POLITICAL SCIENCE

Political Science 275 – U.S. Foreign Policy

Beth K. Dougherty Spring 2008, 2-4pm MW

Office hours: MI 112B, 2084

Course Content and Objectives

This course covers major issues in American foreign policy, with an emphasis on the post-Cold War period.

Course Reading

There are two texts for this course, available at the bookstore.

Powers, Samantha. A Problem from Hell. New York: Harper, 2004.

Schulzinger, Robert. A Time for War: the U.S. and Vietnam, 1941-1975. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

All other readings are available on reserve, electronically, or for purchase on-line. RESERVE READINGS ARE REQUIRED. If a reading is available electronically, it is noted in the syllabus (ASAP, JSTOR, etc.). We will use a number of case studies, which are available at http://www.guisd.org/case_page.cfm. You must register at this site, and then cases can be purchased for $3 (electronic access) or $5 (hard copy).

You are also expected to read a major daily newspaper, preferably The New York Times, Washington Post or Christian Science Monitor. Subscriptions to the New York Times are available through the bookstore. All three papers are available on-line.

WARNING: There is a lot of reading and writing for this course. If you do not want to do it, please do not take the class. It is simply impossible to cover a subject as broad and detailed as U.S. foreign policy in a single course, so the readings often cover material we will not go over in class. What you get out of this course depends on what you put into it - for the optimum learning experience, you must do the readings.

Course Requirements

4 papers, worth 85% of your grade

You will write three (3) papers, of approximately 8 pages in length: FEB 16 (Truman-Ford); MAR 14 (Carter, Reagan, Bush 41); and APR 11 (Clinton & Bush 43). Each paper is worth 20% of the grade. The fourth paper is on a topic of your choice (approved by me), approximately 12 pages in length. It is worth 25% of your grade. Please see the paper guidelines at the end of the syllabus. Do not skip class in an effort to meet a paper deadline or because you have not finished – you will only annoy me. I only accept email submissions as a way to verify the time you turned it in; you must give me a paper copy or I will not grade the paper. Late papers will lose 5 points a day. You may request ONE extension - if requested in advance and for a legitimate reason. If you are granted an extension, or turn in a paper late for a penalty, any subsequent late work will incur a double penalty (10 points/day). And if you plagiarize, you FAIL THE COURSE.

Class participation, worth 15% of your grade.

You are expected to make informed contributions to discussions, whether they are about current events, the case studies, or the readings. In particular, when we focus on the case studies, you will be expected to be able to answer questions about the case and to defend your position. Please remember that class attendance is vital - failure to attend will lower your participation grade, and in the event of repeated absences I reserve the right to fail you for the course.

COURSE OUTLINE

Jan 17 The first day of class

SECTION I: BASIC CONCEPTS

Jan 22 Themes / Actors / Decision-making models

Reading: Roger Hilsman, “The Case Studies,” pp. 1-35, 53-72.

Jan 24 Guest Lecture: Richard Goldstone

Reading: Goldstone, excerpts from For Humanity: Reflections of a War Crimes Investigator.

Jan 29 Containment

Reading: George Kennan, “Sources of Soviet Conduct;” NSC-68, Sections I-VII” Barton Bernstein, “The Atomic Bombings Reconsidered,” Foreign Affairs 74, 1 (Jan/Feb 1995): 135-152 (ASAP); Melvyn P. Leffler, “America’s National Security Policy: A Source of Cold War Tensions,” excerpts.

Jan 31 The trauma of Iran: from the 1953 overthrow of Mossadeq to the hostage crisis

Reading: Mark Gasiorowski, “The 1953 Coup D’Etat in Iran,” Journal of Middle East Studies, 19, 3 (August 1987): 261-286 (JSTOR); Case # 311 – The Fall of the Shah of Iran; Martin & Walcott, Best Laid Plans, pp. 6-42 (Prologue..); watch: 444 Days to Freedom (96 minutes).

Feb 5 The “special relationship” with Israel / Camp David

Reading: William Quandt, Decade of Decisions, pp. 1-37, 287-300; Quandt, Peace Process, Washington, DC: Brookings (2001): 130-242.

SECTION II: CHALLENGES FROM ASIA

Feb 7 Containment in Asia: Korea & “Red China”

Reading: Schulzinger, Chapters 1-2.

Feb 12 Détente & the opening to China

Reading: Schulzinger, Chapters 3-6.

Feb 14 Planning a tragedy

Reading: Schulzinger, Chapters 7-8.

FEB 16 – PAPER I DUE BY 5pm – Truman – Ford administrations

Feb 19 From the Tet Offensive through Peace with Honor / Cambodia

Reading: Power, Chapters 6-7; Schulzinger, Chapters 10-12.

Feb 21 The lessons of Vietnam (?) / Related hangovers – reining in the CIA

Reading: Fromkin & Chase, “What Are the Lessons of Vietnam?” Foreign Affairs 63 (Spring 1985): 723-746; Stanley Hoffman et al, “Vietnam Reappraised,” International Security 6, 1 (Summer 1981): 3-26. (JSTOR); Case Study #503, Covert Action in Chile 1970-73.

Feb 26 North Korea and nuclear weapons

Reading: Barilleaux & Kim, “Clinton, Korea, and Presidential Diplomacy,” World Affairs 162, 1 (Summer 1999):29+. (ASAP); Watch Kim’s Nuclear Gamble (Frontline, on-line).

Feb 28 ISA - Tiannamen Square: confronting the human rights v. trade debate

Reading: Case #170 – Values v. Interests; Case # 168 – Human Rights and Trade.

SECTION III: INTERVENTION

Mar 12 Lebanon, 1983 / Libya: from the Gulf of Sidra to Lockerbie

Reading: Martin & Wolcott, Chapters 5-6 & 10 (“The Sky is Falling” and “El Dorado Canyon.”).

Mar 14 Hostage-taking in Lebanon and Iran-contra

Reading: The Tower Commission, “What Went Wrong;” Robert Parry and Peter Kornbluh, “Iran-Contra’s Untold Story,” Foreign Policy 72 (Autumn 1988): 3-30. (JSTOR)

MAR 14 – PAPER II DUE IN CLASS – Carter, Reagan, & Bush 41

Mar 19 Dictatorships and double standards: Reagan in Latin America

Reading: Jeane Kirkpatrick, “Dictatorships and Double Standards,” Commentary 68, 5 (November 1979); Wayne Smith, “Lies About Nicaragua,” Foreign Policy 67 (Summer 1987): 87-103. (JSTOR); Doyle McManus, “Dateline Washington: Gipperdammerung,” Foreign Policy 66 (Spring 1987): 156-172. (JSTOR)

Mar 21 The Reagan doctrine & Afghanistan

Reading: Alan J. Kuperman, “The Stinger missile and U.S. Intervention in Afghanistan,” Political Science Quarterly 114, 2 (Summer 1999): 219+. (ASAP)

Mar 26 Angola, apartheid, & Afro-marxism: Reagan in Africa

Reading: Chester Crocker, “South Africa: A Strategy for Change,” Foreign Affairs 59:2 (Winter 1980/81); Ronald Reagan, “Ending Apartheid in South Africa (July 22, 1986),” Department of State Bulletin 86:2114 (September 1986); Michael McFaul, “Rethinking the Reagan Doctrine in Angola,” International Security 14, 3 (Winter 1989): 99-135. (JSTOR)

Mar 28 Intervention in the Gulf / Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait

Reading: Power, Chapter 8; Watch The Gulf War (4 hours, Frontline).

Apr 2 After Iraq – lessons and legacies / The continuing search for Arab-Israeli peace

Reading: Amin Tarzi, “Contradictions in US Policy in Iraq and Its Consequences,” Middle East Review of International Affairs 4, 1 (March 2000) (ciao.net); Denis J. Halliday, “The Impact of UN Sanctions on the People of Iraq,” Journal of Palestine Studies 28, 2 (Winter 1999): 29-38 (JSTOR); Jeremy Pressman, “Vision in Collision: What Happened at Camp David and Taba?” International Security 28, 2 (Fall 2003): 5-43 (ASAP).

Apr 4 The End of the Cold War

Reading: Nikolas Gvosdev, “The Formulation of an American Response to Lithuanian Independence,” East European Quarterly 29, 1 (Spring 1995): 17-42 [ASAP]; Karl Kaiser, “Germany’s Unification,” Foreign Affairs 70, 1 (Winter 1991): 179-205; Eytan Gilboa, “The Panama Invasion Revisited,” Political Science Quarterly 110, 4 (1995-96): 539-561 [JSTOR].

Apr 9 Getting into Somalia / Getting out of Somalia

Reading: Case # 463 – Operation Restore Hope; Case # 464 – Key Decisions in the Somalia Intervention; James Burk, “Public Support for Peacekeeping in Lebanon and Somalia,” Political Science Quarterly 114, 1 (Spring 1999): 53+ (ASAP); [Optional: Watch Blackhawk Down].

Apr 11 Standing by in Rwanda / Dithering over Bosnia

Reading: Power, Chapter 9 -11; Watch Triumph of Evil (60 minutes, Frontline).

Apr 11 – PAPER III DUE IN CLASS – Clinton & Bush 43

Apr 16 the Dayton Accords & Kosovo

Reading: Watch Death of Yugoslavia: Episode 6 (60 minutes, Discovery); Power, Chapter 12, conclusion; Watch War in Europe (120 minutes, Frontline).

SECTION IV: THE AFTERMATH OF 9/11

Apr 23 The emergence of al-Qaeda / Responding to al-Qaeda: the 1998 missile strikes

Reading: The 9/11 Report, Chapters 2-3, 4, 6 (available on-line at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/ ).

Apr 25 Impact of 9/11: The invasion of Afghanistan

Reading: Samina Ahmed, “The United States and Terrorism in Southwest Asia,” International Security 26, 3 (Winter 2001): 79-94 (JSTOR); Watch Return of the Taliban (60 minutes, Frontline, on-line); Larry P. Goodson, “Bullets, Ballots, and Poppies in Afghanistan,” Journal of Democracy 16, 1 (2005) (project muse).

Apr 30 Iraq & the war on terror

Reading: Case # 278 – Going to the United Nations; Watch Truth, War and Consequences (90 minutes, Frontline, on-line); Larry Diamond, “Lessons from Iraq,” Journal of Democracy 16, 1 (2005) (project muse); Seymour Hersh, “Torture at Abu Ghraib,” (May 10, 2004) & “The Gray Zone,” (May 24, 2005), New Yorker (ASAP); Mark Danner, Torture and Truth, New York: New York Review Books (2004): 1-49.

May 2 Catch-up / wrap-up & evaluations

May 5 - FINAL PAPER DUE NO LATER THAN NOON

PAPER GUIDELINES

papers are to be double-spaced, with standard margins, and stapled

papers must include either footnotes or endnotes, following Chicago style. No in-text citations.

papers must include a bibliography

I will return any paper that does not include both citations and a bibliography without a grade.

You should rely on primary sources & documents for your research, using articles and books to fill in the gaps. Such research takes time, so start early! Examples – New York Times, government publications (such as Dispatch / Dept of State Bulletin – see http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/ or the Annual Report on Country Human Rights Practices produced by the State Dept.), Congressional hearings, memoirs by participants. Beloit is a partial government documents depository, so many things are available in the library, and an enormous quantity of USG material is available on-line at the appropriate agency or branch of government.

I am particularly interested in your analysis of the issue. In order to assess any given policy, you must establish its objectives and identify the interests involved; this is where statements of policy-makers in speeches or Congressional testimony is especially valuable. While it is important to include some historical context, the bulk of the paper should be devoted to providing a succinct and coherent overview of the policy and an incisive and clear analysis. Was the policy a success or failure? What accounted for the outcome? What could have been done differently or better?

The grade will be based on the thoroughness of your research, the thoughtfulness of your analysis, the evidence presented to support your position, the accuracy of the historical narrative, the clarity of your writing, and the tightness of your organization.

PAPERS

Truman – Ford administrations – Due Feb 16 – 8 pages – worth 20%

You can choose any issue or policy in the 1945 - 1976 period. A few ideas: the Bay of Pigs or the Cuban missile crisis or CIA efforts to assassinate Castro, the US in Angola in 1975, US involvement in the assassination of Diem (Vietnam,) the Marshall Plan, any Berlin crisis, the invasion of the Dominican Republic in 1965, the US involvement in Indonesia in 1975, US and Egypt’s Nasser, or the Truman or Eisenhower or Nixon doctrines. So many invasions, overthrows, assassinations, wars, scandals and doctrines to choose from!

Carter, Reagan, Bush 41 – Due Mar 14 – 8 pages – worth 20%

You can choose any issue or policy in the 1977 - 1992 period. A few ideas: responses to early terrorism such as the Achille Lauro incident or Lockerbie, the 1983 invasion of Grenada, the Reykjavik summit, the Panama Canal, the Horn of Africa, SALT II or the INF treaty or START, SDI / Star Wars, the reunification of Germany, the invasion of Panama, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US and its UN dues.

Clinton & Bush 43 – Due Apr 11 – 8 pages – worth 20%

Choose any issue or policy 1993 – 2006. A few ideas: any aspect of terrorism policy, Haiti, Darfur, NAFTA, Liberia, the US & the EU, Oslo or Camp David II.

Topic of your choice (approved by me), Due May 5 - ~ 12 pages - worth 25%