Syllabus Fall 2010

The Harvard Kennedy School

International Relations: Theory and Policy

IGA-101
Class Time: Monday & Wednesday, 1:10pm 2:30pm
Location: Starr Auditorium (Belfer Building, 4th floor)
The first day of class is Wednesday, September 1ST.

Stephen M. Walt
Littauer 367
Office Hours MW 2:30-4:00
Assistant: Katie Naeve, L209

Matthew Baum
Taubman 244
Office Hours: X:
Assistant: Jamie Georgia B418

Course Assistants:
Joshua Drake
Daniel Masterson
Objectives: This course provides an introduction to some of the major theoretical perspectives for studying how
states and peoples behave and interact. No prior background in international relations is assumed or required.
Students will acquire some basic analytical tools for understanding and explaining a wide array of international
phenomena, including war, environmental degradation, alliance behavior, international norms, internal conflict,
arms races, and others. Our goal is to help students better understand why we observe certain policy outcomes in
the international arena, and to help you devise policy responses that are consistent with international realities and
thus more likely to succeed.
Course Organization and Requirements: The course will be conducted through a combination of
lectures, in-class discussions, and individual and group assignments. To facilitate more effective
discussions, students in the class will be divided into two separate discussion sections. There will
normally be a formal in-class lecture for the entire class on Monday, followed by a discussion of the
central issues and their policy implications in the smaller sections on Wednesday. Students are expected
to complete all of the required reading prior to each class and come to class prepared to participate fully
in the discussions.
Grades will be based on the following assignments:
1. Policy memo and op-ed
3. Group exercise
4. Final examination
5. Class participation

30%
20%
40%
10%

Course Materials: Readings for the course will be available on the course webpage; materials that are not
available online will be available for purchase from the Course Materials Office. The main textbook, The
Globalization of World Politics, by Baylis, Smith & Owens is available for purchase at the Coop Bookstore.

Class Schedule and Assignments

September 1: Making Sense of a Complex International System [Walt]
S. Walt, The Relationship between Theory and Policy in International Relations, Annual Review of Political
Science (2005), 23-48 [ONLINE]
Note: students with little background in the field should also read Baylis, Smith & Owens, Globalization of World
Politics, pp. 1-89.

September 6: No Class - Labor Day

September 9: Explanatory Traditions in International Relations: Realism, Liberalism, and Social
Constructivism [Walt]
S. M. Walt, International Relations: One World, Many Theories, Foreign Policy, No. 110 (Spring 1998).
[ONLINE]
J. J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (W.W. Norton, 2001), chap. 2.
T. Dunne, Liberalism, in Baylis, Smith and Owens, Globalization of World Politics, 108-122.
M. Barnett, Social Constructivism, in Baylis, Smith and Owens, Globalization of World Politics, pp. 160-73.

September 13, 15: Theories of Strategic Interaction [Baum]

D. A. Lake, Escape from the State of Nature: Authority and Hierarchy in World Politics, International
Security 32, no. 1 (Summer 2007) [ONLINE]
A. A. Stein, Why Nations Cooperate: Circumstance and Choice in International Relations (Ithaca: Cornell
University Press 1990, pp. 3-20. [PACKET]
A. A. Stein, Coordination and Collaboration: Regimes in an Anarchic World, International Organization 36
no. 2 (Spring 1982), pp. 299-324. [ONLINE]
R. Pape, Why Economic Sanctions Do Not Work, International Security 22, no. 2 (Fall 1997). [ONLINE]
D. Drezner, The Hidden Hand of Economic Coercion, International Organization 57, no. 3 (Fall 2003).
[ONLINE]

Discussion topic: Are Economic Sanctions a Useful Policy Tool? For what purpose(s)?
September 20, 22: The Causes of War: Traditional & Rationalist Theories [Walt]
J. S. Levy, The Causes of War and Conditions of Peace, Annual Review of Political Science 1 (1998),
pp. 139-165. [ONLINE]
J. J. Mearsheimer, The Causes of Great Power War, from The Tragedy of Great Power Politics
(W.W. Norton, 2001), pp. 334-359. [PACKET]
S. Van Evera, Offense, Defense, and the Causes of War, International Security 22, no. 4 (1998).
[ONLINE]

B. Posen, The Security Dilemma and Ethnic Conflict, Survival 35, No. 1 (1993), pp. 27-47. [ONLINE]
J. J. Mearsheimer and Z. Brzezinski, Clash of the Titans, Foreign Policy, No. 146
(January/February 2005). [ONLINE]
J. Steinberg, The Administrations Vision of the U.S.-China Relationship, Address to Center for a
New American Security, September 24, 2009, at http://www.state.gov/s/d/2009/129686.htm
T. Wright, How the China Gambit Failed, The Diplomat, July 28, 2010. [ONLINE]

Discussion topic: Will the Rise of China Increase the Risk of War?
September 27, 29: Domestic Politics and International Conflict [Baum]
B. Russett, Grasping the Democratic Peace: Principles for a Post-Cold War World (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1993), pp. 3-42. [PACKET]
M. Baum and P. B. K. Potter, The Relationship between Mass Media, Public Opinion, and Foreign
Policy: Toward a Theoretical Synthesis, Annual Review of Political Science 11 (2008), pp. 39-66.
[ONLINE]
M. Halperin, J. Siegle, and M. Weinstein, The Democracy Advantage: How Democracies Promote
Prosperity and Peace (rev. ed.). (New York: Routledge, 2009), pp. 1-26. [PACKET]
G. W. Bush, Address at 2nd Inaugural, January 20, 2005. [ONLINE]
A. Lieven and John Hulsman, The Folly of Exporting Democracy, from Ethical Realism:
A Vision for Americas Role in the World (2006) [ONLINE]

Discussion topic: Democracy Promotion

October 4, 6: Information, Misperception and Miscalculation [Walt]
J. Fearon, Rationalist Explanations for War, International Organization, 49(3), pp. 379-414. [ONLINE]
R. Jervis. Hypotheses on Misperception, World Politics 20, no. 3, (April 1968), pp. 454-479 [ONLINE]
D. Kahneman and J. Renshon. Why Hawks Win, Foreign Policy 154 (Jan. 2007), 34-38 [ONLINE]
S. Van Evera, Why States Believe Foolish Ideas, (draft ms. MIT, 2002). [ONLINE]
M. Naim, The YouTube Effect, Foreign Policy 158 (January-February 2007). [ONLINE]
F. and H.M. Leverett, The Grand Bargain, Washington Monthly (Aug/Sept/Oct. 2008) [ONLINE]
Bipartisan Policy Center, Meeting the Challenge 2008 (Executive summary) [ONLINE]
R. Takeyh and J. Lindsay, After Iran Gets the Bomb, Foreign Affairs, (March/April 2010) at
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/66032/james-m-lindsay-and-ray-takeyh/after-iran-gets-thebomb
S. Walt, How Not To Contain Iran, foreignpolicy.com, March 5, 2010, at:
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/03/05/how_not_to_contain_iran

Discussion topic: Dealing with Iran

**Note: 1st assignment will be handed out on 10/6 and is due in class on 10/13.**
October 11: No class (Columbus Day)
October 13, 18, 20: Public Goods and Equity Issues [Baum]
E. Ostrom, Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1990), pp. 1-28. [PACKET]
E. Ostrom, A Behavioral Approach to the Rational Choice Theory of Collective Action,
American Political Science Review 92 (March 1998), pp. 1-21.[ONLINE]
Todd Sandler, Global Challenges An Approach to Environmental, Political and Economic
Problems (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 23-51 and 99-129. [PACKET]
R. G. Bell, What to Do About Climate Change, Foreign Affairs 85, no. 3 (May/June 2006). [ONLINE]
D. Victor, Toward Effective International Cooperation on Climate Change: Numbers, Interests,
and Institutions, Global Environmental Policy 6 (August 2006), 90-113. [ONLINE]
M. Betsill and R. A. Pielke, Blurring the Boundaries: Domestic and International Ozone Politics and
the Lessons for Climate Change, International Environmental Affairs 10, 3, (1998), pp. 147-72.
[ONLINE]

Discussion topic: Climate Change

October 25, 27: International Alliances and Security Cooperation [Walt]
S. Walt, Why Alliances Endure or Collapse, Survival 39, no. 1 (1997). [ONLINE]
Todd Sandler, Economics of Alliances: Lessons for Collective Action, Journal of Economic
Literature 39 (September 2001), pp. 869896. [ONLINE]
A. Lobjackas, Funding Squeeze Casts Pall over NATOs Future, Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty Report, June 10, 2010, at http://www.rferl.org/articleprintview/2067992.html
S. Kreps, Elite Consensus as a Determinant of Alliance Cohesion: Why Public Opinion Hardly
Matters for NATO-led Operations in Afghanistan, Foreign Policy Analysis 6, no. 3 (July 2010).
[ONLINE]

Discussion Topic: What Future for NATO?

November 1, 3: International Solutions: the Role of Institutions [Baum]
R. Little, International Regimes, in Baylis, Smith and Owens, Globalization of World
Politics, pp. 296-310.
J. J. Mearsheimer, The False Promise of International Institutions, International Security 19 no. 3
(1994-95). [ONLINE]

J. Dobbins, A Comparative Evaluation of United Nations Peacekeeping, Testimony presented before

the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human
Rights, and Oversight (June 13, 2007), at www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/2007/RAND_CT284.pdf

Discussion topic: How Effective is U.N. Peacekeeping?

November 8, 10: Norms, Laws, and Identities [Walt]
Sikkink, K. and M. Finnemore, International Norm Dynamics and Political Change, International
Organization, Vol. 52, no. 4 (Autumn 1998). [ONLINE]
Thomas, Ward. Norms and Security: The Case of International Assassination, International Security, Vol.
25, no. 1 (Summer 2000). [ONLINE]
Walzer, Michael, Just and Unjust Wars, preface to the 3rd edition. [PACKET]
D. Byman, Do Targeted Killings Work? Foreign Policy, June 2009, at
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/07/14/do_targeted_killings_work
Rules for Drone Wars: Six Questions for Philip Alston, Harpers, June 9, 2010 at
http://harpers.org/archive/2010/06/hbc-90007190

Policy issue: Are Targeted Assassinations and Drone Attacks Legal? Moral? Smart?
November 15: Transnational and Non-State Actors [Walt]
Willets, Peter, Transnational Actors and International Organizations in World Politics, in Baylis, Smith, &
Owens, Globalization of World Politics, 330-349.
G. Sheffer, Diaspora Politics: At Home Abroad (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003), pp. 65110. [PACKET]
Naim, Moises. The Five Wars of Globalization, Foreign Policy, No. 134 (January-February 2003).
[ONLINE]
Kiras, J. Terrorism and Globalization, in Baylis, Smith, and Owens, Globalization of World Politics,
pp. 372-85

** Note: the group project assignment will be handed out on Nov. 15 **

November 17: No Class (time available for preparation of group project)
November 22, 24: Group Project Presentations
November 29 and December 1: The Future of World Politics [Walt & Baum]
Rodrik, Dani, How Far Will International Economic Integration Go? Journal of Economic Perspectives,
Vol. 14, no. 1 (Winter 2000) [ONLINE]
National Intelligence Council, Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World (executive summary), pp. iv-xii,
at http://www.dni.gov/nic/PDF_2025/2025_Global_Trends_Final_Report.pdf
Mueller, John. The Obsolescence of Major War, Security Dialogue 21, no. 3 (1990). [PACKET]

Craig, Campbell, The Resurgent Idea of World Government, Ethics and International Affairs, Vol. 22,
No. 2 (2008), pp. 133-142, at http://www.ciaonet.org/journals/cceia/v22i2/f_0007579_6441.pdf
Zakaria, F. The Rise of the Rest, Newsweek, May 12, 2008 [ONLINE]
Kaplan, Robert. The Revenge of Geography, Foreign Policy, May/June 2009. [ONLINE]

Discussion topic: The Global Agenda in 2025

The final examination will be distributed on December 1 and is due on Dec. 16.