Political Science 160, Sections 01 and 02
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00 - 11:15 and 11:30-12:45
Mr. Glen Johnson, Instructor
Fall, 1996

The purpose of this course is to provide a systematic introduction to the political aspects of contemporary transnational relations.

COURSE MATERIALS:

The following books and materials should be purchased from the College Store:

Michael T. Klare and Daniel C. Thomas (eds), World Security: Challenges for a New Century (second edition, 1994).

Thomas D. Lairson and David Skidmore, International Political Economy: The Struggle for Power and Wealth (1993).

Karen Mingst, The Ivory Trade (1994).

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Understanding International Conflicts: An Introduction to Theory and History (1994).

Political Science Department (eds), Selected Readings in International Politics (1996).

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

The requirements for the course are:

1. A full and thoughtful reading of all material assigned in this syllabus plus a few short pieces that may be added from time to time;

2. Regular attendance along with active engagement and participation in the work of the class;

3. Successful completion of a brief exercise designed to develop familiarity with relevant resources in the library and on the Internet;

4. Successful completion of two written exercises -- the first one due on Sept 26; the second one due on Nov 21 [detailed instructions will be distributed later];

5. Successful completion of mid-term and final examinations.

Library/Internet exercise 5%
Mid-term exam 15%
First written exercise 15%
Second written exercise 25%
Final examination 30%
Class participation 10%

You know from today the dates on which the written assignments will be due and the date of the mid-term examination. Please plan your work accordingly. Only documented illness or serious family emergency will be considered acceptable grounds for even brief extensions.

SOME NOTES ON SOURCES

Electronic sources are becoming increasingly important in many fields, including international politics. You will want to become familiar with many of these sources and their uses. The Vassar College Libraries provide a number of links which will be helpful to the experienced user of electronic source materials as well as the novice. You will find the Library's Electronic Text Center useful in a variety of ways. The following lists of electronic resources will be of particular importance in connection with this course:

International Studies
United Nations and NGOs
Human Rights
Africana Studies
Asian Studies
Latin American Studies

The texts required for this course contain useful bibliographies of more traditional printed materials of relevance to the field.

While this is not a current events course, current materials will be used to illustrate a variety of points and are likely to become an object of discussion on occasion. Therefore, students are expected to keep themselves well informed by reading at least one good daily newspaper and a news magazine as well as one or more good journals of opinion. In this part of the country The New York Times often serves as a common source of current news and a basis for discussion. Most of you will want to read it daily either in hard copy form or on-line at http://www.nytimes.com.

One of the purposes of this course is to help you to broaden your perspective on international affairs, to understand more fully the views and perspectives of others. To this end you will want to read fairly regularly in newspapers from other countries. Some of these are available in hard copy in the library and we have provided links to dailies from around the world in the list of Websites available by clicking here.

When you use materials in research, you will want to give proper credit through appropriate citation. The Web is so new that there is no standard form of citation. However, there are several citation guides available. Probably the best one for you to use is the guide to Citing Electronic Information prepared by the Vassar Library Staff. A more comprehensive source is Li and Crane, Bibliographic Formats for Citing Electronic Information. For materials in printed form, the best brief guide to citation formats is Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), which is available in the College Store.

A NOTE ON COMMUNICATION

My office is in Rockefeller Hall # 204. My regular office hours for the Fall term will be Tuesdays 2:30-4:30 pm and Wednesdays 3:00-5:00 pm (except when there are faculty meetings). If these times are inconvenient, you can make an appointment by contacting me after class, calling x 5573 or sending an e-mail to johnsong@vassar.edu.

Key to abbreviations used in the outline:

K&T = Klare and Thomas
FAR = Selected Readings in International Politics
R = Material on reserve in the library

Dates, topics and assignments (Please read the assignment fully and thoughtfully prior to coming to class on the date indicated):

Sept 3 Introduction to the course and the syllabus

I. THE EVOLUTION OF THE STATE SYSTEM

Sept 5 -- The origins and nature of the Westphalian system

Nye, Ch 1

John Herz, "Rise and Demise of the Territorial State" (R)
John Herz, "The Territorial State Revisited" (R)

Students are required to attend a library instructional session lasting a little over an hour at either 7:00 pm or 8:30 pm. A sign up sheet will be used to balance attendance. Assemble in the rotunda just inside the entrance to the Library. No special preparation is expected but these sessions are related to the Library and Internet exercises in important ways.

II. PERSUING SECURITY IN AN ANARCHIC WORLD

Sept 12 -- Realism and the balance of power

Nye, Chs 2-3
Morgenthau, "Six Principles of Realism" (R)

Nye, Ch 5
Mearsheimer, "Why We Will Soon Miss the Cold War" (R)
Friedberg, "Ripe for Rivalry: Asia After the Cold War" (FAR)
Ayoob, "The Security Problematic of the Third World" (FAR)

Nye, Chs 4, 6
Boutros-Ghali, "Agenda for Peace" (1992)(R) (The 1995 "Agenda for Peace Supplement is also recommended)
Eban, "The UN Idea Revisited" (FAR)
Mearsheimer, "The False Promise of International Institutions" (FAR)

Karns and Mingst, "Maintaining International Peace and Security: UN Peacekeeping and Peacemaking" (K&T)
Rieff, "The Illusions of Peacekeeping" (FAR)

Copeland, "Economic Interdependence and War: A Theory of Trade Expectations" (FAR)

Lynn-Jones, Preface to Debating the Democratic Peace (R)
Doyle, "Kant, Liberal Legacies and Foreign Affairs" (R)

Ball, "Demilitarizing the Third World" (K&T)
Davis, "Nuclear Proliferation and Non-Proliferation Policy in the 1990s" (K&T)
Klare, "Adding Fuel to the Fires: The Conventional Arms Trade in the 1990s" (K&T)

Nye, Ch 7
Nye, "Soft Power" (FAR)
Rosecrance, "The Rise of the Virtual State" (FAR)
Brown, "World Interests and the Changing Dimensions of Security"(K&T)
Ohmae," The Rise of the Region State" (FAR)

III. THE PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH

Oct 10 -- Conceptual lenses on the global economy

Lairson & Skidmore, Chs 1-3

Lairson & Skidmore, Chs4-6
Krugman, "The Myth of Asia's miracle" (FAR)

Lairson & Skidmore, Chs 8-10

Oct 29 -- Labor and investment in the global economy

"The Global Assembly Line" (video to be viewed in class)
Lairson & Skidmore, Ch 11
Dunn, "Free Trade Zones: Issues and Strategies" (R)

Lairson & Skidmore, Ch 12
Ferraro and Rosser, "Global Debt and Third World Development" (K&T)
Broad and Cavanagh, "Don't Neglect the Impoverished South" (FAR)
Danaher, "Fifty Years is Enough" (R)

A. HUMAN RIGHTS

Nov 5 -- The internationalizaton of human rights

Donnelly, "International Human Rights after the Cold War" (K&T)
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Handout)
Vienna Declaration 1993 (R)

Berger, "Are Human Rights Universal?" (R)
Pollis, "Cultural Relativism Revisited: Through a State Prism" (R)
Bielefeldt, "Muslim Voices in the Human Rights Debate (R)

Bunch and Carrillo, "Global Violence Against Women: the Challenge to Human Rights and Development" (K&T)
Binion, "Human Rights: A Feminist Perspective (R)

Nye, pp. 16-24

Nov 19 -- Environmental protection as an international issue

Matthews, "The Environment and International Security" (K&T)
Esty, "GATTing the Greens" (FAR)

Mingst, The Ivory Trade, Pew Case Study
Durbin, "Trade and the Environment: The North South Divide" (R)

Nov 26 -- Communications technology and international politics

Hoge, "Media Pervasivness" (FAR)
Review: Nye, "Soft Power" (FAR)

D. NATIONALISM AND ETHNIC CONFLICT IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA

Dec 3 -- Why ethnic conflict?

Brown, "Causes and Implications of Ethnic Conflict" (R)
Horowitz, "Ethnic and Nationalist Conflict" (K&T)

Huntington, "The Coming Clash of Civilizations" (Handout)
Gottlieb, "Nations Without States" (FAR)
Kaufmann, "Possible and Impossible Solutions to Ethnic Civil Wars" (FAR)

Dec 10 -- Conclusions and evaluations

Nye, Ch 8