GINT 740
CONDUCT AND FORMULATION OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
(with the Iraq War a Case Study)
Spring 2009
LC 112, Wed 3:30-6pm
Jerel Rosati
Department of Political Science
Gambrell Hall 420
777-2981(777-3109, main office)
Rosati@sc.edu (Email)
http://www.cla.sc.edu/poli/faculty/rosati/index.htm (Rosati website)
Please read the syllabus carefully for I have given great thought to the development of this course.
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the course is to provide the foundation to allow you to arrive at a strong understanding of the complex politics of U.S. foreign policy. This is to be accomplished: 1) by providing you with a broad and intensive survey of information and knowledge of the foreign policy process of the United States, 2) by familiarizing you with different sources and interpretations of U.S. foreign policy, 3) by providing important context and improve your ability to analyze, synthesize, and communicate, and 4) by relating the course material to the contemporary politics of U.S. foreign policy. The course should broaden and deepen your substantive and historical knowledge of U.S. foreign policy. In addition, the course should improve your general learning potential and level of professional competence.
The focus is on how diverse factors--the government policymaking process, society and domestic politics, and the global environment--influence the making of American foreign policy. As you better understand the “realities” of U.S. foreign policy and learn about the policymaking "game", you will be better able to analyze past, present, and future foreign policy decisions.
It is a demanding course—especially the amount of reading and my expectations are high. The prerequisite to accomplishing all this is "time and effort" on your part. My hope is that you will find the material stimulating, that you will learn and grow intellectually, and find the topics and interaction enjoyable. If you like to learn you should particularly like this class.
REQUIREMENTS
Students are expected to engage in a considerable amount of reading and will be evaluated through class participation, written papers, and a (optional) final examination. The intent behind these requirements is to have you study and think about the course material throughout the semester--to provide you with numerous opportunities to demonstrate the knowledge you have acquired and to get feedback--in order to maximize your ability to learn and grow as a student.
1. Direct Participation (10%). In order to get the most out of class, you must be prepared when you come to class. Students are required to complete the readings prior to class meetings and to come to class ready to discuss them. You are also expected to keep abreast of current international issues. I expect everyone to participate actively in the discussion of the day.
You may also be asked to complete very short exercises, usually written, in class and out of class revolving around communicating an understanding of the readings. SHOULD YOU MISS A CLASS, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR LEARNING WHAT WENT ON IN CLASS FROM YOUR CLASSMATES.
2. Three Writing Assignments (30% each). All assignments are to be completed on time. Late assignments will have to meet higher expectations and will be will be lowered by their tardiness. Further information about the written essays is provided at the end of the syllabus.
3. Final Examination (optional). The final will become required if I feel that the class is not keeping up with and absorbing the required readings. Hopefully, this option will be not be triggered. The final will consist of essays and will be cumulative, focusing on the general points and major concepts/questions addressed in the readings and in class. Your essays should demonstrate your mastery and thoughtful consideration of the material, and should explicitly discuss and integrate the readings. You will receive a study guide in advance of the examination to help you prepare.
Late assignments. If you cannot fulfill a requirement by the due date, I (or the POLI office, 7-7686) MUST BE CONTACTED WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE DUE DATE and provided a legitimate explanation (e.g., medical illness). Assignments which are allowed to be completed after the due date will be expected to meet higher standards given the additional time granted.
GRADES
Your grade will be based, not on how well you do compared to others in the class, but on the quality of substantive knowledge, quality of analysis, and effective communication demonstrated--in other words, the level of understanding demonstrated. An A represents "excellence"; a B+ represents "very good"; a B represents "good". Grades below B indicate that the level of work in the course is below the level expected of graduate students.
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY AND STRATEGY
The class will be structured around what I call a class dialogue in which information, knowledge, and thought will be generated through lecture/background, discussion, and, in particular, the Socratic method. I will often play the role of provocateur and advocate to stimulate participation. The class dialogue emphasizes the importance of student participation and active learning as a means to improve one's skills, interest, information, knowledge, and, ultimately, understanding. In essence, class discussions will consist of an active exchange between the student and professor. When deemed necessary, background will be provided for some of the more difficult material and to provide appropriate context.
The class is organized around the required readings and their topics. I expect every student to come to class prepared and participate. Every student should be able to summarize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate each assigned reading by addressing the following questions:
1. What is the author's purpose?
2. What is the basic theme(s) or argument(s) of the reading?
3. What are the most important historical events, information, concepts, etc. discussed in the reading?
4. How does this reading relate to the other readings and to the central themes & topics of the course?
5. How powerful or weak is the argument and the evidence? Why?
Students also are encouraged to offer comments or questions which contribute to class discussions on a regular basis.
PLEASE NOTE. THERE IS CONSIDERABLE READING SINCE THIS IS A GRADUATE COURSE. I EXPECT YOU TO DO ALL OF THE READING IN A TIMELY FASHION.
Please come to class on time and be courteous at all times.
NATURE OF THE COURSE
One ultimate purpose of higher education and the offering of this course is to broaden your knowledge and understanding about the world around you--to learn about things that you probably don't know much about and to think about things that you haven't given much thought to. At the same time, I recognize that many individuals hold strong beliefs and feelings about the United States, often based more on faith and emotion rather than substantive knowledge. Therefore, much of the material in this course may be controversial and will challenge you to think about many beliefs and assumptions you hold (and have rarely examined).
Your role is to act as student, social scientist, or policy analyst, not policymaker, activist, or true believer. Remember, our goal is to better understand reality--in this case the history and contemporary practice of U.S. foreign policy--regardless of what your feelings and opinions are about that reality. Learning and understanding are to be accomplished through the accumulation of information and knowledge and reliance on an open and critical mind.
Hopefully, this course will increase your knowledge and critical thinking skills by having you:
i) acquire lots of information,
ii) appreciate the complexity and contradictions of reality,
iii) identify patterns and be able to make generalizations supported by evidence, and
iv) be exposed to different views and interpretations (including our views, which we have a responsibility to provide).
These are the building blocks to knowledge, growth and understanding.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR (should you be interested)
Jerel Rosati is a Professor of political science and international studies and has been a member of the Department of Government and International Studies at Carolina since 1982. He enjoys learning in general. His intellectual interests range from American politics and history, United States foreign policy, the Vietnam War and the sixties to the dynamics of world politics, global change and the rise and decline of civilizations. His area of specialization is the theory and practice of foreign policy, focusing on the United States policymaking process, decision-making theory, and the political psychological study of human cognition.
He has been a Fulbright Senior Specialist in Argentina based out of the University of San Andreas in Buenos Aires, a, Visiting Scholar at China’s Foreign Affairs College in Beijing, and a Visiting Professor at Somalia National University in Mogadishu. He also has been a Research Associate in the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division of the Library of Congress's Congressional Research Service, President of the International Studies Association's Foreign Policy Analysis Section, and President of the Southern region of the International Studies Association. He is the author of over forty articles and chapters, as well as five books including The Carter Administration's Quest for Global Community: Beliefs and Their Impact on Behavior, The Power of Human Needs in World Society, Foreign Policy Restructuring: How Governments Respond to Global Change, The Politics of United States Foreign Policy (4th edition and translated in Mandarin Chinese, German, and Russian), and Readings in the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy (also translated in Mandarin Chinese). In 2002 he was the original Program Director and Academic Director of a six-week U.S. Department of State Fulbright American Studies Institute on U.S. Foreign Policy for 18 scholars-practitioners from all over the world (which completed its sixth and final year in 2007)
He has been awarded the Outstanding Professor of the Year in the Humanities and Social Sciences by the South Carolina (Honors) College, the Outstanding Teacher in International Studies in the Department of Government & International Studies, Excellence in Teaching by the University of South Carolina Alpha Chapter of the Mortar Board Honor Society, and Outstanding Teacher in Political Science by the American Political Science Association and Pi Sigma Alpha (The National Political Science Honor Society). In addition to the usual undergraduate and graduate students, he has also been awarded, and participated in, a number of instructional grants at the state and federal level (usually through the U.S. Department of State) as Academic Director, Field Director, and/or Project Director where he has taught students and scholars from all over the world, including Argentineans, Bulgarians, Chinese, Israelis and Palestinians, Somalis, Master’s of International Business students, and high school teachers (He received the first grant to offer the AP American Politics Summer Institute in South Carolina).
He enjoys travel, athletics, music, reading, food and spirits, family and friends, good company, and relaxing. His father had duo-citizenship (American and Italian), and fought in World War II (on the allied side); his mother was born and raised in Florence, Italy and came to the United States as a war bride; and he retains close family in Italy. He came of age during the early seventies as an undergraduate at U.C.L.A when the events surrounding the Vietnam War and Watergate reached a crescendo, which had a profound impact on his intellectual and personal development to the present day. In the last few summers, he has taught “Understanding Politics Through Film” and “The Vietnam War,” did field research twice in Colombia as part of a Witness for Peace delegation on coal-mining by MNCs and the role of free (v. fair) trade, its impact on development and local communities (especially Afro-Colombians and indigenous people). This summer he visited Cuba and Argentina.
CONTACTING ME AND INTERACTING
Please feel free to come see me during my office hours or any other time I am free. Late mornings and afternoons, especially on Monday and Wednesday are a particularly good time. Mornings and before and after class are a particularly good time. If you have any questions or complications that I should be aware, feel free to contact me.
The best way to contact me is to drop by or probably through email. My email address is: rosati@sc.edu. I am good about checking my email and responding throughout the workweek. I am much less likely to check my email during the weekend.
Please check your emails, for I may send you articles and updates on the class.
* * *
THIS SYLLABUS REFLECTS THE EXPECTATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS YOU MUST FULFILL. I EXPECT YOU TO TAKE THE COURSE SERIOUSLY AND WORK AS HARD AS I DO--WHICH IS, AFTERALL, THE KEY TO LEARNING AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH.
REQUIRED READING
1. Jerel A. Rosati and James M. Scott, The Politics of United States Foreign Policy (Thomson Wadsworth, 2007)
2. George Packer, (2006), The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq (New York: Farrar)
3. Peter Irons, War Powers: How the Imperial Presidency Hijacked the Constitution (Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt, 2005) [must be purchased online]
4. Godfrey Hodgson, America in Our Time: From World War II to Nixon—What Happened and Why (Princeton University Press, 2005)
5. John Micklethwait, The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America (Penguin, 2004), and
6. Website and Emailed articles. Additional readings will be on my Course Website or emailed to you (free; just print out). I will periodically send you a brief article on a contemporary issue to read via email. PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL REGULARLY FOR ARTICLES, REMINDERS, AND UPDATES FOR THE CLASS (try to keep it clean and trash unnecessary emails so your “free” email account has enough space to get emails and attachments).
PLEASE NOTE. THERE IS CONSIDERABLE READING SINCE THIS IS A GRADUATE COURSE. I EXPECT YOU TO DO ALL OF THE READING IN A TIMELY FASHION.
The course revolves around the readings--a large, diverse, kalediescopic set of 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 foreing policy, and will hopefully increase interest and readibility.
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 required readings for each week are specified under Course Topics and Readings below.
The books should be available at the University Russell House bookstore, as well as the two off-campus bookstores on Main Street. If no books are at the stores, be “proactive”–inquire if and when they will come in. You can always purchase them online (at www.barnesandnoble.com, www.amazon.com., www.powells.com, or www.abebooks.com, as well as other websites), or through the telephone. If you’re still having problems, notify (email) me as soon as possible.
Some readings may be listed as RECOMMENDED for those of you who might want to explore more on the topic.
SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1 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. Media sources for following contemporary affairs are listed at the end of the syllabus and on my website (http://www.cla.sc.edu/poli/faculty/rosati/tothepoint.htm as Recommended Sources with links).
BACKGROUND AND KEY THEMES
You will examine, discuss, debate, and gain practical insights into the history and contemporary formulation of U.S. foreign policy. Four central themes or questions are addressed throughout the class:
1) What have been the dominant patterns of continuity and change over time in the foreign policy process, including the impact of the end of the cold war, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the American economic meltdown?
2) To what extent is the President able to manage and govern foreign policy?
3) How has the constant tension between the demands of national security and democracy evolved?
4) What are the major interpretations or perspectives, as well as different sources of information and scholarship, that exist?
The foreign policy of the United States has experienced important continuities and changes over time. By the twentieth century the United States had become increasingly a global power. Following World War II and with the rise of the cold war, United States foreign policy during the fifties and sixties revolved around the containment of Soviet and communist expansion throughout the world, as well as the promotion of a liberal market-oriented economic order. The cold war years were also a time when the power of the presidency was preeminent in the making of U.S. foreign policy, and the demands of national security usually prevailed over the demands of democracy (including the exercise of civil liberties). Yet, events such as the Vietnam War, Watergate and the end of the Bretton Woods economic system challenged America’s postwar containment policy and the preeminence of presidential power. The end of the cold war, 9/11, the Iraq War, and various global issues (including the U.S. economic meltdown) have opened up new opportunities and constraints for the making and politics of U.S. foreign policy, today and into the future.
The focus is on broad and in-depth coverage of the two basic elements in the practice of U.S. foreign policy throughout American history: national security policy and foreign economic policy. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that other foreign policy issues of consequence also exist--such as immigration policy, drug policy, international environmental policy, etc.--but they will receive limited attention due to obvious time constraints of a one semester course.
COURSE TOPICS AND OUTLINE
PLEASE NOTE. THERE IS CONSIDERABLE READING SINCE THIS IS A GRADUATE COURSE. I EXPECT YOU TO DO ALL OF THE READING IN A TIMELY FASHION.
[If you miss a class, you are responsible for contacting a classmate
to find out the reading and class assignments.]
[Please bring the required readings with you to class for each session.]
HELPFUL INFORMATION:
– Each numerical topic below refers to one class session and lists the required (and recommended, if any) readings for that session
– Read and be able to summarize the required readings
-- All required readings other than the books are on the course website
– Recommended readings are just that: recommended if you would like additional information and knowledge [many are on the POLI 740 course website, or can be found through an electronic search of the library]
– We will often begin the class or integrate within the class contemporary issues and the contemporary articles I email or make available to you. Remember: you are responsible for staying abreast of contemporary affairs.
– For required articles sent by email or on the course website, print them out, read, and save.
-- Sometimes you will be told to Peruse as opposed to read. This means that you should quickly read/scan (do not read word for word) the material for the main topic/major points/the thrust of the reading.
– PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR ARTICLES AND UPDATES ON THE CLASS
PART I -- COURSE INTRODUCTION , OVERVIEW, CONTEXT AND THE IRAQ WAR CASE
1. Introduction, Overview and the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy; History of U.S. Foreign Relations and American Power
Required:
Read over syllabus closely; come to next class with any questions.
Rosati and Scott, preface, and chapters 1; peruse chapters 2 & 3
Roger Hilsman, “Policy-Making is Politics,”
Loch K. Johnson and Kiki Caruson, “The Seven Sins of American Foreign Policy,” PS (January 2003), pp. 5-10
Recommended:
The Iraq Study Group Report, read part I, peruse rest
Michael Tomasky, “Better Late Than Never,” New York Review of Books (January 11, 2007, pp. 14-18,
Micheal Dobbs, “U.S. Had Key Role in Iraq Buildup,” Washington Post (December 30, 2002),
Michael Cox, “September 11th and U.S. Hegemony–Or Will the 21st Century Be American Too?, International Studies Perspectives (February 2002), pp. 53-70
Scott and Crothers, “Out of the Cold: The Post-Cold War Context of U.S. Foreign Policy,” chapter 1 in Scott volume
For additional readings on history of U.S. foreign relations and American power, see POLI 741 course on line in Rosati’s website.
FIRST MANDATORY EMAIL/INFORMATION ASSIGNMENT. Due asap. Email me the following information as a list in the following numerical order (you cannot get a passing grade unless you fulfill this assignment):
Put as your subject heading: POLI 740 email assignment.
1) name (as registered)
2) social security # (voluntary)
3) phone numbers (home; work; cell; other)
4) email address
5) major field of concentration
6) class (e.g., first year graduate)
7) M.A. or Ph.D. oriented?
8) do you work during school? hours per week? what do you do?
9) home town (raised most of life)?
10) where have you traveled outside the U.S.? within the U.S.?
11) list three things that you love to do or are passionate about
12) describe your first “international political experience” (in person or through, e.g., t.v.)
13) What is your purpose getting a graduate degree and for your career goal? What would you like to accomplish internationally?
PART II — THE GOVERNMENT AND THE POLICYMAKING PROCESS
2. Presidency and NSC
Required:
Rosati, chapters 4 and 5
Packer, Prologue, chapters 1, 2 & 3
Russell Baker, “Condi and the Boys,” New York Review of Books (April 3, 2008)
"Cheney's Long Path to War," Newsweek (November 17, 2003), by Mark Hosenball, Michael Isikoff and Evan Thomas,
John P. Burke, “The Contemporary Presidency: Condeleezza Rice as NSC Advisor: A Case Study of the Honest Broker Role,” Presidential Studies Quarterly (September 2005), pp. 554-575,
Recommended:
“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,
William Newmann, “Causes of Change in National Security Processes: Carter, Reagan, and Bush Decision Making on Arms Control,” Presidential Studies Quarterly 31 (March 2001), pp. 69-103
(Bibliographic Essays of additional recommended readings are included at the end of each chapter (and in footnotes
in Jerel Rosati and James Scott, The Politics of United States Foreign Policy)
3. State and the Military
Required:
Rosati, chapter 6; chapter 7
Packer, chapters 4, 5 & 6
Joseph Lelyveld, “The Good Soldier,” New York Review of Books (November 2, 2006),
"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 historic failure, The Atlantic Monthly (January/February 2004) by James Fallows
P.W. Singer, “Outsourcing War,” Foreign Affairs (March/April 2005), pp. 119–133,
Doug Swanson, “All the Comforts of War,” Dallas Morning News (June 10, 2006)
Michael R. Gordon, “Army of Some,” New York Times Magazine (August 20, 2006)
"Acknowledging the Psychiatric Cost of War," New England Journal of Medicine (July 1, 2004), editorial,
Michael Massing, “Iraq: The Hidden Human Costs,” New York Review of Books (December 20, 2007)
Recommended:
Sue Halpern, “The War You Don’t Want to See,” New York Review of Books (December 18, 2008)
George Packer, “The Lesson of Tal Afar: Is It too Late for the Administration to Correct Its Course in Iraq?” The New Yorker (April 10, 2006),
"Combat Duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mental Health Problems, and Barriers to Care," New England Journal of Medicine (July 1, 2004), article,
Thomas L. McNaughter, “The Real Meaning of Military Transformation: Rethinking the Revolution,” Foreign Affairs (January/February 2007),
Michael A. Cohen and Maria Figuroa Kupcii, “Privatizing Foreign Policy,” World Policy Journal (Fall 2005), pp. 34–52
Robert D. Kagan, “Hunting the Taliban in Las Vegas,” Atlantic Monthly (September 2006), pp. 81-84
Delusions in Baghdad," New York Review of Books (December 18, 2003), by Mark Danner
“Bluebrint for a Mess," New York Times Magazine (November 2, 2003), by David Rieff,
"Tikrit Dispatch: Uncivil Military," The New Republic (March 1, 2004), by Joshua Hammer
"The Rise of the Shadow Warriors,"Foreign Affairs (March/April 2004), by Jennifer D. Kibbe,
"The Hollow Army," The Atlantic Monthly (March 2004), by James Fallows.,
"A Citizen Check on War" Washington Post (November 16, 2003), by Janine Davidson,
Eliot A. Cohen, “Defending America in the Twenty-First Century,” Foreign Affairs (November/December 2000), pp. 40-56
Peter J. Roman and David W. Tarr, “The Joint Chiefs of Staff: Fromn Service Parochialism to Jointness,” Political Science Quarterly 113 (Spring 1998), pp. 91-112
Clarke, “Why State Can’t Lead,” chapter 11 in Jerel A. Rosati, ed., Readings in the Politics of United States Foreign Policy (Harcourt Brace, 1998)--
Jones, “What’s Wrong with Our Defense Establishment,” chapter 12 in Rosati reader
Easterbrook, “Operation Desert Shill,” chapter 13 in Rosati reader
4. Intelligence
Required:
Rosati, chapter 8
Packer, chapters 7, 8, 9 & 10
Jeffrey Rosen, “Man-Made Disaster,” New Republic (December 24, 2008)
Raul R. Pillar, “Intelligence, Policy, and the War in Iraq,” Foreign Affairs (March/April 2006)
“Torture and Truth," New York Review of Books (June 10, 2004), by Mark Danner
Seymour M. Hersh, “The Gray Zone: How a Secret Pentagon Program Came to Abu Ghraib,” The New Yorker (May 24, 2004)
Recommended:
Steve Coll, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 11, 2001 (new York: Penguin, 2004), prologue, chapters 30-32
"Playing Defense: Bush's Disastrous Homeland Security Department," The New Republic (March 15, 2004), by Michael Crowley
"The Vanishing Case for War," New York Review of Books (December 4, 2003), by Thomas Powers
"Spies, Lies, and Weapons: What Went Wrong," The Atlantic Monthly (January-February 2004), by Kenneth M. Pollack
"Playing Defense: Bush's Disastrous Homeland Security Department," The New Republic (March 15, 2004), by Michael Crowley
Heilbrunn, "The Old Boy at War," chapter 16 in Rosati reader
Sharpe, "The Real Cause of Irangate," chapter 17 in Rosati reader
"The Roots of Torture: The road to Abu Ghraib began after 9/11, when Washington wrote new rules to fight a new kind of war," Newsweek (May 24, 2004), by John Barry, Michael Hirsh and Michael Isikoff,
"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),
U.S., National Security Act of 1947, “Central Intelligence Agency,” chapter 20 in Rosati reader
5. Foreign Economics
Required:
Rosati, chapter 9
Packer, chapter 12
Read Robert Kuttner, The End of Laissez Faire (1992), introduction, chapters 1, 2 & 8
Read William Greider, The Soul of Capitalism (2004), chapter 1
Read Robert Skidelsky, “Can You Spare a Dime?” New York Review of Books (January 15, 2009)
Read Jonathan Kwitney, "The Bankers, the Business, and the Lawyers," in Endless Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World (1984), pp. 8-30
Read Jonathan Cohn, “Auto Destruct,” New Republic (Dece,ber 31, 2008)
Read Christopher Hayes, “Free Traitors,” New Republic (October 8, 2008)
Recommended:
Chris J. Dolan and Jerel A. Rosati, “U.S. Foreign Economic Policy and the Significance of the National Economic Council,” International Studies Perspectives (May 2006), pp. 102-124
Shuman, “Dateline Main Street: Local Foreign Policies,” chapter 31 in Rosati reader
David Karol, “Divided Government and U.S. Trade Policy: Much Ado About Nothing?” International Organization54 (Autumn 2000), pp. 825-844
Anne-Marie Slaughter and David Bosco, “Plaintiff’s Diplomacy,” Foreign Affairs (September/October 2000), pp. 102-117
Destler, “Foreign Economic Policy Making under Bill Clinton,” chapter 4 in Scott volume
6. Executive Branch Decision-Making
Required:
Rosati, chapter 10
Packer, chapters 11 & Epilogue
"Bush and God," Newsweek (March 10, 2003), by Howard Fineman
James Thompson, "How Could Vietnam Happen," Atlantic Monthly (April 1968), pp. 47-53,
Mark Hosenball, “The Odd Couple: How George Bush Helped Create Saddam Hussein,” chapter 22 in Rosati reader
Michelle Cottle, “Status Woe,” New Republic (December 24, 2008)
Recommended:
Joel Rayburn “The Last Exit from Iraq,” Foreign Affairs (March/April 2006), pp. 29-40,
Glenn Kessler, “U.S. Decision on Iraq Has Puzzling Past,” Washington Post (September 17, 2001)
Graham Allison, "Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis," American Political Science Review 58 (September 1969), pp. 689-718
Irving L. Janis, "Groupthink," Psychology Today (November 1971)
Theodore Draper, "The True History of the Gulf War," The New York Review of Books (January 30, 1992), pp.38-45
Robert Art, "Bureaucratic Politics and American Foreign Policy: A Critique," Policy Sciences 4 (173), pp. 467-90
Smith, "The Foreign Policy Game: Bureaucratic Tribal Warfare," chapter 15
Richard Holbrook, "The Machine That Fails," Foreign Policy 1 (Winter 1970-71), pp. 65-77
James Meernik, "Presidential Decision Making and the Political Use of Military Force," International Studies Quarterly 38 (March 1994), pp. 121-38
Murray Waas and Craig Unger, "In the Loop: Bush's Secret Mission," New Yorker, pp. 64-83
Smith, "Life Inside the Beltway," chapter 6
FIRST PAPER DUE
7. Congress and Legislative-Executive Relations
Required:
Rosati, chapter 11
Irons, all
Cass R. Sunstein, “The 9/11 Constitution,” The New Republic (January 16, 2006),
Recommended:
Noah Feldman, “When Judges Make Foreign Policy,” New York Times Magazine (September 29, 2008)
Elizabeth Drew, “Democrats: The Big Surprise,” New York Review of Books (January 11, 2007)
David Cole, “What Bush Wants to Hear,” New York Review of Books (November 17, 2005)
Neal Katyal, “Counsel, Legal and Illegal,” New Republic (November 5, 2007)
Norman J. Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann, “When Congress Checks Out,” Foreign Affairs (November/December 2006),
"The Misery of Being a House Democrat: Oppressed Minority," The New Republic (June 23, 2003), by Michael Crowley.
Szamuely, “The Imperial Congress,” chapter 23 in Rosati reader
Schlesinger, Jr., “The Imperial Temptation,” chapter 24 in Rosati reader
Glennon, “The Gulf War and the Constitution,” chapter 25 in Rosati reader
Fessler, “Congress’s Record on Saddam: Decade of Talk,” chapter 26 in Rosati reader
U.S., Constitution, “The Legislative and Executive Branches,” chapter 32 in Rosati reader
U.S., Tonkin Gulf Resolution, chapter 35 in Rosati reader
U.S., War Powers Resolution of 1973, chapter 36 in Rosati reader
U.S., Persian Gulf Resolution, chapter 37 in Rosati reader
U.S. Constitution, “The Judicial Branch,” chapter 32 in Rosati reader
U.S., Supreme Court, “United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corporation et al.,” chapter 33 in Rosati reader
U.S. Supreme Court, “Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. V. Sawyer (Steel Seizure Case),” chapter 34 in Rosati rea
PART III — SOCIETY AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
Topic 8. Public Beliefs
Required:
Rosati, chapter 12
Hodgson, America in Out Time, preface, chapters 1-8
Christopher Gelpi, Peter D. Feaver, and Jason Reifler, “Success Matters: Casualty Sensitivity and the War in Iraq,” International Security 30 (Winter 2005/2006), pp. 7–46
Cass R. Sunstein, “The Case for Fear,” The New Republic (December 11, 2006),
President John F. Kennedy, “Inaugural Address,”
Recommended:
"Multiple Combat Tours Strain a Third of Troops: Extended Duty Harms U.S. Recruitment," International Herald Tribune (November 27-28, 2004), by Bryan Bender,
"The Neocons in Power," The New York Review of Books (June 12, 2003), by Elizabeth Drew,
President George W. Bush, “West Point Commencement Speech,” (2002), on course website ()
"The Case for Bush Hatred," The New Republic (September 29, 2003), by Jonathan Chait
"The Case Against Bush Hatred," The New Republic (September 29, 2003), Ramesh Ponnuru
Benjamin I. Page and Jason Barabas, “Foreign Policy Gaps Between Citizens and Leaders,” International Studies Quarterly 44 (September 2000), pp. 339-364
Bruce W. Jentleson, "The Pretty Prudent Public: Post Post-Vietnam American Opinion on the Use of Military Force," International Studies Quarterly 36 (March 1992), pp. 49-73
Jeffrey W. Legro, “Whence American Internationalism,” International Organization 54 (Spring 2000), pp. 253-289
Holsti and Rosenau, “A Leadership Divided: The Foreign Policy Beliefs of American Leaders, 1976-1984,” chapter 38 in Rosati reader
Davis and Lynn-Jones, “Citty Upon a Hill,” chapter 39 in Rosati reader
Robert Y. Shapiro and Benjamin I. Page, "Foreign Policy and the Rational Public," Journal of Conflict Resolution 32 (June 1988), pp. 211-47
Topic 9. Participation, Civil Rights and Liberties
Required:
Rosati, chapter 13
Hodgson, chapters 9-17
James Bamford, “Big Brother is Listening,” The Atlantic Monthly (April 2006),
Andrew Rudalevige, “Civil Rights, Uncivil Wrongs: The War on Terrorism’s Toll on the U.S. Constitution,” Foreign Affairs (January/February 2007),
Recommended:
"Protestor=Criminal?," The Progressive (February 2004), by Matthew Rothschild
"Patriotism Perverted: Sept. 11 and the Erosion of American Liberty," Free Times (July 3, 2002), by Dan Cook
Keith Schneider, "Idaho Says No," chapter 47 in Rosati reader
James L. Gibson, "Political Intolerance and Political Repression During the McCarthy Red Scare," American Political Science Review 82 (June 1988), pp. 511-29
Clifford T. Honicker, "The Hidden Files: America's Radiation Victims," The New York Times Magazine, November 19, 1989.
SECOND PAPER DUE
Topic 10. Electoral Politics and the 2008 Elections
Required:
Rosati, chapter 15
Hodgson, chapters 18-25, and afterword
Elilzabeth Drew, “The Truth About the Election,” New York Review of Books (December 18, 2008)
Recommended:
"Deep divisions unlikely to heal soon," by PAULINE ARRILLAGA,The Associated Press (November 7, 2004)
Thomas B. Edsall, “Party Hardy: Karl Rove’s Juggernaut,” New Republic (September 25, 2006)
"30 Years' War: How Bush Went Back to the 1970s," The New Republic (November 11, 2004), by John B. Judis,
John B. Judis, “How the Dems Won: Blue’s Clues,” New Republic (November 20, 2006)
Robert S. Erikson, “The 2000 Presidential Election in Historical Perspective,” Political Science Quarterly 116 (Spring 2001), pp. 29-52
John H. Aldrich, John L. Sullivan, and Eugene Borgida, "Foreign Affairs and Issue Voting: Do Presidential Candidates 'Waltz' Before a Blind Audience," American Political Science Review 83 (March 1989), pp. 123-41
Topic 11. Group Politics
Required:
Rosati, chapter 15
Micklethwait, chapters 1-4
Michael Isikoff and David Corn, Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War (Crown, 2006), chapter 4 on “One Strange Theory,”
“The War Over Israeli’s Influence,” articles by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, Aaron Friedberg, Dennis Ross, Shlomo Ben-Ami, and Zbigniew Brzezinski, Foreign Policy (July/August 2006),
Recommended:
"Global Security Firms Fill in as Private Armies: 15,000 agents Patrol Violent Streets of Iraq," San Francisco Chronicle (March 28, 2004), by Robert Collier
"Security Companies: Shadow Soldiers in Iraq." New York Times (April 19, 2004), by David Barstow,
Conason, “The Iraq Lobby,” chapter 43 in Rosati reader
Moon, “Complex Interdependence and Transnational Lobbying: South Korea in the United States,” chapter 45 in Rosati reader
Eugene Gholz and Harvey M. Sapolsky, “Restructuring the U.S. Defense Industry,” International Security (Winter 1999/2000), pp. 5-50
Jeffrey E. Garten, “Business and Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs (May/June 1997), pp. 67-79
Thomas Borstelmann, “Jim Crow’s Coming Out: Race Relations and American Foreign Policy,” Presidential Studies Quarterly 29 (September 1999), pp. 549-569
William Martin, “The Christian Right and American Foreign Policy,” Foreign Policy (Spring 1999), pp. 66-81
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Farewell Address,” chapter 49 in Rosati reader
Godfrey Hodgson, "The Establishment," Foreign Policy 10 (Spring 1973), pp. 3-40
Topic 12. Media and Communications
Required:
Rosati, chapter 16
Micklethwait, chapters 5-9
Michael Massing, “The End of News, The New York Review of Books (December 1, 2005), pp. 23-27,
Michael Massing, “The Press: The Enemy Within,” New York Review of Books (December 15, 2005)
Orville Schell, “Baghdad: The Besieged Press,” New York Review of Books (April 6, 2006)
"Hard Times for Hard News: A Clinical Look at U.S. Foreign Coverage," World Policy Journal (Winter 2003/04), by John F. Stacks,
Recommended:
Michael Massing, "Now They Tell Us," New York Review of Books (February 26, 2004),
Michael Massing, "The Unseen War," The New York Review of Books (May 29, 2003),
"What You See vs. What They See," Time (February 3, 2003), by James Poniewozik,
Hallin, “The Media, the War in Vietnam, and Political Support: A Critique of the Oppositional Media,” chapter 51 in Rosati reader;
Gottschalk, "Operation Desert Cloud: The Media and the Gulf War," chapter 52 in Rosati reader
Rosenstiel, “The Myth of CNN,” chapter 53 in Rosati reader
Edsall, “America’s Sweetheart--Rush Limbaugh,” chapter 54 in Rosati reader
Jonathan Mermin, “Television News and American Intervention in Somalia: The Myth of a Media-Driven Foreign Policy,” Political Science Quarterly 112 (Fall 1997), pp. 385-404
Shanto Iyengar and Donald R. Kinder, News That Matters: Television and American Opinion (University of Chicago Press, 1987)
Iyengar and Kinder, “News That Matters,” chapter 50 in Rosati reader
Daniel Hallin, "The Media, the War in Vietnam, and Political Support: A Critique of the Thesis of an Oppositional Media," Journal of Politics 46 (1984), pp. 2-24
Robert Parry and Peter Kornbluh, "Iran-Contra's Untold Story," Foreign Policy (Fall 1988), pp. 3-30
PART IV— CONCLUSION, THE IRAQ WAR CASE, AND MAKING SENSE OF THE POLITICS OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
Topic 13. Making Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Change Into the Twenty-First Century
Required:
Rosati, chapters 17
Micklethwait, chapters 10-14, and conclusion
Read Leslie Gelb and Richard Betts, “We’re Fighting Not to Lose,” Washington Post (January 14, 2007)
Read Robert Kaiser, “Trapped by Hubris, Again,” Washington Post (January 14, 2007)
Alexander L. George, “The Two Cultures of Academia and Policy-Making: Bridging the Gap,” Political Psychology 15 (1994), pp. 143-172
Recommended:
George Packer, “Knowing the Enemy: Can Social Scientists Redefine the “War on Terror”? The New Yorker (December 18, 2006), pp. 61-69
“Symposium: Is This Victory? The National Interest ((November/December 2006), seven competing views
“Iraq: What Next?,” The New Republic (December 4, 2006), special issue with seventeen competing views
“What to Do In Iraq: A Roundtable,” Foreign Affairs (July/August 2006), five competing views
James Fallows, “Declaring Victory,” Atlantic Monthly (September 2006), pp. 60-73
James Scott, “Interbranch Policy Making after the End,” chapter 15 in Scott volume
Leslie Gelb, "Vietnam: The System Worked," Foreign Policy 3 (Summer 1971), pp. 140-83
Murray Waas, "What Washington Gave Saddam," The Village Voice (December 18, 1990)
FINAL PAPER DUE
FINAL EXAMINATION (optional)
RECOMMENDED GENERAL READINGS ON MAKING OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
Jerel A. Rosati, ed., Readings in the Politics of United States Foreign Policy (Harcourt Brace, 1998)
James C. Scott, ed., After the End: Making U.S. Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War World (Duke University Press, 1998)
Gene Wittkopf and James M. McCormick, editors, The Domestic Sources of American Foreign Policy (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004)
Hedrick Smith, The Power Game: How Washington Really Works (Ballentine, 1988)
(Bibliographic Essays of recommended readings are included at the end of each chapter (and in footnotes
in Jerel Rosati and James Scott, The Politics of United States Foreign Policy)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED NEWER READINGS ON WAR ON TERRORISM AND IRAQ
Geoge Packer, (2005) The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Michael R. Gordon, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq (Pantheon, 2006)
Robert D. Kaplan, Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground (Random House, 2005)
Robert Fisk, The Great War for Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East (Knopf, 2005)
Thomas E. Ricks, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq (Penguin, 2006)
James Fallows, Blind Into Baghdad: America’s War in Iraq (Vintage, 2006)
Edited, Countering Insurgency and Promoting Democracy (Council for Emerging National Security Affairs, forthcoming)
Mel Gurtov, Superpower on Crusade (Lynne Rienner, 2006)
Larry Diamond, Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq (Henry Holt, 2006)
James Bamford, A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America’s Intelligence Agencies (Anchor, 2004)
Francis Fukuyama, ed., Nation-Building: Beyond Afghanistan and Iraq (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006)
William Blum, Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower (Basic Books, 2004)
Bob Hirsh, At War With Ourselves: Why America Is Squandering Its Chance to Build a Better World (Oxford University Press, 2004)
G. John Ikenberry, ed., America Unrivaled: The Future of the Balance of Power (Cornell University Press, 2002)\
Foreign Affairs, ed., America and the World: Debating the New Shape of International Politics (Council on Foreign Relations, 2002)
Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War Cabinet by James Mann (2004)
The Bob Woodward books
RECOMMENDED SOURCES FOR CONTEMPORARY AFFAIRS (web addresses can be found on my website)
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 two most influential American media sources are: The New York Times at www.nytimes.com, register and check The Daily Headlines (Daily Featured Section); or The Washington Post @ www.washingtonpost.com/;
-- on radio, National Public Radio have excellent news programs in the evening (“All Things Considered” at 4 to 6 pm on weekday evenings) and on weeks. They can be picked up throughout the state and the country. They are at 91.3 FM in Columbia (and between 88 and 92 wherever you are in the U.S.). Their website is @ www.npr.org/;
-- on TV, Frontline is the best investigative program on PBS on specific topics, especially U.S. foreign policy and the Iraq War. It come on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. on S.C. ETV and they have a terrific website @ www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ with lots of additional information and links—where many of their one hour programs can be viewed online in their entirety.
– (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 a powerful media voice in the Arab world see Al Jazeera @ http://english.aljazeera.net/News;
– (for perspectives from around the world) World Press Review at www.worldpress.org,.
-- Newslink is probably the single best website for accessing news sources throughout U.S. and the world.
Other Recommended Sources. The national news--on network television--is strongly encouraged as well. Additional recommended mainstream and alternative media sources for following contemporary affairs can be found on MY WEBSITE.
You should also try to familiarize yourself with the litany of magazines and journals which present a host of intellectual, opinion, and policy positions. These sources can be found in the Thomas Cooper Library, the Richland County Public Library on Assembly Street, at bookstores like Barnes and Noble, and on line through my website (and others). Remember, this is just a recommended sampling of media sources. There are plenty more American media sources, and lots of quality sources beyond the United States–which is particularly important for becoming informed about world politics. Going beyond the American media is strongly encouraged, such as Newslink.
The Diplomatic History/Foreign Policy Literature. You may want to peruse some of the recommended journals in an effort to keep up with some of the diplomatic history/foreign policy literature (direct internet links are available on my website under mainstream and alternative sources):
Book review journals:
The New Republic
The New York Review of Books
Policy journals:
Foreign Policy
Foreign Affairs
International Security
National Interest
Orbis
World Policy Journal
Department of State Bulletin
More academic and scholarly journals:
Diplomat History
International Organization
International Security
International Social Science Journal
International Studies Quarterly
International Studies Perspectives
Journal of American History
Journal of Conflict Resolution
International Studies Review
Pacific Historical Review
Political Psychology
Political Science Quarterly
Presidential Studies Quarterly
World Politics
Finally. Programs, magazines, and literature are available, as well as fictional accounts (e.g., novels, movies) with important political messages.
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
One of the primary requirements of this course will be periodic writing assignments. The basic objective of these assignments is to improve your ability to understand what you have read, to improve your ability to reason, and to improve your ability to communicate.
There are three essays due over the course of the semester, each varying from three to four pages in length (typed, double-spaced, with normal fonts and 1" margins). The essay should explicitly cite the readings (when quoting and making other references) through the use of footnotes (or endnotes). The essay deadlines are specified under Course Topics and Readings.
About Content. You are to select at least one recent article in a major media source that allows you to analyze the “politics” of U.S. foreign policy—or how U.S. foreign policy is made. You are encouraged to choose the same topic for all of the papers (to better cumulate knowledge and understanding). Attach the article(s) to the back of the paper.
In each paper, you are to relate the contents of the course to a contemporary issue in U.S. foreign policy through one of two approaches:
1. Select a news article which can be used to illustrate the information, concepts, and patterns that have been covered in that section's readings and lectures thus far. Carefully and explicitly demonstrate how the information in the news article illustrates what you have learned in the course, both confirming key concepts and patterns as well as pointing out in what ways the contemporary issue differs from the material presented, or
2. Select a news article and explain the events described in the news article by using material learned through class discussion and reading far. Clearly state how the ideas, concepts, patterns, and information you have learned in the course can explain some contemporary issue in U.S. foreign policy taking place in the world.
These papers will be graded based on the quality of the content and analysis as well as its written style and overall presentation. Each paper should be as polished and professional in appearance and contents as possible. Do not be careless. A sloppy paper reflects a sloppy thinker, and the grade for the paper will reflect this. Remember: you will be evaluated for content, style, and quality of analysis. In short, you will be evaluated based upon the level of analysis and understanding demonstrated in your writing.
Overall, each paper should be well-written and well-organized--in other words, clear and concise. It should have an introductory section and a concluding section. The purpose behind the introduction and the conclusion is to communicate/recapitulate the purpose and importance of the research question as well as promote a coherent overview of the entire paper. The transition between one paragraph and another must be smooth, and the discussion within a paragraph must be clear and concise. Each paragraph after the introductory section should discuss a key point or idea.
About Structure. The essay should be composed of three basic parts: an introduction, the body of the paper, and the conclusion.
i) introduction — You need to introduce the topic of the question you selected and mention how you plan to address it.
ii) body of the paper — You should discuss the major points or factors that directly address the question. This should flow naturally from the introduction. Historical and factual material should be integrated only if they support your major points. Given the space limitations, do not get bogged down in detail or trivial points. Emphasize analysis, not just description.
iii) conclusion—You should briefly summarize the major theme(s) of the essay and/or draw some concluding implications.
About Style. The essay should be well-written and well-organized—-in other words, clear and coherent. The purpose behind the introduction and the conclusion is to promote clarity and coherence. The transition between one paragraph and another must be smooth, and the discussion within a paragraph must be clear and concise. Each paragraph after the introductory paragraph should discuss a key point or idea. Therefore, THINK about what you are going to say and how you are going to say it. THE BURDEN IS ON YOU to be as clear and understandable as possible.
Assume you are writing for a general and educated audience--do not assume that the reader has read the course material or can make the links between the course material and the contemporary event. Do not say "here's what's in the reading" or "see how the two readings go together." You are responsible for communicating clearly and making these connections.
The essay should explicitly cite the readings (when quoting and making other references) through the use of footnotes (or endnotes).
You are encouraged to get feedback from others and consult The Writing Center in the Humanities Building (7-7078).
Have your peers critique your work before you turn it in.
Some DO's and DONT's.
1. Follow directions and guidelines above. READ MORE THEN ONCE AND CAREFULLY.
2. Have a cover page with your name, the class and essay title. Just staple the paper (no fancy covers please).
3. Avoid the first person (use of "I").
4. Do not identify with the U.S. government (avoid "we", "our", etc.), or any government
5. Have the first paragraph be an introductory paragraph that makes it clear to the reader what topic you are addressing
6. Each paragraph should express one major idea or point.
7. Each paragraph should clearly follow from the previous paragraph.
8. End with a concluding paragraph.
9. The whole essay should be organized so that there is a logical progression from the beginning to end.
10. Discuss and cite the readings in support of the point that you are making.
11. Footnote all quotes and statements of fact (not just quotes).
12. Check your spelling, grammar, and sentence structure.
13. Keep within the page length limitations.