Syllabus –Spring 2012
The Harvard Kennedy School
International and Global Affairs
IGA-100
Class Time: Monday & Wednesday, 1:10pm – 2:30pm
Location: Littauer 280)
The first day of class is Monday, January 23.
Course Leader: Stephen M. Walt
Littauer 367
Office Hours MW 2:30-4:00
Assistant: Katie Naeve, L209
Course Assistants:
Objectives: This course is a wide-ranging introduction to some of the core principles of international affiars and
foreign policy analysis. Introductory sessions will cover key concepts and theories of international relations and
basic principles of policy analysis. Subsequent weeks will apply these ideas to a diverse set of contemporary
policy problems, with individual IGA faculty covering topics drawn from their own research and policy interests.
The course strongly emphasizes skill development, through an array of written and oral exercises and team
assignments.
Course Organization and Requirements: The course will be conducted through a combination of
lectures, in-class discussions, and weekly assignments (some individual and some done in teams). There
will normally be a formal in-class lecture for the entire class on Monday, followed by a discussion of a
case or policy issue in the Wednesday sessions. Students are expected to complete all of the required
reading prior to each class and to come to class prepared to participate fully in the discussion.
Grades will be based on weekly assignments and a final paper.
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.
Textbook: Baylis, Smith & Owens, Globalization of World Politics. We will be reading several chapters of this
book and recommend it be purchased. Copies will also be available on reserve in the HKS library.
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Class Schedule and Assignments
PART I: ANALYZING INTERNATIONA AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS
January 23: Introduction: Understanding 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]
Something descriptive about complexity of the contemporary world?
Note: students with little prior background in the field should also read Baylis, Smith & Owens, Globalization of
World Politics, pp. 1-89.
January 25: Theoretical Traditions: Realism, Liberalism, and Social Constructivism: [Walt]
Walt, Stephen M., “International Relations: One World, Many Theories,” Foreign Policy, No. 110 (Spring 1998).
[ONLINE]
Mearsheimer, John J., The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (W.W. Norton, 2001), chap. 2. [Course Packet 1]
Dunne, Timothy. “Liberalism,” in Baylis, Smith and Owens, Globalization of World Politics, 108-123.
M. Barnett, “Social Constructivism,” in Baylis, Smith and Owens, Globalization of World Politics, pp. 162-73.
January 30: Conflict and Cooperation in World Politics
J. S. Levy, “The Causes of War and Conditions of Peace,” Annual Review of Political Science 1 (1998),
pp. 139-165.
Kahneman, D. and J. Renshon. “Why Hawks Win,” Foreign Policy 154 (Jan. 2007), 34-38 [ONLINE]
Van Evera, Stephen, “Why States Believe Foolish Ideas,” (draft ms. MIT, 2002).
A. Stein, Why Nations Cooperate: Circumstance and Choice in International Relations (Ithaca: Cornell
University Press 1990, pp. 3-20.
Todd Sandler, Global Challenges: An Approach to Environmental, Political and Economic
Problems (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 23-51 and 99-129.
February 1: Meeting the Challenge of Global Governance (Ruggie);
Ruggie, John. “Reconstituting the Global Domain: Issues, Actors, and Practices,” European Journal of
International Relations 10, no. 4 (2004).
Benvenisti, E. and Downs, G.W. “The Empire’s New Clothes: Political Economy and the Fragmentation
of International Law,” Stanford Law Review 60, no. 2 (2007).
Xue, H. “Chinese Observations on International Law,” Chinese Journal of International Law 6, no. 1
(2007).
Rochester, J. M. “Is International Law Really Law, or a Charade?” from Between Peril and Promise:
The Politics of International Law (CQ Press, 2006), chapter 3.
PART II: ISSUE AREAS:
February 6, 8: The Future of Diplomacy (Burns)
J.F. Kennedy, “Commencement Address at American University, June 10, 1963”
H. Kissinger, Diplomacy (Simon & Schuster, 1994), chap. 1.
D. Ross, “Cases of Statecraft,” from Statecraft (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), chap. 3
National Intelligence Council, “Executive Summary” from Global Trends 2025: A Transformed
World (November 2008)
R. Holbrooke, To End A War (Random House, 1998), pps. xv-xvii, 21-33, 112-121, 213-14, 231-41, 288327, 358-69
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February 13, 15: The Future of Power (Nye)
J. S. Nye, The Future of Power, chaps. 1 and 6 (China) or chap 5 (cyber).
February 20: President’s Day (no class)
February 22: Policy Analysis in International Affairs (Walt)
E. Bardach, A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis, pp. 1-64.
R. Kugler, Policy Analysis in National Security Affairs: New Methods for a New Era (NDU Press,
2006), chaps 1 and 2.
Hajer, M. “Policy without Polity?: Policy Analysis and the Institutional Void,” Policy Sciences 36
2003), pp. 175-95.
February 27, 29: The Challenge of Nuclear Weapons (Allison)
G. Allison, Nuclear Terrorism, pp. 1-16, 140-175, 203-210, and 211-222.
G. Allison, “Nuclear Disorder: Surveying Atomic Threats”, Foreign Affairs (Jan. 2010) pp.74-85.
G. Allison, “A Failure to Imagine the Worst”, Foreign Policy (Jan. 25, 2010).
For February 29:
Case: Central Challenges of American National Security, Strategy, and the Press: Meeting Iran’s
Nuclear Challenge. [WILL BE DISTRIBUTED OR POSTED]
March 5, 7: International Ethics and Human Rights (Hehir)
Chris Brown, “Human Rights” in Baylis and Smith, eds., The Globalization of World Politics,
pp. 689-705
Michael Ignatieff, “The Attack on Human Rights”; Foreign Affairs 80 (Dec. 2001) pp. 102-116
Jack Donnelly, “Human Rights, Humanitarian Crisis and Humanitarian Intervention”, International
Journal 48 (Autumn 1993) pp. 607-640
March 12, 14: NO CLASS (Spring Break)
March 19, 21: Governing a Global Economy [Lawrence]
Lawrence, Robert Z., and Albert Bressand, et al.1995. "When is International Cooperation Desirable?" In
A Vision for the World Economy, Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. 44-58.
Krugman, Paul 1997, "What Should Trade Negotiators Negotiate About?" Journal of Economic
Literature, March 1997 pp 113-120.
For March 21:
Charan Devereaux, "Food Fight: The US, Europe and Trade in Hormone-Treated Beef" Kennedy School
Case Program N14-02-1677.0.
March 26, 28: Energy and World Politics (O’Sullivan, Lee)
TBD
April 2, 4: Managing a Living Planet (Clark)
For April 2:
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Steffen, Will, Asa Persson, Lisa Deutcsch, et al. 2011. “The Anthropocene: From global change to
planetary stewardship”, AMBIO – A Journal of the Human Environment. 40 (7): 739-761. (Read
pp. 739-757).
Andonoya, Liliana B. and Ronald B. Mitchell. 2010. “The rescaling of global environmental politics”,
Annual Review of Environment and Resources 35 (1):255-282. (Read pp. 256-274).
Young, Or. 2011. “Effectiveness of international environmental regimes: Existing knowledge, cuttingedge themes, and research strategies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108
(50): 19853-60. (Read pp. 10853-58).
For April 4:
Victor, David et al. 2011. “The geoengineering option”, Foreign Affairs 88 (2):64-76. (Read pp.
64-76).
Solar Radiation Governance Management Initiative. 2011. “Solar radiation management: The
governance of research”, :1-70. (Royal Society: London). (Read pp. 11-44).
April 9, 11: Religion and Global Affairs (Toft)
Toft, Monica Duffy. "Getting Religion? The Puzzling Case of Islam and Civil War." International
Security 31.4 (Spring 2007): 97.
Shah, Timothy Samuel, and Monica Duffy Toft. "Why God is Winning." Foreign Policy 155
(July/August 2006): 38-43.
April 16, 18: The Future Policy Agenda [Walt]
Rodrik, Dani, “How Far Will International Economic Integration Go?” Journal of Economic Perspectives,
Vol. 14, no. 1 (Winter 2000) [ONLINE]
Mueller, John. “The Obsolescence of Major War,” Security Dialogue 21, no. 3 (1990). [ONLINE]
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
S. Walt, “The End of the American Era,” The National Interest (November/December 2011).
S. Pinker, “Violence Vanquished?” Wall Street Journal (September 2011).
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