Political Science 363/International Studies 363
United States Foreign Policy
Summer 2018
Bill Newmann, Political Science Department
Office Hours: 318 Founders Hall: Tuesday and Thursday 2:00-3:00 or By Appointment
Phone: Office: 828-2076 (main POLI number)
e-mail: wnewmann@vcu.edu
Newmann's home page: www.people.vcu.edu/~wnewmann with links to other Newmann syllabi and other fun stuff.
Introduction:
This course serves as an introduction to US foreign policy. We’ll start with the basics (the structure of the US foreign policy bureaucracies and basic theories of how we think about US national interests), but we will we proceed from there to tackle the challenging issues (dealing with potential great power rivals such as China and Russia; the threat from middle powers who reject international norms such as Iraq under Saddam Hussein or the current Iranian regime; or North Korea; and 21st century threats from non-state actors such as al-Qaeda or ISIS). Underneath it all will be two simple questions. First, how do we define the threats to the US? Second, what should be the US role in the world? Politicians, scholars, think tanks, lobby groups, the media, and the public have generated a number of potential foreign policy priorities, including: spreading democracy, opening closed economies, fostering basic human rights in other nations, responding to humanitarian tragedies, ending civil or ethnic wars, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, deterring the rise of rival great powers, maintaining regional balances of power, ensuring US hegemony, counterterrorism, and even reducing the US role in world affairs in an effort to concentrate on the problems at home. We’ll be studying the interplay of those priorities an, how they change from time to time, and the way priorities are decided. This is particularly interesting because of the 2016 election. It may have signaled a great change in the US role in the world. Maybe it’s a mild ripple in the evolution of US leadership; Trump foreign policy might be an outlier and we’ll return to a more traditional Republican or Democratic foreign policy in 2020 or 2024. Maybe it is the beginning of the end of US hegemony. Scholars from 100 years in the future may see 2016 as the year when the US stepped away from global leadership and handed the 21st century to China.
The course will focus on the following:
National Security Decision Making Process: We will examine
the wild and wacky world of foreign policy decision making. People think that
issues as serious as nuclear weapons policy or armed intervention are decided
upon in the most solemn and analytical manner. I wish. Foreign policy decision
making often resembles a bunch of three-year-olds in a sandbox fighting over
the only pail and shovel. Understanding the way decisions are made is perhaps
the single most important aspect of analyzing foreign policy. Many people think
that there really is no US foreign policy, only a process that churns out
half-decisions, non-decisions and useless compromises. By the end of the
semester you will be familiar with the policy making process and all the
institutions, Departments, and Agencies involved.
The Cold War Years: In examining the period of intense
competition with the USSR, we will focus on the emergence of the two
antagonists in the late 1940s and 1950s; US involvement in Vietnam; detente and
arms control during the Nixon years; the fall of detente and the collapse of
arms control during the Carter years; and the renewed Cold War of the early
Reagan years. The focus is two-fold: the ways in which the US and USSR formed a
competitive, yet in many ways cooperative relationship. In the USSR, Mikhail
Gorbachev had begun the restructuring of the USSR, a restructuring that would
eventually reshape the world. We will examine the Reagan and Bush
administrations' responses to the changes within the USSR and the changes
around the world that followed.
US Foreign Policy after the Cold War: Finally, we will
explore the range of possibilities for the future in terms of a number of
issues: the rise of economic priorities; the issue of intervention and peace
operations; human rights and democracy; great power rivals to the US; and the
spread of weapons of mass destruction. We will try to answer the big picture
questions: What world role should the US assume after the Cold War? Are there
economic threats facing the US that are as challenging as the
political-military threat of the old USSR? How should the US organize and use
its military assets after the Cold War? Is China the next great rival to the
US?
Post-9/11 and the Future of US Foreign Policy: Has the
terrorist attack on the US changed everything we know about foreign policy or
has it simply added to the complexity of the challenges the US faces as the
only remaining superpower? What are the
threats the US must deal with: terrorist attack, radical ideologies,
authoritarian states, economic challengers, economic institution building? What is the proper US role in the world:
building democracies, rolling back the spread of anti-democratic and
anti-American ideologies, the rise of rivals to the US (China, India, EU),
building better global governance based on US values? For example, what is more dangerous: a
capitalist and authoritarian China, or the failures of public education in
Pakistan, or the spread of infectious disease in poor nations?
2016 and Beyond: Of course, after the 2016 election, we need
to consider how all this plays out in Trump and post-Trump US foreign policy.
Trump foreign policy represents a possible major shift in US foreign policy
interests. What impact might this have on the US definition of threats in the
world and the US view of its role in the world? These questions are relevant in
the context of US security goals and in its economic relationships with the
rest of the world.
Within
each of these categories we will address these key issues:
In the class readings we will pay special attention to US policy in the Middle East and US relations with China.
For an extensive list
of governmental and non-governmental sources of information on foreign affairs
click here: Links
to Websites on foreign policy and national security. Some of
these links may be in a state of flux because of the transition to a new
administration. I will try to keep them updated, but if anything changes or
disappears, let me know.
Texts:
You
need to read them, but you don’t have to buy them. The books are available at
the Virginia Book Company on Shafer St. or the VCU Bookstore. If anyone has problems getting access to the
texts, for any reason, let me know as soon as possible so you don't get too far
behind in the reading. Most of the books are available on reserve at Cabell
Library, which means that if you don’t want to buy them, you can read them
there. Ask me if you have any questions about how the reserve system
works. The short version is this: A book
on reserve can’t be checked out of the library. It will always be there. It can
be used for renewable two hour periods in the library.
·
Stephen
Sestanovich. Maximalist
(New York: Vintage, 2014) On Reserve E744 .S473 2014
·
David
Rothkopf. Running
the World (NY: Public Affairs, 2006) On Reserve UA23.15 .R68 2005
·
Andrew
J. Bacevich. America’s War for the
Greater Middle East (New York: Random House, 2017) On Reserve DS63.2.U5
B3214 2016
·
Thomas
Christensen. The China Challenge (NY:
W. W. Norton, 2015) On Reserve JZ1730 .C56 2015
·
Thomas
J. Wright. All Measures Short of War (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2017) On Reserve JK275 .W75 2017)
A guideline for the readings: There
are aspects of US foreign policy that you should give special attention as you
do your readings. They affect every debate over US foreign policy and it is
probably a good idea to understand how they relate to major issues and events
when it comes to the final exam: (1) Decision Making: US foreign policy does
not just happen. Men and women make those decisions and that process is
important in shaping the actual substance of US foreign policy; (2)
Intervention Policy: The US picks and chooses what type of world events have
bearing on US national interests and in which events it will take an active
role. On what basis does the US make those decisions? How has the US definition
of national interest changed over the years and have the criteria for
involvement in international events changed? (3) Cold War vs. Post-Cold War vs.
War on Terrorism: How have the definitions of US national interests evolved?
(4) Domestic Politics: Are the definitions of national interest and the content
of US foreign policy based upon the threats the US faces or on domestic
political contests and trends that influence the perceptions of those threats?
Grading System: Grades will be determined through the
following:
June 19 |
5% of the grade |
|
Exam 1 |
July 3 |
30% of the grade |
Paper Topic June 19 Paper Due July 26 in hard copy at the beginning of class |
35% of the grade |
|
Exam 2 |
August 2 |
30% of the grade |
How do you calculate your grade? Use the percentages from the above table. So, if you received the following grades, you would calculate your grades in the following manner:
I give you this very detailed formula for a number of reasons. You should never be unaware of what your class average is. You can calculate it at any point in the semester. If your grade is not what you'd like it to be, you should know, and you should come see me about it. Do not come to me after Exam 2 and say that you're having trouble in the class. It's too late at that point. But any time in the semester that you feel you are having trouble, or not doing as well as you feel you should, come talk to me. During my office hours and by appointment I am happy to talk to you about the class
Grading scale: I use a typical scale: A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 55-69. Borderline grades are considered in the following manner.
· If your grade is 69.5, 79.5, or 89.5 or higher, then you may be a candidate for a round up to the higher grade (Notice those numbers in the sentence; do not ask for a higher grade if your average is a 68 or 78 or 88 or lower; those are not borderline averages).
· You may become a candidate if your grades are borderline and if your grades have been going up during the semester.
· That means that if you are borderline, but your last exam is lower than the previous exams (you are between a B and C, but your third exam is a C for example), you will probably get the lower grade.
· If you are borderline, and your last exam is higher than the previous exams (you are between a B and C, but your third exam is a B), you may get the higher grade.
· Another factor I consider is the typical grade you receive. Let’s say we have four grades for the class and three are grades of B and one is a C (bad day) and your average is a 79.6, you are a candidate for receiving a B. If you have four grades and three are grades of C and one is a grade of B, you are probably not a candidate for the higher grade
· There is no extra credit for this class. Please do not ask.
Research
Paper: Paper Topics are due June 19. The paper is due
July 26 in hard copy at the beginning of
class or it is late. Also email me a copy of the paper.
For
the paper topic, I’m looking for a few sentences to a paragraph telling me what
your topic is. See the paper instructions on the type of topics I’m looking
for. This paper has a very specific topic. It’s not just a “write stuff about
US foreign policy that interests you” type of paper.
I will
review rough drafts, outlines, and even completed papers, if handed in by July
19. This is not required, but an
opportunity for you let me review your paper and get it back to you so you can
use my comments to rewrite your paper.
The following instructions are
important. Please pay attention to them.
If you don't you will wind up hurting your grade:
·
LATE PAPERS: The late penalty is ten points per day, meaning that after
class begins your paper, if a 95, is now an 85, after two days it is a 75,
after three it is a 65, and so on down to zero.
EXAMS: The exams will be short answer and essay. At least one week before the exam I will out a review sheet on line. It will be linked to the syllabus below this paragraph. In general, the review sheets should be used as your study guide for the exam. The review sheet will include some terms that are from the readings only, so that you can go back and review those items from the readings. Once you have the review sheet, feel free to ask me questions about the terms. This is the best way to study for the exam. If you understand the terms on the review sheet, you can define each one and see how each one relates to the larger concepts and issues we've discussed in class, you should do just fine on the exam. The exams will consist of short answer/identifications and one essay. I will give more details on the exams in class as we approach the first exam.
COURSE AND READING SCHEDULE
Note: For the first few weeks the
readings will be ahead of the class lectures. Make sure you keep up, though. If
you do not do the readings you will quickly be lost and you'll be in serious
trouble on the first exam. The dates below are the dates when you should have
finished the readings (except for the first week of course).
Day 1: June 12 Introduction and Decision Making
· Sestanovich, Prologue, Chapters 1-2
Day
2: June 14
Decision Making
Day 3:
June 19
Early Cold War
·
June 19: Map Quiz
·
Paper
Topics Due
· Sestanovich, Chapters 4-5
· Rothkopf, Chapter 5
Day 4: June 21 Intervention and Detente
· Sestanovich, Chapter 6-8 (145-209)
· Rothkopf, Chapter 6 (108-137)
·
Cold
War Strategies Intervention, Engagement, Confrontation (use this presentation for the next two
classes)
Day 5: June 26
Détente and Confrontation
· Sestanovich, Chapter 8 (209-218)
· Bacevich, Chapters 1-4
Day 6: June 28 The End of the Cold War
· Rothkopf, Chapter 8
· Bacevich, Chapter 5
· Sestanovich, Chapter 9
Day 7: July 3 Bush 41 and Clinton: A “New World Order?”
·
Exam 1
·
Rothkopf, Chapter 9
(for second exam)
Day 8: July 5 Clinton: Peace Operations and Economics
· Sestanovich, Chapter 10
· Rothkopf, Chapter 10
Day 9: July 10 The Dilemma of China
· Christensen, Chapters 1, 2, and 3
Day 10: July 12 Bush 43 and Post-9/11 World
· Christensen, Chapters 4 and 8
· Bacevich, Chapters 11, 12 and 13
Day
11: July 17
Iraq and Afghanistan and Beyond
· Bacevich, Chapter 14
· Wright, Chapters 1 and 2
Day
12: July 19
Obama Foreign
Policy
·
Last Day
for Turning in Rough Drafts of the Paper (optional)
· Wright, Chapter 5
· Sestanovich Chapter 12
Day 13: July 24 New Threats, Old Threats: North Korea, Iran, Russia
· Wright, Chapters 6, 7, and Epilogue
Day 14: July 26 Trump Foreign Policy I: The End of World Order? The Return of Russia?
·
Paper Due
(at the beginning of class, in hard copy)
·
Bacevich
Chapters 15-16
Day 15: July 31 Trump Foreign Policy II
·
Bacevich
Chapters 17-18
Day 16: August 2
Exam
2
Where can you find
information on international affairs?
This is
the questions students always ask me: “Where do I find good information on
international affairs. I’m looking for something unbiased and something that
doesn’t always look at the world through American eyes (as in how do these
developments affect the US).
Here’s
the short answer: For day by day coverage of events
in the world:
On a weekly basis:
The
Economist: www.economist.com. This is a Britain-based weekly which covers
world politics and world business. There
really is nothing else like it in the comprehensive nature of its
coverage. You can also buy it on the
newsstand, but the web is free. It
covers world politics very well.
Long Term Views of Crisis and Conflict:
International Crisis Group: www.crisisweb.org.
This is the International Crisis Group, a non-profit organization that
studies, analyzes, and makes recommendations about how to resolve various
crises in the world. There is nothing
better for the in-depth examination of current world events and the dilemmas of
problem solving and peace making. It has
reports (30-50 pages), briefings (10-30), and a weekly briefing (Crisis Watch),
which you can get on the web site or sign up for e-mail delivery.
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