Charles Lipson
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E-mail: [email protected]

 

Charles Lipson

Peter B. Ritzma Professor

Political Science Department

University of Chicago

5828 S. University Ave.

Chicago, IL 60637
 

Introduction to International Relations

Political Science 290 & 398
Charles Lipson
University of Chicago
Syllabus, Autumn 2011

Course Time: 10:30 til 11:50--Tuesday, Thursday Prof. Lipson's office is Pick 418b
Classroom: Social Sciences 122 (new classroom) Office Hours: Wednesdays, 3-4:30
  E-mail: [email protected]
Sections assigned in second or third week after class registration is complete. In e-mails about this course, please put PS290 somewhere in subject line.
Course Description and Administrative Details
Key Terms: IR  IPE
The goal of this course is to introduce major issues, questions, and theories about international politics. The focus is on the modern world from World War I onward and on recent theorizing about international relations. There are no prerequisites for taking the course. It should provide a solid grounding for other courses in international politics and modern history.

Books are available at UC/Barnes & Noble Bookstore and the Seminary Cooperative Bookstore.

All materials are available at the Regenstein. Books are available as physical copies and can be checked out for short periods.

Electronic copies are available at the course's Chalk site, in one of two locations:

  • Documents listed as "PDF at Chalk" can be found under course documents at the Chalk site.
  • Documents listed as "electronic reserves" can be found under electronic reserves at the Chalk site.

Undergraduates normally enroll in PS 290, grad students in PS 398.

All students receive letter grades unless they have advanced written permission from Prof. Lipson. This permission must be sought before the mid-term exam.

Graduating this quarter? If you are, please let your TA and Prof. Lipson know before the mid-term. You must take an early final exam, which will be given on Thursday of reading period.

Grades for this course are based on a midterm and final. The final covers the entire course and counts slightly more. Students who participate regularly in sections will be given positive credit. Both exams are written in class without books, notes, or other aids. Foreign-language students or students with learning disabilities will be given some additional time to complete these exams. Our goal, after all, is to examine your understanding of international politics, not your ability to write English quickly!

Undergraduate sections meet once each week. Sections are usually assigned in Week 2 (and sometimes in Week 3).

Depending on the number of graduate students, there may be a graduate section, conducted by Professor Lipson.

This course uses multimedia extensively. Class presentations include computerized versions of my lecture notes, maps, graphs, historical photos and paintings, and newspapers from relevant periods. To give a flavor of the historic periods we cover, the class presentations include propaganda posters and political cartoons.

Lectures and Readings:

"People have now-a-days got a strange opinion that everything should be taught by lectures. Now, I cannot see that lectures can do so much as reading the books from which the lectures are taken."
      --Samuel Johnson in Boswell's Life of Johnson

Each topic on the reading list is the subject of one or two class sessions (that is, lectures). For example, there are two lectures on first topic, "Building International Relations Theory."

Slides for each lecture are posted on Chalk, under "Labs/Lectures." Slides are in PDF format and are posted shortly after each lecture.

Theoretical Issues in International Relations
Key Terms in International Relations Theory
Key terms in IR theory and security policy. This is not a comprehensive list, but it should be helpful. I will cover most of these terms in the first two lectures.
Some (but not all) of these terms are in the three glossaries listed below. These glossaries are very thorough and list many other terms that are useful in the course.
 Joseph S. Nye, Jr, and David A. Welch, Understanding International Conflicts (8th ed.; New York: Longman, 2011), glossary at back of the book Required book
PDF of glossary at Chalk
 Henry R. Nau, Perspectives on International Relations: Power, Institutions, and Ideas (Washington, DC: CQ Press), pp. G-1-13 PDF of glossary at Chalk
 Steven L. Lamy et. al., Introduction to Global Politics (NY: Oxford University Press, 2011), glossary, pp. 437-450 PDF of glossary at Chalk
Alliances
Anarchy
Balance of Power
Clash of Civilizations
Collective action
Collective security
Compellence
Defense
Democratic peace
Deterrence
Empire
Free riding 		Ideology
IGOs
Imperialism
International law
Intervention
MIDs: Militarized Interstate Disputes
Multilateralism
National Interest
Nationalism
NGOs
Polarity
Power		 Preemption
Prevention
Security Dilemma
Sovereignty
Stability-Instability Paradox
State capabilities
State intentions
States
Terrorism
Unilateralism
War
Westphalian system
I.
Building International Relations Theory
Sessions 1, 2

 Robert J. Art and Robert Jervis, "Anarchy and its Consequences," editors' introduction in Robert J. Art and Robert Jervis, eds., International Politics (10th ed.; NY: Longman, 2011).
Note: Some articles are available in earlier editions of Art and Jervis, but some are not.

Required book
Latest edition on order
Recent edition:
JZ1242.I574 2010

 Kenneth N. Waltz, "The Anarchic Structure of World Politics," in Art and Jervis, International Politics. Required book

 Joseph S. Nye, Jr, and David A. Welch, Understanding International Conflicts (8th ed.; New York: Longman, 2011), Chapters 1-2.
Note: Previous editions of this book, by Nye as a single author, are fine for the assignments in this course..

Required book
Latest edition on order
Recent edition:
D359.N56 2000

NOTE: No sections during Week 1.  Sections are normally assigned during Week 2.
II.
Alternative Theories of International Relations
Sessions 3, 4

 John J. Mearsheimer, "Anarchy and the Struggle for Power," in Art and Jervis, International Politics.

Required book
PDF at Chalk
 Alexander Wendt, "Anarchy Is What States Make of It," in Art and Jervis, International Politics. Required book
PDF at Chalk
 Kenneth Oye, "The Conditions for Cooperation in World Politics," in Art and Jervis, International Politics. Required book
PDF at Chalk
 Michael W. Doyle, "Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs," in Art and Jervis, International Politics. Required book
PDF at Chalk
 Robert Keohane, "Realism, Institutionalism, and Cooperation," in After Hegemony (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984), pp. 7-11. PDF at Chalk

 Samuel P. Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations?" (excerpt from book).

PDF at Chalk
Security Issues in the Modern World
III.
Major Wars of the Modern Era: What Caused World War I
Session 5

 Robert J. Art and Robert Jervis, "The Uses of Force," in Art and Jervis, International Politics.
               This assignment refers only to Art and Jervis's brief introduction to this section of the book.

Required book
PDF at Chalk
 Nye and Welch, Understanding International Conflicts, Chapter 3 (Balance of Power and World War I). Required book
IV.
Peace Settlements: Why Some Work and Some Don't
Session 6

 G. John Ikenberry, After Victory: Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Rebuilding of Order After Major Wars (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001), Chapter 1 (Problem of Order); Chapter 5 (Settlement of 1919).

Required book
D363.I46 2001

V.
Cold War: How the Cold War Was Fought
Session 7

 Ikenberry, After Victory, Chapter 6 (The Settlement of 1945).

Required book
PDF at Chalk
 Nye and Welch, Understanding International Conflicts, Chapter 5 (Cold War). Required book
VI.
 Terrorism and Other Challenges after the Cold War
Session 8

 Robert A. Pape, "The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism" in Art and Jervis, International Politics.

Required book
PDF at Chalk
Bluebox Max Boot, “Suicide by Bomb: Misunderstanding a weapon in the terrorists’ arsenal,” Weekly Standard, August 1, 2011. PDF at Chalk
 Bruce Hoffman, "What is Terrorism?" in Art and Jervis, International Politics. Required book
PDF at Chalk

 Audrey Kurth Cronin, "Ending Terrorism," in Art and Jervis, International Politics.

Required book
PDF at Chalk
VII.
 Asymmetric Wars and Counterinsurgencies
Session 9

 Andrew Mack, “Why Big Nations Lose Small Wars: The Politics of Asymmetric Conflict.” World Politics vol. 27, no. 2 (January 1975), pp. 175-200.

PDF at Chalk
VIII.
Nuclear Weapons: Deterrence and Proliferation
Session 10

 Scott D. Sagan and Kenneth N. Waltz, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Nenewed (2nd ed.; NY: W.W. Norton, 2003),  whole book. ( Do not use the first edition).

Required book
 Graham Allison, "Nuclear Disorder: Surveying Atomic Threats," Foreign Affairs, vol. 89, no. 1, January/February 2010, pp. 74-85. PDF at Chalk

 Gregory L. Schulte, "Stopping Proliferation before It Starts - How to Prevent the Next Nuclear Wave," Foreign Affairs, vol. 89, no. 4, July/August 2010, pp. 85-95.

PDF at Chalk
IX.
The Post-Cold War World: Realms of War, Realms of Peace
Session 11

 Charles Lipson, Reliable Partners: How Democracies Have Made a Separate Peace, (Princeton University Press, 2003), Introduction: The Argument in a Nutshell; Conclusion.

PDF at Chalk, or
Electronic reserve
 Nye and Welch, Understanding International Conflicts, Chapter 2, section on "Liberalism." Required book
                                                 Mid-Term Exam
Sessions 12

The mid-term exam will be given in class on Tuesday of week 7 (Nov. 8). It lasts for 1:20, the regular length of the class.

Please bring your own (unmarked) blue books to class for the mid-term and the final exam.

On this exam (and on the final), students may not use books, notes, or computers. The exam covers both assigned readings and lectures.

What the exam looks like:  Both the midterm and final come in two parts:
     (a) brief identification questions (about 10-12 of them), and
     (b) 2 longer essay questions (chosen from 3 or 4 questions).

The first part of the exam is a brief series of identification questions, which require only one or two word answers. For example, they might ask the name of a treaty ending a particular war. Or they might provide a definition and ask what it refers to. Or they might ask you to name a specific leader or scholar. In short, they will range quickly across the readings. This part of the exam counts for approximately 20% of the total.

The bulk of the exam (approximately 80%) consists of two longer essay questions on major topics in the course. Students select the 2 questions they will answer from a menu of 3 or 4 questions. These questions focus on the central themes in the first half of the course. They ask you to discuss critically the assigned readings and lectures and to synthesize your views on major topics.

The exam lasts 80 minutes, the normal class period. Students will be given extra time, at their request, if they lack native fluency in English or have specific learning disabilities. Students needing extra time do not need to ask in advance; you can ask on the day of the exam itself. (The final exam has the same format, but lasts 2 hours.)
Make-Up Mid-Term Exam

Make-up mid-term exam: Given only once, immediately after class exactly one week after the regular midterm. The procedures for taking it are spelled out below.

Explanation and procedures: Some students must miss the regular exam date because of illness or other excusable reasons. Students may take a make-up only after they have received Prof. Lipson's written permission. They should seek that permission before the regular exam is given.

How to Request a Make-Up: Students must make a written request for a make-up exam and clearly state why the regular exam could not be taken (for example, a serious family illness). This email request must be sent to three people in a single email:

  1. Me
  2. Your TA, and
  3. Your college adviser.

I will respond to that email, saying whether or not you have permission to take the make-up exam, and will copy my response to your TA and college adviser.

When is the Make-Up Exam Given?
The make-up exam is given only once, on the first Thursday after the regular exam, immediately after the regular class lecture that day. It will last 80 minutes. Please bring 2 bluebooks.
Politics of the the World Economy
Key Terms in International Political Economy (IPE)
Key terms in IR theory and security policy. This is not a comprehensive list, but it should be helpful. I will cover most of these terms in the first two lectures.
Some (but not all) of these terms are in the two glossaries listed below. These glossaries are very thorough and list many other terms that are useful in the course.
 Joseph S. Nye, Jr, and David A. Welch, Understanding International Conflicts, glossary at back of the book PDF of glossary, Chalk
 Henry R. Nau, Perspectives on International Relations: Power, Institutions, and Ideas (Washington, DC: CQ Press), pp. G-1-13 PDF at Chalk
 Steven L. Lamy et. al., Introduction to Global Politics, glossary, pp. 437-450 PDF of glossary, Chalk
 Robert O. Keohane,"International Cooperation." In Encyclopedia of Global Change. Ed. Andrew S. Goudie. Oxford University Press 2001. PDF at Chalk

Absolute advantage
Beggar-thy-neighbor policies
Bretton Woods system
Classical liberalism
Common Market
Comparative advantage
Customs Union
Dumping
Embedded liberalism
Export-led industrialization
Factor mobility

 Free Trade Area
GATT
Globalization
Hegemonic Stability Theory
Hegemony
IGOs
Imperialism
Import-substituting industrialization
Integration
Interdependence
Mercantilism		 Most-favored-nation treatment (Normal/Ordinary Trading Status)
Non-state actors
Non-Tariff Barrier
Regional Trading Arrangements (or Preferential Trading Area)
Sector-specific factors of production
Tariff
Trade Creation
Trade Diversion
Transnationalism
WTO
X.
Basic Issues and Institutions in International Political Economy
Sessions 13

 Robert Skidelsky, "The Growth of a World Economy," in Howard and Louis, Oxford History of the Twentieth Century, pp. 50-62.

PDF at Chalk
 Nye and Welch, Understanding International Conflicts, Chapter 8 (Information Revolution and Transnational Actors) and Chapter 9 (What Can We Expect in the Future?) Required book
PDF at Chalk
XI.
Establishing a Global Economy after World War II
Session 14

 Ikenberry, After Victory, pp. 239-56
               please review these pages, which were part of the assignment for Session 8.

Required book
 Robert O. Keohane, "Hegemony in the World Political Economy," in After Hegemony (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984), pp. 31-41; 46. PDF at Chalk

 Jeffrey A. Frieden, Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century (NY: W. W. Norton, 2006), Preface plus Chapters 12, 13, 20..

Required book
PDF at Chalk
HF1359.F735 2006
XII.
The Debate over Globalization
Session 15
 Ayse Kaya Orloff, "Globalization," in Richard M. Valelly, ed., Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History, vol. 7: The Clash of Conservatism and Liberalism, 1976 to Present (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2010), pp. 187-190. PDF at Chalk

 Jeffrey Frankel, "Globalization of the International Economy," in Art and Jervis, International Politics.

Required book
PDF at Chalk
 Nye and Welch, Understanding International Conflicts, Chapter 7 (Globalization and Interdependence). Required book

 Russ Roberts, “Roberts on Smith, Ricardo, and Trade,” transcript of EconTalk podcast, February 4, 2010 (a clear discussion of the economic logic of global trade) http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2010/02/roberts_on_smit.html

PDF at Chalk
Audio File at Chalk

XIII.
European Unity?
Session 16

 Anne Deighton, "The Remaking of Europe," in Howard and Louis, Oxford History of the Twentieth Century.

PDF at Chalk
 Andrew Moravcsik, The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998), pp. 3-10. PDF at Chalk

 Andrew Moravcsik, "Quiet Superpower: The EU as a Global Actor," Global Europe, September 2009

PDF at Chalk
XIV.
Environment and Energy asTransnational Political Issues
Session 17
 Elinor Ostrom, "Commons."  In Encyclopedia of Global Change. Ed. Andrew S. Goudie. Oxford University Press 2001. PDF at Chalk

 Garrett Hardin, "The Tragedy of the Commons," in Art and Jervis, International Politics.

Required book
PDF at Chalk
 Liz Fisher, "Environmental Governance." In Encyclopedia of Global Change. Ed. Andrew S. Goudie. Oxford University Press 2001.  
 David G. Victor and Linda Yueh, "New Energy Order: Managing Insecurities in the Twenty-First Century," Foreign Affairs , Vol. 89, No. 1, January/February 2010, pp. 61-73. PDF at Chalk
 David G. Victor, "International Cooperation on Climate Change: Numbers, Interests, and Institutions"  in Art and Jervis, International Politics. Required book
PDF at Chalk

NOTE ON LECTURES AND SECTIONS DURING THANKSGIVING WEEK:
Lectures: yes for Tuesday, no for Thursday
Sections: yes for Monday and Tuesday; no for rest of week
XV.
Conclusions
Session 18
No additional readings.
Final Exam (2 hours, in class)

DATE: Exam week. The specific day and date are set by Registrar's office. Given in our regular classroom .

Early Final (with prior written permission only): Thursday of reading period, in our regular classroom, beginning at the regular class time. It lasts 2 hours.  
In years when I need to give an early final for graduating seniors, then any other students may also take it, if they wish.
To find out if I am giving an early final this year, please ask me in person or by email.
Then, if you wish to take this early exam instead of the regular one, let your TA and me know in advance, and we will give you written permission. You do not need to notify us until the week before Thanksgiving.

Make-up final (with prior permission only): First Thursday of new quarter, 9:30-11:30 (Pick 407)

What the final exam looks like:  The exam covers the entire course and comes in two parts, just like the midterm:
     (a) 10 or so brief identification questions;
     (b) 2 longer essay questions.

The final exam is given in our classroom (at the time listed above) and follows the same format as the midterm, but with more time for the answers. The final exam covers material from the entire course, including both readings and lectures. Students may not use books, notes, or computers.

The first part of the exam is a brief series of identification questions, which require only one or two word answers. For example, they might ask the name of a treaty ending a particular war. Or they might provide a definition and ask what it refers to. Or they might ask you to name a specific leader or scholar. In short, they will range quickly across the readings.

The bulk of the exam is two longer essay questions on major topics in the course. Students select the 2 questions they will answer from a menu of 3 or 4 questions. These questions focus on the central themes of the course and ask you to synthesize your views and analyze those of major authors. To prepare for these questions, concentrate on the most important elements of the course, review the readings and lectures, and draw them together in thoughtful ways that illuminate the major issues in the course. The questions may cover international relations theory, security issues, and international political economy.

The exam lasts 2 hours. Students will be given extra time, at their request, if they lack native fluency in English or have specific learning disabilities. Please bring your own blue books to class for the final exam.
Early Final Exam

Early final exams: I will let you know when I have decided whether to give an early final exam. If I do give an early exam, I will only give it at one time, on Thursday during the Reading Period (that is, two days after the last lecture, which is on Tuesday). The early final is the same length as the regular final and has the same format. It begins at our regular class time, in our regular classroom, and lasts for two hours. It has the same format as the regular final: a series of ID questions and two essays..

Who is eligible to take the early final? Any student who wishes to do so. Students graduating this quarter must take the early final .

Request permission in writing to take the early final. To be eligible for this early exam, students must notify their TA and Prof. Lipson in writing that they wish to do so.

  • Students graduating this quarter must send that notification before the mid-term.
  • Other students may send the notification any time before Thanksgiving.

If (and only if) I am giving an early exam for graduating seniors, then I will be happy to include any other students who ask to take it. Permission to take it is routine as long as you notify us in writing.
Early Graduation
Early-graduation exams, procedures: Students graduating this quarter must take the early final exam. You must notify Prof. Lipson and your TA in writing before the mid-term that you are graduating this quarter and will need to take the early final. Details on that early exam are explained immediately above..
Make-Up Final Exam

Make-up final exam: Given only once, on the first Thursday of the Winter quarter, from 9:30-11:30 a.m., in Pick 407. The procedures for taking it are spelled out below.

Make-up procedures: Some students must miss the regular exam date because of illness or other excusable reasons. Students may take a make-up only after they have received Prof. Lipson's written permission. They should seek that permission before the regular exam is given.

How to Request a Make-Up: Students must make a written request for a make-up exam and clearly state why the regular exam could not be taken (for example, a serious family illness). The email request must be sent to three people in a single email:

  1. Me
  2. Your TA, and
  3. Your college adviser.

I will respond to that email, saying whether or not you have permission to take the make-up exam, and will copy my response to your TA and college adviser.

When is the Make-Up Exam Given?
The make-up exam is given only once, on the first Thursday of the new quarter, at 9:30 a.m., in Pick 407. It will last two hours. Please bring 2-3 bluebooks.
Required Books to Buy for Course
    ISBN (paperback) Regenstein call number
Robert J. Art and Robert Jervis, eds., International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues (10th ed.; NY: Longman, Addison-Wesley, 2011). Some, but not all, of the assigned articles are in previous editions.. 0205778763 JZ1242.I574 2010
Jeffry A. Frieden, Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century (NY: W. W. Norton, 2006). 9780393329810 HF1359.F735 2006
G. John Ikenberry, After Victory: Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Rebuilding of Order After Major Wars (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001).  0691-050910 D363 .I46 2001
Joseph S. Nye, Jr. and David A. Welch, Understanding International Conflicts (8th ed.; NY: Longman, Addison-Wesley, 2011). 0205778747 JZ1305.N94 2009 (old ed.)
Scott D. Sagan and Kenneth N. Waltz, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed (NY: W.W. Norton, 2002).  This is, in effect, a second edition; do not use the outdated first edition 0393977471 U264.S233 2003
Pages on this Web site
Lipson Courses
Lipson talks
Home List of my courses
Vita
International Politics
Talks on Education & Honesty
Books by Charles Lipson
Talks by Charles Lipson Hard Questions in IR Theory
Courses offered
PIPES Workshop
International Relations Resources
World History& Politics
Reading, Writing, Plagiarism 15th-18th c. World Politics
How to Write a Thesis 19th c World Politics
Politics and Culture 20th c World Politics to 1945
Fun 20th c World Politics 1945-91
Talks on Global Issues
News Pages
 Big Wars: Ancient, Medieval, & Early Modern What's New about the New Economy?
World News
Values, Politics, and Culture
 The World America Made
Middle East News Core Western Values Political Threats to Global Prosperity
Headline News
Social Science Core
 Turning Points of the 20th Century
World News-Web Audio Power, Identity, Resistance Democracies in World Politics
Advice for students
  Israel's Challenges
How to Write a Thesis   China in World Politics
Getting a Good Recommendation   The Cold War
Law School: Advice on Applying   Why We Fought WW2
 
(c) Charles Lipson, 2011