INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY
Political Science 227
Fall 1995
Office hours:
Wed : 1:15pm - 3:00pm
Thr : 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Since its inception as a separate field in the years after World War One, International Relations has been preoccupied with explaining and prescribing behavior among states. Political realism according to which states act in their national interest and define that interest in terms of power. The re-emergence of Political Economy in the early 1970s pointed to the importance of broadening the scope to nonstate actors such as transnational corporations and non-governmental organizations; realism was modified to neo-realism in which system structure played a dominant role. The late 1980s witnessed an expansion of paradigms within the field. Feminists, critical theorists and postmodern scholars have both critiqued the orthodox approaches and enlarged the range of behaviors that constitute the field of study.
This course surveys the range of approaches identified above. We begin by locating the state as the central unit of analysis and track a series of debates in which International Relations scholars have engaged in the post World War Two period. These paradigms expose you to various ontological and epistemological orientations which frame the study of international relations. As you ponder your IS topics, you should find this survey useful for locating your inquiry and for evaluating the perspectives of literature you review.
REQUIRED TEXTS
- Beckman, Peter and Francine D'Amico. 1994. Women, Gender, and World Politics. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
- Campbell, David. 1992. Writing Security: United States Foreign Policy and the Politics of Identity. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
- Kegley, Charles. 1995. Controversies in International Relations Theory: Realism and the Neoliberal Challenge. New York: St. Martin's.
International Security (Summer 1995)
GRADING
- Panel Presentations (3 @ 10% = 30%)
Beginning with week four, students will be responsible for presenting the main themes in the day's readings. You will be part of at least three panels which should identify the major points of the assigned readings (which are required for all class members) and provide questions and the tasks of the panel as you see fit. All panel members must submit a 3-4 page summary of the goals and direction of the panel highlighting your own contribution and due on the day the panel presents. The panel grade will be an evaluation of the effectiveness of the panel in eliciting and maintaining discussion and an assessment of individual submissions. Regular attendance, indication of thoughtful and thorough preparation of the readings, and submission of peer evaluations forms for each presentation are expected.
- Mid-term exams (2 @ 20% = 40%)
You'll be given at least two essay questions for each take home mid-term. Responses should be confined to 3-4 pages per question. While you are welcome to discuss possible responses collectively, your particular response should be written independently. We'll discuss plagiarism together and I invite you at that time to raise any questions about what might be regarded as plagiarism. You should also be familiar with the college's understanding of and policy toward plagiarism expressed in The Scot's Key, pp. 55-56.
- Class participation (15%)
When you are not presenting, you should nonetheless be prepared and intellectually engaged. Class discussion should be characterized by respectful listening and focused contributions.
- Final (15%)
Same format as the mid-terms, due December 15, 2:00 (or sooner if you plan to be gone by then).
READING SCHEDULE
* Reserve Readings
- WEEK ONE: ANARCHY
- 8/29 Intro
- 9/1 Hobbes (handout)
*Tilly, Charles. 1985. "War Making and State Making as Organized Crime."
- WEEK TWO: SOVEREIGNTY
- 9/5 * Farrell, Daniel. 1989. "Hobbes and International Relations: The War of All Against All."
* Bull, Hedley. 1995 (1966). "Society and Anarchy in International Relations." In International Theory: Critical Investigations. p. 75-93. Edited by James Der Derian. Washington Square, NY: New York University Press.
- 9/7 * Walker, R.B.J. 1990. "Security, Sovereignty, and the Challenge of World Politics." AlternativesÊ15: 3-27.
* Conca, Ken. 1994. "Rethinking the Ecology-Sovereignty Debate." Millennium: Journal of International Studies 23(3): 701-11.
*Weber, Cynthia. 1992. "Writing Sovereign Identities: The Wilson Administration's Intervention in the Mexican Revolution." Alternatives 17(1): 313-337.
- WEEK THREE: REALISM
- 9/12 * Morgenthau, Hans. 1978. "A Realist Theory of International Politics." In Politics Among Nations. 5th ed.. pp. 3-15. New York: Alfred Knopf.
* Kissinger, Henry. 1993. "Balance of Power Sustained."
- 9/14 * Mearsheimer, John. 1990. "Back to the Future: Instability in Europe After the Cold War." International Security 15(1): 5-56.
* Wohlford, William. 1994. "Realism and the End of the Cold War." International Security 19(3): 91-129.
- WEEK FOUR: STRUCTURAL APPROACHES
- 9/19 Waltz, Kenneth. 1995. "Realist Thought and Neorealist Theory." In Kegley, pp. 67-82.
* Keohane, Robert. 1989. "Theory of World Politics: Structural Realism and Beyond." In International Institutions and State Power, pp. 53-73. Boulder: Westview.
- 9/21 * Wallerstein, lmmanuel. 1973. "Three Instances of Hegemony in the Capitalist World System." In The Politics of the World-Economy, pp. 37-47.
* Little, Richard. 1995. "International Relations and the Triumph of Capitalism." In International Theory Today, pp. 62-89. Edited by Ken Booth and Steve Smith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- WEEK FIVE: NEOLIBERAL/REALIST RESPONSES
- 9/26 Kegley, Charles. 1995. "The Neoliberal Challenge to Realist Theories of World Politics : An Introduction." In Kegley, pp. 1-24.
Ruggie, John. 1995. "The False Promise of Realism." International Security 20(1): 62- 70.
Lebow, Richard. 1994. "The Long Peace, the End of the War, and the Failure of Realism." International Organization 48(2): 249-77.
- 9/28 Mearsheimer, John. 1994/95. "The False Promise of International Institutions." International Security 19(3): 5-49.
Keohane, Robert and Lisa Martin. 1995. ""The Promise of Institutionalist Theory." International Security 20(1): 39-51.
Mearsheimer, John. 1995. "A Realist Reply." International Security 20(1): 82-90.
- WEEK SIX: INTERNATIONAL LIBERALISM
- 10/5 EXAM
- 10/7 Zacher, Mark and Richard Matthew. 1995. "Liberal International Theory: Common Threads, Divergent Strands." In Kegley, pp. 107-50.
Doyle, Michael. 1995. "Liberalism and World Politics Revisited." In Kegley, pp. 83-106.
- WEEK SEVEN: DEMOCRATIC PEACE
- 10/10 Onuf, Nicholas and Thomas Johnson. 1995. "Peace in the Liberal World: Does Democracy Matter?" In Kegley, pp. 179-197.
Richardson, Neil. 1995. "International Trade as a Force for Peace." In Kegley, pp. 281- 294.
Mansfield, Edward and Jack Snyder. 1995. "Democratization and the Danger of War." International Security 20(1): 5-38.
- 10/12 Brandes, Lisa. 1995. "The Liberal State, War, and Feminist Theory." (mimeo)
Layne, Christopher. 1994. "Kant or Can't: the Myth of the Democratic Peace." International Security 19(2): 5-49.
- WEEK EIGHT: BREAK
- 10/17 FALL BREAK
- 10/19 CONFERENCE: NO CLASS
- WEEK NINE: GENDER AND WORLD POLITICS
- 10/24 Beckman, Peter. 1994. "Realism, Women, and World Politics." In Beckman and D'Amico, pp. 15-27.
Tickner, J. Ann. 1994. "A Feminist Critique of Political Realism." In Beckman and D'Amico, pp. 29-40.
Elshtain, Jean Bethke. 1995. "Thinking about Women and International Violence." In Beckman, pp. 109-118.
- 10/26 Whitworth, Sandra. 1995. "Feminist Theories: From Women to Gender and World Politics." In Beckman and D'Amico, pp. 75-88.
* Godrej, "Women and post-Cold War U.S. Foreign Policy: Filipina Prostitutes as Participants in the Cold War," (mimeo)
* Malloy, Patricia. 1995. "The Body as Strategic Battlefield" (mimeo)
- WEEK TEN: ETHICS IN WORLD POLITICS
- 10/31 Rosenthal, Joel. 1995. "Rethinking the Moral Dimensions of Foreign Policy." In Kegley, pp. 317-329.
* Wapner, Paul. 1995. "Environmental Ethics and International Theory." mimeo
* Doty, Roxanne. 1993. "The Bounds of 'Race' in International Relations." Millennium: Journal of International Studies 22(3): 443-461.
- 11/2 * Dalby, Simon. 1992. "Security, Modernity, Ecology: the Dilemmas of Post-Cold War Security Discourse." Alternatives 17: 95-134.
* Sylvester, Christine. 1994. "Empathetic Cooperation: A Feminist Method for IR." Millennium: Journal of International Studies 23(2): 315-334.
- WEEK ELEVEN: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES
- 11/7 * Wendt, Alexander. "Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics." International Organization 46(2):391 425.
- 11/9 EXAM
- WEEK TWELVE: IDENTITY AND THE COLD WAR
- 11/14 Campbell, Intro and Chapters 1-2, pp. 1-59.
- 11/16 Campbell, Chapters 3-4, pp. 61-104.
Grant, Rebecca. 1994. "The Cold War and the Feminine Mystique." In Beckman, pp.119-130.
- WEEK THIRTEEN: BE THANKFUL
- 11/21 Faces of the Enemy
- 11/23 THANKSGIVING
- WEEK FOURTEEN: IDENTITY AND FOREIGN POLICY
- 11/28 Campbell, Chapters 56, pp. 105193.
- 11/30 Campbell, Chapters 79, pp. 195262.
- WEEK FIFTEEN: THIRD WORLD VOICES
- 12/5 Chowdhry, Geeta. 1994. "Women and the International Economy." In Beckman, pp.155-171.
Sedghi, Hamideh. 1994. "Third World Feminist Perspectives on World Politics." In Beckman, pp. 89-1O8.
Kardum, Nuket. 1994. "Women and Development." In Beckman, pp. 141-154.
- 12/7 * Mazrui, Alamin. 1993. "Language and the Quest for Liberation in Africa: the Legacy of Frantz Fanon." Third World Quarterly 14(2): 351-363.
* Sharoni, Simona. 1993. "Middle East Politics Through Feminist Lenses: Toward Theorizing International Relations from Women's Struggles." Alternatives 18(1): 5-28.
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Mashruk Zahid (za97m91@acs.wooster.edu)
Last updated: September 10, 1995