Political
Science
POLS 285-2
Problems
of International Relations
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Class time |
: |
Tuesday & Thursday |
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Instructor |
: |
Laman Rzayeva |
|
Office address |
: |
476 Dusable |
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Office phone |
: |
753-1818 |
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Office hours |
: |
Tuesdays and Thursdays |
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E-mail |
: |
Course description.
Welcome to the ever-changing field of
international relations. The world changed dramatically during the previous
decade. The
This course
has three primary objectives. First, as an introductory course it strives to
provide students with a basic understanding of the theories and tools commonly
used for analyzing and explaining international relations. Because
international relations remains a divide field, students will be introduced to
a number of competing world views including realism, liberal idealism,
behavioralism and neoliberalism. Students will also learn about a number of
associated approaches to the study of international relations. Each of these
approaches emphasizes a different determinant of international relations. Each
of these approaches emphasizes a different determinant of international
relations (e.g., perception, rationality or group behavior). Finally, students
will learn the basic terms and concepts used in international relations.
The second
objective of the course is to use the theories and tools learned in the first
section to analyze some of the most serious problems now facing the world. This
semester special attention will be given to terrorism, the use of military
intervention, nuclear proliferation and trade conflict. With each of these
units students will be asked to read a short case that presents a specific
international decision that was made to deal with the issue. Students will be required
to remake these decisions in class as part of a small group case discussion or
a class simulation. Other issues will be discussed as they arise on the pages
of the newspapers, which will be discussed in the class.
The third
objective is to help students develop their abilities to think and argue
logically both orally and in writing. In addition to the tremendous
significance of the issues discussed in class, the greatest benefit the course
may provide to individual students is to give them numerous opportunities to
logically consider international issues and to present their ideas. Toward this
end the course employs a number of highly participatory teaching methods
including: class discussions, news discussions and case debates.
This course
is an introductory course and presumes no background knowledge in the study of
international relations or political science in general. However, the course
does require students to read the course materials when assigned and to
participate regularly in various class exercises and discussions.
Required
1.
Charles W. Kegley, Jr. and Eugene R. Wittkopf. 2005. World Politics: Trends and Transformation, (10th edn.,
This will
be main text of this course. Copies of this book are available for purchase at
the University and Village Common bookstores.
2.
Richard K. Betts (ed.) 2005. Conflict
After the Cold War. Arguments on Causes
of War and Peace. (Pearson Longman). [hereinafter mentioned as “Conflict
after the Cold War”]
This book
will be used for the written assignments (for details see section on written
assignments). Copies of this book are also available for purchase at the
University and Village Common bookstores.
3. Case
studies.
Case
studies will be assigned for various topics covered in the class (for details
see Class Schedule). The majority of the cases are also available at the
bookstores. Some cases are not available in the bookstore! While
copyright laws prohibit the combining of these cases into a course package,
students may make copies of these cases for their individual use. (One copy of
every case will be available in the Reserve Room of the Library).
4. Either Christian Science
Monitor (CSM) OR
New York Times (NYT). Despite its name, the CSM is not primarily a religious newspaper. Studies show that the CSM has the highest percentage of
international news of any American newspaper. Students are encouraged to read
print version of these newspapers. However, their electronic versions are also
available: for CSM it is www.csmonitor.com
and for New York Times it is www.nytimes.com
Discussions
of current events in international relations will be held during the first
10-15 minutes of class every Tuesday. Students are expected to have read the CSM or NYT prior to coming to class
and may be called upon to discuss articles that they have read. Also, material
discussed in class will appear on the examinations.
|
Students are required to read assigned material (be it chapters from
the text book, case studies or news)
"prior to" the day that when these readings are assigned in
the Class Schedule |
5.
Lectures.
Lectures
overlap but not exactly coincide with material covered in the books and case
studies. Students are strongly encouraged to take notes during the class and to
ask questions. Lecture notes will be available online (web link will be given
in the class). Exams will cover material
from text book, case studies and lectures.
Writing Assignments.
Journal of Problems of International Relations.
To maintain
the journal each week each student should pick up two articles from either CSM
or NYT about any international problem. Then for each of these articles student
should write a journal entry composed of a summary (maximum half-double
spaced page) and a commentary (maximum half-double spaced page) where
student should provide his or he analysis of the event / problem covered in
that article. For example, but not limited to, student should write about he or
she found that news interesting, what kind of problem is it, what are goals and
objective actors have, what kind of solution is proposed, to which other events
and developments that event/problem can be related, what kind of implications
for future does it have, which of the theories of IR would be dealing with this
issue or would better explain that issue OR what is basic argument of the
journalist, does journalist support his or her argument by sufficient evidence,
does student agree or disagree with journalist and why.
In total,
each journal entry should be approximately one double-spaced page long. Each
journal entry should also have full reference to the source of the news
(otherwise your journal will be downgraded). Here are examples of different
formatting patterns in which it can be done:
Wingfield,
Nick. "Unraveling the Mysteries Inside Web Shoppers Minds." Wall
Street Journal
OR
William S.
Niederkorn, “A Scholar Recants on His ‘Shakespeare’ Discovery,” New York
Times,
Journal
composed of 20 entries should be submitted on
Journal
should contain two entries from each of the following weeks:
Week 1: Jan
23 -
Jan 29
Week 2: Jan
30 – Feb 5
Week 3: Feb
6 – Feb 12
Week 4: Feb
13 – Feb 19
Week 5: Feb
20 - Feb 26
Week 6: Feb
27 – Mar 5
Week 7: Mar
6 – Mar 12
Week 8: Mar
13 – Mar 18
Week 9: Mar
27 – Apr 2 OR Mar 19 – Mar 26
Week 10:
Apr 3 – Apr 9 OR Mar 27 – Apr 2
First
Short Paper.
For the
first short paper students will write an analytical paper on one chapter from
the “Conflict after the Cold War” book (any chapter from this book except some
chapters – will be explained in the class).
In this
paper students will be required to provide answers to the following questions:
1)
Which of
the problems of the international relations that chapter is dealing with?
2)
At what
level of analysis is it written and why do you think so?
3)
What are
major factors used to explain that problem?
4)
What is
major argument of the chapter (in regard to the international problem with which
it is dealing and why?)?
5)
Which
evidence is used to support that argument, does student find this argument convincing and evidence provided sufficient?
Why?
Thus, this
paper is not summary of the assigned book chapter, but is its analytical
reading in regard to the topics covered in the course. Paper should represent a
whole rather than be divided into sections dealing with each of these
questions. Paper should be 5-6 double-spaced pages long.
First paper
will be worth 10 percent of your total grade. Consequently, answer to each of
the above questions will be worth 2 points/percent. First short paper (as well
as the second one) is due on
Second
Short Paper.
For the
second short paper students will write a paper on any current international
problem. For that purposed students are required to use two of any
international news articles from the CSM OR NYT
and two additional academic sources. Students can benefit from the
“Conflict after the Cold War” for the theoretical analysis of the international
problem. Students can benefit from the NIU Library’s web page on political
science databases for the empirical data for the international problem of their
interest: http://www.niulib.niu.edu:2450/polisci.cfm.
Among them, Academic Univserse has a collection searchable articles from many
news resources: http://www.niulib.niu.edu:2453/universe
. Jstore, Muse Project, ArticleFirst data bases also have rich databases of the
full text journal articles on various subjects.
In their
paper students will be required to provide answers to the following questions:
1) What is an international problem your paper is
dealing with? Why is it important? Which actors are involved in this problem?
2) For this paper student should select one of the
actors involved and analyze this problem only from the perspective of that
selected actor. That is why it should be clearly states which actor is
selected, why is he/she/state/international organization/group is selected?
3) What are goals and objectives of this actor in
regard to this problem?
4) What are at least two alternatives, which that
actor has in order to solve that problem, and what are potential advantages and
disadvantages of each of these alternatives (to the actor for the solution of
that problem).
5) Which alternative the student would recommend
and why? Which of the theories of the international relations can explain
behavior of the actor or the whole pattern of the conflict?
Paper
should represent a whole rather than be divided into sections dealing with each
of these questions. Second paper
should be 5 – 6 double-spaced pages in total and should be properly cited.
Citations must appear either at the bottom of the page, in the text, or
at the end of the paper. A bibliography is required. Not properly cited
papers will be downgraded. For help with citation formats please visit the
following web sites:
http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citation.htm
excellent guide to different citation styles with examples.
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/legacylib/mlahcc.html
MLA citation style
http://library.osu.edu/sites/guides/chicagogd.html
Chicago Manual of style
Second will be worth 15 percent of your total grade. Second short
paper (as well as the first one) is due on
Extra points.
Extra points are points, which will be added
to the total exam grade points for various assignments (if assignment is before
midterm exam, their total points will be added to the total midterm exam
points, if assignment is after midterm, their total points will be added to the
total final exam points). Extra points will allow students to be rewarded for
the extra work for this class.
Extra points will be composed of the quiz points (quizzes will be given in the class either
for news or for the case studies on any days without prior notification) and of
the points for the short papers on
any article from the “Conflict after the Cold War” book in addition to the
article chosen for the first short paper. These short papers should be
approximately 2-3 double-spaced pages long and should include summary of the
book chapter and student’s commentary (what international problem/phenomena is
covered in the chapter, which are major actors, which factors are used to explain this
problem/phenomena, at what level of analysis, what is basic argument of the
author, which evidence is used to support this argument, does student find
argument convincing and why).
Each quiz as well as each short paper will be
worth 4 points. Students can submit as much short papers as they want (and as
book permits).
Plagiarism Statement
According to the NIU Undergraduate Catalog
"Students are guilty of plagiarism, intentional or not, if they copy
material from books, magazines, or other sources without identifying and
acknowledging them. Students guilty of, or assisting others in, either cheating
or plagiarism on an assignment, quiz, or examination may receive a grade of F
for the course involved and may be suspended or dismissed from the
university." In short, all ideas that are not your own or well known must be
footnoted. A general rule is that if the information cannot be found in three
or more commonly available sources it should be footnoted. All direct quotes
must be placed in quotation marks. These guidelines will be enforced. If you
are unsure as to what should be footnoted either play it safe and footnote, or
ask for assistance.
Participation
Participation
is an important part of this course, and as such is required of all students.
The participation grade will comprise 10% of the final grade and is designed to
assess both the quantity and quality of each student's participation in this
collective learning experience. Participation grades will include attendance,
participation in news discussions, participation in cases, and participation in
class. Students who miss any more than 4 classes in total will have a deduction
taken from their participation grade.
Students
who come to the class 15 minutes late and/or leave 15 minutes earlier (without
prior notification of instructor) will be considered as absent.
Note:
Students who fall asleep for more than 5 minutes will also be considered as
absent.
Examinations.
There will
be two examinations, a mid-term and a final. Each examination will be
worth 25% of the semester grade. The
mid-term examination will be held on
Those who
have a schedule conflict, or any other reason not to take the final examination
on May 11, should notify instructor about it at least two days in advance (by
e-mail or in any other written form). Then they may take the examination on
Tuesday May 9, officially from
Each
examination will contain:
Exam study reviews will be
available to students one week before each exam. In addition, review sessions will give
students an opportunity to ask all kind of exam-related questions and to
clarify issues missed in the previous lectures.
Summary Grading and Due dates:
|
Participation = 10 percent of total grade 1st
short paper = 10 percent of total grade 2nd
short paper = 15 percent of total grade Journal of
International Relations = 15 percent of total grade Mid-term
examination = 25 percent of total
grade Final
examination = 25% of total grade |
Midterm – Journals – Short papers
–April 20, 2006 Final – May 11, 2006 Alternate Final – May 9, 2006 |
The Department of
Political Science will recognize, on an annual basis, outstanding undergraduate
papers written in conjunction with 300-400 level political science courses or
directed studies. Authors do not have to be political science majors or have a
particular class standing. Winners are expected to attend the Department’s
spring graduation ceremony where they will receive a certificate and $50.00.
Papers, which can be submitted by students or faculty, must be supplied in
triplicate to a department secretary by February 28. All copies should have two
cover pages – one with the student’s name and one without the student’s name.
Only papers written in the previous calendar
year can be considered for the award. However, papers completed in the current spring
semester are eligible for the following year’s competition even if the student
has graduated.
Under Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, NIU is committed to making reasonable
accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Those students with
disabilities that may have some impact on their coursework and for which they
may require accommodations should notify the Center for Access-Ability
Resources (CAAR) on the fourth floor of the Health Services Building. CAAR will
assist students in making appropriate accommodations with course instructors.
It is important that CAAR and instructors be informed of any disability-related
needs during the first two weeks of the semester.
Undergraduates are
strongly encouraged to consult the Department of Political Science web site on
a regular basis. This up-to-date, central source of information will assist
students in contacting faculty and staff, reviewing course requirements and
syllabi, exploring graduate study, researching career options, tracking
department events, and accessing important details related to undergraduate
programs and activities. To reach the site, go to http://polisci.niu.edu
LINKS
to Relevant Sites:
News Sources:
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE (Paris)
BBC
World News
Chicago
Tribune
Christian
Science Monitor
CNN Breaking News
The
Drudge Report
International
Herald Tribune
Itar-Tass
News Service (Russia)
Kyodo
News (Japan)
The Times (London)
New
York Times
Reuters
World News
Washington
Post
Washington
Times
Xinhua News Service (China)
Terrorism News Sources:
Terrorism Research Center
General Links on
Terrorism
US State Department's Office of
Counterterrorism
US Department of
Defense on Countering Terrorism
EERI Counterterrorism Home Page
& Links
Others Links:
The Kennedy School of
Government Case Program
Electronic Citation Style
Manuals
Evaluating Internet
Sources
Bartlett's Quotations
Tue Jan
17
Distribution of syllabus and explanation of course requirements.
International relations as an academic discipline: development, major debates, subject of study, level of analysis (pp. 14-16, and 59 in particular).
“World Politics”, Chp.
1.
Thu Jan
19 CANCELLED
Tue Jan 24
Discussion of current
news
Case Study: THE
MELIAN DIALOGUE.
This case is
available both from the print reserve, as well as from the numerous web sites.
For example, see http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/melian.htm,
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/GREECE/MELIAN.HTM,
http://www.wellesley.edu/ClassicalStudies/CLCV102/Thucydides--MelianDialogue.html,
http://gainsford.tripod.com/melian.htm.
Thu Jan 26
Realism.
“World Politics”, Chp.
2 (pp 33-38), Chp 15 (pp. 585-583) and
chp.13
Tue Jan 31
Discussion of current
news
Neo-realism
“World Politics” ,
chpts. 2 (pp 38-40), pages 99-100
Thu Feb 2
Liberal idealism
“World Politics”, chp.
2 (pp. 29-33) and chp.14 (pp. 528-556, 564-567)
Tue Feb 7
Discussion of current
news
Neo-liberalism
“World Politics”,
chpt. 2 (pp. 40-45).
Thu Feb 9
Case Study: B.PEW
CASE #170 A- VALUES VS. INTERESTS: THE
US RESPONSE TO TIANANMEN SQUARE.
Tue Feb 14
Discussion of current
news
Constructivism and
Feminism
“World Politics”, page
43, chpt. 2 (pp. 46-52) and chpt. 7 (pp. 240-244)
Thu Feb 16
Individual Level Models: The
Rational-Actor Model of foreign policy decision-making.
Perception . Personality.
“World Politics”, chp.
3 (pp. 69-77, 86-91), chp.11 (p. 403-406).
Tue Feb 21
Discussion of current
news
Group Level models:
Organizational Process and Bureaucratic Politics Models of foreign policy
decision-making.
“World Politics”,
chpt. 3, pp. 78-86.
Thu Feb 23
Group-level models
continued. Groupthink.
“World Politics”, p.
85
Tue Feb 28
Discussion of current
news
Case Study: C.
KSG # 279 : KENNEDY AND THE BAY OF PIGS
Thu Mar 2
Nation- and
society-level determinants of the international relations.
“World Politics”, pp.
60-68, pp. 406-413
Tue Mar 7
Discussion of current
news
System-level theories
of the international relations
“World Politics”,
chpt. 11, pp. 413-420
Thu Mar 9
Behavioralism and
Post-Behavioralism.
“World Politics”,
chpt.2, p. 37
Tue Mar 21
Review session
Thu Mar 23
Mid-term examination
Tue Mar 28
Discussion of current
news
Ethnicity and ethnic
conflict
“World Politics”,
chpt. 6 (pp. 196-206), chp. 7 (pp. 223-240), chp. 11 (p. 420-427)
Thu Mar 30
Case Study: E.
PEW CASE # 374 A- WATERSHED IN RWANDA: THE EVOLUTION OF PRESIDENT CLINTON’S
Tue Apr 4
Discussion of current
news
Terrorism
“World Politics”,
chpt. 11, pp. 427-438, chpt. 15, pp. 578-580
Terrorism (cont.)
Tue Apr 11
Case study : F. KSG CASE:
SEEKING THE EXTRADITION OF MOHAMMED RASHID
Thu Apr 13
Weapons of Mass
Destruction
“World Politics”, chp.
12 , pp. 460-473.
Tue Apr
18
Discussion of current
news
Weapons of Mass
Destruction (cont.)
Thu Apr
20
Due day for the
submission of the short papers (both 1st and 2nd)
Case Study: H.
PEW CASE #359- ATOMIC DIPLOMACY IN THE KOREAN WAR
Tue Apr 25
Case Study: PEW
CASE 228 A: UP IN ARMS, RUSSIAN ROCKETS FOR INDIA
Thu Apr 27
International Political
Economy
“World Politics”,
chapters 8 and 9.
Tue May 2
Case Study: DEPT-FOR-NATURE-SWAPS:
SOLUTION OR IMPERIALISM?
Thu May 4
Tue May 9 Alternate
Final Exam 8 PM or by appointment