Proseminar in International Relations

PS 530 / PAP 630
Portland State University
Fall 2006
 

David Kinsella
Hatfield School of Government
Office: Urban Center Building, room 650K
Phone: (503) 725-3035 / e-mail: kinsella@pdx.edu
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 9:30-11:00

Description

This graduate seminar surveys the main theoretical and analytical approaches encountered in the study of international relations (IR). Our primary emphasis will be on topics related to international security. We delve into a few topics in international political economy, but much fuller examinations of IPE are offered in other seminars.

The first part of the course covers scholarship representative of three long-standing theoretical traditions in international relations, and one relatively new one: realism, liberalism, radicalism, and social constructivism. We then turn to competing perspectives on international ethics: who are the holders of rights and obligations in international society? Next we examine some analytical issues relevant to theory and research in the field, including the application of the rational choice framework. Finally, we consider some of the wide-ranging critiques of mainstream international relations – both theory and practice – offered by feminist and postmodern thinkers.

The organization of topics is both thematic and chronological – thematic in that each week’s reading and discussion focuses on a particular perspective, tradition, or approach in international relations; chronological in that competing approaches have often unfolded in critical response to scholarship of the previous generation.

Learning Objectives

The general objective of this course is to develop the student's capacity to critically examine theoretical propositions about international relations, consider the applicability of IR theory to real problems in contemporary world affairs, and communicate this analysis to others. This is to be accomplished by exposing students to a body of literature encompassing both positive and normative theory, as well as alternative approaches to research. By the end of the term, students should be able to:

• demonstrate mastery of the main theoretical approaches to the study of world politics;
• interpret historical and contemporary issues using appropriate analytic frameworks; and
• articulate normative positions on some key ethical dilemmas in international relations.

Requirements and Evaluation

In this course, the main workload consists of assigned reading. Assignments must be read carefully prior to the session for which they are scheduled. As this is a seminar, participation in class discussion is important to the success of the course and everyone is expected to contribute. To help me determine the best use of our class time, students are asked to e-mail me, no later than 3:00 on the day of class, at least two questions emerging from the readings that are suitable for discussion. Class participation (including weekly e-mails) will constitute 25 percent of your course grade.

During the term, you are required to write two short papers, together constituting 25 percent of your grade. These are to be critical reviews of the readings assigned reading for the week (about 5 pages), and are due at the beginning of class; you may choose any two weeks. The remaining 50 percent of your grade will be based on a take-home final exam distributed on the last day on class.

Readings

All assigned readings are available online (click the "pdf" link). For those who are interested in background or integrative reading material, there are a few options. James E. Dougherty and Robert L. Pfaltzgraff provide probably the most comprehensive survey in their Contending Theories of International Relations (5th ed., 2000). Fairly sophisticated introductory discussions of the main theoretical traditions as well as contemporary approaches can be found in Scott Burchill, Andrew Linklater, et al., Theories of International Relations (2nd ed., 2001). In Political Theories of International Relations (1998), David Boucher grounds his discussion of modern IR theory in landmark works of political philosophy and theory, as does Michael W. Doyle in his Ways of War and Peace: Realism, Liberalism, and Socialism (1997). For a historical overview of the field's development, see Torbjörn L. Knutsen, A History of International Relations Theory (2nd ed., 1997). Finally, those looking for a high-level undergraduate textbook may want to consult Bruce Russett, Harvey Starr, and David Kinsella, World Politics: The Menu for Choice (8th ed., 2006).
 

CLASS SCHEDULE

2, 9 Oct        Realism

• E. H. Carr, The Twenty Years' Crisis, 1919-1939, 2nd ed. (1945), chaps. 1-6. (pdf)
• Kenneth N. Waltz, Theory of International Politics (1979), chaps. 1, 4-6. (pdf)
• John J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001), chaps. 1-2, 9-10. (pdf)
• Lawrence F. Kaplan and William Kristol, The War over Iraq: Saddam's Tyranny and America's Mission (2003), chaps. 4-6. (pdf)
• Francis Fukuyama, America at the Crossroads: Democracy Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy (2006), chaps. 4-7. (pdf)

16, 23 Oct    Liberalism

• David Mitrany, "The Functional Approach to World Organization," International Affairs 24 (July 1948): 350-363. (pdf)
• Robert O. Keohane, After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy (1984), chaps. 1-7. (pdf)
• Bruce Russett and John R. Oneal, Triangulating Peace: Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations (2001), chaps. 1-3, 8. (pdf)
• Michael Mandelbaum, The Ideas that Conquered the World: Peace, Democracy, and Free Markets in the Twenty-first Century (2002), chaps. 8-9. (pdf)
• Anne-Marie Slaughter, A New World Order (2004), intro., chaps. 4-6. (pdf)

30 Oct          Radical IR Theory

• Andre Gunder Frank, Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America (1967), chap. 1 (pgs. 1-28, 98-120). (pdf)
• Immanuel Wallerstein, "The Rise and Future Demise of the World Capitalist System: Concepts for Comparative Analysis," Comparative Studies in Society and History 16 (September 1974): 387-415. (pdf)
• Robert W. Cox, "Social forces, States, and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory," Millennium: Journal of International Studies 10 (1981): 126-155. (pdf)
• Hernando de Soto, The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else (2000), chaps. 3, 5-7. (pdf)

6 Nov          Constructivism

• Alexander Wendt, "Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics," International Organization 46 (Spring 1992): 391-425. (pdf)
• Daniel Deudney, "Binding Sovereigns: Authorities, Structures, and Geopolitics in Philadelphian Systems," in Thomas Biersteker and Cynthia Weber, eds., State Sovereignty as Social Construct (1996). (pdf)
• Martha Finnemore, National Interests in International Society (1996), chaps. 1, 3, 5. (pdf)
• John Gerard Ruggie, "What Makes the World Hang Together? Neo-Utilitarianism and the Social Constructivist Challenge," International Organization 52 (Fall 1998): 855-885. (pdf)

13 Nov         Normative IR Theory

• Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations, 3rd ed. (2000), chaps. 1-6, 8-9, 16-17. (pdf)
• Peter Singer, One World: The Ethics of Globalization (2002), chaps. 4-5. (pdf)

20 Nov         Scientific IR

• Michael Nicholson, Rationality and the Analysis of International Conflict (1992), chaps. 2-4. (pdf)
• James D. Fearon, "Rationalist Explanations for War," International Organization 49 (Summer 1995): 379-414. (pdf)
• Stephen M. Walt, "Rigor or Rigor Mortis? Rational Choice and Security Studies," International Security 23 (Spring 1999): 5-48. (pdf)
• Joseph Lepgold and Miroslav Nincic, Beyond the Ivory Tower: International Relations Theory and the Issue of Policy Relevance (2002), chaps. 1-3. (pdf)

27 Nov          Post-Positivist IR

• Ido Oren, Our Enemies and US: America's Rivalries and the Making of Political Science (2002), intro., chap. 1. (pdf)
• Richard K. Ashley, "The Poverty of Neorealism," International Organization 38 (Spring 1984): 225-286. (pdf)
• Jean Bethke Elshtain, Women and War (1995), chaps. 5-7. (pdf)
• J. Ann Tickner, "You Just Don't Understand: Troubled Engagements between Feminists and IR Theorists," International Studies Quarterly 41 (December 1997): 611-632. (pdf)