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More grades are available. See the Blackboard page for details. |
Course Documents |
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| Tools and Review Materials |
Proofreading and Writing Tips: My four spelling/grammar pet peeves and how to avoid them. Publisher's Resources: Includes crosswords, flashcards, practice quizzes, etc. Map Quiz Reviews: These are interactive, but you can also download
pdf files from each of the links to print and study. Resources for Assignment 2: Final Exam Reviews: |
| Lecture Notes |
The World and You Levels of Analysis The International System: World War III? Order and Chaos Dangerous Dyads "States of Concern" The Menu for Choice Theories of International Ethics |
Dates |
Lesson |
Lesson Plan |
| June 8-9 | 1 |
1. Download and read the
course syllabus, paying
particular attention to the course policies. 2. Take the Syllabus Quiz on Blackboard. |
|
June 10-11 |
2 |
1. READ: Chapter 1: pp. 10-13 on 9/11, and pp. 21-25 on the Menu for Choice 2. READ: Chapter 2: all 3. WATCH: Lecture: The World and You (33 mins) 4. DISCUSS: How does IR affect your life? |
|
June 13-14 |
3 |
1. READ: Chapter 1: pp. 13-21 on Levels of Analysis 2. WATCH: Lecture: Levels of Analysis (29 mins) 3. WATCH: Cold War Episode 2: Iron Curtain (YouTube) (46 mins) 4. DISCUSS: What level of analysis best explains the onset of the Cold War? Was it caused by individuals, social groups, characteristics of the US and USSR, interactions between the US and USSR, the European “zone of conflict,” or the structure of the world system (bipolarity)? |
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June 15-16 |
4 |
1. READ: Chapter 4: pp. 77 -98 on Technology and the Global System and Status, Hierarchy, and Polarity 2.WATCH: Lecture: The System Level of Analysis (21 mins) 3. READ: Chapter 5: pp. 105-122 4. READ: Chapter 9: pp. 231-232 on Global Military Presence 5. DISCUSS: Is the world unipolar? What really constitutes power in the modern world system? |
|
June 17-18 |
5 |
1. ASSESSMENT: Geography Quiz 1 -- Europe 1. READ: Chapter 3: pp. 54-64 on the State as International Actor 2. READ: Chapter 8: Table 8.1 on p.198 3. WATCH: Lecture: A Brief History of General Wars (42 mins) 4. READ: Chapter 1: pp. 3-7 on Dropping the Atomic Bomb and Ending the Cold War 5. WATCH: Lecture: The War That Wasn’t (28 mins) 6. DISCUSS: Why Study a War that Didn’t Happen? Why didn’t the Cold War turn into World War III? |
|
June 20-21 |
6 |
1. READ: Chapter 4: pp. 98-103 on Balances and Imbalances of Power 2. READ: Chapter 8: pp. 205-207 on War and the Distribution of Power 3. READ: Chapter 13: pp. 370-395 on Collective Goods and Regimes (you may ignore Box 13.1 for now) 4. WATCH: Lecture: Theories of World War (47 mins) 5. DISCUSS: Which theory is best, what does it predict about the next world war, and how might we prevent it? |
|
June 22-23 |
7 |
1. ASSESSMENT: Geography Quiz 2 -- Americas 2. READ: Chapter 17: pp. 499-501 on The West Has Won 3. READ: Chapter 11: pp. 306-310 on Perpetual Peace (you may ignore Box 11.1 for now) 4.READ: Chapter 11: Figure 11.3 on pp. 322 5. READ: Chapter 14: pp. 418-429 on Globalization 6. WATCH: Lecture: A New World Order? (8 mins) 7. READ: Chapter 11: pp. 299-302 on the Zone of Peace and pp. 320-322 on Zones of Turmoil 8.WATCH: Lecture: Zones of Peace, Zones of Chaos (12 mins) 9. WATCH: Diffusion of Democracy (online) 10. COMPLETE: Assignment 1, Part A. You will need it for the next few discussions. |
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June 24-25 |
8 |
1. READ: Huntington (On Blackboard) -- A Clash of Civilizations? 2. READ: Chapter 11: pp. 501-504 on Culture Clash and Globalization and Fragmentation 3. READ: Chapter 6: pp. 142-144 on Political and Strategic Culture 4. WATCH: Lecture: A Clash of Civilizations? (45 mins) 5. DISCUSS: Using the map from Assignment 1, do conflicts tend to fall along the same "fault lines" as those posited by the Clash of Civilizations argument? Is the Islamic civilization "bloodier" than the others? |
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June 27-28 |
9 |
1. READ: Forsberg (On Blackboard) -- Contagion of Ethnic Conflict: pp. 1-10 only 2.WATCH: Lecture: Contagion I -- Conflicts (33 mins) 3. DISCUSS: Using your map, are most conflicts located in "clusters" or are they more or less randomly distributed? Does "contagion" explain the patterns of war any better or worse than Clash of Civilizations? |
|
June 29-30 |
10 |
1. ASSESSMENT: Geography Quiz 3 -- Africa 2. READ: Chapter 1: pp. 7-10 on the Asian Financial Crisis 3. READ: Chapter 15: pp. 450-452 on Dealing With Financial Crises 4. READ: Dornbusch and Claessens (on Blackboard), Contagion: pp. 2-6 only 5. WATCH: Lecture: Contagion II – Economics (20 mins) 4. DISCUSS: How well do the areas of peace and war on your map correspond to high/low growth levels, high/low economic development levels, and high/low economic freedom levels? |
| July 1-2 | 11 |
1. READ: Chapter 11: pp. 315-320 on Integration and Peace 2. READ: Chapter 14: pp. 397-418 on European Union and Emerging Economic Blocks (ignore Box 14.1) 3. WATCH: Lecture: Security Communities (21 mins) 4. DISCUSS: How well does the "security community" concept explain the zones of peace/conflict on your map? Consider alliances (NATO and ANZUS), trade organizations (see lecture notes), and areas of freedom (inside cover of your textbook). |
|
July 5-7 |
12 |
1. READ: Chapter 5: pp. 123 – 134 on Diplomatic Influence and Military and Economic Influence 2. WATCH: Lecture: The Puzzle of Dyadic Interaction (20 mins) 3. COMPLETE: Assignment 1, Part B. To receive full credit, it must be postmarked or handed in by Friday, July 8. |
|
July 8-9 |
13 |
1. ASSESSMENT: Geography Quiz 4 -- Asia 2. READ: Chapter 4: pp. 76-77 on the Geopolitical Setting 3. READ: Chapter 8: pp. 198-205 on Conflict Between States (ignore Box 8.1) 4. READ: Chapter 9: pp.227-231 on Arms Races 5. WATCH: Lecture: The Spiral to War (29 mins) 6. DISCUSS: What types of data do we need to collect to construct an "early warning system" for war? If we notice that a particular dyad is at risk for escalation (given the factors listed in the lecture and the readings) is there anything we can do about it? |
|
July 11-12 |
14 |
1. READ: Chapter 11: pp. 302-306 on the Democratic Peace and pp. 310-313 on Economic Interdependence 2. READ: Chapter 12: pp. 333-336 on Approaches to Political Economy 3. READ: Chapter 13: pp. 363-370 in Interdependence and International Trade 4. WATCH: Lecture: Pathways to Peace (27 mins) 5. DISCUSS: Does the list of factors that promote peace accurately predict which countries the US is friendly toward and which countries it views as threats? |
|
July 13-14 |
15 |
1. READ: Chapter 7: pp. 163-169 on Rational Decision-Making (esp. Box 7.1) 2. WATCH: Lecture: Winners and Losers (43 mins) 3. READ: Chapter 8: Box 8.1 on pp. 201-202 4. READ: Chapter 9: pp. 240-248 on the Security Dilemma (including Box 9.1) and Box 9.2 on p. 252 5. READ: Chapter 11: Box 11.1 on pp. 307-309 6. READ: Chapter 13: Box 13.1 on p.372 7. READ: Chapter 14: Box 14.1 on pp. 412-413 8. READ: Chapter 12: pp. 336-342 on Economics and Statecraft 9. REVIEW: Chapter 5: Box 5.1 on Bargaining on pp.128-129 10. WATCH: Golden Balls: Split or Steal? 11. DISCUSS: What is the Nash equilibrium of "Split or Steal?" Were the players playing rationally? |
|
July 15-16 |
16 |
1. READ: Chapter 9: pp. 233-238 on Weapons of Mass Destruction and pp. 249-253 on Deterrence 2.WATCH: Lecture: Deterrence or Destruction? (38 mins) 3. DISCUSS: Which is more important today -- reinforcing American nuclear forces or negotiating new nuclear disarmament treaties? 4. BEGIN: Work on Assignment 2 over the weekend. You should complete the history of the rivalry and how it has evolved in recent years. |
|
July 18-19 |
17 |
1. READ: Chapter 3: pp. 67-70 on IGOs 2. READ: Chapter 11: pp. 313-315 on International Organizations 3. REVIEW: Chapter 4: pp. 85-87 on alliances 4. DISCUSS: What could be done to improve US relations with Iran, given what you now know about dyadic relations? |
|
July 20-21 |
18 |
1. READ: Chapter 3: pp. 51-53 on Nationalism 2. READ: Chapter 8: pp. 219-222 on International Terrorism 3. READ: Chapter 9: pp. 238-240 on Proliferation and pp. 253-260 on Arms Control and Disarmament 4. READ: Chapter 10: pp. 267-272 on Law and the War on Terrorism and pp. 277-279 on Compliance With International Law and pp. 280-283 on International Human Rights 5. READ: Chapter 11: pp. 322-325 on Dangerous Democratic Transitions 6. WATCH: Lecture: “Rogue States” (31 mins) 7. DISCUSS: What is it that the states we call “rogue” actually have in common? In other words, why do people use the phrase at all? 8. REMINDER: Assignment 2 is due in a week! |
|
July 22-23 |
19 |
1. READ: Chapter 16: pp. 465-492 on the international environment 2. READ: Chapter 8: pp. 208-218 on Conflict Within States and Unconventional Conflict 3. WATCH: Lecture: Failed States (24 mins) 4. DISCUSS: This editorial arguing that global warming will spark new wars. We don't care about why/if the warming occurs, only the consequences should it come to pass. 5. REMINDER: Continue work on Assignment 2. You should now be looking for data on the characteristics of the rivalry. |
|
July 25-26 |
20 |
1. READ: Chapter 3:pp. 64-66 on All States are Equal… and pp. 70-73 on NGOs and MNCs 2. READ: Chapter 15: all 3. WATCH: Lecture: The Poverty Trap (45 mins) 4. DISCUSS: What cultural factors might play a role in the success or failure of development? |
|
July 27-28 |
21 |
1. READ: Chapter 11: pp. 325-328 on Democratic Peace…Through Force? 2. WATCH: Lecture: Nation-Building (28 mins) 3. COMPLETE: Assignment 2. It must be received via Blackboard's Assignment tool by July 28. |
|
July 29-30 |
22 |
1.READ: Chapter 6: pp. 135-141 2. READ: Chapter 7: pp. 169-190 on decision-making below the state level of analysis 3. READ: Chapter 8: pp. 193-198 4. WATCH: Film: No End in Sight (102 mins) -- Be sure to take notes about who made what important decisions, how the decisions were reached, and why they were made. These notes will provide you with the evidence you need to support your answer to the discussion question. 5. DISCUSS: Which decision-making model from the text best describes decision-making in the run-up to and in the six months following the conventional phase of the Iraq War? |
|
Aug 1-2 |
23 |
1. WATCH:
Lecture: The
Menu for Choice (42 mins) 2. READ: Xavier Marquez, “A Simple Model of Cults of Personality” (Online) 3. WATCH: Inside North Korea (On YouTube) (46 mins) 4. DISCUSS: How does selectorate theory explain both the ability of Kim Il Sung, his son Kim Jong Il, and possibly his son Kin Jong Un to retain power for more than 65 years despite the horrific conditions in the country AND the obviously excessive and over-wrought public devotion to them shown by North Koreans? Why would leaders with firm control need obviously insincere praise? |
|
Aug 3-4 |
24 |
1. READ: Chapter 6: pp. 144-162 2. READ: Chapter 12: pp. 342- 355 on the Political Economy of Defense 3. COMPLETE: Foreign Policy Survey 4. WATCH: Lecture: American Foreign Policy (30 mins) 5. DISCUSS: What category are you, and how well does the foreign policy survey describe your beliefs? In what ways do you depart from the category used to describe you? |
|
Aug 5-6 |
25 |
1. READ: Chapter 16: pp. 492-497 on Obligations and Rights 2. READ: Chapter 10: pp. 261-263 on Ethics, Law, and War 3.WATCH: Lecture: Theories of International Ethics (34 mins) 4. DISCUSS: What moral obligations does the United States have to other states -- or to their people? Is there an ethical duty to follow any particular foreign policy? |
| Aug 8-9 | 26 |
1. READ: Chapter 10: pp. 263-266 on Just Wars, pp. 272-280 on International Law and Human Rights and Human Wrongs, pp. 283-298 2. WATCH: Lecture: International Law (16 mins) 3. DISCUSS: Should the United States follow the laws of war, as put forth in the textbook and lecture? 4. REVIEW: All of your notes from the readings and lectures. The Review Guides (see Course Documents above) may be useful. |
|
Aug 8-10 |
EXAM | ASSESSMENT: Final Exam |