frontline how she explored the rapidly growing secret intelligence organizations after the 9/11 attacks, for her book with William Arkin, Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State. (Transcript of interview, 6 Sep. 2011).  NEW

Current US Policy:
[Coming in 6e: McCormick 6, Change and Continuity in Foreign Policy:  The Barack  Obama Administration [outline]NEW-- see above] [Local PPT] [partly presented, 27 Feb. and 4 Mar.]
President Obama, "A New Beginning," Cairo address, 2009 | Wikipedia, gives context NEW
McCormick, 5e, Ch.13: American Foreign Policy Values & the Future [3e notes]
How far is the nation divided on foreign policy?
How far is the elite divided -- and far from the masses?
Can a new foreign policy consensus be constructed?
How will American values guide foreign policy over the next few decades? [McCormick]
Will the US remain a superpower for a further generation? [McCormick]

Fareed Zakaria, "Restoring the American Dream," video, CNN, 6 March 2011.[Brandon]
Fareed Zakaria, "Are America's Best Days Behind US?" Time, 14 March 2011, pp.28-33[Kaison]
David Von Drehle, "Don't Bet Against the United States," Time, 14 March 2011, pp.34-35[Hunter]

Goldstein, 1: The Globalization of International Relations [Note: Goldstein's chapter titles have been updated to 6th, brief edition]

Goldstein, 2: Realist Theories
Goldstein, 3: Liberal and Social Theories
Connecting military strategy to political goals
Clausewitz,
"Limited Aims,"Sketches for Book VIII, chapter 5 [Notes] [Local page] NEW [Hunter]
"War is an Instrument of Policy," Sketches for Book VIII, chapter 6 of On War. (1832-34). [Local page] NEW [Jon]
[Note, this free, Victorian translation by Graham is not as good as the modern book by Howard & Paret -- recommended.]
Guest Essay on Just War by Lt. Col. Wray Johnson, PhD. [+] [Nick]
Should wars be conducted only where tied to political ends?
How can wars, which cause destruction, be said to be rational?
Is there such a thing as a just war?
How can wars be conducted justly, if at all?
How has the theory of justice in war developed over the centuries?
When is it justified to use heavy firepower in a heavily populated area?
Was the decision to pull US troops out of Mogadishu (after minor losses) justified?

TEST 2 on all materials listed or discussed before the test. See Dates page

Goldstein, 4: Conflict, War and Terrorism

PBS: Nixon's China Game; film. [Logically fit in a previous week, but shown here after test 2]

Might versus Right:
Curtis v.1, Hugo Grotius, classic author on the just war. [Lecture] [Nate on the author; Jon on his theory]

Goldstein, 5: Trade and Finance
Goldstein, 6: International Organization, Law and Human Rights
When feasible: Test 2 returned, with exemplary written answers presented | scores page
Please look ahead and volunteer to present the Greek readings.
PBS, American Experience, film. 2000. Nixon's China Game [completed]. | Quiz

Week 12, 1-5 Apr.

Forum for any registration issues and courses available.
Explanation of research project: seeDates page and Requirements page
Explanation of the course rotation and courses offered for next term; and interviews with academic adviser for pre-registration advising.

Issues of democracy, moderation and multilateralism:
How Many Revolting Lesbians Should be Slaughtered -- or Enslaved?
Thucydides, Peloponnesian Wars: [Maps] [Guide] www.Perseus.Tufts.edu:
What can Thucydides tell us about the universal difficulties of relations among nations?
Recommended: Rex Warner's paperback translation is much more readable, and it is cheap.

"Pericles' Funeral Oration," Thuc 2.34-46 (ca. 430 BC) [Text at Fordham University] NEW[Nick]
Note: Comments on Constitution begin at 2.37
Despite initial losses, why do democratic citizens fight? [Pericles]
Do democracies initiate wars?  Does the current president have much in common with Pericles? [Pericles]

"Mytilene Debate" Thuc 3.8-14 (ca. 428 or 427 BC) [Text at Boston Leaders] NEW Skim preamble; and read speeches of Cleon. [Hunter]
& speeches of Diodotus, son of Eucrates [Kaison](in same debate). Summarize in your own words, and act out the speeches, in character.
Wikipedia on Cleon (there is little known on Diodotus, son of Eucrates)
Is realism or idealism exemplified by ancient Greek diplomacy? [Mytilene debate]
How many revolting Lesbians should be slaughtered? [Mytilene debate: Cleon & Diodotus]
What arguments can be advanced by war hawks and peace doves in a crisis? [Cleon & Diodotus]

"Melian Dialogue" Thuc 5.84-112 (ca. 416 BC). [Text at Mt. Holyoke College] NEW[Athenians by Taylor; Melians by Trace] Summarize in your own words, and act out the speeches, in character.
Melian Dialogue in Wikipedia
In foreign relations, does might make right -- or is there some room for morality? [Melians]

Forum for any registration issues and courses available.
Training for research project, with references and audiovisual presentation; see Dates page & Requirements page

Goldstein, 7: North-South Relations
Goldstein, 8: Environment and Technology

Documentary films plus a current affairs topic
Martin Gaviria and Martin Smith, Obama's War, PBS Frontline (2009)[Jon & Mike, reporters]
In summer 2009, the Obama administration developed a new Counter-insurgency strategy (COIN) which required a surge of troops in southern (Helmand province) and eastern Afghanistan (Kabul and in the mountains) and Waziristan (over the border in west Pakistan).  With strategic interviews of leading participants, and tactical footage from an embedded crew, we are able to get a sense of the complexity of the war.
Was the war strategy right for each subtheater: Helmand? Kabul? Eastern Afghanistan? Waziristan?
Was COIN the right strategy for the war?
Could a COIN strategy succeed without a reputable national government -- or even a sense of nation?
What were the political risks of adopting the new strategy?
Could the US succeed where previous imperial powers had all failed?
Did the documentary successfully predict a long war?

Illustrated presentations by students of their research projects, followed by interrogation and critical thinking discussion
Presentations timetable | Advice | NEW
Examples from past seniors' capstone presentations (see Rainey, McCollum and Pierce for model PPT files)
Course evaluations
[19-20 April 2013, No PSC classes Friday & Saturday: ALaPSA conference]

Mid May, Four senior Air War College instructors report on their regional tours, at AWAC