PSCI 227: THEORIES OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Fall
2012: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00-2:20 in Kauke 238
Professor
Matthew Krain
Office:
Kauke 104; x2469
Office Hours: Mondays 3-4pm; Wednesdays 1-2pm; Fridays 10-11am, and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The
overarching goal of this course is to prepare students to engage in advanced
study and do research in international relations [IR] by providing them with a
theoretical background in the field. Therefore, this course provides an
overview of an array of theories of international relations, from the major
debate of (neo)realism vs. (neo)liberalism to the more recent challenge to
rationalist explanations by constructivism, to more "radical" challengers such
as (neo)Marxism, and feminist IR theory. We will also examine contending
theoretical approaches to some key issues in IR. Through in-depth discussion
and a series of papers and exams, students will explore, compare and debate the
merits and utility of theories.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
By the
end of the course, students should be able to:
- understand the differences between and among
various meta-theoretical perspectives in IR, and understand the assumptions
upon which they are founded
- understand how IR scholars use meta-theoretical
"schools of thought" to develop issue-specific or phenomenon-specific
theoretical arguments
- critically read and analyze theoretical arguments
in IR scholarship
- identify authors' underlying theoretical assumptions
- develop expectations (hypotheses) regarding the
real world, given theoretical arguments
READINGS
Throughout
the course we will use the following books:
- [VK]
Paul R. Viotti and Mark V. Kauppi (2011), International Relations Theory, Fifth Edition.
Longman Publishers. ISBN: 978-0-205-08293-3.
- [MS] Karen
Mingst and Jack Snyder (2011). Essential
Readings in World Politics. Fourth Edition. New York: W. W. Norton &
Co. ISBN: 978-0-393-14423-9.
- American
Political Science Association (2006). The
Style Manual for Political Science. Washington, DC: American Political
Science Association.
http://www.ipsonet.org/data/files/APSAStyleManual2006.pdf
Supplementary readings will be
available on-line via our class web page (http://www3.wooster.edu/polisci/mkrain/tir.html)
or will placed on electronic reserve through the library (http://eres.library.denison.edu/coursepage.asp?cid=656,
password = "theories").
Finally, you are expected to keep up with news around the
world. This will require you to get your news from multiple reputable sources
that have substantial global coverage. Two particularly noteworthy and reliable
sources that you can access online are The
New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com
and the BBC World Service at http://www.bbc.co.uk.
All
readings MUST be completed by the class session for which they are assigned.
They will be necessary background for lectures and discussion, and you will be
held responsible for them, in class and on exams.
GRADING
The
grades will be assigned as follows:
20% -
Exam #1 (Midterm)
20% -
Exam #2 (Final)
10% -
Paper #1 (Article Review)
25% -
Paper #2 (Literature Review/Theory Paper)
25% -
Participation & Professionalism
EXAMS
This
class will have two examinations, each in-class exams, each worth 20% of the
final class grade. The September 27th
midterm will be during our normal class time that day. The final exam will
be from 2-5pm on December 12th. CHEATING,
PLAGIARISM OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED, AND
WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC FAILURE FOR THE COURSE!
PAPERS
This class will have
two papers. The first is an article/book review, due at the beginning of class
on October 25th. Students
will present their articles on
either October 25th or
October 30th. Each student will choose an article or book from a
list distributed by the instructor. They must then complete a concise, clear,
critical review of no more than 750 words. We will discuss the articles
reviewed in class on the due date. This paper is worth 10% of your overall
class grade.
You
will also be responsible for a larger (approximately 13-18 pages) "literature review/theory"
paper, due at the beginning of class on November
27th. This paper provides students with an opportunity to more
closely explore one particular theoretical question of interest, and the way in
which authors from different theoretical perspectives have approached that
question. Students will choose their topic in consultation with the instructor.
Papers should address the nature of the problem/puzzle, discuss and evaluate
the theoretical arguments involved, and develop a testable hypothesis of one's
own. Possible topics will be discussed in class. All papers must be formatted
using the APSA Style Manual. Further details will be distributed and/or
discussed by the instructor in class. This paper is worth 25% of your overall
class grade. REMINDER: CHEATING OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL
NOT BE TOLERATED, AND WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC FAILURE FOR THE COURSE!
PARTICIPATION & PROFESSIONALISM
Participation is
encouraged and REQUIRED in this class. Your participation is essential to the
smooth and efficient running of the class. The intention is to run the class as
an advanced seminar, where students will engage in an open dialogue based on
the readings assigned for that day. Thus, students are required to have completed
the assigned readings before class and to participate in discussions on a
regular basis. Failure to be properly prepared or a lack of quality and fully
engaged discussion will result in a significant reduction in the class grade
(and overall class quality). My hope is that the classroom will contain an
atmosphere in which ideas and opinions will be welcomed and addressed. As such,
please note that you will be graded on a number of criteria beyond simple
participation, under the rubric of "professionalism". Professionalism refers to factors such as attendance, promptness,
courtesy, constructive contributions to class dialogue, respect for other class
members' contributions, overall improvement, and other intangibles, to be
evaluated and assigned at the discretion of the instructor.
As part
of your participation, you will be required to submit by email at least ONE
discussion question per week regarding the readings to be discussed that week.
You may focus your discussion question(s) on readings from either the first or
second class session of that week, but must submit questions for at least ONE
CLASS SESSION PER WEEK over the course of the semester. Questions are to be
emailed to the instructor and to the class as a whole via a class LISTSERV. More details about this
element of your class participation will be discussed by the instructor in
class.
NOTES
Note #1: Please turn off cell phones and
other electronic devices before class
begins as a courtesy to others. If you bring a laptop computer or tablet
device to class, it should be used for note-taking only. Please also refrain
from recording any part of the course in any manner other than via written or
typed class notes, unless explicitly approved by the instructor.
Note #2:
Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date. Any missed
assignment or unexcused exam absence is subject to an automatic failing grade
for the course (in other words, you cannot pass the class unless you do all of
the work!). Late written assignments will be graded down one full letter grade
for each day late. A paper handed in five minutes after the deadline is
considered a day late. If you anticipate missing an exam or a paper deadline,
consult with the instructor as soon as possible.
Note #3:
Students are encouraged to study together and assist one another in learning
the material. It is assumed that you have done your own work, and that you
conduct yourself according to the expectations laid out in the Wooster Ethic
and the Code of Academic Integrity, as enumerated in the Scot's Key (http://www.wooster.edu/Student-Life/Dean-of-Students/The-Scots-Key).
Students are reminded that they are obliged to understand, to uphold, and to comply
with the Code of Academic Integrity and the Wooster Ethic at the College of
Wooster. Students who have questions or concerns about these policies (after
having read them again) should make an appointment to see me to discuss them;
indeed, I welcome this discussion and encourage students to see me in advance
of any assignment about which they have doubts or questions. PLEASE NOTE THAT
ANY VIOLATION OF THE WOOSTER ETHIC AND/OR THE CODE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY MEANS
THE STUDENT'S IMMEDIATE FAILURE IN THE COURSE, AS WELL AS POSSIBLE SUBSEQUENT
ACADEMIC DISCIPLINARY ACTION.
Note #4:
Students are encouraged to discuss assignments with me during office hours.
However, students seeking to change their grade on an assignment or essay
portion of an exam should be advised that I reserve the right to alter your
grade in either direction (i.e.- if new problems are found during the re-grade
the grade would go down).
Note #5: I am happy to assist you in any
way, but cannot do so retroactively. Thus, it is your responsibility to inform
me ahead of time about factors that are likely to interfere with your
performance in the class. Measures for students with disabilities, non-native
writers of English and other special issues will be taken in compliance with
the college's policies.
SCHEDULE of TOPICS AND READINGS
I. Introduction to the Study of Theories of
International Relations
Aug. 28
– Introduction to Theories of
International Relations
- Chapter
1: Thinking About IR Theory [VK: 1-18]
- Jack
Snyder, "One World, Rival Theories" [MS: 2-10]
- James
Rosenau, "Thinking Theory Thoroughly" [VK: 19-26]
- Kenneth
Waltz (1979). "Laws and Theories," Chapter 1 in Theory of International Politics. New York: McGraw-Hill (1-17). [E-Reserve]
- Stephen
Van Evera (1997). Guide to Methods for
Students of Political Science. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Chapter 1. [E-Reserve]
- Kenneth
Waltz, "Explaining War: The Levels of Analysis" [VK: 96-109]
- Robert
Putnam (1988). "Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two-Level Games,"
International Organization 42, 3:
427-460. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2706785
II. Conventional Theoretical Approaches: Realism
vs. Liberalism
- Chapter
2: Realism: The State and Balance of Power [VK: 39-82]
- Thucydides,
"The Melian Dialogue" [VK: 83-87]
- Niccolo
Machiavelli, "On Princes and the Security of Their States" [VK: 88-90]
- Thomas
Hobbes, "Of the Natural Condition of Mankind" [VK: 90-93]
- Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, "The State of War: Confederation as a Means to Peace in Europe" [VK 93-96]
- Carl von Clausewitz, "War as an Instrument of Policy" [MS: 322-326].
- Hans
Morgenthau, "The Balance of Power," "Different Methods of the Balance of
Power," and "Evaluation of the Balance of Power" [MS: 99-104]
- Thomas
C. Schelling, "The Diplomacy of Violence" [MS: 326-334]
- John
Mearsheimer, "Anarchy and the Struggle for Power" [MS: 31-50]
- James
D. Fearon, "Rationalist Explanations for War" [MS: 349-374]
- Robert
Gilpin, "War and Change in World Politics" In VK (1999) 3rd Ed., pp. 145-153. [E-Reserve]
- Robert
O. Keohane, "Theory of World Politics: Structural Realism and Beyond" In VK (1999) 3rd Ed., pp. 153-183. [E-Reserve]
- Paul
Huth, Christopher Gelpi and D. Scott Bennett (1993). "The Escalation of Great
Power Militarized Disputes: Testing Rational Deterrence Theory and Structural
Realism." American Political Science
Review 87, 3: 609-623. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2938739
- Chapter
3: Liberalism: Interdependence and Global Governance [VK: 129-137; 161-166]
- Immanuel
Kant, "To Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch" [MS: 12-15]
- Woodrow
Wilson, "The Fourteen Points" [MS: 17-19]
- Michael
Doyle, "Liberalism and World Politics" [MS: 50-64]
- Chapter
3: Liberalism: Interdependence and Global Governance [VK: 137-161]
- Robert
O. Keohane, "From After Hegemony:
Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy" [MS: 292-307]
-
Chapter
5: The English School: International Society and Grotian Rationalism [VK
239-253]
-
Hugo
Grotius, "The Law of Nations on War, Peace and Freedom of the Seas" [VK: 254-260]
-
Hedley
Bull, "Does Order Exist in World Politics?" [VK: 267-269]
-
Dale
Copeland (2003). "A Realist Critique of the English School," Review of International Studies 29, 3:
427-441. http://journals.ohiolink.edu/ejc/issue.cgi?issn=02602105&issue=v29i0003
III. Some Theoretical Alternatives to (Neo)Realism
and (Neo)Liberalism
* * * WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 3rd at 7:00pm in KAUKE 244:
FILM – THIRTEEN DAYS * * *
- Chapter
6: Constructivist Understandings [VK 277-301]
- Alexander
Wendt, "Anarchy Is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power
Politics" [MS: 64-88]
- Martha
Finnemore, "Constructing Norms of Humanitarian Intervention" [VK: 309-316]
- Joseph
S. Nye, Jr., "Hard and Soft Power in American Foreign Policy" [VK 109-117]
- Anne-Marie
Slaughter (2011). "A New Theory for the Foreign Policy Frontier: Collaborative
Power" The Atlantic November 30,
2011. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/a-new-theory-for-the-foreign-policy-frontier-collaborative-power/249260/
- David
Kilcullen, "From The Accidental
Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One" [MS 416-444]
- Chapter
4: Economic Structuralism: Global Capitalism and Postcolonialism [VK: 189-218]
- J. A.
Hobson, "The Economic Taproot of Imperialism" [VK 219-222]
- Barbara
Bush, "Culture and Imperialism" [VK 222-226]
- Immanuel
Wallerstein, "Modern World System as a Capitalist World-Economy" [VK: 227-233]
- Chapter
8: Feminist Understandings in IR Theory [VK 360-370]
- J. Ann
Tickner, "Man, the State, & War: Gendered Perspectives on National
Security" [MS: 89-97]
- J. Ann
Tickner, "Why Women Can't Rule the World: International Politics According to
Francis Fukuyama" [VK: 380-385]
- R.
Charli Carpenter (2005). "Women, Children and Other Vulnerable Groups":
Gender, Strategic Frames and the Protection of Civilians as a Transnational
Issue" International Studies Quarterly, 49,
2: 295-334. http://journals.ohiolink.edu/cgi-bin/sciserv.pl?collection=journals&journal=00208833&issue=v49i0002
- Knopf, Jeffrey W. (2006). "Doing a Literature
Review" PS: Political Science and
Politics 39, 1: 127-132. http://journals.ohiolink.edu/ejc/issue.cgi?issn=10490965&issue=v39i0001
- Dursun Peksen (2009). "Better or Worse? The Effect of Economic Sanctions
on Human Rights," Journal of Peace Research, 46, 1: 59-77. http://journals.ohiolink.edu/ejc/issue.cgi?issn=00223433&issue=v46i0001
- Timothy Peterson and A. Cooper Drury (2011). "Sanctioning
Violence: The Effect of Third-Party Economic Coercion on Militarized Conflict,"
Journal of Conflict Resolution 55, 4: 580-605. http://journals.ohiolink.edu/ejc/issue.cgi?issn=00220027&issue=v55i0004
Nov. 6 – The Responsibility
to Protect? Peacekeeping and Intervention Against Atrocities
- Virginia
Paige Fortna, "From Does Peacekeeping
Work?" [MS 224-232]
- Margaret
E. Keck & Kathryn Sikkink, "Transnational Advocacy Networks in
International Politics" & "Human Rights Advocacy Networks in Latin America"
[MS: 253-264]
- Martha
Finnemore, "From The Purpose of
Intervention: Changing Beliefs about the Use of Force" [MS 459-483]
- Samantha
Power, "Bystanders to Genocide: Why the United States Let the Rwandan Tragedy
Happen" [MS: 233-253]
- William
Easterley, "The Healers: Triumph and Tragedy" [MS 575-592]
- Alan J. Kuperman
(2004). "Humanitarian Hazard:
Revisiting Doctrines of Intervention," Harvard International Review, 26,
1: 64-68. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=12751578&site=ehost-live
- Philip
Gourevitch (2010). "Alms Dealers: Can You Provide Humanitarian Aid Without
Facilitating Conflict?" The New Yorker. October 11, 2010, pp. 102-109. http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2010/10/11/101011crat_atlarge_gourevitch
- Barry Posen (1993) "The Security Dilemma and Ethnic
Conflict" Survival. 35,1: 27-47. http://web.mit.edu/ssp/people/posen/security-dilemma.pdf
- Anthony
Oberschall (2000). "The Manipulation of Ethnicity: From Ethnic Cooperation to
Violence and War in Yugoslavia." Ethnic
and Racial Studies, 23, 6: 982-1001. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/rers/2000/00000023/00000006/art00002
- Bass, Gary J. (2006). "What Really Causes Civil
War?" New York Times Magazine. August
13, 2006. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/magazine/13wwln_idealab.html
- Andrew H. Kydd and Barbara F. Walter. "The
Strategies of Terrorism" [MS 392-415]
- Michael Stohl (2008). "Old Myths, New Fantasies and the
Enduring Realities of Terrorism" Critical Studies in Terrorism, 1, 1: 5-16. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17539150701846443
- M. Zaldi (2011). "Few Gains for Terrorists" Dawn. May 23, 2011.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/23/few-gains-for-terrorists.html
Nov. 20 – Out of Bounds?:
Rogue States and Transnational Terrorist Networks
- Barak Mendelsohn (2005). "Sovereignty Under Attack: The
International Society Meets the Al Qaeda Network" Review of International Studies. 31,1: 45-68. http://journals.ohiolink.edu/ejc/issue.cgi?issn=02602105&issue=v31i0001
- Elizabeth
N. Saunders (2006). Setting Boundaries: Can International Society Exclude
ÔRogue States'?" International Studies
Review 8: 23-53. http://journals.ohiolink.edu/ejc/issue.cgi?issn=15219488&issue=v08i0001
Nov. 22 – NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING BREAK
- James
Fallows (1993). "How the World Works," Atlantic
Monthly. December 1993. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1993/12/how-the-world-works/5854/
- V.
Spike Peterson (2010). "International/Global Political Economy," Chapter
15 in Gender Matters in Global Politics,
Edited by Laura J. Shepard. London: Routledge (pp. 204-217). [E-Reserve]
- John
Mearsheimer, "The False Promise of International Institutions" [MS: 308-319]
- Craig
Murphy, "International Organization and Industrial Change" In VK (1999) 3rd Edition, pp.
383-396. [E-Reserve]
- Michael
N. Barnett and Martha Finnemore (1999). "The Politics, Power, and Pathologies
of International Organizations" International Organization. 53,4:
699-732. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2601307
Oct. 4 – Is There a Role of Ethics and Morality in IR Theory?
- Chapter
9: Normative IR Theory: Ethics and Morality [VK 391-414]
- Immanuel
Kant, "Morality, Politics, and Perpetual Peace" [VK 415-420]
- E. H.
Carr, "The Nature of Politics" [VK 421-424]
- John
Rawls, "The Law of Peoples" [VK 425-430]
Dec. 6
– Should
International Relations Theory Have Practical Applications?
- Barack
Obama, "On War and Peace – The Nobel Prize Speech" [VK 430-436]
- Joseph
S. Nye, Jr. (1998). "Theory and Practice in International Relations," Interview
with Harry Kreisler, Conversations with
History, Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley. April 8, 1998. http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/Nye/
- Stephen
Walt (2005). "The Relationship Between Theory and Policy in International
Relations" Annual Review of
Political Science 8,1: 23-48. http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.polisci.7.012003.104904
Dec. 12 – FINAL EXAM: 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.