Peace, War and World Politics
Bridgewater College
Political Science 335
Fall 2007
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:00 – 9:15am
Flory 202
Professor Jamie Frueh
office hours
M 11am-12pm; TTh 11am-2pm WF 11am-12pm and 3-4pm; and by appointment
Flory 210
office 828-5764
home 433-1171
jfrueh@bridgewater.edu
Overview
This course is designed to explore how our current global political system handles large-scale conflicts. We live in a
world of nation-states – a set of social, economic and political institutions designed to ensure the security of a
specific geographic territory and the citizens that occupy it. This mission can create conflict between nation-states.
While in some cases, war – organized violence between large groups of people – can seem like the best way to
handle such conflict, whether and when war is justified is a matter of significant debate. Indeed, some assert that war
is becoming obsolete. This class is designed to allow us to explore war and alternatives to war from a variety of
perspectives. When might war be justified? What kinds of wars should be considered good? How can we avoid or
end wars that are not justified? What is peace and what is the best way to attain it? We will consider these questions
through readings, discussion, individual student research and two case studies: the US “War on Terror” that began in
September 2001 and the US war in Iraq that began in March of 2003.
This is a seminar – a directed discussion among all the participants in the class. The class will succeed only to the
degree that each of us formulates ideas and opinions and shares them in an atmosphere of exploration and respect.
Please come to class ready to discuss the topic of the day, based not only on your digestion of the assigned readings,
but also your general knowledge of world events in the news. Part of your preparation, therefore, is to follow news
about war and peace through a major national newspaper, television, radio or the web.
Learning Objectives
 understand a variety of theories of war, including causes, justifications and typologies.
 explore specific instance of war to understand the practical applications and debates over these theories.
 learn alternative means of managing conflict and explore peace as an alternate state of existence.
 assess the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of mechanisms designed to diminish or end war.
Texts
Crocker, Chester A.; Hampson, Fen Osler; and Aall, Pamela, editors. Leashing the Dogs of War: Conflict
Management in a Divided World. (Washington, DC: USIP Press, 2007).
Glossop, Ronald J. Confronting War: An examination of Humanity’s Most Pressing Problem. Fourth edition.
(Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2001).
Optional Baker, James A., Lee Hamilton et al. The Iraq Study Group Report: A Way Forward – A New Approach.
(NY: Vintage Books, 2006). Also at http://www.usip.org/isg/iraq_study_group_report/report/1206/index.html
You will also be reading a few articles on reserve and on the web.
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Work Requirements – grades will be calculated out of 1000 points.
attendance
Attendance is required. Absences will only be excused with a note from a doctor, school official or parent. Points
will be deducted for each unexcused absence past the third. Absence from more than five classes for any reason
will result in an automatic failure for the course.
participation – 50 points
All participants are responsible for the success of our discussions. You should come to class everyday prepared to
share thoughts on the readings and the topic for the day. Each day that you contribute in a substantive way to class
discussion, you will receive five points, up to a maximum of 50 points for the semester. The points do not reflect
how much you say or the quality of your contributions, but a certain minimum level of investment in your own ideas
and in your fellow participants. You are encouraged to use your reflections as a way to flesh out ideas that you
would like to share. Let me know if I can assist you in your participation by calling on you on a regular basis.
discussion leadership – 50 points
You and two other students will be responsible for helping me lead one of the seminar discussions. Before class, you
will meet with each other to come up with a set of questions to spark thoughtful conversation and you will then meet
with me to discuss your approach to the topic. You are welcome to use multimedia resources and are encouraged to
supplement your knowledge of the topic with outside research. Each group member will receive the same grade.
reflections on the readings – 200 points (20 points each)
Over the course of the semester, you will submit to me via email a total of ten (10) reflections of about 200-250
words inspired by something from the readings. Reflections should not summarize the readings, but demonstrate
thoughtful, critical engagement with their concepts and themes. You may also submit reflections after a couple of
select convocations. Reflections should draw connections to your own experiences, knowledge and intuition. They
must be emailed to the class listserv at least eight hours before we meet to cover the material you discuss. To send a
reflection, put courses@bridgewater.edu in the “to” line and in the “subject” line put your name and the course
number in parentheses: (PSCI 335 01). You should read others’ reflections before class and you are welcome to
write your reflection based on an idea in someone else’s reflection. I will not accept late reflections. Reflections
will be graded on your ability to critically engage the text in a thoughtful way, not on the substance of your ideas.
paper - 300 points
One of the hallmarks of a liberal arts education is the ability to write a coherent and persuasive research paper. You
will write a 3500- to 4000-word research paper using some idea from the course to analyze the US war in Iraq.
The specific topic will be developed in consultation with me. Preliminary work (see the schedule below) will
account for 50 of the 300 possible points. The paper itself will be graded on research and explanation, analysis and
integration, synthesis, and organization and mechanics. The completed paper is due on Thursday, November 15.
Deadlines for Paper Components:
Thursday 9/27: paper topic – out of 10 points
Thursday 10/11: annotated bibliography – out of 10 points
Tuesday 10/23: outline – out of 10 points
Tuesday 10/30: partial rough drafts – out of 20 points
Thursday 11/15: final paper due – out of 250 points
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take-home midterm – 100 points
On Thursday, October 11, you will be given a take-home essay examination over readings and class discussions to
date. The exam is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, October 16.
take-home final exam – 300 points
On Thursday, November 29, you will receive the questions for a take-home essay examination designed to allow
you to demonstrate your ability to integrate the readings, concepts and themes of the semester. Your answers will be
due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, December 4.
Grading Scale
You will be graded out of 1000 points according to the following scale:
A
A minus
B plus
B
B minus
C plus
930 to 1000 points
900 to 929 points
870 to 899 points
830 to 869 points
800 to 829 points
770 to 799 points
C
C minus
D plus
D
D minus
F
730 to 769 points
700 to 729 points
670 to 699 points
630 to 669 points
600 to 629 points
599 and below
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to be aware of and abide by the Bridgewater College Honor Code, specifically as it relates to
the act of plagiarism, which the student handbook defines as “the use of another person’s ideas or thoughts, which
are not common knowledge, without acknowledging the source.” The policy specifically prohibits copying
paragraphs or even central ideas and claiming them as your own, in addition to the more obvious violations such as
buying papers off the web or turning in someone else’s work as your own. Violations will be dealt with swiftly and
severely and could result in failure of the course or expulsion from the college. If you are in doubt, cite the source.
Course Structure
Week 1 – September 4 – 6
T
Introductions, syllabus, teaching philosophy, goals of the course
THEME I: War
Th
Theories of world politics
For Thursday, read: Stephen M. Walt, “International Relations: One World, Many
Theories,” Foreign Policy, no.110 (spring 1998): 29-44. Available through EBSCOhost
(make sure to read the text and chart below “Want to Know More?”).
Week 2 – September 11 – 13
T
Th
The “War Problem”
For Tuesday, read: Glossop pages 3-29.
War and its sources
For Thursday, read: Leashing pages 17-32 and Glossop pages 57-67.
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Week 3 – September 18 – 20
T
Th
Causes of war
For Tuesday, read: Glossop pages 68-105.
Considering the contexts of war
For Thursday, read: Leashing pages 177-190 and 219-239.
Week 4 – September 25 – 27
T
Case study of “War on Terror”: Contemporary Dangers
For Tuesday, read: Leashing 39-50 and an assignment from the web.
Th
Case study of “War on Terror”: Terrorism and security
For Thursday, read: Leashing pages 53-81.
Paper topic proposal due
Week 5 – October 2 – 4
T
Th
Case study of “War on Terror”: Using force in the world
For Tuesday, read: Leashing 245-261 and 277-293.
Case study: The Iraq War
For Thursday, read: Iraq Study Group, pages 1-40.
Week 6 – October 9 – 11
Fall Break
Th
Case study: The Iraq War
For Thursday, read: Iraq Study Group, pages 43-96.
Annotated bibliography due
Take-home midterm distributed. Due back in class on Tuesday.
THEME II: Managing Conflict without War
Week 7 – October 16 – 18
T
Th
Peace definition and discussion of themes from the mid-term
Solving war through reforming individuals and governments
For Thursday, read: Glossop 209-228.
Week 8 – October 23 – 25
T
Peace and transformation
For Tuesday, read: reserve reading from Turbulent Peace.
Research paper outline due
Students should also attend the convo entitled “War of the Worlds” at 7:30pm in the Carter Center.
Th
Theories of conflict resolution
For Thursday, read: Leashing pages 455-474 and 521-532.
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Week 9 – October 30 – November 1
T
Gender and peace
For Tuesday, read: readings on reserve.
Rough draft due
Students should attend the convo on “Peace through Commerce” at 9:30am in the Carter Center.
Th
Solving war through democracy
For Thursday, read: Leashing pages 603-615.
Week 10 – November 6 – 8
T
Solving war through international relations
For Tuesday, read: Glossop pages 229-256.
Th
Policies in an age of terror
For Thursday, read: Leashing pages 425-435 and 619-633.
Week 11 – November 13 – 15
T
The role of US in contemporary global politics
For Tuesday, read: Leashing pages 389-400 and 679-697.
Th
Peace psychology
Students should also attend the evening convo on “Peace Psychology” at 7:30 in Cole Hall
Research paper due
Week 12 – November 20
T
United Nations
For Tuesday, read: Leashing pages 497-518.
Thanksgiving Break
Week 13 – November 27 – 29
T
International law and sanctions
For Tuesday, read: Leashing pages 583-596 and 335-346.
Th
Global solutions to war
For Thursday, read: Glossop pages 257-286.
Take-home final distributed. Due back at beginning of class on Tuesday
Week 14 – December 4
T
Course Wrap-up; final exam due.
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How to Write a Reflection
Step 1: READ THE ASSIGNMENTS! In the course of reading you will pick up knowledge. You won't be able to
help it. But the point of reading this stuff is to understand new perspectives on the world. Encountering new ideas
should be EXCITING. If you think about the reading as so many pages to trudge through, you are much less likely
to CREATE IDEAS.
Some of these readings will ask a lot of you. They are meant to challenge you to see the world in different ways.
You do not have to understand every word; this is not high school. You are to read to understand, not to memorize.
At the same time, you should read with a dictionary close at hand because you will have to stretch for much of this.
Engage the author in a kind of conversation and don’t be shy about seeking out clarification.
Step 2: Take some notes while you read - nothing extensive just what seems most important to the author's point.
Write down what you think is interesting. Your notes should just be things around which thoughts can coalesce
either while you're reading or afterwards. These notes will be quite valuable when it comes time to study for the
exam. If you have the notes, you won’t have to re-read everything – you’ll just be able to look over your notes
Step 3: Sit back and THINK about the readings for 10 minutes before you try to write anything. You are not done
reading when you finish the last page. You must leave yourself some time to process what you have just read.
Scribble some notes. Put things in your own words. Brainstorm. Try to summarize the main points of the readings
and figure out how they relate to one another. Also, think of interesting connections to your childhood or to your day
or to some rerun of Seinfeld. Thinking is not always a linear process. Work at engaging each author. If the process
of reading is like a conversation, the reflection is your opportunity to relate that conversation to a third party.
The point is there is no right answer. I will grade you on whether or not you seem to have thought about the
readings. You are more than welcome to talk about your ideas with each other AFTER you have written your
reflections, but I want each of you to engage you readings on your own.
Step 4: Write up your ideas in a paragraph or so. Pick something – anything – from the readings that made you
think and write about it. Start by writing down one of the author’s ideas, then discuss what you want to say about it.
Do not rehash what the author said. We have all read the book too. Tell us what you thought was cool and why.
What connections did you make to other things we have discussed in class or with your ideas or experiences?
Reading is mental work. The reflection is the evidence that you have worked. These reflections will serve as the
basis for some of our classroom discussion.
Step 5: Email the reflection to the class. Cut and paste your reflection into a new message and send it to the class
listserv at least 8 hours (by about midnight) before class. Late reflections will not be graded. Each reflection is
worth up to 20 points, or 2% of your final grade.
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