POLITICAL SCIENCE 321
United States Foreign Policy
Winter Quarter 2010
M-W-F 10:30-11:20
Communications 120
Professor Stephen Majeski
Communications 044B
543-9648
majeski@u.washington.edu
Office hours: Wed 11:30-12:30, Th 1-2 or by appointment
Course Webpage - http://faculty.washington.edu/majeski/pols321.10/Index.html
Teaching Assistants: Moon Yeong Choi ( mychoi@uw.edu ) and Tim Rich ( richt@uw.edu )
About the course : The purpose of this course is to familiarize the student with the process of American Foreign Policymaking so that she/he can critically evaluate current and future foreign policy decisions. I take this to be an essential aspect of being a "good citizen." In any event there is much to be critical of historical and current U.S. foreign policy. We will not criticize policy based upon what are claimed to be or believed to be "good" or "right" objectives and goals. That is a political and moral decision which each of us must make on our own. Rather, we will analyze and evaluate, attempt to understand, and criticize foreign policy on its own terms. Foreign policy decisions are the product of a history of prior policies, a complex and evolving bureaucracy, a dynamic international political and economic environment, and a set of policy tools and procedures available to policymakers. In order to criticize, evaluate, and understand those decisions and processes, it is essential to examine all these components. We will do so by examining a perspective that understands US foreign policy at least since 1898 as being engaged in acquiring and maintaining an empire of client states and opposing and attempting to punish and eliminate enemies.
Course requirements: There will be one midterm and one final exam. The first exam will account for 30% of the final course grade and the final exam will account for 40% of the final course grade. There will be one short (8 page double spaced limit) paper assignment worth 15% of the final grade [Due Friday 2/26 by 5PM]. The remaining 15% of the final course grade will be based upon individual student contributions to discussion in quiz sections. The discussion sessions have two purposes. The first is to elaborate and/or clarify materials in the reading and the lectures. The second is to provide a structured forum for discussion of current U.S. foreign policy issues. Valued contributions to discussion require being informed. I strongly urge that you read the New York Times or some "comparable: sources on a daily basis. You can view most of the New York Times for "free" on the web at http://www.nytimes.com/
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as the use of creations, ideas or words of publicly available work without formally acknowledging the author or source through appropriate use of quotation marks, references, and the like. Plagiarizing is presenting someone else's work as one's own original work or thought. This constitutes plagiarism whether it is intentional or unintentional. The University of Washington takes plagiarism very seriously. Plagiarism may lead to disciplinary action by the University against the student who submitted the work. Any student who is uncertain whether his or her use of the work of others constitutes plagiarism should consult the course instructor for guidance before formally submitting the course work involved. (Sources: UW Graduate School Style Manual; UW Bothell Catalog; UW Student Conduct Code).
Incompletes
An incomplete is given only when the student has been in attendance and has done satisfactory work until within two weeks of the end of the quarter and has furnished proof satisfactory to the instructor that the work cannot be completed because of illness or other circumstances beyond the student's control. (Source: UW General Catalog 1998-2000, p. 34.)
Disability Accommodation
The University of Washington is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education and employment for individuals with disabilities. For information or to request disability accommodation contact: Disabled Students Services (Seattle campus) at (206) 543-8924/V, (206) 543-8925/TTY, (206) 616-8379/Fax, or e-mail at uwdss@u.washington.edu; Bothell Student Affairs at (206) 685-5000/V, (206) 685-5303/TTY, (206) 685-5335/Fax, or e-mail at uwbothel@u.washington.edu; Tacoma Student Services at (253) 552-4000/V, (253) 552-4413/TTY, (253) 552-4414/Fax.
Required reading materials:
The following books have been ordered and are available at the University Bookstore
Stephen Ambrose, Rise to Globalism (RTG)
David Sylvan and Stephen Majeski , US Foreign Policy in Perspective: Clients, Enemies and Empire (CEE)
Andrew Bacevich, American Empire (AE)
All other reading materials (except those with links to the Web) are available in a reading packet at Professional Copy and Print at 42nd and 15 th Ave – denoted (Reader)
Course Introduction 1/4
I. Continuity in US Foreign Policy – Explaining Policy based upon Means rather than Ends
1/6, 1/8, 1/11 Sylvan and Majeski, (CEE), Chapter 1 Explaining the Continuity of U.S. foreign policy, pp. 1-16.
Graham Allison Essence of Decision (Reader)
II. The American Version of Empire
1/13 Sylvan and Majeski, (CEE), Chapter 2, An Empire of Client States, pp. 17-37.
1/15 Yes there was a US foreign policy before 1900 and it had similarities to that after 1900
Julian Go, “Waves of Empire: US Hegemony and Imperialistic Activity from the Shores of Tripoli to Iraq, 1787-2003, (Reader) International Sociology 2007, pp. 5-7, and 14-29
S. Majeski and D. Sylvan – “ Notes on the Use of U.S. military force abroad in the 1800s and the development of policy tools as the Empire develops from 1898-1917” (Reader)
III. Acquiring Clients States and Defining Enemies
1/20, 1/22 Sylvan and Majeski ( CEE) Chapter 3, Acquiring Client States, pp. 38-75
IV. Post World War II U.S. Foreign Policy: An Explosion in Tools and Responsibilities 1/25, 1/27, 1/29, 2/1
S. Ambrose, Rise to Globalism , Chapters 4-12, pp. 52-253.
Text of NSC-68, http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nsc-hst/nsc-68.htm
V. Maintaining an Empire of Clients and Dealing with Enemies
2/3, 2/5, Sylvan and Majeski (CEE), Chapter 4, "The Routine Maintenance of Client States" pp. 76-107
Mid-Term Exam 2/8
2/10, 2/12, 2/15, 2/17 Sylvan and Majeski CEE, Chapter 5, "Client Maintenance by Interventions" pp. 108-175.
2/19 (No Class) 2/22, 2/24, 2/26 Sylvan and Majeski CEE, Chapter 6, "Hostile Intervention against Enemies" pp. 176-222.
Paper Due Friday 2/26 by 5PM
VI. Recent U.S. Foreign Policy – “two takes”
3/1, 3/3 A. Bacevich, American Empire pp. 32-78, 141-197, 225-244.
C. Johnson, The Sorrows of Empire pp. 15-37, and 151-185 (Reader)
VII Can the US Client Empire be Sustained ?
3/5, 3/8, 3/10 Afghanistan and Iraq (Why, How, and at what cost/gain)
Tom Ricks, Fiasco, pp. 29-111. (Reader)
George Packer, The Assassins' Gate, pp. 100-148 (Reader)
Peter Baker, How Obama Came to Plan for the Surge in Afghanistan
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/world/asia/06reconstruct.html?scp=3&sq=The%20
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties.htm
Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, The Three Trillion Dollar War
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/stiglitz200804
3/12 Sylvan and Majeski (CEE), Chapter 7, "The Persistence of Client-State Imperialism" pp. 223-252
FINAL EXAM – 3/15 (Monday) 8:30-10:30 Communications 120