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 » MIT OpenCourseWare » Political Science » American Foreign Policy: Past, Present, and Future, Fall 2002

Calendar

 

CLASS # TOPICS READINGS ASSIGNMENTS / QUIZZES
Theories and Strategies
1 Introduction
2 Overview of American Foreign Policy Since 1914
  • Kennedy, Paul. Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Tables.
  • Oye, Kenneth. Eagle in a New World. Tables.
3, 4, 5 Theories of American Foreign Policy
  • Van Evera, Stephen. "Offense, Defense and the Causes of War." International Security, Vol. 22, No. 4, Spring 1998, 5-43.
  • Walt, Stephen. Chap. 2 in The Origins of Alliances, pp. 17-49.
  • Jervis, Robert. Perception and Misperception in International Politics, pp. 58-84.
  • Isaacson, Walter, and Evan Thomas. The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made, pp. 171-173 and 731-733.
  • Hersh, Seymour. The Price of Power, pp. 108-111.
  • Pearson, David. "The Media and Government Deception." Propaganda Review, pp. 6-11.
  • Beschloss, Michael R. "Foreign Policy's Big Moment." New York Times. April 11, 1999, pp. 4/17.
6, 7, 8 American Interests and Grand Strategies

 
  • Gaddis. Strategies of Containment, pp. 3-53.
  • Van Evera, Stephen. "American Intervention in the Third World: Would Be Better." Security Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, Autumn 1991, pp. 1-24.
  • Posen, Barry R., and Andrew L. Ross. "Competing U.S. Grand Strategies." In Strategy and Force Planning, pp. 115-134.
  • Brooks, Stephen G., and William C. Wohlforth. "American Primacy in Perspective." Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81, No. 4, July/August 2002, pp. 20-33.
  • Ikenberry, G. John. "America's Imperial Ambition." Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81, No. 5, September/October 2002.
  • "American Imperialism, Embraced." The New York Times Magazine, December 9, 2001 (2 pages).
  • Hoge, James F., and Gideon Rose. How Did This Happen? Terrorism and the New War.
  • Ricks, Thomas E. "Empire or Not? A Quiet Debate over U.S. Role." Washington Post, August 21, 2001 (3 pages).
  • Kaufmann, Chaim. "See No Evil." Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81, No. 4, July/August 2002, pp. 142-149.
  • Cooper, Glenda. "U.S. Memos on Rwanda Cited." Boston Globe, August 23, 2001.
  • David, Steven R. "Why the Third World Still Matters." International Security, Vol. 17, No. 3, Winter 1992/93, pp. 127-159.
  • Huntington, Samuel P. "America's Changed Strategic Interests." Survival, Vol. 33, No. 1, January/February 1991, pp. 3-17.
  • Marks, Stephen P. "Promoting Human Rights." In World Security, pp. 295-320.
 First response paper due in sections (2 pages).
America's Major Wars: World War I, World War II, Cold War, & Korea
9, 10, 11 World War I and World War II
  • Paterson, Clifford, and Hagan. American Foreign Policy, pp. 55-62, 68-92, 117-125, 128-136, 141-153 and 173-215.
 Quiz in class.
12, 13 Cold War Origins and Conduct; the Korean War
  • Cold War origins and conduct:
    • Paterson, Clifford, and Hagan. American Foreign Policy, pp. 222-249.
  • Korea:
    • Paterson, Clifford, and Hagan. American Foreign Policy, pp. 266-275.
 Second response paper due in sections (2 pages). Paper topics handed out.
Interlude: U.S. National Security Policy; The Terror War; U.S. Foreign Economic Policy
14 American National Security Policy, 1945-present
  • Jordan, Amos A., William J. Taylor, and Lawrence J. Korb. "The Evolution of American National Security Policy." Chap. 4 in American National Security: Policy and Process, pp. 63-86.
  • Gaddis. Strategies of Containment, pp. 54-197. Review also pp. 3-53.
  • Perry, William. "Preparing for the Next Attack." Foreign Affairs, Vol. 80. No. 6, November/December 2001, pp. 31-45.
15, 16 The U.S. War on Terror
  • Doran, Michael. "Somebody Else's Civil War." Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81. No. 1, January/February 2002, pp. 22-42.
  • "The Uranium Underground." Time, December 17, 2001, pp. 40-45.
  • Chyba, Christopher F. "Toward Biological Security." Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81. No. 3, May/June 2002, pp. 122-137.
  • O'Hanlon, Michael E. "A Flawed Masterpiece." Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81. No. 3, May/June 2002, pp. 47-63.
  • Flynn, Stephen. "America the Vulnerable." Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81. No. 1, January/February 2002, pp. 60-74, skim only.
  • Sanger, David E. "Bush to Formalize A Defense Policy of Hitting First." New York Times, June 17, 2002.
  • Jordan, Amos A., William J. Taylor, and Lawrence J. Korb. "Nuclear Strategy." Chap. 11 in American National Security: Policy and Process, pp. 233- 246
 Outlines/rough drafts of first paper due in class.
17, 18 American Foreign Economic Policy, 1945-1999

 
  • "World Trade: Jousting for Advantage." The Economist, September 22, 1990, pp. 5-25.
  • "World Trade: All Free Traders Now?" The Economist, December 7, 1996, pp. 21-23.
  • "Pakistanis Fume as Clothing Sales to U.S. Tumble." New York Times, June 23, 2002.
  • "Raising Farm Subsidies, U.S. Widens International Rift." New York Times, June 15, 2002.
  • Crosette, Barbara. "Foreign Aid Budget: Quick, How Much? Wrong." New York Times, February 27, 1995, p. A6.
  • Sachs, Jeffrey D. "When Foreign Aid Makes a Difference." New York Times, February 3, 1997, pp. A17.
  • "The Kindness of Strangers." The Economist, May 7, 1994, pp. 19-22.
  • Committee for Economic Development. "The Trade Deficit Harms the U.S. Economy."
  • Rutledge, John, and Deborah Allen. "The Trade Deficit Helps the U.S. Economy." In Trade: Opposing Viewpoints, pp. 175-187.
 First paper due in class (8 pages).
Cold War Crises: Berlin, Taiwan Straits, and Cuba 1962
19, 20 The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis; other Cold War Crises
  • Paterson, Clifford, and Hagan. American Foreign Policy, pp. 291-295 and 335-340.
  • Kennedy. Thirteen Days, pp. 1-106.
  • Kaplan, Fred. "Kennedy and Cuba at 35." Boston Sunday Globe, October 12, 1997, pp. D1-D3.
 Quiz in class.
American Interventions in the Third World
21, 22 The Indochina War, 1950-1975
  • Paterson, Clifford, and Hagan. American Foreign Policy, pp. 315-333 and 340-354.
  • Herring. Chaps. 4 and 7 In America's Longest War, pp. 121-157 and 242-283.
  • Johnson, Lyndon B. "American Policy in Viet-Nam." In The Viet-Nam Reader. Edited by Marcus G. Raskin and Bernard B., pp. 343-351.
  • Sanders, Sol W., and William, Henderson. "The Consequences of 'Vietnam' ." Orbis, Vol. 21. No. 1., Spring 1977, pp. 61-76.
  • Clifford, Clark, and Richard Holbrooke. Counsel to the President, pp. 612-614.
 Outlines/rough drafts of second paper due in class.
23, 24 Other American Interventions: Those of 1900-1934, 1945-1993
  • Paterson, Clifford, and Hagan. American Foreign Policy, pp. 32-51, 97-101, 153-162, 164-167, 379-383, 440-446 and 477-493.
  • Barnet, Richard J. "The Subversion of Undesirable Governments." Chap. 10 in Intervention and Revolution: America's Confrontation with Insurgent Movements Around the World, pp. 264-293.
  • Schraeder, Peter J. "Paramilitary Intervention." Chap. 8 in Intervention Into the 1990s, pp. 131-151. (Focus on pp. 137-149 - "The Reagan Doctrine and Paramilitary Intervention." Skim the rest).
  • George, Alexander L. "Epilogue: The Persian Gulf Crisis, 1990-1991." In Avoiding War: Problems of Crisis Management, pp. 567-576.
 Second paper due in class (8 pages).
The Road Ahead: Current Crises and Future Policies
25, 26 The Cold War's demise; current crises; the future of American foreign policy
  • Huntington, Samuel P. "The Coming Clash of Civilizations: Or, the West Against the Rest." New York Times, June 6, 1993, p. E19.
  • Pollack, Kenneth M. "Next Stop Baghdad?" Foreign Affairs, Vol. 1. No. 2, March/April 2002, pp. 32-47.
  • "In Cheney's Words: The Adminstration Case for Removing Saddam Hussein." New York Times, August 27, 2002.
  • O'Hanlon, Michael E., and Philip H. Gordon, "Is Fighting Iraq Worth the Risks?" New York Times, July 25, 2002.
  • Scowcroft, Brent. "Don't Attack Saddam." Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2002.
  • Kristoff, Nicholas D. "The Real Chinese Threat." New York Times Magazine, August 27, 1995, pp. 50-51.
  • Kagan, Robert. "China's No. 1 Enemy." New York Times, May 11, 1999, p. A27.
  • Freeman Jr., Chas. W. "Preventing War in the Taiwan Strait." Foreign Affairs, Vol. 77. No. 4, July/August 1998, pp. 6-11.
  • Schelling, Thomas C. "What Makes Greenhouse Sense? Time to Rethink the Kyoto Protocol." Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81. No. 3, May/June 2002, pp. 2-9.
  • "Tables by Hannes Adomeit."
  • Krauthammer, Charles. "The Bush Doctrine: ABM, Kyoto, and the New American Unilateralism." Weekly Standard, Vol. 6. No. 36, June 4, 2001.
  • Joffe, Josef. "A Warning from Putin and Schröder." New York Times, June 20, 2000.
  • Seitz, Frederick. "Missile Defense Isn't Rocket Science." Wall Street Journal, July 7, 2000.
 
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