Capstone Seminar on International Relations: Terror and the State Political Science 470, section 001 Brigham Young University Winter semester 2011 John D. Payne jdpayne@byu.edu 801-422 - 3374 Office: 852 SWKT Email for an appointment, or drop in TTh10-12. Class meets in: 793 SWKT MW 11:00 am - 12:15 pm Syllabus version 1.0 last revised January 5, 2011. Syllabus may be subject to future revisions. Course description The first purpose of this course is to study terrorism and the state, or the ways in which terrorist organizations and states interact in the international system. Students will learn how to define terrorism, why individuals and groups choose terrorism, and the evolving methods of terror and counter-terror. Students have the opportunity to focus their learning experience on the questions that interest them most, by writing a substantial, publishable, scholarly research paper which is the second purpose of this course. Your paper should represent your very best college work and demonstrate the skills and knowledge you have acquired at BYU. To fulfill the university s advanced writing requirement, you must receive at least a C- on your final paper. Students with lower grades on the final paper will receive a T grade in the class signifying ongoing work and will be given a short amount of time to revise and resubmit. Students whose work fails to meet this standard will receive D or E grades. Students should see this course not just as a means to acquire specialized knowledge in the field of political science, but also as an opportunity to develop important academic and life skills, including critical thinking and communication. In this course, students can gain both a better understanding of the world around them and a greater capacity to influence it for the better. For more information on the learning outcomes sought by the department of political science, as well as the department s statement of purpose, please visit the following web page: http://learningoutcomes.byu.edu/. Prerequisites This course is available only to political science majors who are graduating seniors. (Graduating seniors are those who plan to graduate before the end of 2011.) Students must also have completed both Political Science 170 and 200. Students are also strongly advised to have completed Political Science 370, or to enroll concurrently. POLSC 470 ( 1 / 6 )
Required texts Five books are required for purchase. Reading assignments will be drawn almost exclusively from these texts, and students are expected to bring them to class so that we can refer to specific passages during discussions. 1. Bruce Hoffman, Inside terrorism rev. ed. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006). 2. Daniel Byman, Deadly Connections: States that Sponsor Terrorism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007). 3. Paul R. Pillar, Terrorism and U.S. foreign policy (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2003). 4. Russell D. Howard and Reid L. Sawyer, Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Understanding the New Security Environment, readings and interpretations, 3rd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009). 5. Gabriella Blum and Philip B. Heymann, Laws, Outlaws, and Terrorists: Lessons from the War on Terrorism (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2010). There are two other texts you may find helpful in this course, but which are not required. Both of these are designed to aid you in conceptualizing, researching, and writing your papers. Any student of political science will likely find them a valuable permanent addition to their library. Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: th Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, 7 ed., rev. Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, and the University of Chicago Press editorial staff (Chicago: The University of Chicago press, 2007). Stephen Van Evera, Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science (Cornell: Cornell University Press, 1997). Assignments and grades There are no exams in this course. Grades will thus be entirely determined by your work on the capstone paper and its component assignments, and by your participation. Thirty percent of your grade will come from class participation. I evaluate each student s participation in three ways. First, students will be evaluated on their engagement in and preparation for class discussions. There will be very little lecturing in this course; students will need to come to class with questions and comments about the assigned readings. Second, students will be divided into small groups and asked to lead class discussions, from February nd st 22 to March 21. Groups will be graded on the content and quality of the class discussion, and also on group members assessments of each others contributions. Third, students will be providing feedback to each other in the form of peer reviews. More information on the studentled discussion and peer review assignments will be provided in memos distributed later in class. Seventy percent of your grade will come from your capstone paper and its component assignments, as follows: POLSC 470 ( 2 / 6 )
assignment due date value proposal Wednesday, January 19, 11 am 5 % final grade working bibliography Monday, January 31, 11 am 5 % literature review Tuesday, February 22, 11 am 10 % outline Monday, March 7, 11 am 10 % complete draft Monday, March 28, 11 am 10 % oral presentation of research March 28 - April 11, in class 10% capstone paper Monday, April 18, before 5:30 pm 20 % Over the course of the semester, students will design a research plan to answer a specific question relating to terrorism and the state. No specific methodology is preferred; students are encouraged to play to their strengths, and to use whatever methods are best suited to answering the questions they have chosen. (Students are also encouraged to investigate questions that they are prepared to research and answer.) More information on all of these assignments will be provided in memos distributed later in class. Learning environment As a professor, I am committed to fostering a positive learning environment for you, my students. If something is inhibiting your ability to study the course materials or complete the necessary work for this class, please come talk to me as soon as possible. I am confident that we will find a way to help you resolve this problem. More specifically, you should know that Brigham Young University is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere which reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disability which may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the University Accessibility Center (422-2767). Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by the UAC office. If you need assistance or if you feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, you may seek resolution through established grievance policy and procedures. You should contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Office at 422-5895, D-282 ASB. Further, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination against any participant in an educational program or activity that receives federal funds. The act is intended to eliminate sex discrimination in education. Title IX covers discrimination in programs, admissions, activities, and student-to-student sexual harassment. BYU s policy against sexual harassment extends not only to employees of the university but to students as well. If you encounter unlawful sexual harassment or gender based discrimination, please talk to POLSC 470 ( 3 / 6 )
your professor; contact the Equal Employment Opportunities Office at 422-5895 or 367-5689 (24-hours); or contact the Honor Code Office at 422-2847. Other policies Tardiness is very human, but it is not very professional (see D/C 107:100). Please turn in your assignments at the start of class on the due date. All late work will be deducted one full letter grade, unless the student has been granted an extension prior to the due date. Note: no extensions will be granted on or after the due date. Accordingly, if you anticipate difficulty with a particular due date, please speak to me as soon as possible. Those who seek help early are more likely to find a solution to their problem. Dishonesty is also very human, but in an academic setting it is inexcusable (see 2 Nephi 9:34). While all students sign the honor code, there are still specific skills students need to master over time in order to correctly cite sources especially in this internet age. Students also need to learn to deal with the stress and strain of college life without resorting to cheating. I have a good track record of noticing instances of cheating on exams and plagiarizing on papers, and my policy is to report all such instances to the honor code office, without exception. Further, any student I find cheating or intentionally plagiarising will receive a penalty I deem appropriate, ranging from a zero on the assignment to a failing grade for the course. (If I am convinced that an incident of plagiarism was inadvertent or due to ignorance, students may in some instances be permitted to rewrite their work for half credit.) General information about the honor code can be found at honorcode.byu.edu. Details about Academic Honesty are found at http://saas.byu.edu/catalog/2010-2011ucat/generalinfo/honorcode.php. Writing submitted for credit at BYU must consist of the student's own ideas presented in sentences and paragraphs of his or her own construction. The work of other writers or speakers may be included when appropriate (as in a research paper or book review), but such material must support the student's own work (not substitute for it) and must be clearly identified by appropriate introduction and punctuation and by footnoting or other standard referencing. The substitution of another person's work for the student's own or the inclusion of another person's work without adequate acknowledgment (whether done intentionally or not) is known as plagiarism. It is a violation of academic, ethical, and legal standards and can result in a failing grade not only for the paper but also for the course in which the paper is written. In extreme cases, it can justify expulsion from the University. Because of the seriousness of the possible consequences, students who wonder if their papers are within these guidelines should visit the Writing Lab or consult a faculty member who specializes in the teaching of writing or who specializes in the subject discussed in the paper. For a more detailed discussion of plagiarism, please refer to Kate Turabian s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th ed., pp. 41-42, 77-80, 133-135, and 347-348. Reading and class discussion schedule Note: From January 5 to February 14, the instructor will lead class discussions of the assigned readings. From February 22 to March 21, students will lead discussions. Starting on POLSC 470 ( 4 / 6 )
March 28, our class time will be spent on student presentations of their research findings. Unit Date Required readings 1.1 What is terrorism? W 1/5 M 1/10 IT, pp. 1-41, Defining Terrorism IT, pp. 43-62, The end of empire and the origins of contemporary terrorism LOT, pp. xi-xviii, from Introduction TCT, pp. 34-41, Terrorism: Theirs & Ours TUFP, pp. 12-40, The Dimensions of Terrorism and Counterterrorism W 1/12 IT, pp. 63-80, The internationalization of terrorism ; pp. 229-256, The modern terrorist mind-set 1.2 Why choose terrorism? M 1/17 W 1/19 M 1/24 NO CLASS. MLK Day. All Monday classes cancelled. TCT, pp. 42-54, The logic of terrorism: Terrorist behavior as a product of strategic choice ; pp. 311-322, The logic of suicide terrorism ; pp. 388-403, The soft underbelly of American primacy: Tactical advantages of terror IT, pp. 87-130, Religion and terrorism W 1/26 TCT, pp. 207-224, Terrorism in the name of religion ; pp. 225-247, A genealogy of radical Islam ; pp. 57-78, Behind the curve: Globalization and international terrorism 1.3 How is terrorism practiced? M 1/31 W 2/2 M 2/7 W 2/9 IT, pp.173-195, The old media, terrorism, and public opinion TUFP, pp. 197-216, Publics TCT, pp. 342-349, Dilemmas concerning media coverage of terrorist attacks IT, pp. 197-228, The new media, terrorism, and the shaping of global opinion TCT, pp. 134-157, Networks, netwar, and information-age terrorism ; pp. 295-310, The leaderless nexus: When crime and terror converge ; TCT, pp. 513-527, Untangling the terror web: Identifying and counteracting the phenomenon of crossover between terrorist groups TCT pp. 266-287, Assessing the post-9/11 threat of CBRN terrorism ; pp. 288-294, Terrorism in the genomic age POLSC 470 ( 5 / 6 )
2.1 States supporting terrorism M 2/14 DC, pp. 21-52, Why do states support terrorism? ; pp. 53-78, The nature and impact of state support W 2/16 No class. Individual student consultations Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. 2.2 States confronting terrorism M 2/21 TUES. 2/22 W 2/23 M 2/28 W 3/2 M 3/7 W 3/9 M 3/14 CLASS ON TUESDAY. Presidents Day. All Monday classes moved to Tuesday. DC pp. 219-258, Passive sponsors of terrorism TCT, pp. 79-87, Do terrorist networks need a home? ; pp. 88-109, Weak states and global threats: Fact or fiction DC, pp. 187-218, Afghanistan under the Taliban DC, pp. 259-272, The difficulties of stopping state sponsorship ; DC, pp. 273-311, Halting support for terrorism, TUFP, pp. 41-72, Terrorism, the United States, and the world order ; pp. 157-196, States TUFP, pp. 29-40, from The dimensions of terrorism and counterterrorism ; and pp. 73-129, Counterterrorist instruments LOT, pp. 1-6, On law and terrorism ; pp.7-26, The complicated relationship between counterterrorism and legality ; pp. 27-46, International law, the president, and the war on terrorism LOT, pp. 63-68, On coercion ; pp. 69-92, Targeted killing TCT, pp. 410-427, The limits of military power W 3/16 LOT, pp. 93-106, Detention outside the combat zone ; pp. 107-130, Interrogation TCT, pp. 404-409, A nasty business M 3/21 W 3/23 LOT, pp. 131-134, Beyond coercion LOT, pp. 135-160, Negotiating with terrorists LOT, pp. 161-186, The case for sustained efforts to reduce moral support for terrorism No class. Individual student consultations Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. POLSC 470 ( 6 / 6 )