Course Description

This course is designed to provide the student with an introduction to the study of international relations. It focuses primarily upon concepts and perspectives which one may employ in understanding and describing the behavior of nations. The primary objective is to provide the student with some ability to interpret and assess international events from a more general perspective. It is hoped that exposure to various theoretical approaches to the study of international relations will impart to the student skills which are useful in understanding the major contemporary currents of international affairs. The global political arena has changed markedly over the last decade, and understanding some of the major factors behind these changes is a primary goal of this class.

Required Texts

1. Principles of International Politics by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita CQ Press (2000)
2. Globalization. Burnham Press (2001)
3. Selected Pages on the World Wide Web (See Course Outline Below)
     indicates a site to be "browsed".

A word about the coverage of the material will be useful. The readings provide several different approaches to the study of international relations. First, I assume that the student has little background in contemporary foreign affairs, so the Bruce Bueno de Mesquita text Principles of International Politics will supply that context. Secondly, since war and conflict is a major part of what interests and concerns us in international politics, a more detailed examination of several significant trends is undertaken.  First, the rise of international terrorism will be examined.  In addition, we will look at the impact of the information revolution upon the conduct of war, and conflict in general. In addition, the worlds is seeing an unprecedented "globalization" of its economy and the political arenas in which nations interact. These trends dovetail with many recent developments in politics and will be examined to see what the future of International politics may well bring us. In addition, I wish for us to discuss contemporary developments in international relations. As a result, I would like for you to monitor a news source. If you wish, feel free to subscribe to an appropriate newspaper (daily - not weekly magazine), however, I recommend the Web. You might use one or more of the following to keep up with major issues:

• The Christian Science Monitor (not a religious publication for those who have never looked at it)
• National Public Radio (uses RealAudio for those with multimedia capabilities)
• The New York Times
• Reuters News Service (Yahoo!) (quick and frequently updated headlines)
• The Washington Post (Good general newspaper with broad coverage)

and, in conjunction with your Web page topic, you may wish to locate a news source in a country or about a part of the world that interests you. One place to begin looking is

• My Virtual Reference Desk
  • My Virtual Newspaper

Some class discussion of major events will occur as the context seems appropriate. The third source of readings is the Internet. The volume of material out there is growing at an astounding rate. I have selected some which are relevant to the topics we will be discussing. Please browse these and search for other Web pages of interest. A few general places to begin are:

• Poly-Cy (My Guide to Political Science on the Internet)
• Political Science Resources (from Richard Kimber at the University of Keele, UK)
• International Security Network (The Center for Security Studies and Conflict Research)
• CIA World Factbook

Course Requirements

The course requirements for the class are moderate.

• The Midterm will be a mix of short answer and brief essay questions.
• The final exam will also be a mix of short answer and brief essay questions. It will be partially cumulative. (Some specifically identified topics from the first part of the course will be covered again on the final)
• In addition, there will be a 'geography' quiz. As it happens, American students tend to be overly parochial on their understanding and awareness of the world - to the degree that they often do not know where the rest of the world is. Geography as a subject has dwindled from the primary and secondary education curriculum. As a result, I expect students in my IR classes to refresh their knowledge of basic political geography. Please be able to identify on a blank map the largest 100 or so nations. In addition, you are responsible for any geographic place or name mentioned (however briefly) in class. For instance if I briefly mention the strategic importance of the Straits of Hormuz, please be able to identify them on a map. A general set of Maps may be found at the Perry-Castaneda Map Library at UT at Austin
• Lastly, there is a Web Page/Intelligence Analysis assignment due the last week of class. We will discuss the requirements for this paper in class. At this point, let me say that your most straightforward option would be to develop a set of resources related to some specific topic in International politics.
   

  Grading
  Midterm	25%
  Final	35%
  Geography Quiz	15%
  Web Page	25%

Course lecture notes

I use Powerpoint for all of my class lectures, and will provide the powerpoint files to you just prior to class. I recommend getting the files shortly before class since I revise my slides right up until class. In addition, don't bother printing more than about 20 pages ahead of where the class is, since they will change greatly.

• Introduction (printing info) [print through slide # 47]
• Game Theory
• Cognition and Foreign Policy
• Terrorism
• Deterrence
• The Causes of War
• Climate Change

Students with Special Needs

Social Justice Statement

 
 

Course Overview
Week	Topic	Description	Readings
Week 1  1/13-1/15	Course Overview  The World Wide Web	About the study of International Politics.  Introduction to the World Wide Web as the global data and information source of the future.	Principles: pp. 1-81. Get acquainted with:    International Relations and Security Network
Week 2  1/20-1/22	Theory Forces of Change	How we study International Relations. A brief catalog of the major factors behind change in the modern world.  World Population is now .  Clock brought to you by Sunsite	Principles: pp. 82-113. United Nations Population Information Network (POPIN)
Week 3  1/27 - 1/29	Strategy and Rationality	Game Theory and Expected Utility Theory:  "I know that you know that I know that...	Principles: pp. 114-151. Game Theory Examples, Revised by Roger A. McCain, Drexel University  Read the Intro, What is Game Theory,  Prisoner's Dilemma, and Zero-Sum Games sections, then browse the rest.
Week 4  2/3-2/5	A Portfolio of Paradigms	A synopsis of some of the major theoretical perspectives employed to explain international relations.  Realism  Liberalism  Levels of Analysis  Behavioralism	Principles: pp. 152-221. ?
Week 5  2/10 - 2/12	Foreign Policy Decision Making	Learning to describe decisions made by actors.  Bureaucratic Politics. Organizational Process Models Cognition	Irving Janis. Groupthink. pp. (on Reserve in 316 Woodburn) NASA Cognition Lab
Week 6  2/17 - 2/19	Power	Defining Power Excercising Power	Principles: pp. 222-286 The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
Week 7  2/24 - 2/26	Preferences and Decisions	National Interest Midterm: Thurs. Feb 26th.	Principles: pp.287-351\ Midterm Review sheet
Week 8  3/2 - 3/4	Complex Interdependence	The Role of the Global Economy in shaping International Politics	Globalization: pp. Principles: pp.407-445.
Week 9  3/9 - 3/11	The Global Economy	Markets and Money. The Globalization of Politics	Globalization: pp. Principles: pp.446-486.
Week 10  3/16 - 3/18	Spring Break		Catch up...take your books to the beach!
Week 11  3/23- 3/25	Perceptions and Deterrence Non-state Actors and International Terrorism	Deterrence Theory The Growing role of Terrorism in the International Arena. "Si vis pacem, para bellum?"	Principles: pp. 352-378 2002 Patterns of Global Terrorism Report (US Dept. of State)
Week 12  3/30 - 4/1	Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy		Principles: pp. 379-406.
Week 13  4/6 - 4/8	Alliances and International Organizations A New World Order?	Human Rights, Development Foreign Aid  Geography Quiz: Thurs. Apr 8th.	Principles: pp. 487-517. US Dept. of State: Table of Contents for Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002
Week 14  4/13 - 4/15	The Causes of War	Why do we keep doing this to ourselves?	Principles: pp.518-550.
Week 15 4/20-4/22	Technology: the Past and the Future of International Relations	Offense and Defense in International Politics.	Principles: pp. 551-615.
Week 16  4/27 - 4/29	Global Climate Change	A brief examination of potential major sources of political upheaval due to global environmental changes	International Relations and Global Climate Change (Detlef Sprinz and Urs Luterbacher)  Final Review Sheet
Final Exam	Wednesday May 5th at 3:00