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PSC 371: Third World Politics and Terrorism, Timetable

revised 10 Nov. '09 with new links to discussion notes & removal of Test 2, by Jeremy Lewis.  Full screen recommended to align table.
Note that video documentary clips and guest speakers will be inserted only where time permits.
No classes: M 7 & F 18 Sep., F 9 & F 16 Oct., F 6 & F 13 Nov., M-F 23-27 Nov.
Week: [01] [02] [03] [04] [05] [06] [07] [Test1] [08] [09] [10] [11] [12] [13] [ePaper] 14] [Final]
 
Dates T-Th Reading and Topic Reporters
Week 1
25, 27 Aug
Introduction to syllabus and books
Theory of Justice in War 
Wray Johnson, PhD, Essay on Just War
Hugo Grotius in Curtis (ed) Vol. 1 
Can there be justice as a cause of war?
Can there be justice in waging a war?
How should civilians or prisoners be treated?
How should women and children fighters be treated?
What mechanism is there to enforce justice?
How could the international community develop means of limiting dirty war?
Week 2
1, 3 Sep
St. Thomas Aquinas, [Wiki] "Of War", Question XL of the Summa Theologica,ca.1270 AD[Wiki] Also in HC Justice reader on Library reserve at circulation desk.
Is law sinful?
Should clergy fight in war?
Are ambushes, or bushwhacking, morally justifiable?
Taylor
Sam Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations?" Foreign Affairs, Summer 1993 [Summary][notes][WikiPedia] [Map] [Archived]
Has the clash of civilizations gone so far as to replace the clash of nation states?
Why would cultural clashes go so far as wars?
Is the Islamic world actually unified as a civilization?
"Maps of War" (animated timeline of religions' development)
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Caleb
Aarendy
The US Awakens to Terrorism: Al Qaeda's attacks upon the United States
9/11 Report: Summary
01. We Have Some Planes
To what degree was the US vulnerable to the 9/11 attacks?
In what way did the hijackers exploit US systems of public transport?
To what degree did the immediate US response show preparedness?
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Kylie
Week 3
8, 10 Sep
Al Qaeda's attacks upon the United States 
9/11 Report: Summary
02. Foundation of the New Terrorism
03. Counterterrorism Evolves
How did AQ's new form of terrorism evolve, and from what stimulus?
How did US CT evolve, and did it evolve fast enough?
By Sep 2001, how did the Clinton and Bush administrations compare in their approaches to CT?
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Heath
Aarendy
 
9/11 Report| Summary| Questions
04. Responses to Al Qaeda's Initial Assaults
05. Al Qaeda Aims at the American Homeland
06. From Threat to Threat
What did the US's initial responses tell us about the US CT system?
To what degree is the attack upon the homeland different from attacks upon US targets in Africa or Yemen?
How well did the US system prepare for a shift of targets to US soil?
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Devon
Kylie
Caleb
Week 4
15, 17 Sep
9/11 Commission's Report:
07. The Attack Looms
08. The System Was Blinking Red
09. Heroism & Horror
How long did AQ take in the planning stages of the attacks?
Were there sufficient warnings for the Bush administration to take prior action?
How well did initial responders cope with the assaults?
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Taylor
KylieX
Heath
Richard Clarke's memo to national security adviser Condi Rice, about Al Qaida, on 25 Jan. 2001 - on NSA Facebook and on NSA Web (in more depth) NEW
Did the incoming W. Bush administration have any warning of the seriousness and urgency of the threat from Al Qaida?
 
9/11 Report: Recommendations 
10. Wartime
11. Foresight -- and Hindsight
12. What to Do? A Global Strategy
13. How to Do It? A Different Way of Organizing the Government
Did the US need to make a transition from law enforcement to wartime?
Should the US have foreseen terrorist attacks?
Did the US need to reorganize intelligence and law enforcement agencies?
Did the US need law enforcement and intelligence agencies to communicate?
Did the 9/11 attacks justify infringement on civil liberties?
How many of the recommendations have been implemented?
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Caleb
Aarendy
Taylor
Devon
Guest speaker, Jared Lyles, on law school and the profession of law
Week 5
22, 24 Sep
Violence & Terrorism
Badey (ed)Violence and Terrorism 08/09 Questions
UNIT links are to 2007 notes. New readings [+] are linked to 2009 notes
1. Ghosts of Our Past, Karen Armstrong, 2002
2. Essay on Terrorism, Marc Nicholson, 2003
3. Origins of New Terrorism, Matthew J. Morgan, 2004
4. Myth of the Invincible Terrorist, Christopher C. Harmon, 2004 [+]
Does the concept of terrorism predate the modern era?
In what ways is AQ's terrorism a new phenomenon?
What causes terrorism?  How is it changing?
How are millennial or religious groups different from nationalist groups?
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KylieX
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Heath
 
Badey (ed)Violence and Terrorism 08/09 Questions
UNIT 2. Tactics of Terrorism
5. Paying for Terror, David E. Kaplan, 2005 
6. Toy Soldiers, Cheryl Barnard, 2007[+]
How do terrorists prey on a target society?
Who are likely targets of assassination?
How have terrorist groups responded to the decline in state funding?
In what ways is AQ's terrorism based on new tactics?
What are the misperceptions of suicide bombing?
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Heath
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Heath
 
Badey (ed)Violence and Terrorism 08/09 Questions
7. Iran's Suicide Brigades, Ali Alfoneh, 2007 [+] 
8. Hizballah and Syria, Emile El-Hokayem, 2007 [+]
9. Guerrilla Nation, Thor Halvorssen, 2005 [#]
10. The Growing Syrian Missile Threat: Syria after Lebanon, Lee Kass, 2005 [#]
How do states support terrorism? With what instruments?
How can a state defend against state or non-state terrorists?
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Taylor
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Week 6 
29 Sep, 1 Oct
Badey (ed) Violence and Terrorism 08/09 Questions
UNIT 4. International Terrorism
11. Colombia & US: From Counternarcotics to Counterterrorism, Arlene B. Tickner, 2003
12.Wounded but Still Dangerous, The Economist, 2007 [+]
13. Peace at Last? Joshua Hammer, 2007 [+]
14. Root Causes of Chechen Terror, Alon Ben-Meir, 2004 [#]
15. End of Terrorism?, Meredith Moore, 2005 [#]
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CalebX
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Badey (ed)Violence and Terrorism 08/09 Questions
16. Homegrown Terror, Michael Reynolds, 2004 
17. Green Rage, Matt Rasmussen, 2007 [+]
18. Echoes of the Future, Gartenstein-Ross and Dabruzzi, 2007 [+] 20. Speaking for the Animals, or the Terrorists?, Scott Smallwood, 2005 [#]
21. José Padilla and the War on Rights, Jenny S. Martinez, 2004 [#]
How do international terrorist groups connect?
Is there really an alternative international society of terrorism?
How do terrorist groups operate within the United States?
Is it moral to set free animals imprisoned for research purposes?
What US groups should be included among terrorists?
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Heath
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Heath
Heath
Heath
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22. Violent Episode in the Virtual World, John Gray, 2005 [+}
23. Terror's Server, David Talbot, 2005 [#]
25. Congress and the YouTube War, Cohen and Kupcu [+]
The Portuguese Waterboard Dog, cartoon by Peter Brookes, The Times (UK) online, 2009 NEW
How do international terrorist groups exploit the western mass media?
To protect us from terrorism, should governments restrain the communications media?
How should the media cover terrorism?
How will media developments of the future affect the opportunities for terrorism?
Aarendy
Aarendy
Aarendy
Aarendy
Aarendy
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Week 7 
6, 8 Oct


 

Badey (ed) Violence and Terrorism 08/09 Questions
26. Qutbism: An Ideology of Islamic Fascism, Dale Eikmeier, 2007 [+]
27. The Madrassa Scapegoat, Peter Bergen and Swati Pandey, 2006 [#] 
28. Holy Orders: Religious Opposition to Modern States, Mark Juergensmeyer, 2004 [#]
What did Qutb argue, and why was he redicalized?
Who did Qutb influence, and what is his role among Islamic terrorists?
How are terrorist groups connected to fundamentalist religion?
To what degree are fundamentalist Islamic schools a cause of terrorism?
What US surveillance or restrictions should be imposed on religion to prevent terrorism?
Should the US encourage separation of church and state abroad?
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Taylor
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30. Cross-Regional Trends in Female Terrorism, Karla J. Cunningham, 2003 [#]
31. Explosive Baggage: Female Palestinian Suicide Bombers & Rhetoric, Terri Toles Patkin, 2004 [#]
32. Bomb Under the Abaya, Judith Miller, 2007 [+]
33. Picked Last: Women and Terrorism, Alisa Stack O'Connor, 2007 [+]
How do international terrorist groups exploit females?
Why were so few women emploiyed as terrorists in past decades?
How should counter terrorism target the genders?
Do women employ a different rhetoric of terrorism?
How are young girls exploited in African wars?
TEST1: Thursday, Covering all the above.
Kylie
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Week 8
13, 15 Oct
Badey (ed)Violence and Terrorism 08/09 Questions
35. Port Security Is Still a House of Cards, Stephen E. Flynn, 2006 [#]
36. Are We Ready Yet?, Christopher Conte, 2005 [#]
37. Held Without Trial in the USA, AC Thompson, 2007
How should counter terrorist officials operate within the United States?
To what degree has the US secured major vulnerabilities since 2001?
How should counter terrorist officials co-operate with those abroad?
Is the CT war counter-productive in India & Pakistan?
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Aarendy
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UNIT 10. Future Threats
38. From the War on Terror to Global Counterinsurgency, Bruce Hoffman, 2006 [+]
39. Terrorism to Come, Walter Laqueur, 2004
How will the war against terrorism evolve?
Will the war on terrorism last a whole generation or just five years?
How has Al Qaeda mutated since 2001? Can the US match its changes?
How can one answer the old question, "Why us?"
Devon
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Terrorism and Counter Terrorism (CT)
Howard, Presentation to AWAC, Tue 8 Nov. '05, on modern terrorism.
What (before 2001) would be needed for the US to face up to terrorism?
How are modern international terrorists better than their predecessors?
In what sense are Americans part of the problem for CT?
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Inserted 
when 
feasible
Beslan: Siege of School No.1 (PBS, Wide Angle film) NEW
PBS notes on the film [massacre, 1 Sep. 2004, Ingushetia, the Caucasus]
For detailed map, click here and use zoom (e.g. can see Beslan in Ingushetia, 
just up & to left of label "North Ossetia")
What is the cause of this conflict?
What are the stakes?
Who tries to negotiate, and with what authority?
What is the prospect for a negotiated solution?
What CT response techniques go wrong or are missing?
JRT Lewis [Slide] Legal constraints on Interrogations
Notes on US policy on interrogations and torture
How does US and international law constrain the US from using torture?
Pew global attitudes survey, July 2005, attitudes to Islamist terrorism. 
[Chart and summary by Dr. Lewis
How do nations support or oppose Islamist terrorism?
Should the Bush administration have assuaged world opinion?
Has the Bush administration's war in Iraq been counter-productive?
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Week 9
20, 22 Oct 
Hauss 8: Current and Former Communist Regimes | Discussion Notes
Thinking About Communism
Socialism, Marxism, Leninism
The Marxist-Leninist State
The Crisis of Communism: Suicide by Public Policy
Transitions
Troubled Transitions: The Former Soviet Union
Questions based on the text:
Why should there be any nostalgia for past communist regimes?
Why should former communist parties attract voters in new democracies?
What was the role of Gorbachev in the transition from communism?
What did perestroika and glasnost mean to Russians?
Are there any truly Marxist countries left?
In what way does thinking about communist regimes expose our assumptions about government?
What are the tenets of Socialism, Marxism and Leninism?
What was democratic centralism? A command economy?
How did Orwell's Animal Farm satirize Stalin?
How are liberals and socialists divided on the means of production? equality of outcome? the spread of democracy?
What to Marx are the economic base? contradictions?  superstructure? need for revolution?
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More general questions:
How do Socialism, Marxism and Leninism differ?
What was missing from Socialism that Marx sought to add?
What was missing from Marxism that Lenin sought to add?
How did Lenin seek to turn theory into practice?
Why did communist regimes decline and fall in the 1980s?
Why did Russia not develop smoothly (economically and politically) post 1989?
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Comparison of capitalist, Social Dem. and communist countries, using CIA World Factbook:
Which types are richer (higher per capita income at PPP)?
India is a large, capitalist country and China a large, officially 'communist' country: compare them.
See GDP per cap table
Which are more unequal in incomes? Is equality a goal of states?
See Gini index rankings: 25 is low inequality, 50+ is high
  Hauss 9: Russia | Discussion Notes | Maps of Asia | -- still needs maps of Russia page
Russia's rankings in CIA World Factbook
Thinking About Russia
The Evolution of the Russian State
Between Dictatorship and Democracy
Political Culture and Participation
The Russian State
Public Policy
What was the history of Russian political institutions before 1917?
Why did Bolsheviki overturn the Russian state?
How did Stalin replace Lenin in control of the state?
Who should control the nation state?
If the State works for the people, why is there a need to restrain it?
Why did Marxist-Leninist regimes fail to develop economically alongside other regimes?
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Week 10
27, 29 Oct
Hauss 10: China | Asian Maps | Discussion Notes |
Questions on Joseph's textbook (discontinued)
China's rankings in CIA World Factbook
Thinking about China
Evolution of Chinese Politics
Political Culture
Political Participation
Chinese State
Public policy
Comparing Chinese and Russian communism in power: Discussion Notes
How does China's heritage affect development?
How did China awake to the modern age?
How did Maoism take root in China?
What were the effects of the civil war on China?
How did communism constrain China's modern development?
How did the CCP open up economics to market forces?
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  Hauss 11: Less Developed Countries | Discussion Notes
Thinking about Less Developed World
Evolution of LDC Politics
Political Culture
Political Participation
Weak States
Public policy: Myths and realities of Development
How can we properly compare nations and states?
What are the proper units and benchmarks of comparison?
How can we analyze a moving target?
What themes can we use for comparison?
What neutral point is there to begin our comparison?
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Week 11
3. 5 Nov
Hauss 12: India | Maps | Discussion Notes
India's rankings in CIA World Factbook
Thinking about India
Evolution of Indian Politics
Political Culture
Political Participation
Indian State
Public policy
How does India's heritage affect development?
How did India achieve independence?
How did India forge a nation?
What were the after effects of colonialism?
What resources could India exploit for development?
Does India show that development is compatible with open democracy?
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  Hauss 16: Latin America | Maps | Discussion Notes
Mexico | Maps | Discussion Notes
Mexico's rankings in CIA World Factbook
Thinking about Mexico
Evolution of the Mexican State
Political Culture 
Political Participation
The Mexican State
Public Policy
How does Mexico's heritage affect development?
How did Mexico achieve independence?
How did Mexico forge a nation?
What were the after effects of colonialism?
What resources could Mexico exploit for development?
Does Mexico show that development is compatible with open democracy?
How is Mexico affected by proximity to the US?
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Week 12
10, 12 Nov
Hauss 15: Africa | Maps
Nigeria | Maps | Discussion Notes
Nigeria's rankings in CIA World Factbook
Thinking about Nigeria
Evolution of the Nigerian State
Political Culture and Participation
The Nigerian State
Public Policy
How does Nigeria's heritage affect development?
How did Nigeria achieve independence?
How did Nigeria forge a nation?
What were the after effects of colonialism?
What resources could Nigeria exploit for development?
Does Nigeria show that development is compatible with open democracy?
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Week 13 
17, 19 Nov
The Middle East | Maps | Persia and Arabia | Discussion Notes
Wide Angle or Frontline World documentary film
Are the issues and problems very different outside the US?
PBS, The House of Saud | Maps of Saudi Arabia |
Saudi Arabia's rankings in CIA World Factbook
Why did Saudi Arabia become Wahhabist?
By what bargain did the US exploit Saudi oil?
What tensions have occurred in the US-Saudi relationship?
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Speech of Amb. Ryan Crocker to AWAC, 3 Nov. '09
(Amb. Crocker has been envoy to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan)
How can we define the Middle East?
How do Middle Eastern countries view our engagements in the region?
How should we begin -- or end-- any engagement?
Bianca
Devon
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Hauss 13: Iran | Maps | Discussion Notes


Evolution of the Iranian State
The People and Politics
The Iranian State
Public Policy
How does Iran's heritage affect development?
How did Iran achieve independence?
How does Iran exploit oil for development?
How is development affected by Iran's relations with the global community?
Does Iran show that development is compatible with theocracy?

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Hauss 14: Iraq | Maps of Iraq | Discussion Notes
Iraq's rankings in CIA World Factbook
Fiasco
Thinking About Iraq
Basics
Evolution
Iraq Under Saddam
The State Under Saddam
Public Policy
The Third War and the New Iraq
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ePaper Due: 6 pm, F 20 Nov
Thanksgiving break: Mon 23 - Fri 27
Week 14
1, 3 Dec
Great Decisions, 2009, Briefings Book, issues selected


Issue : 

Capstone presentations: ['08]['09] NEW

Hauss 17: Conclusion


Danger ... and Opportunity
Crisis
Danger
The Wheel of Fortune
Constraints on States and Citizens
Opportunity
How can we properly compare nation states?
How much of under development is to be blamed on colonialism?
In development, "to understand all, is to forgive all" -- true?

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7-11 Dec
Comprehensive Final Exam: Exam 08:30 F 11 Dec