I. ASCRC General Education Form
Group
VIII – Ethics and Human Values / and IX – American and European
Dept/Program
History
Course #
460
Course Title
Prerequisite
Problems of Peace and Security
none
Credits
3
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
Date
Paul Lauren
243-4086
paul.lauren@mso.umt.edu
Program Chair
Richard Drake
Dean
Jerry Fetz
III. Description and purpose of the course: General Education courses must be introductory
and foundational. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course
content to students’ future lives: See Preamble:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/gened/GEPreamble_final.htm
Instructor
Phone / Email
Perhaps no question is more fundamental to life on this earth than that of survival. This course
explores some of the most challenging issues of survival in our world today by focusing on
problems of peace and security. It introduces students to this complex subject by means of a
topical and thematic approach that focuses on such topics as ethics and statecraft, the
relationship between human rights and peace and security, intelligence activities within a
democratic society, deterrence and pacifism, and military conscription. In doing so, the course
clearly addresses the power and influence of America and Europe on the rest of the world.
IV. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
Group VIII – Ethics and Human Values
This course rigorously explores the basic
concepts and form of reasoning that define
and distinguish several different traditions of
ethical thought emerging from both religious
and philosophical sources as they relate to
issues of peace and security in the world.
Group IX – American and European
This course approaches the subject of peace
Perspectives
and security from a Western perspective due
to the fact that it is the antecedents,
principles, institutions, cultures, traditions,
legacies, and power of America and Europe
that largely determines the course of peace
and security in the world today.
V. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning
goals. See: http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/ASCRCx/Adocuments/GE_Criteria5-1-08.htm
Group VIII – Ethics and Human Values
Group IX – American and European
Perspectives
Students will be able to analyze, critically
evaluate, and apply basic ethical concepts
about the relationship between ends and
means, consequentialism, technology,
terrorism, conscription, deterrence and
pacifism, intelligence activities within
democratic societies, and the relationship of
human rights to peace and security.
Students will be able to demonstrate an
informed and reasoned understanding of
American and European historical and
contemporary behavior, ideas, institutions,
culture, and power on the contemporary
world; and to analyze and evaluate what is
distinctive and significant about this
experience and legacy.
VII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. ⇓ The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus
preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
Fall Semester 2008
Wednesdays 2-5
LA 203
Professor Lauren
History 460E
PROBLEMS OF PEACE AND SECURITY:
PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
No question is more fundamental or more universal to the world than that of survival.
We long have known this fact, but the attacks of 11 September, the subsequent “War on
Terrorism,” and recent Russian military action against Georgia readily remind us of its
immediacy. Security does not come easily or cheaply, and those who work for peace must be
aware of the complex dimensions of the problems if they are to be effective. This course
proposes to deal with a number of the critical and controversial issues in this area of peace and
security, and thereby address some of the most important concerns of the global community
and of leaders and citizens in a democracy.
Any understanding of peace and national security requires an interdisciplinary approach
that explores the dimensions of time, geography, and scope. It must be able to deal with the
historical past of Thucydides as well as the present of George W. Bush, and to anticipate the
future with a new U.S. president on the basis of previous experience. It must be able to analyze
American foreign policy within the larger context of the fallout from the collapse of the Soviet
Union, the revolutionary changes in Eastern Europe and the former Yugoslavia, the repression
of students in Tiananmen Square, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It must be able to
range from problems like security and military technology on a global scale to individual needs
on a very personal level like human rights or conscientious objection to conscription.
Moreover, it must be able to appreciate not only the practical dilemmas of making actual policy
within a democracy as in intelligence matters, but also the ethical dimensions of those same
policies.
In order to combine some of the best features of a lecture class with those of a seminar,
this course will meet once a week on Wednesdays for a three-hour session which will provide
concentrated time for discussion and debate over highly controversial issues. Such
controversies are not only unavoidable in the area of peace and national security questions, but
will be actively encouraged in order to understand the various problems that must be faced.
Toward this end, class sessions will include time after the major lecture for two student
presentations taking very distinct -- and different -- points of view.
The class schedule, required readings, and specific assignments for the course
are all indicated on the following pages.
History 460 - Problems of Peace and Security
Page 2
Class Schedule & Required Reading
27 August
INTRODUCTION: PROBLEMS OF PEACE AND SECURITY
An introduction to the course, its assignments and requirements, and the
substantive issues to be addressed.
Richard Clarke, Against All Enemies, pp. ix-xiii.
Gordon Graham, Ethics and International Relations (2nd ed.), pp. x24.
*********************************
3 September
DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES ON PEACE AND SECURITY:
PROBLEMS OF NATIONAL SECURITY AND INTERNATIONAL
PEACE
Solutions to problems of history, the present, and anticipated problems of the
future often have been determined by whether or not one focuses upon the
perspective of the nation state or the perspective of the world as a whole.
Recent historical experiences of our own century offer several fascinating
suggestions.
Paul Gordon Lauren, “The Diplomats and Diplomacy of the United
Nations,” in Gordon A. Craig and Francis Lowenheim (eds.), The
Diplomats, 459-488 (on Reserve in the Mansfield Library).
“National Security Strategy of the United States, 2002,” at www.
whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.html
*********************************
10 September
PEACE AND SECURITY IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:
PROBLEMS OF "LESSONS" FROM HISTORY
The many historical experiences of the past need to be interpreted in order to
provide meaning for the present and the future. In this endeavor, the past
indicates many different interpretations and, hence, problems of clearly
defining the "national interest," of choosing between competing approaches
to peace and security, and of learning "lessons" of history.
History 460 - Problems of Peace and Security
Page 3
Richard Clarke, Against All Enemies, pp. 1-131.
Paul Gordon Lauren, Gordon A. Craig, and Alexander L. George, “Lessons
of History and Knowledge for Statecraft,” in Force and Statecraft
(4th ed.), pp. 137-150 (on Reserve in the Mansfield Library).
Gordon Graham, Ethics and International Relations, pp. 25-49.
********************************
17 September
POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND INNOCENT VICTIMS:
PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY TERRORISM
Organized violence can take a variety of forms in the contemporary world
and is not restricted to massed armies. Increasingly, terrorism is a form of
political violence influencing the world and opening up serious ethical debate
about ends and means, for one person's terrorist might be another persons'
freedom fighter.
Richard Clarke, Against All Enemies, pp. 133-287.
Gordon Graham, Ethics and International Relations, pp. 123-155.
******************************
24 September
INTELLIGENCE, PEACE, AND SECURITY:
PROBLEMS OF INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS
Peace and national security frequently require the collection, assessment, and
transmission of intelligence information to decision makers. Certain features
of espionage and covert operations, however, create serious political, legal,
and moral problems, particularly in open societies with democratic values.
Mark Lowenthal, Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy (3rd ed.), pp. 1189 and 290-304.
invest one hour exploring the Web site for the
Central Intelligence Agency at www.cia.gov
********************************
History 460 - Problems of Peace and Security
1 October
Page 4
POWER AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE:
PROBLEMS OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE "FATE OF NEMESIS"
In Greek mythology, Nemesis, the goddess of fate, sometimes punished man
by fulfilling his wishes too completely. It has remained for our own nuclear
age to experience the full irony of this penalty with the problems created for
peace and security by modern communication and weapons technology.
Gordon Graham, Ethics and International Relations, pp. 77-96.
Richard Rhodes, “Living with the Bomb,” in National Geographic
(August 2005), pp. 99-113 (on Reserve in the Mansfield Library).
invest one hour exploring the Web site www.yahoo.
com/Goverment/Military/Weapons_and_Equipment
********************************
8 October
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND NATIONAL SECURITY:
PROBLEMS WITH THE "RIGHT" AND THE "NEED" TO KNOW
Open, democratic societies deplore secrecy and depend upon freedom of
speech for their continued existence. That very existence may be threatened
by such liberty, however, for what people tell themselves they also tell their
adversaries.
Mark Lowenthal, Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy, pp. 191-218.
“USA PATRIOT Act,” at www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/
Mike Mansfield, "Select Committee to Study Government
Intelligence," Mansfield Papers, Series XXI (on Reserve).
*********************************
15 October
MID-TERM EXAMINATION
2:10 - 3:40
*********************************
History 460 - Problems of Peace and Security
22 October
Page 5
CIVILIAN POLICY AND MILITARY STRATEGY:
PROBLEMS OF CIVILIAN CONTROL OVER MILITARY
INSTITUTIONS
One of the most critical issues that any society must face is that of
determining whether military institutions are the makers or the instruments of
policy. The problems associated with this struggle between civilian and
military authorities for control of the ends and the means of policy are
enormous.
Richard Hooker, Jr., “Soldiers of the State: Reconsidering American
Civilian-Military Relations,” Parameters (Winter 2003-2004): 4-18
(on Reserve in the Mansfield Library).
*********************************
29 October
DETERRENCE, PACIFISM, AND ARMS CONTROL:
PROBLEMS OF DIFFERENT PATHS TOWARD PEACE
The traditional approaches to peace will continue to generate great debate as
they compete with each other for the best way to achieve peace and security
in the post-Cold War world.
Gordon Graham, Ethics and International Relations, pp. 51-76.
John Deutch, “A Nuclear Posture for Today,” Foreign Affairs
(January/ February 2005): 49-60 (on Reserve in the Library).
*******************************
5 November
WEAPONS, POLITICS, AND ECONOMICS:
PROBLEMS OF ARMS RACES, ARMS SALES, AND
PROLIFERATION
While the "fate of Nemesis" makes weapons increasingly destructive, the
political and/or economic desire to provide these weapons to other nations or
groups, including terrorists, often contributes to even greater global violence.
Gordon Graham, Ethics and International Relations, pp. 157-184.
invest one hour exploring the Web site of the Arms Sales Monitoring
Project of the American Federation of Scientists at www.fas.org/asmp
History 460 - Problems of Peace and Security
12 November
Page 6
SECURITY NEEDS AND NATIONAL VALUES:
PROBLEMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND SECURITY
Peace and security relate not only to physical survival but also to the
protection and promotion of cherished values. Problems of serious and
complex dimensions are created, however, when values and security needs
appear to conflict, as frequently occurs with reference to the promotion of
human rights around the world.
Gordon Graham, Ethics and International Relations, pp. 97-122.
invest one hour in exploring the Web site of Amnesty International at
www.amnesty.org
*********************************
19 November
RESPONSIBILITIES OF STATESMANSHIP & ETHICAL VALUES:
PROBLEM OF NATIONAL SECURITY AND ETHICS
The requirements of security and protection of the "national interest" often
appear to be in sharp contrast to peace and ethics. Conscientious statesmen
and citizens, therefore, are constantly plagued with problems created by the
tension between making decisions in the world as it is and a desire to make
the world in the way it might be.
Gordon Graham, Ethics and International Relations, pp. 185-207.
Mark Lowenthal, Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy, pp. 255-273.
Paul Gordon Lauren, “From Impunity to Accountability,” in R.
Thakur and P. Malcontent (eds.), From Sovereign Impunity to
International Accountability, pp. 15-41 (on Reserve in the Mansfield
Library).
********************************
26 November
HOLIDAY
********************************
3 December
TOWARD THE FUTURE
& DISCUSSION
History 460 - Problems of Peace and Security
Page 7
Our examination of problems of peace and security in the past and how
thoughtful men and women have tried to solve them may allow us to
anticipate problems likely to arise in the future.
Richard Clarke, Against All Enemies, pp. 289-291.
Mark Lowenthal, Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy, pp. 220-253
and 274-288.
Condoleezza Rice, “Rethinking the National Interest,” Foreign Affairs
(July/August 2008): 2-26 (on Reserve in the Mansfield Library).
*********************************
10 December
FINAL EXAMINATION
1:10 - 3:10 p.m.
(The Final Examination is designed as a comprehensive, two-hour essay
exam, but an additional hour will be provided for those students who desire
extra time, beginning at 12:10).
In addition to the other required reading assignments, all students will be required to become
very familiar with at least one document from the Digital National Security Archive, a data
base of previously classified security documents. This assignment will be explained in more
detail during class.
History 460E is an advanced course designed to emphasize the following educational
objectives: knowledge (acquiring information and terminology), comprehension (distinguishing
meaning and significance), application (understanding relevance to other situations), analysis
(reasoning and clarification of relationships), synthesis (combining and rearranging
knowledge), and evaluation (weighing arguments against each other and making judgments
based upon evidence). Students will be given several opportunities to demonstrate their skills
in these areas as they earn their grade for the course by means of the following: Oral
Presentation and Written Report (15%), Mid-Term Examination (30%), Final Comprehensive
Examination (50%), and Quality of Classroom Participation (5%).
All University of Montana regulations concerning deadlines for drop-ads, grading options,
plagiarism, and other related matters apply. Students with questions about any of these should
consult the University Catalog or Professor Lauren. All students should visit with Professor
Lauren about their specific assignments and reports. Office hours this semester are 11-12 on M,
W, F, and by appointment in LA 251.
*Please note: As an instructor of a general education course, you will be expected to provide
sample assessment items and corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.