"Between sovereign states there can be no last resort except war." - Hannah Arendt
War is a nearly universal human phenomenon. This course exams its causes and evolution as they emerged early in prehistory and persist today. Major topics include war’s origins and evolution; theories about the causes and nature of war; arguments for a contemporary world of “new wars;” and theories about the future of war. Along the way, the course analyzes several very different international conflicts, such as World War I, the Cold War and the recent Iraq War. Specific issues addressed amidst these major themes include war and the state; structural and psychological explanations for war; terrorism and irregular war; and the moral/ethical dimensions of war.
This undergraduate course analyzes how religious beliefs and institutions shape politics that cross borders. It draws upon an array of writings to examine major global phenomena like the religious roots of international order; religious challenges both to modern states and to recent globalization; and activism amongst global religious movements. In turn, the course concentrates on two major issues for scholars, policy-makers and citizens alike: 1) international religious extremism and violence and 2) religious influences on – and targets of – U.S. foreign policy. Examples of topics covered along the way include Evangelical activism and ideologies, religious terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The Pope! How many divisions does he have?” – Joseph Stalin
"One person with a belief is a social power equal to ninety-nine who have only interests." – John Stuart Mill
Modern states protect and serve religion. They are also the secular innovations most likely to break our link with religion. Conceptually, secular human rights would not exist without the divine spark imparted to all individuals. Practically, the modern state emerged from religious fights only to ultimately marginalize religious institutions. This graduate seminar will evaluate this effort and the ways that state policies, global movements, and international orders are shaped by religion. We will first address the formation of modern states and their relationship with religion before turning to religious radicalism and extremism. The course finishes with the specific relationship of religious movements and beliefs and foreign policy. Throughout, the course treats religion as a social science variable, but it also evaluates political theology on its own terms. Students will be responsible for evaluating and presenting course readings as well as developing and writing a research paper
"One person with a belief is a social power equal to ninety-nine who have only interests." – John Stuart Mill
Modern states protect and serve religion. They are also the secular innovations most likely to break our link with religion. Conceptually, secular human rights would not exist without the divine spark imparted to all individuals. Practically, the modern state emerged from religious fights only to ultimately marginalize religious institutions. This graduate seminar will evaluate this effort and the ways that state policies, global movements, and international orders are shaped by religion. We will first address the formation of modern states and their relationship with religion before turning to religious radicalism and extremism. The course finishes with the specific relationship of religious movements and beliefs and foreign policy. Throughout, the course treats religion as a social science variable, but it also evaluates political theology on its own terms. Students will be responsible for evaluating and presenting course readings as well as developing and writing a research paper
As a US Secretary of State once observed, America’s effort in the 1940s to “create a world out of chaos” was not unlike God’s work at the dawn of time: it created a new world order. Can we really change international politics? And what sort of world order should international actors pursue?
International Politics examines these questions. We will identify the major themes of international relations as a social science and acquire tools as citizens to understand international politics, one of the most complex and important arenas of human society.
International Politics examines these questions. We will identify the major themes of international relations as a social science and acquire tools as citizens to understand international politics, one of the most complex and important arenas of human society.
“Critics say that America is a lie because its reality falls so far short of its ideas. They are wrong. America is not a lie; it is a disappointment. But it can be a disappointment only because it is a hope.”
- Samuel Huntington
- Samuel Huntington
Americans seek to change the world and remain distinct from it. They energetically export their religious views, yet they officially support secularism. Americans denounce imperialism and coercion, yet they are accused of building a global empire and wielding astounding military power. And above all these tensions, Americans exert unparalleled influence and power in a globalized, increasingly democratic world that they helped create, yet they fret about relative decline and entertain plans for retrenchment and isolation. This course seeks to analyze how Americans view and pursue their relationship with the world as well as the foundations and conduct of their foreign policy. It considers the institutions and offices, interests and political culture, and the international challenges (including security, economic and humanitarian issues) that shape American foreign policy outcomes.
In the distant lands the battle rages,
Will this bleak horror never cease?
Can we, who fought through all the ages,
Make lasting peace? —James Shotwell
Will this bleak horror never cease?
Can we, who fought through all the ages,
Make lasting peace? —James Shotwell
This course reviews the types and applications of international law, and it evaluates international law’s political, empirical and ethical implications. Topics concentrate on the historical development of international law, including sovereignty and the law of the sea, as well as treaties, courts, human rights, trade and crime. Students will participate in discussions, analyze arguments, complete a series of quizzes and write three case studies.
“Wealth and power have come to us in appalling and perilous abundance. Their safety to us, their real value, lies in the use we make of them.” –Henry Stoddard
This graduate course evaluates the origins and analysis of foreign policy. Are foreign affairs driven by national beliefs and the weight of history? Or does foreign policy emerge from institutions, interest groups and partisan politics? Leaders, psychology, public opinion, and rational calculations are also serious possibilities. We will begin with historical studies and work through several competing approaches and theories. The course then turns to exemplary case studies, covering countries such as China, the US, Iran and Russia. Students will prepare several short assignments and outlines for course readings before completing a major research assignment.
"Modern science has thrust into man’s fallible hands unprecedented power: power in building, power in destroying." –Hugh Ferris
Have new technologies created a strategic revolution, or are they simply plugged into old policies? Leaders like George W. Bush and Barack Obama have made tough decisions about deploying new military capabilities, and they have set out key policies regarding cybersecurity and international affairs. Still, scholars talk about the “revolution in military affairs” and the power of technological change to drive politics and policy. We will first evaluate the history and theories of how technology and national security interact with one another. The latter sections of the course focus on lethal drones and the cyber environment.
“A nation, despicable by its weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral.” —attributed to Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist no. 10
This course immerses students in grand strategic thinking through an innovative combination of classic readings, competitive simulation, and contemporary analysis. As a topic, “grand strategy” refers to the link between a state’s goals and capabilities, and it entails historical, philosophical and systematic thought. It is how states understand and pursue their perceived interests and roles in the world. Understanding grand strategies offers an essential tool to evaluate states’ foreign policies as well as the international system. Students are first charged with the virtual fate of a nation through a collaborative, competitive online simulation. This experience involves diplomacy, planning and cooperation along with guile, spontaneity and competition. Next, as members of working groups, students will then grapple with a pressing contemporary issue, such as cybersecurity, in the context of a number of case studies, including Russia and China. The course concludes with the working groups presenting and discussing strategic proposals they have developed.
"It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." -Eleanor Roosevelt
Modern international organizations are a solution. They are designed to address a persistent problem: the tensions, disagreements and conflicts that arise in a world of separate states with different interests and agendas. This course will examine international organizations through readings, discussions, online materials, quizzes and short papers. Along the way, we evaluate and discuss ongoing current events as they relate to global issues. Our work starts with the origins of and theories about modern international organizations. Over the following weeks, students then specialize in researching one government and develop “position papers” or policy briefs toward a range of international organizations, such as the UN Security Council, the World Trade Organization, and military alliance or regional organizations.
“Martin knew nothing about America, or he would have known perfectly well that if its individual citizens, to a man, are to be believed, it always IS depressed, and always IS stagnated, and always IS at an alarming crisis, and never was otherwise; though as a body they are ready to make oath upon the Evangelists at any hour of the day or night, that it is the most thriving and prosperous of all countries on the habitable globe.” –Charles Dickens
This course analyzes the frameworks and long-standing fault lines of American politics. Conventional wisdom holds that democracy in a republic requires persistent attention by citizens. It must be kept, not just established in one inspired moment. To do this, citizens need to understand the institutions of government and the dynamics of politics, and it is these that this course seeks to illuminate. By the course’s end, students should be able to identify America’s governing institutions and its essential, extra-constitutional actors. Along the way, current and perennial political dilemmas such as civil rights, judicial activism and presidential power will be analyzed. Focusing on the national level of US politics, the course also begins with America’s founding and traces major historical themes as Constitutional powers have expanded. Politics is said to be deciding “who gets what, when and how.” Just how and why power is distributed in American politics, therefore, will guide our semester.
This course analyzes the frameworks and long-standing fault lines of American politics. Conventional wisdom holds that democracy in a republic requires persistent attention by citizens. It must be kept, not just established in one inspired moment. To do this, citizens need to understand the institutions of government and the dynamics of politics, and it is these that this course seeks to illuminate. By the course’s end, students should be able to identify America’s governing institutions and its essential, extra-constitutional actors. Along the way, current and perennial political dilemmas such as civil rights, judicial activism and presidential power will be analyzed. Focusing on the national level of US politics, the course also begins with America’s founding and traces major historical themes as Constitutional powers have expanded. Politics is said to be deciding “who gets what, when and how.” Just how and why power is distributed in American politics, therefore, will guide our semester.
“Without comparison, the mind does not know how to proceed.” - Alexis de Tocqueville
This course examines modern political systems. As Aristotle observed, humans may be thoroughly “political animals,” yet the modern world brought forth a unique series of innovations and revolutions that are now almost universal. No person on earth officially lives outside the sovereignty of a modern state, so our goal is to understand how those states work, how they are similar and how they differ. The course centers on a series of country case studies (NOT including the US) that begins with Britain, perhaps the first “modern,” industrialized state, and ends with more recent but influential developers. Along the way, students will practice applying the comparative method; collect and evaluate research materials as well as reflect on academic integrity and information literacy; complete three exams; and write a comparative research essay. Our goal is a stronger ability to evaluate foreign political systems and political cultures and compare those models to one another as well as our own experience.
This course examines modern political systems. As Aristotle observed, humans may be thoroughly “political animals,” yet the modern world brought forth a unique series of innovations and revolutions that are now almost universal. No person on earth officially lives outside the sovereignty of a modern state, so our goal is to understand how those states work, how they are similar and how they differ. The course centers on a series of country case studies (NOT including the US) that begins with Britain, perhaps the first “modern,” industrialized state, and ends with more recent but influential developers. Along the way, students will practice applying the comparative method; collect and evaluate research materials as well as reflect on academic integrity and information literacy; complete three exams; and write a comparative research essay. Our goal is a stronger ability to evaluate foreign political systems and political cultures and compare those models to one another as well as our own experience.
"We have been so very powerful, and so very prosperous that even the humblest of us were degraded in the vices and follies of kings." –Edmund Burke
This graduate course surveys major topics, theories and approaches central to the academic field of International Relations (IR). It’s about the big questions, and it addresses two levels of enquiry: what is the nature of world politics and how scholars attempt to understand that phenomenon. We will focus on the historical origins of our modern international system, major theories or paradigms of IR, and major areas of interest. These substantive areas include war, foreign policy, and global governance. In these areas, scholars fiercely debate fundamental principles, conceptual models, and causal relationships because the stakes remain high, even perilous. The fates of individuals, states and the international system rest on how such issues are addressed by citizens and policy makers. Students are expected to critically engage these questions by remaining current with the assigned readings and actively participating. As a seminar, the course focuses upon student discussion with a specific concern for critically analyzing both the substance and the method of a given work. The seminar concludes with a major writing project. Our goals are to leave with 1) a more profound understanding of world affairs, 2) an ability to concisely analyze complex issues and arguments, and 3) methodological tools to evaluate and generate international relations research.
