POL 408
AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY
Fall 2008 Dr. Margaret P. Karns
Hours: Tuesday, 3:00-4:30 and by appointment
Tel: 937-229-3538
Email: margaret.karns@notes.udayton.edu
Homepage: http://academic.udayton.edu/MargaretKarns/
This course focuses on the major factors shaping American foreign policy and the processes by which it is made. It explores how changes in the global environment, American society, and domestic governmental institutions have interacted with each other to shape foreign policy since the end of World War II. Five major choice or turning points provide the context for this exploration: the end of World War II when the United States opted for an internationalist role in shaping the postwar order; the Vietnam War which led to an agonizing debate over American interests and policies; the Cold War’s end when the collapse of the Soviet Union left the United States as the sole superpower in a world of globalization, changing norms, new actors, ethnic conflicts, failing states, and humanitarian disasters; the attacks on 9/11/2001, and the Bush Administration's decision to go to war in Iraq. Along the way, we shall explore several “great debates” over the nature of U.S. national interests and the implications of the 2008 presidential election for foreign policy in a new administration.
The course will combine lectures with seminar-style sessions in which students take responsibility for shaping discussions. We will use several case studies to explore specific policy-making situations in greater depth. The course will challenge all of us to explore some fundamental questions about the nature of American foreign policy, to be open to different perspectives, to engage in lively discussion with each other, and to enhance our capabilities to be producers of knowledge. You will have a fair amount of reading, a lot of writing, and an expectation of active participation.
· To develop skills in applying a multidimensional framework for analyzing factors shaping American foreign policy that encompasses global, domestic, individual, governmental, and societal factors;
· To gain an understanding of five major turning points in America’s role in the world and the debates over those choices;
· To develop the ability to evaluate different perspectives on the United States and its policies;
· To enhance research skills using a variety of different kinds of sources.
Readings, Class Preparation and Attendance policy: Just as you expect me to be prepared for class, you are responsible for doing all assigned readings prior to the class for which they are scheduled and for coming to class prepared to participate actively and intelligently. (I reserve the right to give periodic, unscheduled quizzes to check reading.) You are expected to attend all classes and to let me know if you must miss a class. The quantity and quality of class participation can positively or negatively impact all borderline grades.
If you must miss a class, you are responsible for getting notes from other students and for checking on any missed assignments. Late papers will be penalized 5 points per day of lateness, unless you have obtained prior permission for late submission.
Cheating and Plagiarism: Cheating and/or plagiarism will not be tolerated in any form. Cheating is defined as working with or borrowing from others on exams or quizzes. Plagiarism is defined as submitting another’s work as your own or using someone else’s words or ideas without proper attribution. It is particularly easy to plagiarize material from the Internet. You should know it is also relatively easy to discover plagiarism through the Internet! Students are responsible for making themselves aware of the University of Dayton’s Policy on Academic Dishonesty. Any instance of cheating or plagiarism will result in an automatic zero (O) for the assignment and could result in a failing grade for the entire course.
Grading: Your performance in this course will be evaluated on the following basis:
Two Take-home Exams (50%)
Book Review (10%)
Research Paper (approximately 15 pages) (20%)
National Interest Paper and revisions (5 pages) (10%)
Class Participation and Assignments (10%)
Extra credit opportunities, including speakers – up to 5 points
Note: Guidelines on the three paper assignments and other exercises will be distributed separately.
Grade Scale: 93-100 A
90-92 A-
87-89 B+
83-86 B
80-82 B-
77-79 C+
73-76 C
70-72 C-
60-69 D
Below 60 F
Bruce W. Jentleson, American Foreign Policy: The Dynamics of Choice in the 21st Century, 2nd edition
(2004)
Stephen Walt, Taming American Power: The Global Response to U.S. Primacy (2005)
Regular reading of a major U.S. newspaper, preferably the New York Times or Washington Post
COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to change)
Aug. 26 Thinking about Foreign Policy, the International Context, and Dilemmas of Choice
Read in order:
Rochester, US Foreign Policy, Ch. 2, pp. 21-26
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, Ch. 1
Aug. 28 Condoleeza Rice, “Rethinking the National Interest: American Realism for a New World,” Foreign Affairs (July-August 2008), available at: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20080701faessay87401/condoleezza-rice/rethinking-the-national-interest.html
Joseph S. Nye, “Redefining the National Interest,” from The Paradox of American Power
(2002) Reserve
Steven Lee Myers, “Bush, Sending Aid, Demands that Moscow Withdraw,” New York Times (August 14, 2008) at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/world/europe/14georgia.html?scp=2&sq=steven%20lee%20myers&st=cse
Steven Lee Myers, “No Cold War, but Big Chill over Georgia,” New York Times (August 16, 2008), at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/washington/16assess.html?scp=3&sq=steven%20lee%20myers&st=cse
Want more background on the Russia-Georgia conflict?
James Traub, “Taunting the Bear,” New York Times (August 10, 2008) available at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/weekinreview/10traub.html?scp=2&sq=james%20traub&st=cse
Peter Finn, “A Two-Sided Descent into Full-Scale War,” Washington Post (August 17, 2008) – web address cannot be copied!
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, Ch. 2, pp. 25-34
U.S. Constitution, Articles I, II, III Reserve
Tonkin Gulf Resolution, War Powers Resolution, Persian Gulf Resolution Reserve
Iraq War Resolution: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021002-2.html
Terry Deibel, “The Death of a Treaty” Foreign Affairs (Sept/Oct. 2002) Reserve and
Available at http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20020901faessay9738/terry-l-deibel/the-death-of-a-treaty.html
James A. Baker and Warren Christopher, “Put War Powers Back Where They Belong,” New York Times July 8, 2008, available at:
DUE: First draft of National Interest paper (see guidelines) due in class
Sept.4-9 The President and National Security Council
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, Ch. 2, pp. 35-38
Steven Mufson, “The Way Bush Sees the World,” Washington Post, February 17, 2002.
Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A19626-2002Feb16
Maureen Dowd, “Russia is not Jamaica,” New York Times, August 17, 2008, at:
“Empire Builders: Neoconservatives and their Blueprint for US Power,” Christian
Science Monitor (Nov. 23, 2004); available at: http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/neocon/neocon101.html
Colin Powell, “The NSC Advisor: Process Manager and More” Reserve
David Rothkopf, “Inside the Committee that Runs the World,” Foreign Policy (March/April 2005) Reserve
Dan Balz and Bob Woodward, “The War against Terrorism” Reserve
DUE Tuesday, Sept. 9: Comments on national interest paper and Proposed Research paper topic (see guidelines)
Sept. 11 The Foreign Policy and Intelligence Bureaucracies
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, Ch. 2, pp. 39-41 (study chart!); and pp. 404-407
Charles F. Parker and Eric K. Stern, “Bolt from the Blue or Avoidable Failure?
Revisiting September 11and the Origins of Strategic Surprise,” Foreign Policy
Analysis 1:3 (Nov. 2005) Reserve
Helene Cooper et al., “How a Spat Became a Showdown: As Georgia and Russia
Headed for a Clash, the US Missed the Signals,” New York Times (August 18, 2008), at
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/18/washington/18diplo.html?scp=3&sq=helene%20cooper&st=cse
Recommended: The 9/11 Commission Report, Executive Summary. Available at:
Sept. 16 Interest Groups
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, Ch. 2, pp. 40-49 (look at table)
Jason Kirk, “Indian-Americans and the U.S.-India Nuclear Agreement: Consolidation of
an Ethnic Lobby?” Foreign Policy Analysis 4 (2008) Reserve
FP Roundtable, “The War over Israel’s Influence,” Foreign Policy (July/August 2006) Reserve
Joe Conason, “The Iraq Lobby” Reserve
Holly Burkhalter, “The Politics of AIDS: Engaging Conservative Activists,” Foreign
Affairs (Jan/Feb. 2004) Reserve. Also Available at http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20040101facomment83102/holly-burkhalter/the-politics-of-aids-engaging-conservative-activists.html
Due: Exercise I
Sept. 18 Public Opinion and the Media
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, Ch. 2, pp. 49-58 (study figure)
Warren Strobel, “The Media and U.S. Policies toward Intervention: A Closer Look at the ‘CNN Effect’” in Jentleson, pp. 585-592
World Public Opinion .org , “Americans and the World,” Read the “Overview: US Role in the World” available at: http://www.americans-world.org/default.cfm
Douglas Foyle, “Public Opinion and Bosnia: Anticipating Disaster,” in Contemporary
Cases in U.S. Foreign Policy, 2nd ed., edited by Ralph G. Carter (2005) Reserve
John Mueller, “The Iraq Syndrome,” Foreign Affairs (Nov/Dec. 2005), available at:
http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20051101faessay84605/john-mueller/the-iraq-
Daniel Yankelovich, “The Tipping Points,” Foreign Affairs (May/June 2006) available at: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20060501faessay85309/daniel-yankelovich/the-tipping-points.html
Sept. 23 The Historical Context and Great Debates of American Foreign Policy
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, Ch 3
Rochester, US Foreign Policy, Ch. 3
Due: Exercise #2
Sept. 25-30 Creating a Post-World War II International Order and Fighting the Cold War
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, Ch. 4
Mr. X, “The Conduct of Soviet Foreign Policy” (1947), in Jentleson, pp. 237-240
Leffler, “The American Conception of National Security and the Beginning of the Cold War, 1945-48,” (1984), in Jentleson, pp. 224-230
Leffler, Melvyn, “Inside Enemy Archives: The Cold War Reopened,” Foreign Affairs
(July-August 1996), available at: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/19960701faessay4217/melvyn-p-leffler/inside-enemy-archives-the-cold-war-reopened.html
Gaddis, John Lewis, “The Tragedy of Cold War History,” Foreign Affairs (Jan-Feb 1994)
Available at: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/19940101faessay8556-p0/john-lewis-gaddis/the-tragedy-of-cold-war-history.html
Hogan, Michael J., The Marshall Plan: America, Britain, and the Reconstruction of Western Europe, 1947-1952, Ch. 1 Reserve
NSC 68, “Conclusions and Recommendations” available at: http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nsc-hst/nsc-68.htm
Due on Sept. 30 – National Interest Paper – draft 2
Oct. 2 Foreign Policy Decision-Making and the Case of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Rochester, US Foreign Policy, Ch. 2, pp. 26-34
Jerel Rosati, “The Policy-Making Process” Reserve
Recommended: Graham Allison, “Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis,”
American Political Science Review (Sept. 1969) Reserve
Oct. 7 Case Study of the US Decision to Invade Iraq
All Read: Rochester, US Foreign Policy, Chapter 2, pp. 38-54
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, pp. 374-381; 407-414
The Bush Doctrine (2002), Section V of the 2002 National Security Strategy available at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.pdf
Individual Assignments TBA:
Louis Fisher, “Deciding on War Against Iraq: Institutional Failures,” in Demetrios
Caraley ed., American Hegemony: Preventive War, Iraq, and Imposing Democracy
(2004) Reserve
David Westphal, “The US in Iraq: One War, Many Rationales,” Washington Post
(December 6, 2005) available at:
http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=WAR-RATIONALE-12-06-05&cat=WW
Steven Kull et al., “Misperceptions, the Media, and the Iraq War,” in Demetrios Caraley
ed., American Hegemony: Preventive War, Iraq, and Imposing Democracy (2004)
Reserve
James Rubin, “Stumbling into War,” Foreign Affairs (Sept/Oct 2003), available at:
http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20030901faessay82504/james-p-rubin/stumbling-into-war.html
Questions for discussion:
1. Who and what shaped the decisions that led to the war in Iraq?
2. What went wrong?
3. Did this demonstrate that the UN is irrelevant for US foreign policy?
Due: Comments on National Interest Paper
TAKE-HOME EXAM to be distributed
Oct. 8-13 FALL BREAK
Oct. 14 The Vietnam Watershed
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, Ch. 5 up to p. 138
Oct. 16 The Vietnam Watershed (cont.) (Individual assignments TBA)
All read: Neustadt, “Americanizing the Vietnam War” (Part I) Reserve
Vietnam Documents (Part II – Assignment TBA) Reserve
Gelb, “Vietnam: The System Worked,” in Jentleson, pp. 269-72
James Thomson, “How Could Vietnam Happen? An Autopsy,” The
Atlantic Monthly (1968) Reserve
Irving Janis, “Escalation of the Vietnam War: How Could It Happen”
From Janis, Groupthink (1982) Reserve
Yuen Foong Khong, “Seduction by Analogy in Vietnam: The Malaya
and Korea Analogies” (1987) Reserve
Robert S. McNamara, “Learning from Tragedy: Lessons of Vietnam for
The Twenty-first Century,” Ch. 8 in Argument without End (1999) Reserve
Oct. 21 The 2008 Presidential Election and Foreign Policy
John McCain, “An Enduring Peace built on Freedom: Securing America’s Future,”
Foreign Affairs (Nov/Dec 2007), at: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20071101faessay86602-p0/john-mccain/an-enduring-peace-built-on-freedom.html
Barrack Obama, “Renewing American Leadership,” Foreign Affairs (July/Aug 2007), at http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20071101faessay86602-p0/john-mccain/an-enduring-peace-built-on-freedom.html
Richard Holbrooke, “The Next President: Mastering A Daunting Agenda” Foreign Affairs (Sept./Oct 2008) at: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20080901faessay87501/richard-holbrooke/the-next-president.html
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, Ch. 6
DUE: Preliminary bibliography for Research Paper
Oct. 28 Post-Cold War Conflicts and Dilemmas of Intervention: Part I - Somalia
Case Study #464 : Menkhaus with Ortmayer, “Key Decisions in the Somalia
Intervention” Reserve – in 2 parts
Steven Kull, “Misreading the Public Mood,” Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientists (March/April 1995) Reserve
Warren Strobel, “The Media and U.S. Policies toward Intervention: A
Closer Look at the ‘CNN Effect’” in Jentleson, pp. 585-92
Recommended: Clarke and Herbst, “Somalia and the Future of Humanitarian Intervention,” Foreign Affairs (Mar/Apr 1996), Reserve
Oct. 30 Part II: Bosnia, Rwanda, and Kosovo
Group I – Bosnia
Background on Bosnia, “Bosnia, 1992-1995: Convoluted Charity?” from Military-
Civilian Interactions, Weiss ed. (1999) Reserve
Perspectives 2000) , pp. 204-225 Reserve
Dennis Ross, “Cases of Statecraft: Bosnia,” in Statecraft (2007), Reserve
Douglas Foyle, “Public Opinion and Bosnia: Anticipating Disaster,” in Contemporary
Cases in U.S. Foreign Policy, 2nd ed., edited by Ralph G. Carter (2005) Reserve
Group II - Rwanda
“Background on Rwanda,” from Military-Civilian Interactions, Weiss ed. (1999) Res
Background on Rwanda from Madame Secretary, Madeline Albright (2003) Reserve
Alan Kuperman, “Rwanda in Retrospect,” Foreign Affairs (Jan/Feb 2000)
Available at: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20000101faessay8/alan-j-kuperman/rwanda-in-retrospect.html
Alison Des Forges, “Shame: Rationalizing Western Apathy on Rwanda” and Alan Kuperman’s Reply, Foreign Affairs (May/June 2000). Available at:
Darren Brunk, “Curing the Somalia Syndrome: Analogy, Foreign Policy Decision
Making, and the Rwandan Genocide,” Foreign Policy Analysis 4 (2008)
Reserve
Group III – Kosovo
“Background on Kosovo,” from Military-Civilian Interactions, Weiss ed. (1999) Res
Michael Mandelbaum, “A Perfect Failure: NATO’s War against Yugoslavia,”
Foreign Affairs (Sept/Oct 1999) Available at: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/19990901facomment1000/michael-mandelbaum/a-perfect-failure-nato-s-war-against-yugoslavia.html
James Steinberg, “A Perfect Polemic: Blind to Reality on Kosovo,” Foreign Affairs
(Nov/Dec 1999) Available at: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/19991101faresponse1026/james-b-steinberg/a-perfect-polemic-blind-to-reality-on-kosovo.html
Nov. 4 Part III: When and How to Intervene
Rochester, US Foreign Policy, pp. 148-154
Jentleson, American Foreign Policy, Ch. 9, pp. 421-428; 433-342; 446-50; 454
Michael Mandelbaum, “Foreign Policy as Social Work,” Foreign Affairs
(Jan/Feb 1996), Reserve and available also at:
Stanley Hoffmann, “In Defense of Mother Theresa,” Foreign Affairs
(Mar/April 1996), Reserve and available also at:
Nov. 6 Perspectives on American Foreign Policy and the 2008 Presidential Election
Guest: Mr. Rob Verhostad, Radboud University, Netherlands
Reading - TBA
Nov. 11 Globalization: The US and the Global Economy
Jentleson, Ch. 10
Nov. 13 The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy and the Consequences of 9/11: The War on
Terrorism
Jentleson, Ch. 8, pp. 363-384
Rochester, Ch. 5, pp. 132-139
The Bush National Security Strategy (2002), Section III, available at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.pdf
Michael Scheuer et al., “Symposium: 9/11/06, Five Years On,” National Interest
(Sept/Oct 2006) Reserve
Questions for discussion:
1. Goals of the “war” on terrorism?
2. Nature of current and future threats?
3. Strategies pursued?
4. Steps not taken?
DUE NOV. 14 by 4pm: Updated bibliography and detailed outline for research project
Nov. 18 The War in Iraq, Part II: What went wrong and where do we go from here?
Larry Diamond, “What Went Wrong in Iraq,” Foreign Affairs (Sept/Oct 2004), available
At: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20040901faessay83505/larry-diamond/what-went-wrong-in-iraq.html
Stephen Biddle, Seeing Baghdad, Thinking Saigon,” Foreign Affairs (Mar/Apr 2006)
Available at: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20060301faessay85201/stephen-biddle/seeing-baghdad-thinking-saigon.html
John Mueller, “The Iraq Syndrome,” Foreign Affairs (Nov/Dec. 2005), available at:
http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20051101faessay84605/john-mueller/the-iraq-
Steven Simon, “The Price of the Surge,” Foreign Affairs (May/June 2008) at:
http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20080501faessay87305/steven-simon/the-price-of-the-surge.html
Jeffrey Record, “The Use and Abuse of History: Munich, Vietnam and Iraq,” Survival (Spring 2007), Reserve
Questions for discussion:
1. Where are we now? How best can we characterize the current nature of the conflict?
2. What should or can the US do now?
3. What are likely to be the “lessons” of Iraq for future US policymakers?
Nov. 20 Democracy and Human Rights in US Foreign Policy
Julie Mertus, “The Lingua Franca of Diplomacy: Human Rights and the Post-Cold War
Presidencies,” from Bait and Switch: Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy (2004)
_____, “Monitoring Legislation: Human Trafficking,” pp. 173-176
_____, “Human Rights Claims in U.S. Courts: The Alien Tort Claims Act,” pp. 176-180
_____, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: The ‘Lift and Strike’ Campaign,” (Bosnia), pp.
181-184 Reserve—as a single item with all under the first title, “Lingua Franca”
Nov. 25 Is it in the US National Interest to support the ICC?
Rochester, pp. 154-58
DUE by 4:30pm: Final revision of National Interest Paper (NO late papers accepted
except by prior arrangement)
Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 2-4 The Sole Superpower and the World
Stephen Walt, Taming American Power: The Global Response to U.S. Primacy (2005)
Dec. 6 (Sat) Social Science Symposium – Paper Presentations
Dec. 9 The U.S. and A Changing World
ALL:
Fareed Zakaria, “The Future of American Power: How America Can Survive the Rise of
the Rest,” Foreign Affairs (May/June 2008) available at: http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/20080501facomment87303/fareed-zakaria/the-future-of-american-power.html
Dec. 10 Final Deadline for Research Papers (4pm)
Take-home Final Exam to be distributed
Dec. 17 Take Home Final Exam Due at 4:30pm