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FULBRIGHT STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES INSTITUTE FOR ARGENTINA, 2008
Jerel Rosati
Department of Political Science
Gambrell Hall 420
University of South Carolina
777-2981 (777-3109, main office)
Rosati@sc.edu (Email)
http://www.cla.sc.edu/poli/faculty/rosati/index.htm (Rosati website)
READINGS
Together, the readings reflect different genres, provide different perspectives and interpretations, and come from a variety of sources. Some of the readings are more scholarly; others are more policy-oriented; and others are more intellectual and journalistic in their orientation. Some are long; some are short. Some are classics; others are more contemporary pieces. A mix of a large number of readings maximizes the acquisition of information, knowledge, and understanding of United States foreign policy, and will hopefully increase interest and readability. The readings are intended to be accessible and diverse so as to improve your ability to acquire an understanding of U.S. foreign policy and its real-world relevance.
The Myth of Isolationism and the History of U.S. Foreign Policy
Presidential Power, Congress, and Making U.S. Foreign Policy
Hilsman, “Policy-Making is Politics,” CW chapter 1 in Rosati reader
"Bush and God," Newsweek (March 10, 2003), by Howard Fineman. A very provocative and powerful piece about the profound impact on September 11 on Bush, the role of religion, and becoming a type of born again "war president."
"Cheney's Long Path to War," Newsweek (November 17, 2003), by Mark Hosenball, Michael Isikoff and Evan Thomas. Investigative journalism on Cheney's behind the scenes but critical role to war.
The National Security Council and Managing the Bureaucracy
Is Condi the Problem? As Critics accuse the Bush Team of Bungling the Fight Against Terrorism," Time takes an Inside Look at the Role Played by the President's National Security Adviser," Time (April 5, 2004), by Micheal Elliott and Massimo Calabresi. Condeleeza Rice continues to be an enigma and appears to have a very difficult time coordinating the national security process and the principal officials within the Bush Adm. Although not much is known of her management role, it appears to be relatively incompetent compared to her mentor, Brent Scrowcroft.
Joseph Lelyveld, “The Good Soldier,” New York Review of Books (November 2, 2006)
The Military Establishment
"Global Security Firms Fill in as Private Armies: 15,000 agents Patrol Violent Streets of Iraq," San Francisco Chronocle (March 28, 2004), by Robert Collier. Describes the rise of PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS being used in Iraq and throughout the world, an important phenomena in U.S. foreign policy and global politics.
The Intelligence Community
Raul R. Pillar, “Intelligence, Policy, and the War in Iraq,” Foreign Affairs (March/April 2006)
"Playing Defense: Bush's Disastrous Homeland Security Department," The New Republic (March 15, 2004), by Michael Crowley. A devastating and realistic portrayal of a bureaucratic mess with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, despite public rhetoric to the contrary and little support by President Bush. It's easier to change the organizational chart then it is to create a functional and efficient, new and improved bureaucracy, especially without strong and willing leadership at the top.
"Secret World of U.S. Interrogation: Long History of Tactics in Overseas Prisons Is Coming to Light," By Dana Priest and Joe Stephens, Washington Post (May 11, 2004), p. A01 Compares Iraq to U.S. prisons elsewhere in the world. Obviously not just a function of a few rotten apples at the bottom of the barrel and not just limited to Iraq.
James Bamford, “Big Brother is Listening,” The Atlantic Monthly (April 2006)
Foreign Economic Policymaking, including State and Local Politics
Decisionmaking Theory and Washington Politics
"Blind Into Baghdad:The U.S. occupation of Iraq is a debacle not because the government did no planning but because a vast amount of expert planning was willfully ignored by the people in charge. The inside story of a historic failure.. The Atlantic Monthly (January/February 2004) by James Fallows. The best single overview of the policymaking process within the government that ultimately led to the postwar reconstruction mess.
James Thompson, "How Could Vietnam Happen," Atlantic Monthly (April 1968), pp. 47-53
Public Opinion, Political Ideology, and American Nationalism
"The Neocons in Power," The New York Review of Books (June 12, 2003), by Elizabeth Drew. Drew provides investigative and inside information on the rise of the neoconservatives to power and within the Bush Administration.
President John F. Kennedy's "Inaugural Address," (January 20, 1961).
J. William Fulbright, The Arrogance of Power (New York: Vintage, 1966), pp. 3-22.
Role of Media and News Coverage
"The Unseen War," The New York Review of Books (May 29, 2003), by Michael Massing. A fascinating portrait of how the American media covered the war early on and was dominated by the military, and provides a pro-American, sanitized perspective> Massing compares this to European coverage, especially the BBC, and Arab coverage, especially Al-Jazeera.
"Hard Times for Hard News: A Clinical Look at U.S. Foreign Coverage," World Policy Journal (Winter 2003/04), by John F. Stacks. Self-explanatory from the title. Really good overview of how the mainstream media covers and communicates a story, and why American are so poorly and selectively informed in general.
9/11, the Iraq War, the Future of Presidential Power and Democratic Liberties
Cass R. Sunstein, “The 9/11 Constitution,” The New Republic (January 16, 2006)
Illusions of Empire: Defining the New American Order," Foreign Affairs (March/April 2004), by G. John Ikenberry. From Washington to Baghdad, the debate over American empire is back. Five new books weigh in, some celebrating the imperial project as the last best hope of humankind, others attacking it as cause for worry. According to Ikenberry, what they all fail to understand is that U.S. power is neither as great as most claim nor as dangerous as others fear.
RECOMMENDED READING FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE TOPICS
Jerel A. Rosati and James M. Scott, The Politics of United States Foreign Policy (Thomson Wadsworth, 2007)
RECOMMENDED SOURCES (web addresses can be found at my website: http://people.cas.sc.edu/rosati/tothepoint.htm)
Following Contemporary Affairs. It is also expected that you will follow contemporary affairs through the media during this semester more than you might normally be accustomed. You may want to sign up and receive FREE email subscriptions to:
– The New York Times at www.nytimes.com, register and check The Daily Headlines (Daily Featured Section);
– (for a European, especially British, perspective) The Economist at www.economist.com, check Politics This Week, or BBC News at http://news.bbc.co.uk/, subscribe to BBC Daily Email;
– (for perspectives from around the world) World Press Review at www.worldpress.org, check World Press Review Newsletter. Newslink is probably the best website for accessing news sources throughout U.S. and the world.
Other Recommended Sources. The national news--on network television or on National Public Radio--is strongly encouraged as well. Additional recommended mainstream and alternative media sources for following contemporary affairs can be found on MY WEBSITE.
For those of you who might want to explore more on the topic, see Undergraduate Courses (especially POLI 340) and Graduate Courses (especially POLI 740) on my website.