Description

This course examines concepts and arguments from various theoretical traditions in international relations. During the first half of the term we will explore one of the "great debates" in the study and practice of world politics – the debate between political realism and liberal internationalism. Although this contest has historical roots, it is very much present in contemporary disagreements over the proper conduct of American foreign policy as well as the policies pursued by other states and international actors.

The focus for the second half of the course is normative theory in international relations, including the "just war tradition" and the debate over humanitarian intervention. The course also considers recent challenges to the mainstream schools of thought: constructivist, critical, and feminist IR theory. Throughout the term we will explore the extent to which theoretical approaches apply (or can be adapted) to current developments in world politics, mostly on matters of war and peace.

Learning Objectives

The general objective of this course is to develop the student's capacity to critically examine theoretical propositions about world politics, 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. 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 theoretical 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. Students are expected to read carefully and complete the assignments in a timely manner. Undergraduate grades are based on a midterm (40%) and a final (50%) examination. The remainder of your course grade (10%) will be based on your participation in class discussion. Attendance is required.

Course grades for graduate students are also based on midterm and final exams, as well as class participation. As part of the latter, graduate students will be asked to give two oral presentations during the term.

Readings

Three required coursebooks are available for purchase at the Portland State Bookstore:

• Stephen G. Brooks and William C. Wohlforth, World Out of Balance: International Relations and the Challenge of American Primacy (Princeton University Press, 2008).
• Michael Mandelbaum, The Ideas that Conquered the World: Peace, Democracy, and Free Markets in the Twenty-First Century (PublicAffairs, 2002).
• Kwame Anthony Appiah, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers (Norton, 2006).

Other readings are available by clicking the links in the online syllabus. In addition to the assigned readings, you should be reading, on a regular basis, the New York Times, the Washington Post, or some other newspaper with thorough international coverage. Your performance in the course will reflect your familiarity with current international issues, and not just an understanding of lecture material and course readings.

CLASS SCHEDULE

• Stephen M. Walt, "International Relations: One World, Many Theories." Foreign Policy 110 (Spring 1998), pp. 29-46. (pdf)
• Yale H. Ferguson and Richard W. Mansbach, The Elusive Quest: Theory and International Politics (University of South Carolina Press, 1988), chaps. 1-2. (pdf)
• slides

• E. H. Carr, The Twenty Years' Crisis, 1919-1939, 2nd ed. (1945), chaps. 7-9. (pdf)
• Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace, 4th ed. (1967), chaps. 1-3, 16. (pdf)

• Brooks and Wohlforth, World Out of Balance, chaps. 1-3.

• John J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (W. W. Norton, 2001), chaps. 1-2. (pdf)
• Lawrence F. Kaplan and William Kristol, The War over Iraq: Saddam's Tyranny and America's Mission (Encounter Books, 2003), chaps. 4-6. (pdf)
• Francis Fukuyama, "After Neoconservatism," New York Times Magazine, 16 February 2006. (pdf)
• slides

• Mandelbaum, Ideas that Conquered the World, introduction, chaps. 1-7.
• Brooks and Wohlforth, World Out of Balance, chap. 4.

• Mandelbaum, Ideas that Conquered the World, chaps. 8-12, conclusion.
• Brooks and Wohlforth, World Out of Balance, chap. 5.

• in class: Documentary: Ghosts of Rwanda
• Martha Finnemore, The Purpose of Intervention: Changing Beliefs About the Use of Force (Cornell University Press, 2003), chap. 3. (pdf)
• James Turner Johnson, Morality and Contemporary Warfare (Yale University Press, 1999), introduction, chaps. 2-3. (pdf)
  
  

• Appiah, Cosmopolitanism.

• Alexander Wendt, "Anarchy is What States Make of It." International Organization 46: 2 (Spring 1992), pp. 391-425. (pdf)
• Brooks and Wohlforth, World Out of Balance, chaps. 6-7.

• Cynthia Enloe, Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives (University of California Press, 2000), chap. 7. (pdf)
• James Der Derian, Virtuous War: Mapping the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network (Westview, 2001), chaps. 1-2, 9. (pdf)