85.02 Leadership and Grand Strategy
Is strategic leadership possible in international affairs? If so, how is it achieved? The objectives of this course are to introduce you the most influential theoretical approaches to the study of strategy in political science and to apply and evaluate these approaches in a series of historical and contemporary case studies of leadership and grand strategy. These immediate objectives serve a larger purpose: to make you a better strategist and more sophisticated analyst of strategic decision-making. Students will be required to craft and defend alternative grand strategies for real leaders in selected cases, including World War I, the transition from apartheid in South Africa, and the war for Kosovo. The empirical focus of the course is on states and their problems, but its basic precepts are applicable to other domains as well. Prerequisite: Government 5. Dist: SOC or INT.
85.04 International Relations Theory
International Relations Theory focuses on close reading and discussion of classic and contemporary texts describing the underlying causal patterns of international politics. Major themes include morality and politics; debates over methods and theory; foreign policy and global conflict; and the search for peace and cooperation. Some of the questions we will address include: What might virtue and the national interest mean in international politics? Why is war so common or is it really quite rare? Are there alternatives to nation states? To what extent is "international relations" a gendered concept? These are all questions that are explored in various theories of international relations. The objectives of this course include helping students to interpret and describe international relations, to study a variety of explanations for various events and non-events, and to consider various prescriptions or solutions to different kinds of problems.
85.05 American Foreign Policy Toward Asia (Identical to PBPL 81)
Over the past fifty years Asia has become important to the US in terms of both security and economics. From the Korean War, Vietnam, the rise of Japanese economic power, and to the current IMF crisis and rise of China, Asian issues are now a central part of US policy circles. This course will discuss how the US formulates its policy towards Asia, and treat three major themes. First, what are the domestic sources of US policy towards Asia? How do these internal politics play themselves out? Second, how has the US acted toward and negotiated with Asian Nations? Has the interaction benefited the US and has the US understood the implications of the policies it undertook? Finally, what are the lessons and implications for current and future US policy towards Asia? The course will treat both economic and security issues, historical and current. Dist: SOC.
85.06 Economic Statecraft in International Relations. (Identical to PBPL 82.2)
This seminar will focus on the international political economy of trade policy and negotiations. We will be interested in the link between theories, concepts, and evidence, and each student will be required to write a substantial research paper. Among the conceptual issues to be explored are the role of power, interest groups, bureaucracies, and ideas in the formulation of trade policy, and issue linkage, bargaining strategies, and sources of leverage in trade negotiations. The substantive focus will be on cases involving the United States, European Community, Japan, Canada, Korea, and other states in bilateral and multilateral negotiations over agriculture, industry, and high technology. The course will be taught using the case method and materials, which is meant to maximize student participation. Prerequisites: Government 58 or an appropriate substitute, and permission of the instructor. Dist: SOC or INT.
85.12 Military Statecraft in International Relations
Finding answers for many complex foreign policy questions requires weighing a set of political goals against an estimate of the potential military costs and risks. The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the missions and capabilities of military forces, and to teach them how to estimate the likely costs, risks, and outcomes of military operations. This course will use theoretical works and historical cases to familiarize students with some of the principles of air, ground, and naval operations. Students will use the tools which they learn in class to conduct a detailed military analysis that bears on an important current foreign policy question. No prior knowledge of military forces is needed for this class. Prerequisite: Government 5 or permission of the instructor. The instructor encourages seniors, juniors, as well as sophomores with strong writing and research skills, to enroll in this seminar. Dist: SOC or INT.
85.14 Economics and Security in U.S. Foreign Policy (Identical to PBPL 83.2)
This course explores the role of economics and security in international relations theory. Special attention will be devoted to exploring how changes in the international economy are likely to influence the security behavior of states. Prerequisites: Govt. 5 and at least one midlevel IR course. Dist: SOC; WCult: NA.
85.15 Globalization and the Future of Asia
From the Chinese entry into the WTO to the Asian financial crisis of 1997, it is often asserted that countries in Asia are increasingly interconnected with each other and with the rest of the world. In this seminar, we will first explore in detail what globalization means from the perspective of international relations: how do we define globalization? What are the important causes and consequences? We will then explore a series of issues in Asia that involve globalization, including political (China's rise and the meaning of the U.S. alliance system in Asia), economic (the financial crisis and the changing pattern of investment and trade), and social (anti-Americanism in South Korea, increased travel and tourism within Asia). The goal of the seminar will be to more fully understand whether and why globalization has an impact on Asia. Dist: SOC or INT; WCult: NW.
85.16 The Causes and Prevention of Genocide and Mass Killing
This course examines genocide and other kinds of mass killing in historical and theoretical perspective. The course will begin by examining the debate over the concept of genocide. Then the course reviews psychological, sociological, and political perspectives on causes of genocide and mass killing. Next, the course examines a number of historical episodes of genocide and mass killing including the Holocaust, the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, mass killings by communist states in China, the Soviet Union and Cambodia, and episodes involving the mass killing of civilian populations during war. Finally, the course addresses the question of what measures the United States and the international community should take to limit or prevent genocide and mass killing in the future. For example, should the international community use military force to prevent genocide if necessary? Will institutions like the international criminal court help to deter genocide and mass killing?
85.18 The Nuclear Revolution
This course explores the impact of nuclear weapons on international politics. Did nuclear weapons bring stability to the cold war? If so, is further proliferation of nuclear weapons advisable? Do nuclear weapons make weak states more secure by leveling the playing field, or less secure by making them targets? Do missile defenses increase peace and stability or enhance prospects for military intervention? Are nuclear weapons still relevant, or is it at last time to climb down from the nuclear brink? Topics to be considered include rational and extended deterrence, nuclear superiority, the stability-instability paradox, the pros and cons of nuclear proliferation, loose nukes, nuclear terrorism, missile defense, and the role of nuclear weapons in cold war crises. Dist: INT.
85.19 Secession and State Creation
It’s true, breaking up is hard to do. Each year dozens of secessionist movements attempt to escape their governments in order to form their own, newly independent countries. And though secession is rarely successful, it causes a great deal of conflict and consternation. Some of the most protracted and deadly modern conflicts are tied to secession, including those in the horn of Africa, the Former Yugoslavia, China, and the Former Soviet Union. In contrast, much secession remains peaceful, exemplified by Czechoslovakia, the Baltic States, and Canada. In this seminar, we will explore secession’s political, legal and normative implications. What traits are characteristic of secessionist movements? What are the conditions under which secession is more or less likely to succeed? Is secession legal? When do secessionist aspirations provoke violence? Finally, is secession ever justified? Dist: SOC or INT
85.20 The Psychology of International Relations
Many theories of international relations rely on implicit assumptions of state or leader motivations without appreciating the complex psychology driving behavior. This course takes a contrary approach by focusing on the operation of psychology in international relations. Readings and discussions introduce psychological explanations and models, and apply this scholarship to state behavior. Topics will provide a broad introduction to the field of political psychology, with a particular focus on issues of international relations: individual and group theories of decision making, the psychology of deterrence, individual and group motivations for violence, the effect of culture, leader personality and psychology, public opinion, and theories of conflict resolution. In-class simulations and applications to foreign policy highlight political psychology as a unique and useful perspective to explain international relations. Dist: INT or SOC
85.22 Techniques of Statecraft
At the beginning of her book on statecraft, Margaret Thatcher describes foreign and security policy as “much more than the two opposing poles of war and peace. It concerns the whole range of risks and opportunities which the far-sighted statesman must appreciate and evaluate in the conduct of his craft.” State behavior is complex, and leaders rarely enjoy obvious policy decisions. However, much of the scholarly attention devoted to the study of international relations ignores this uncertainty, concentrating instead on responses to easily discernible markers of power. While this parsimony is appreciated, a simple view of the process omits the politics behind foreign policy and the universe of possible options available to decision makers. This class provides a contrasting view by concentrating on the techniques of statecraft. We will examine the varied tools at the disposal of statesmen and stateswomen, and dissect the pros and cons of military, economic, and diplomatic statecraft across a variety of foreign policy decisions. Coursework will combine research on grand strategy, statecraft, foreign policy analysis, and decision making with in-depth case histories and in-class exercises. (NOTE: “GOVT. 59: Foreign Policy Decision Making” is recommended as a prerequisite.) Dist: INT or SOC
85.23 Unipolarity and US Security
The end of the Cold War ushered in an era in which the U.S. became the world's only superpower, standing far above all other states in terms of military, economic, and technological capabilities. Analysts commonly argue that today's "unipolar" system is historically unprecedented. In this course, we will explore how unipolarity influences the conduct of US security policy. We will examine a wide range of questions, including: How long can the US maintain its leadership position in the international system? Is the US in a position to effectively reshape international institutions? Why does the US maintain such a large network of overseas military commitments? As the leading power, does the US have a greater obligation to help the world's poor and engage in humanitarian interventions than other states? Dist: INT or SOC
85.24 Psychological Experimentation in International Relations
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