Comparative Foreign Policy

Political Science 224

Spring 2006

 

 

Dr. Jeffrey Lantis                                                                                                                            Office Hours:

Luce 220, #2408                                                                                                                              MWF 1:00-1:50 pm

 

 

Course Description

 

In an era of globalization, why do countries disagree on so many critical issues like the root causes of poverty, trade policy, and responses to international terrorism? This course explores such questions through the lens of comparative foreign policy analysis. Foreign policy decisions and patterns of state behavior represent the fundamental building blocks of international relations. We will examine how and why states develop distinct foreign policies by reviewing prominent theoretical perspectives in the comparative foreign policy literature. This course also applies these theories to a number of real world cases of foreign policy decision making by the governments of different countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East--and in different issue areas, including national security policy, foreign economic policy, and environmental policy. This course prepares students to critically analyze foreign policy from a comparative perspective as well as to assess theoretical development in the field.

 

 

Course Requirements

 

This is an advanced course, and students are expected to be enthusiastic participants in a collective educational enterprise. Students are expected to attend class and participate regularly in class discussions. Assignments include prepared discussions on the readings, foreign policy review papers, an environmental policy paper, case projects, and two examinations. No make-up exams will be given unless the student has consulted with the instructor before the scheduled exam. Assignments will be weighted in the following manner:

 

Class Participation                                            20%

Midterm Examination                                        20%

Foreign Policy Review Papers                          10%

Environmental Policy Paper                              15%

Case Projects and Study Questions                  10%

Final Examination                                              25%

 

Required Texts

 

1. Laura Neack, The New Foreign Policy: U.S. and Comparative Foreign Policy in the

21^st Century, 2003

 

2. Ryan K. Beasley, Juliet Kaarbo, Jeffrey S. Lantis, and Michael T. Snarr, eds., Foreign

Policy in Comparative Perspective: Domestic and International Influences on State

Behavior, 2002

 

3. Gareth Porter, Janet Welsh Brown, and Pamela S. Chasek, Global Environmental

Politics, Third Edition, 2000 ---OR--- Pamela S. Chasek, David L. Downie, and Janet Welsh Brown, Global Environmental Politics, Fourth Edition, 2006

 

4. Additional required readings (e-link and handouts). E-link articles are accessible

online through my website: wooster.edu/polisci/jlantis

 

Participation

 

Students are expected to attend class, prepare course material in advance, and participate actively in class discussions. Participation is essential to the success of this course, but students will only benefit if they complete required readings and come to class ready to discuss them. The participation grade, worth 20% of the overall course grade, will be based on the quality of involvement in the class. In evaluating participation, I look for evidence that students have completed the readings and are prepared to summarize what they have learned from them in class discussions. Students who have three or more unexcused absences from class meetings will receive no credit for this portion of the grade.

 

Case Projects and Study Questions

 

At several points in the semester, case project assignments and study questions on major readings will be distributed in advance of class discussions. Case projects will involve short research and writing assignments, with particular emphasis on topical developments in foreign policy analysis. Study questions will help guide you through key readings and encourage you to identify, think about, and compare major arguments put forward by leading scholars in the field.

 

Foreign Policy Review Papers

 

Students will complete two foreign policy review papers in this course. Each paper will review a country's foreign policy posture in a specific issue area. Students should conduct research to determine answers to questions including: What was your country's foreign policy position on this issue? Was this relatively constant or were there significant changes in behavior over time? Who were the key foreign policy actors who formulated this policy? What external pressures or events influenced this policy? Each paper should be 2-3 typed, double-spaced pages and should apply careful and consistent source citation methods (endnotes and bibliography). More information on these assignments will be presented in class.

 

Environmental Policy Paper

 

Based on your reading of the assigned text, Global Environmental Politics, you should develop an essay on one of the following themes:

 

1. Compare the foreign environmental policies of two states that have taken significantly different stands on cooperation in environmental regimes. Apply one or more theories of foreign policy decision making to analyze these differences.

 

2. Choose a country that has been actively involved in a range of global debates about environmental policy (perhaps a "veto state") and analyze state behavior in a set time period using two-level game theory framework.

 

Students are encouraged to discuss their ideas for this assignment with the instructor. The final paper should be 6-8 pages, typed, double-spaced and should include careful source citations (endnotes and bibliography).            

 

General Guidelines

 

1. Please read the assigned materials and be prepared to discuss them in class. Complete the study questions and case projects (when assigned) before class meetings; they provide the basis for detailed discussions.

 

2. Late papers lose half a grade level for each day past the deadline.

 

3. Students are expected to read, understand, and comply with College standards for academic integrity and the policy on plagiarism. These issues are fully articulated in the Code of Academic Integrity, as published in the Scot’s Key, and form an essential part of the contract between the student and the College. This is regarded as extremely important for all courses at the College. Violations of the Code may lead to grade penalties including failure of the course.

 

4. Writing an excellent paper for Political Science courses requires the development of strong substantive arguments (i.e., a thesis, supporting information, and direct references to course material) as well as a clearly formatted and concise paper. All papers that you complete for my classes should conform to The Chicago Manual of Style guidelines for source citations and references. A complete set of endnotes and a bibliography should be included for all papers. Please note: Students should not use encyclopedias for research work in this class; particularly offensive is Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.

 

 

 

 

Course Outline

 

1. Introduction to the Study of Foreign Policy (Week of January 16)

 

Laura Neack, The New Foreign Policy: U.S. and Comparative Foreign Policy in the 21^st Century, 2003, Preface and Chapter 1, pp.xiii-35

 

Juliet Kaarbo, Jeffrey S. Lantis, and Ryan K. Beasley, “The Analysis of Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective,” in Ryan K. Beasley, Juliet Kaarbo, Jeffrey S. Lantis, and Michael T. Snarr, eds., Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective: Domestic and International Influences on State Behavior, 2002, Chapter 1, pp.1-23

 

 

2. Exploring the Foreign Policy System (Week of January 23)

 

Laura Neack, The New Foreign Policy: U.S. and Comparative Foreign Policy in the 21^st Century, Chapter 4, pp.123-184

 

Pamela S. Chasek, David L. Downie, and Janet Welsh Brown, Global Environmental Politics, 2006, Chapters 1 and 2

 

Thomas J. Volgy and John E. Schwarz, “Foreign Policy Restructuring and the Myriad Webs of Restraint,” in Jerel Rosati, Joe Hagan, and Martin W. Sampson III, eds., Foreign Policy Restructuring, 1994, pp.22-39 (handout)

 

* Discussion Questions on Volgy and Schwarz

 

 

3. Challenging the System: American Hegemony and its Discontents

(Week of February 6)

 

Stephen J. Wayne, “Bad Guys and Bad Judgments,” in Stanley A. Renshon and Deborah Welch Larson, eds., Good Judgment in Foreign Policy: Theory and Application, 2003, p.103-124 (handout)

 

Paul D. Hoyt, “The Changing Character of Iranian Foreign Policy,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 10, pp.217-232

 

Kenneth Pollack and Ray Takeyh, “Taking on Tehran,” Foreign Affairs, March/April 2005, vol.84, no.2, pp.20-34 (e-link)

 

Merrily Baird, “Kim Chong-Il’s Erratic Decision-Making and North Korea’s Strategic Culture,” in Barry R. Schneider and Jerrold M. Post, eds., “Know Thy Enemy: Profiles of Adversary Leaders and Their Strategic Cultures,” U.S. Air Force Counterproliferation Center, July 2003, pp.109-140 (e-link)

 

Jerrold Post, “Killing in the Name of God: Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda,” in “Know Thy Enemy: Profiles of Adversary Leaders and Their Strategic Cultures,” pp.17-39 (e-link)

 

* Case Project: Profiling Adversaries

 

 

4. The International System and Foreign Policy Behavior (Week of February 13)

 

Paul D’Anieri, “Russian Foreign Policy: Continuity, Revolution, and the Search for Status,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 5, pp.95-120

 

Laura Drake, “Continuity and Change in Israeli Foreign Policy,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 9, pp.190-216

 

Selected articles on Israel, Council on Foreign Relations Website, 2006, (e-link)

 

B.A. Roberson, “The Impact of the International System on the Middle East,” in Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, eds., The Foreign Policies of Middle East States, 2002, pp.55-69 (handout)

 

* First Foreign Policy Review Paper Due

 

              

5. State Type, Leadership, and Foreign Policy Behavior (Week of February 20)

 

Brian Ripley, “China: Defining Its Role in the Global Community,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 6, pp.121-144

 

Peter Van Ness, “China’s Response to the Bush Doctrine,” World Policy Journal, Winter 2004/2005, pp.38-47 (e-link)

 

Tinaz Pavri, “Indian Foreign Policy: From Consensus to Disarray,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 8, pp.170-189

 

Jaswant Singh, “Against Nuclear Apartheid,” Foreign Affairs, vol.77, no.5, September/October 1998, pp.41-52 (e-link)

 

Francis Fukuyama, “Women and the Evolution of World Politics,” Foreign Affairs, vol.77, no.5, September/October 1998, pp.24-40 (e-link)

 

* Discussion Questions on Singh

 

 

6. Domestic Political Conditions and Foreign Policy Behavior

(Week of February 27)

 

Laura Neack, The New Foreign Policy: U.S. and Comparative Foreign Policy in the 21^st Century, Chapter 3, pp.75-122

 

Olufemi A. Babarinde and Stephen Wright, “Leadership and Ambition in Nigerian Foreign Policy,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 11, pp.233-255

 

Kenneth W. Grundy, “South African Foreign Policy: A New Regime in a New World Order,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 12, pp.256-282

 

Joe D. Hagan, “Domestic Political Explanations in the Analysis of Foreign Policy,” in Foreign Policy Analysis: Continuity and Change in Its Second Generation, pp.117-143 (handout)

 

* Case Project: Elections and Foreign Policy in Israel

 

 

7. Comparing Foreign Policies in Europe (Week of March 6)

 

Michael Smith, “Comparing Foreign Policy Systems: Problems, Processes, and Performance,” in Michael Clarke and Brian White, eds., Understanding Foreign Policy--The Foreign Policy Systems Approach, 1989, Chapter 8, pp.185-215 (handout)

 

Brian White, “British Foreign Policy: Continuity and Transformation,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 2, pp.24-48

 

Steven Philip Kramer, “French Foreign Policy: The Wager on Europe,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 3, pp.49-69

 

Jeffrey S. Lantis, “The Evolution of German Foreign Policy,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 4, pp.70-94

 

* Midterm Examination

 

* Spring Break

 

8. Political Culture and Foreign Policy (Week of March 27)

 

Akitoshi Miyashita, “Japanese Foreign Policy: The International-Domestic Nexus,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 7, pp.144-169

 

Peter J. Katzenstein, “Same War, Different Views: Germany, Japan, and the War on Terrorism,” in Annual Editions—Violence and Terrorism 2006/2007, pp.193-199 (handout)

 

David A. Welch, “Culture and Emotion as Obstacles to Good Judgment: The Case of Argentina’s Invasion of the Falklands/Malvinas,” in Stanley A. Renshon and Deborah Welch Larson, eds., Good Judgment in Foreign Policy: Theory and Application, 2003, pp.191-215 (handout)

 

* Case Project: Israeli Elections Update

 

 

9. Exploring the Bureaucratic Politics Approach (Week of April 3)

 

Graham T. Allison and Morton H. Halperin, “Bureaucratic Politics: A Paradigm and Some Policy Implications,” World Politics, 1972, pp.40-79 (e-link)

 

Christopher M. Jones, “American Prewar Technology Sales to Iraq: A Bureaucratic Politics Explanation,” in Eugene R. Wittkopf and James M. McCormick, eds., The Domestic Sources of American Foreign Policy, 1994, pp.279-296 (handout)

 

* Discussion Questions on Allison and Halperin

 

* Second Foreign Policy Review Paper Due

 

 

10. Group Decision Dynamics and Foreign Policy Behavior (Week of April 10)

 

Margaret Hermann, “How Decision Units Shape Foreign Policy: A Theoretical Framework,” International Studies Review, vol.3, no.2, Summer 2001, pp.47-81 (e-link)

 

Irving Janis, “Escalation of the Vietnam War: How Could It Happen?” in G. John Ikenberry, ed., American Foreign Policy: Theoretical Essays, pp.506-535 (handout)

 

Pamela S. Chasek, David L. Downie, and Janet Welsh Brown, Global Environmental Politics, Chapters 3-5

 

 

 

11. Comparing Foreign Policies in Latin America (Week of April 17)

 

Scott D. Tollefson, “Brazil: The Emergence of a Regional Power,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 13, pp.283-301

 

Michael T. Snarr, “Mexico: Balancing Sovereignty and Interdependence,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 14, pp.302-320

 

Selected articles on Latin America, Council on Foreign Relations Website, 2006 (e-link)

 

* Environmental Policy Paper Due

 

 

12. Political Psychology: Cognitive Approaches and Belief Systems

(Week of April 24)

 

Laura Neack, The New Foreign Policy: U.S. and Comparative Foreign Policy in the 21^st Century, Chapter 2, pp.37-73

 

Christopher Hemmer, “Syria under Bashar al-Asad: Clinging to His Roots?”, in “Know Thy Enemy: Profiles of Adversary Leaders and Their Strategic Cultures,” pp.221-246 (e-link)

 

Daniel L. Byman and Kenneth M. Pollack, “Let Us Now Praise Great Men: Bringing the Statesman Back In,” International Security, vol.25, no.4, Spring 2001, pp.107-146 (e-link)

 

 

13. Foreign Policies in Comparative Perspective (Week of May 1)

 

Laura Neack, The New Foreign Policy: U.S. and Comparative Foreign Policy in the 21^st Century, Chapter 5, pp.185-205

 

Ryan K. Beasley and Michael T. Snarr, “Domestic and International Influences on Foreign Policy: A Comparative Perspective,” in Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, Chapter 15, pp.321-347

 

* Final Examination, as Scheduled by the Registrar

 

 

International Relations Academic Journals

 

Academic journals represent the very best source of international relations research and regularly publish cutting-edge work in the discipline. The information found in any issue of leading journals represents the core of contemporary scholarly debates on issues in international relations and comparative foreign policy--from the ‘democratic peace thesis’ to human rights to trade liberalization. The International Studies Association (ISA) is the largest professional organization of teachers and students of international relations. Members of the ISA receive four of the leading journals in our discipline: International Studies Quarterly, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Studies Review, and International Studies Perspectives. The American Political Science Association (APSA) sends its members the American Political Science Review as well as journals dedicated to the profession. In both organizations, student members pay substantially reduced annual dues. Among the many other journals on international relations that publish articles with theoretical orientations, you could examine: International Security, International Organization, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, World Politics, International Affairs, and Comparative Politics. Policy-related journals include Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, The Washington Quarterly, and Orbis.