ps 326 – U.S. Foreign policy i

Fall 2008

T & R, 1400 – 1520, 240A MCK

Instructor

Steven B. Rothman

823 PLC

srothma1@uoregon.edu

346-4890

http://www.uoregon.edu/~srothma1/

GTF information will be available on the Blackboard site in the fall.

Course Description

Everyday we see news of U.S. foreign policy in the media. News from U.S. policies spans the globe, sometimes involving trade disputes with China, conflicts in the Middle East or Africa, or humanitarian aid and intervention after disasters or wars. There is no doubting the current supremacy of the United States in military and economic affairs and the great impact U.S. policies have on the rest of the World. But, where do these policies come from? What factors influence the policies the U.S. conducts throughout the World?

This class examines the causes and influences on U.S. foreign policy and several cases since the end of World War II. By the end of the course, you will understand how the international system, society, domestic institutions, bureaucracies, and individuals can all influence the formation of U.S. policy. You will also understand where our theories of foreign policy come from by putting the theories in context of the major events in history that created them, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

By understanding the many causes and the complexity of foreign policy creation, we can better understand why some foreign policies emerge differently from the intentions of actors involved. This understanding can also bring you closer to changing policies or creating new policies based on personal views of what the U.S. should do in international affairs. By understanding the process of foreign policy creation, we are all in a better position to influence that policy according to our personal preferences – to answer the question: what should the U.S. be doing?

Course Materials

Required Textbooks:

· Rosati, Jerel A., and James Scott. 2007. The Politics of United States Foreign Policy. 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. (Designated as “RS”)

News and Current Events

· It is required that everyone read a source of US and international news. Some examples of good news sources are the NY Times or the Washington Post (papers of record).

· Reading the news will help you in several ways.

1. It will help you practice applying what we learn in class to current foreign policies, which is what you will need to do on exams and in the paper.

2. It will make you better informed citizens for the upcoming election and beyond.

3. It will help you generate examples for the exam essay questions for material outside of the examples given in class, which shows true mastery of the information presented in class.

Blackboard

· This course will use the Blackboard site extensively. If you have trouble using the site, I advise you to seek out someone who can help you (library staff or staff in the technology centers are great). All grades will be posted on blackboard, and we will also use blackboard for all communication and a few assignments, which are required.

· If you are enrolled in the class but are unable to access blackboard, please email me or one of the GTF’s as soon as possible. A test email will be sent out the first week of class.

· You are required to check email regularly and the blackboard site at least once a week for updates and announcements.

Grading Policies

· Midterm Exam – 30% (Oct 28)

· Policy Essay – 25% (Nov. 25)

· Final Exam – 30% (Dec. 8, 1 PM)

· In-Class Assignment Grade – 15%

Policy Essay

There are four choices for the policy essay:

· Analyze the causes of a foreign policy decision of your choice using the theories discussed in class.

o Analyze the causes of a US foreign policy using the theories in class. Which theories best help to explain the foreign policy and why?

· Compare the causes of two foreign policy decisions of your choice using the theories discussed in class.

o Analyze two comparable foreign policies created by the US, their causes, and what we can learn from comparing the two cases.

· Analyze an aspect of the US foreign policy-making apparatus and discuss specific changes that should be made to the apparatus.

o Analyze the influence of a particular avenue or government apparatus for foreign policy creation, the problems with this apparatus and what changes should be made. Do not just assert your opinion. You must have evidence and a strong logical rational for the changes you suggest.

· Your choice – any paper you want to write, but you must have approval from the instructor.

o In order for you to get approval, you must submit an outline or written proposal for your paper prior to beginning your project.

No matter which paper you select, the paper should be organized well, contain an introduction with a thesis, a body that makes an argument with good evidence (referenced appropriately), a conclusion, and a works cited page. Please use in-text citations or footnotes based on either the MLA, Chicago style or Turabian styles. No other reference style formats are acceptable (endnotes are not acceptable.)

If you have any questions about how to organize your paper or how to write your bibliography, please ask the instructor before the beginning of week 4.

Note that the instructor will comment on rough drafts, first-come first-serve, once for each student, if you provide the rough draft before the end of the day, Friday November 21. These rough drafts could be simply a paragraph or an outline of your paper. Note that submitting a rough draft does not guarantee a good grade (particularly because you need to fix and respond to the comments), but almost always improves the grade from what you would have gotten otherwise. Rough drafts are commented on and returned as soon as possible, but it will depend on how many rough drafts are received. In order to guarantee your rough draft gets comments, please submit it as early as possible.

Lateness and Absentee Policy

Papers will lose 5% for every 24 hours late after the deadline with a maximum deduction of 30%.

Each student is entitled to miss one in-class assignment with no penalty. Blackboard assignments that are available for more than one day cannot be made-up because they can be completed anytime during the open period.

Valid medical excuses are required to excuse students from assignments or exams.

Late papers should be turned in to the office staff in PLC in order to receive a time-stamp when the paper was turned in. Without a time-stamp, additional points may be deducted depending on when the paper is received by the instructor. Do not leave papers under office doors.

Final essay will require analysis of the causes of a United States foreign policy of your choice.

Participation

A portion of your grade is allocated based on your participation. The participation in class is designed to give you some influence on the course and as a way to give me feedback on your understanding of the material. Participation in the class will occur several ways:

· There will be required surveys on Blackboard. Completing these surveys is required for participation points. These surveys are available for one week, so no make-ups are allowed.

· There will be several short writing assessments or quizzes in class that are not announced. They count toward your participation points for the class.

o Each student is allowed to miss one in-class assignment without penalty.

Plagiarism and Cheating

Neither plagiarism nor cheating will be tolerated in this course. Ignorance of the student code of conduct will not excuse students from charges of plagiarism or cheating. I will follow all university suggested policies regarding plagiarism and cheating. Please read the student conduct code and information on plagiarism and cheating available online from the university:

· http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/plagiarism/students/

· http://studentlife.uoregon.edu/programs/student_judi_affairs/

Contesting Grades

If you feel that the grade you received on any particular assignment does not reflect the work turned in, please first discuss the assignment with the GTF who graded the work. If you still have concerns that your grade is not accurate, you can contest your grade. When you contest your grade, it will be graded by the other GTF. If the second GTF is significantly different from the grade assigned by the first GTF, the instructor will adjudicate the difference. The grade could go down based on the instructor’s grading, so, it is advisable to contest your grade if you are very convinced that your grade is wrong and that it should be higher. All cases of contested grades must occur within 2 weeks of when the assignments are returned to students in class (whether or not you actually receive your assignment due to absence).

Tentative Schedule of Class and Readings

The instructor may adjust readings, assignments, or schedules before the start of class.

I – Introduction and Theoretical Overviews

9/30 – Introduction

· Syllabus, Academic Honesty Policy (linked in the syllabus)

10/2 – Models of Foreign Policy and Explanation

· RS: Chapter 1

· Holsti, Ole R. 2005. Models of International Relations and Foreign Policy. In American Foreign Policy: Theoretical Essays, edited by G. J. Ikenberry. New York: Georgetown University.

II – International Influences on Foreign Policy Making

10/7 – Realisms

· Waltz, Kenneth Neal. 1986. Anarchic Orders and Balances of Power. In Neorealism and its Critics, edited by R. O. Keohane. New York: Columbia University Press.

· Mearsheimer, John J. 1994. The False Promise of International Institutions. International Security 19 (Winter):May-49.

· Elman, Colin. 2004. Extending Offensive Realism: The Louisiana Purchase and America's Rise to Regional Hegemony. American Political Science Review 98 (4):563-576.

10/9 – Liberalism

· Keohane, Robert O., and Lisa L. Martin. 1995. The Promise of Institutionalist Theory. International Security 20 (Summer):39-51.

· Ikenberry, G. John. 1989. Rethinking the Origins of American Hegemony. Political Science Quarterly 104 (3).

· Wendt, Alexander. 1992. Anarchy is what states make of it: the social construction of power politics. International Organization 46 (2):391-425.

III - Domestic Sources of Foreign Policy Making

10/14, 10/16 – Presidency and FP

· RS: Chapter 4, Chapter 5

· Lantis, Jeffrey S., and Eric Moskowitz. 2007. The Return of the Imperial Presidency? The Bush Doctrine and U.S. Intervention in Iraq. In Contemporary Cases in U.S. Foreign Policy, edited by R. G. Carter. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.

10/21 – Congress and the Judiciary

· RS: Chapter 11

· Lindsay, James M. 2003. Deference and Defiance: the Shifting Rhythms of Executive-Legislative Relations in Foreign Policy. Presidential Studies Quarterly 33 (3):530-546.

10/23 – Military and Intelligence Community

· RS: Chapters 7-8

10/28 Midterm Exam

10/30, 11/04 – Bureaucracy and FP

· RS: Chapter 6, and Chapter 7

· Wiarda, Howard. 2000. Beyond the Pale: The Bureaucratic Politics of United States Policy in Mexico. World Affairs 162 (4).

IV - Individual and Group Decisions and Foreign Policy Making

11/6 – Government Decision Making: Rational or not?

· RS: Chapter 10

· Allison, Graham. 1969. Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis. American Political Science Review 63 (September):689-718.

V - Societal Participation and Foreign Policy Making

11/11, 11/13 – Domestic Society, Participation, and Elections

· RS: Chapter 12, pgs. 423-429, and Chapter 15

· Sobel, Richard. 2001. Extending the Theory of Public Opinion in American Foreign Policy: Public Opinion as Intervention Constraint. In Readings from American Foreign Policy, edited by D. Bernell. New York: Pearson Longman.

11/18 – Agenda Setting and the Media

· Chapter 16

· Strobel, Warren. 1996. The CNN Effect. American Journalism Review (May).

VI – Contemporary Foreign Policy

11/20 – Security

· Gaddis, John Lewis. 2005. Grand Strategy in the Second Term. Foreign Affairs 2005 (January/February).

· Hendrickson, Ryan C., and Frederick Gagnon. 2007. The United States versus Terrorism: Clinton, Bush, and Osama Bin Laden. In Contemporary Cases in U.S. Foreign Policy, edited by R. G. Carter. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.

· Whitehouse. 2008. The National Security Strategy of the United States. The White House 2008 [cited 2008]. Available from http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.html.

11/25 – Economics

· RS: Chapter 9

· Wade, Robert. 2003. The Invisible Hand of the American Empire. Ethics and International Affairs 17 (2):77-88.

· Policy Paper Due

12/2 – Environment and Human Rights

· Roth, Kenneth. 2004. Setting the Standard: Justifying Humanitarian Intervention. Harvard International Review 2004 (Spring).

· Kuperman, Alan J. 2004. Humanitarian Hazard: Revsing Doctrines of Intervention. Harvard International Review Spring (2004).

· Thernstrom, Samuel, and Lee Lane. 2007. A New Direction for Bush Administration Climate Policy. Environmental Policy Outlook (1).

VII - Conclusions

12/4 – Review and Conclusions

· RS: Chapter 17

· Dueck, Colin. 2004. New Perspectives on American Grand Strategy: A Review Essay. International Security 28 (4):197-216.

· Reading TBD (recent article on the future of US Foreign Policy)