INTERNATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES Political Science 5643 (CRN 26341) Spring 2012 MWF 11:00 Liberal Arts 120 Randall Jones Office Hours 102-D Liberal Arts MWF 10:00-10:30 974-5270 MWF 12:00-12:30 ranjones@uco.edu MWF 2:00-2:30 and by appointment TEXTBOOKS (All are available in paperback.) Thomas L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree (Anchor Books, 2000) ISBN-13: 9780385499347 Samuel Huntington. Clash of Civilizations (Simon & Schuster, 1998) ISBN-13: 9780684844411 Michael T. Klare. Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict (Henry Holt, 2002) ISBN-13: 9780805055764 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. The Paradox of American Power: Why the World s Only Superpower Can t Go It Alone (Oxford University Press, 2003) ISBN-13: 9780195161106 Barbara W. Tuchman. The Guns of August (Random House, 2004 [1962]) ISBN 13: 9780345476098 Bob Woodward. Plan of Attack (Simon & Schuster, 2004) ISBN-13: 9780743255486

2 COURSE REQUIREMENTS mid-term exam (25%). Friday, March 9. A small Blue Book and pen are needed. Study questions will be provided ahead of time. (See "Absence from Exams" on page 10.) final exam (25%). Monday, Apr 30, 11:00-12:50. A small Blue Book and pen are needed. Study questions will be provided ahead of time. term paper (20%). A 15-18 page research paper, on a topic chosen in consultation with the instructor, will be due on Friday, April 13. See description of debate paper for format. 6 mini-exams (20%). See page 9 for details. debate paper (10%). See pages 9 and 10 for details. class participation. Everyone is expected to participate in class discussions, in the debates, and in other class activities. Thus regular class attendance is expected, and roll will be taken. course grade calculation. A letter grade (in which pluses and minuses count) is assigned for each requirement and given the weight noted above. These weighted grades are then added together for the course grade. Course grades will be available on UCONNECT on Tuesday, May 8, at 12:00 noon. COURSE OBJECTIVES This is a graduate-level course in the study of international conflict, and it is assumed that you have some background in the study of international relations. (The department offers another advanced course that deals with international cooperation.) The study of conflict is especially appropriate at this time, given the current international situation characterized by war, terrorism, and periodic crises. In our study we will: * identify influences that lead to the occurrence of contemporary conflict * identify the major types of conflict that exist among nations and other participants on the international scene * identify the principal causes of such conflict * become acquainted with important literature on the subject * learn about conflict through a variety of instructional techniques, including lectures, videos, writing, class discussions, and debates

3 SUMMARY COURSE OUTLINE Course Introduction and Background Material Major Sources of Contemporary International Conflict globalization concentration of power: hegemony cultural differences dependence on external natural resources psychological factors: leaders' misperception, bias, personality traits Principal Forms of International Conflict crises terrorism war DETAILED COURSE OUTLINE Mon, Jan 9 -- course introduction Course Introduction and Background Material course overview instructions for debate and debate papers Wed, Jan 11 -- forms of international conflict and cooperation; presence of both conflict and cooperation in international relationships select debate teams Topic 1 -- Globalization Major Sources of Contemporary International Conflict READ: Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree Fri, Jan 13 -- survey of the history of international relations since World War I ; multipolar, bipolar, unipolar systems; US hegemony and rising competitors; globalization

4 Mon, Jan 16 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (no class) Wed, Jan 18 globalization, pt 1 Fri, Jan 20 globalization, pt 2 Mon, Jan 23 -- mini-exam 1, covering Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree class discussion: Does globalization promote or deter international conflict? Topic 2 -- Concentration of Power: Hegemony READ: Nye, The Paradox of American Power Wed, Jan 25 hegemony: defined, scope of influence (global or regional), consequences Fri, Jan 27 United States as a hegemon Mon, Jan 30 hegemons of the past Wed, Feb 1 mini-exam 2, covering Nye, The Paradox of American Power class discussion: Does the existence of a hegemon promote or deter international conflict? Topic 3 Cultural Differences READ: Huntington, Clash of Civilizations Fri, Feb 3 cultures of the Middle East Mon, Feb 6 culture of Iran Wed, Feb 8 other cultures involved in conflict

5 Fri, Feb 10 mini-exam 3, covering Huntington, Clash of Civilizations class discussion: Does interaction among diverse cultures promote or deter international conflict? Topic 4 Dependence on External Natural Resources READ: Klare, Resource Wars Mon, Feb 13 historical conflicts over essential natural resources Wed, Feb 15 focus on relationship between oil producing nations and consuming nations Fri, Feb 17 continued Mon, Feb 20 mini-exam 4, covering Klare, Resource Wars class discussion: Are there viable alternatives to foreign sources of oil and other essential natural resources that could significantly lessen dependence on them? Topic 5 Psychological Factors: Leaders' Misperceptions, Biases, and Personality Traits READ: Tuchman, The Guns of August Wed, Feb 22 misperception, bias and personality traits in the occurrence of conflict Fri, Feb 24 psychological explanations of World War I Debates for the Liberal Arts Symposium Mon, Feb 27 -- prepare for debates on Wednesday at Liberal Arts Symposium

6 Wed, Feb 29 -- Liberal Arts Symposium Debates Debate I (topic and debate teams to be chosen in class) Debate II (topic and debate teams to be chosen in class) Debaters submit position papers at end of debate. Non-debaters submit critique of debate at end of debate. Fri, Mar 2 misperception as a cause of the Gulf War Mon, Mar 5 mini-exam 5, covering Tuchman, The Guns of August class discussion: To what extent do leaders' misperception of international events, their biases, and their personality traits cause international conflict? On the other hand, what psychological traits among leaders can promote peace? Wed, Mar 7 preparation for mid-term exam Fri, Mar 9 Midterm Exam Topic 6 -- International Crises Principal Forms of International Conflict READ: article by William Medland, The Cuban Missile Crisis: Evolving Historical Perspectives, The History Teacher 23 (August 1990): 433-447. (Robert Kennedy s Thirteen Days may be read instead of the Medland article.) Download a PDF version of the Medland article from J-STOR, and print it. If you use a computer on campus, this address should take you directly to the article: http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/494397.pdf

7 If you do not use a campus computer, go to: http://library.uco.edu. Click on "journal lookup" on the top yellow bar. Type in History Teacher, the journal's name. Click on "full text online" by J-STOR. Then click on the tab for the 1990s. Go to August 1990 and download a PDF copy. (At some point you will have to provide UCO identification information.) Mon, Mar 12 -- the nature of and causes of international crises Wed, Mar 14 Cuban missile crisis, part 1 Fri, Mar 16 Cuban missile crisis, part 2 Spring Break March 19-23 Mon, Mar 26 Berlin Blockade crisis Wed, Mar 28 class discussion: Why did the Berlin and Cuban crises not result in war, while the pre-world War I crisis did? Topic 7 -- Terrorism READ: Krieger and Meierrieks, "What Causes Terrorism?" (2009). Paper available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1148682 Click the download tab for a PDF copy. Fri, Mar 30 overview of contemporary terrorism Mon, Apr 2 al Qaeda and 9/11 Wed, Apr 4 biological terrorism (spreading disease) Fri, Apr 6 nuclear terrorism (esp. nuclear contamination of atmosphere, water and food supplies) Mon, Apr 9 state-sponsored terrorism

8 Wed, Apr 11 mini-exam 6, covering Meierrieks and Krieger paper class discussion: What are the primary causes of terrorism, and what can be done to prevent it? Topic 8 -- War READ: Woodward, Plan of Attack Fri, Apr 13 theories and research findings regarding the causes of war submit term paper Mon, Apr 16 Vietnam War, causes and outcomes Wed, Apr 18 Middle East wars, causes and outcomes Fri, Apr 20 -- Iraq War, causes and outcomes Mon, Apr 23 mini-exam 7, covering Woodward, Plan of Attack class discussion: From the wars that we have studied, what causes do they seem to have in common? How might these wars have been prevented? Wed, Apr 25 causes common to all forms of international conflict that we have studied during the course Course Review Fri, Apr 27 final exam preparation Final Exam Mon, Apr 30 Final Exam, 11:00-12:50

9 MINI-EXAMS During the course 7 mini-exams will be given over assigned readings, on the dates listed in the Detailed Course Outline. These will be short essay exams, designed to take no more than 15 minutes. Only the 6 highest grades will count toward the course grade. Thus the lowest mini-exam grade will be dropped if you take all 7 exams. No makeups will be permitted if you are absent. However, a mini-exam that is not taken will count as the low grade that is dropped. DEBATE PAPERS There will be 2 debates during the course, both on February 29, held at the Liberal Arts Symposium. Each class member will participate in one of the debates and write a position paper to prepare for it. Debaters who favor the same position will form a team that works together in collecting information to support their position. This information can be shared among everyone on the team, but each person will write his or her own position paper. The paper is to summarize all of the arguments that can be made in favor of the team s position. Length. The length of these papers is to be at least 6 pages and no more than 8, excluding the bibliography. Written material on the first page and all following pages must begin at the top of the page. Put your name on a separate cover sheet. The paper must be typed double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font with 1-inch page margins. Research, Writing and Sources. You should take these papers very seriously. They must be well researched and convincing, providing clear, logical arguments. Because they are not long, the papers also must be well organized and carefully written, so that they include all of the relevant arguments within the page limit. All sources used must be cited in the body of the paper and listed in the bibliography. The bibliography should include at least 8 sources. At least 4 of the sources must be articles from scholarly journals or books (rather than Internet sites). I will give you the Required Citation Format sheet that you should follow in citing sources and listing them in the bibliography. Originality. Everyone must write his or her own paper. Submitting material that is copied from a book, an article, or any other source is not acceptable. Obviously prohibited is copying material word-for-word. It is also wrong to use another author's wording that has been somewhat altered.

10 Using the ideas from a source, written in your own words, is acceptable if the source is properly cited. It is also ok to copy material from a source if the material is placed inside quotation marks and the source properly cited. However, papers should not be padded with lengthy quotations. Also prohibited is submitting a paper in this class which has been submitted in another class, or which is being submitted in another class during the current term. Submitting Papers. Debate papers are to be submitted at the debate, not at my office. Papers not submitted at that time are considered late, and their grade will be reduced. (The extent of the reduction depends on how late the paper is.) Late papers (only) are to be submitted by email attachment to ranjones@uco.edu. You must be able to retrieve your paper at any time after it is submitted. You must keep a paper copy and a copy on a flash drive or other media external to your computer for the rest of the semester. ABSENCE FROM EXAMS Attendance is required at examinations. If you are ill or are otherwise unable to take the mid-term or final exam, you should let me know ahead of time. Call my office at 974-5270. If I'm not there you can leave a message on my voice mail. Exams are not given early, before the scheduled date. A makeup exam for the mid-term or final may be permitted, depending on the reason for the absence. Acceptable reasons include serious illness, participation in intercollegiate athletics or other university-sponsored activity, military commitments, required court appearances, and having 2 other exams on the exam day for this class. As noted previously, there will be no makeups for the mini-exams. It is not necessary to notify me ahead of time if you expect to miss a mini-exam. IMPORTANCE OF CLASS ATTENDANCE AND ON-TIME ARRIVAL Because class attendance and participation are essential to the learning process, roll will be taken. Please be on-time to class. Late arrivals are disruptive for others in the class. For this reason you may not enter the classroom if you are more than 10 minutes late. Except for compelling emergencies, everyone is expected to remain in the classroom until the class ends.

11 CELL PHONES AND COMPUTERS As useful as your cellular telephone is, it is very disruptive when it rings in class or worse when you answer the phone or leave class to take a call. You must turn off your cell phone before class starts. Also, no text-messaging in class. The use of computers during the class is permitted only for class-related purposes, such as typing notes from lectures or videos. The use of computers for any other purpose is not permitted. Violators will be counted absent from the class. THE "CENTRAL SIX" AND THIS COURSE As a graduate student you may be aware that the university has adopted educational goals known as The Central Six. These goals reflect UCO s commitment to provide a broad-based educational experience that includes not only knowledge of the stated subject matter of the course, but also enhances student skills and understanding in other areas, as well. I want to mention to you how this course in international security studies and conflict contributes to those goals. Gaining knowledge of other countries and cultures is one of the Central Six goals. Of course, understanding conflict among nations requires an understanding of the countries involved in conflict. In this course, as we search for explanations, we will study cultures, leaders, and governmental systems that become involved in conflict. As we do this we also will be contributing to another of the Central Six objectives, gaining knowledge of the discipline. International conflict is a key part of international relations, which is a major field within political science. Thus as you study international conflict, you will become a better informed and more broadly trained political scientist. Another Central Six goal is promoting research, scholarly and creative activity. The paper that you will write for the debate will help develop your skills in research, in writing, and in verbalizing your views. A final contribution of this course to the Central Six goals pertains to understanding the value of good leadership. The approach that we are taking in the study of conflict focuses on leaders of nations that become involved in conflict, especially their misperceptions, biases, and personality traits which contributed to their decisions that involved their countries in conflict. We will also compare these leaders with other leaders who avoided getting their countries into more serious conflicts. This analysis should give you a good understanding of both undesirable and desirable leadership traits. In short, this class provides specific content that supports the objectives of the Central Six educational goals that we try to achieve in instruction at UCO.

12 UCO syllabus attachment goes here