Modern Diplomatic History
Graduate Seminar
Dr. David Lorenzo
Office: 271305
Phone: 2939-3091 ext. 51305
lorenzodav@gmail.com
lorenzo@nccu.edu.tw
Webpage: http://www3.nccu.edu.tw/~lorenzo/
Overview:
This seminar will provide an overview of modern diplomatic history, mainly during the 20th
century. It focuses on alliances, wars and their causes, treaties and agreements, the League of
Nations, the UN, and other events, organizations and documents of importance to understanding
world relations during the past 125 years. While a considerable amount of focus will be on
Europe, the place of Asia and other parts of the world will also be treated.
Assignments:
Students will be responsible for the following:
Reading the assignment materials and participating in general discussions
Actively participating in discussions
Engaging in in-class writing exercises
Two seven-page discussions of issues
Submission of a preliminary literature review for their paper
A final (18 page) paper
Classes:
Classes will be conducted as seminars. This means that I will lecture for only a portion of the
class time. The rest of the time will be spent either as a class or in small groups in discussing the
reading material that has been assigned.
Each class has a considerable number of readings assigned. I understand that most students have
English as a second language, and therefore do not expect that all students will be able to make it
through all the readings every week. However, students should do a minimum of three readings
every week, and for purposes of writing a paper on a topic should read all the assigned texts for
that particular topic.
Materials:
Materials will be taken from a variety of sources. Those located in books will be scanned and
available online at my website (http://www3.nccu.edu.tw/~lorenzo/). Articles will also be posted
on my website, but will also be available via JSTOR and other electronic means.
Grades:
Short papers: 25% each
Final paper: 40%
Participation: 10%
1
Modern Diplomatic History
Papers
Participants will submit the following:
For the 7th and 12th weeks:
A seven page paper analyzing and assessing an issue surrounding a weekly topic we have
covered (e.g., the strengths and weaknesses of the Locarno Treaty). These papers should clearly
set out the issue, generate interesting questions regarding the issue, cover ways of thinking about
that issue from a variety of perspectives grounded in scholarly sources, and discuss the
implications of issue area.
For the 15th week:
A three page review of the literature on the subject of your final paper. This review shall identify
relevant articles and books, discuss their relationship with the question posed by the paper, and
assess the state of the scholarship at present bearing on the question posed.
Final:
On the day scheduled for the final exam submit the final paper. This paper will, building upon
the literature review, data, and theoretical position you build, explore a question implicated in the
study of diplomatic history. Your paper must clearly:
Identify the question you pose
Discuss that question in light of the literature review you create
Identify the methodology and evidence you will utilize
Answer the question
Discuss the importance and relevance of your answer
Discuss the importance and relevance of your answer both generally and in light of your
literature review.
Grading Scale:
A: 100-90: Excellent work—generates several interesting insights and displays a sure grasp of
the material
B: 89-80: Good, above average work—sometimes generates interesting insights and displays a
solid grasp of the material
C: 79-70: Average work—displays a competent grasp of the material
D: 69-60: Below average work—displays a grasp of the material that is sometimes deficient
F: 59- : Unacceptable work: displays a poor grasp of the material
Course Readings
Week of Sept. 17: Introduction
Anders Stephanson, “Diplomatic History in the Expanded Field,” Diplomatic History,
Vol. 22, no. 4 (Fall 1998)
Week of Sept. 24: Prelude to WWI
William C. Wohlforth,“The Perception of Power: Russia in the Pre-1914 Balance," World
Politics, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Apr., 1987), pp. 353-381
Paul Kennedy, The Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism, chaps. 15, 16, 20.
Before the war: studies in diplomacy / by G. P. Gooch,
Modern Diplomatic History
The Coming of the First World War / edited by Robert John Weston Evans and Hartmut
Pogge von Strandmann, chaps. 1, 2
David Stevenson, “Militarization and Diplomacy in Europe before 1914,” International
Security, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Summer, 1997), pp. 125-161
Week of October 1: Diplomacy of War War I
David Stevenson, The First World War and international politics /
Eric Dorn Brose, A history of the Great War : World War One and the international crisis
of the early twentieth century /
WILLIAM R.THOMPSON, "A Streetcar Named Sarajevo: Catalysts, Multiple Causation
Chains, and Rivalry Structures," International Studies Quarterly (2003) 47, 453–474
Keir A. Lieber "The New History of World War I and What It Means for International
Relations Theory," International Security Fall 2007, Vol. 32, No. 2
Richard F. Hamilton and Holger H. Herwig, Decisions for War, 1914–1917 (electronic
edition available through NCCU library website)
Week of October 8: Post War Problems
Alan Sharp, THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES, 1919–1923,
Diplomacy and Statecraft, 16: 423–438, 2005
Gerald D. Feldman, THE REPARATIONS DEBATE, Diplomacy and Statecraft, 16
Jon Jacobson, Locarno diplomacy: Germany and the West, 1925-1929
Week of October 15: Diplomacy of the 1920s
Kevin Narizny, "Political Economy of Alignment: Great Britain's Commitments to
Europe, 1905-39,” International Security, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Spring, 2003)
Hans Gatzke, ed., European Diplomacy Between the Wars, 1919-1939, chap 2, 4
Zara Steiner, The Lights that Failed, chapter 7
Fascism and Italian Foreign Policy
Week of October 22: Prelude to World War II (1)
M. D. Gallagher, "Leon Blum and the Spanish Civil War," Journal of Contemporary
History, Vol. 6, No. 3 (1971)
Lukes and Goldstein, The Munich Crisis, 1938
Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Vol. 1, chap x, xi, xii
Steiner, The Light That Failed, "The Manchurian Crises".
Week of October 29: Prelude to World War II (2)
MICHAEL JABARA CARLEY, "`A Situation of Delicacy and Danger': Anglo-Soviet
Relations, August 1939-March 1940," Contemporary European History, 8, 2 (1999).
William R. Thompson (1997): "Anglo‐German rivalry and the 1939 failure of deterrence,"
Security Studies, 7:2
Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Vol. 1, chaps. xv, xvi, xvii
Lukes and Goldstein, eds., The Munich Crisis, 1938, "Reflections on Munich after 60
Years," "Neville Chamberlain and the Munich Crisis"
Week of November 5: Diplomacy of WWII (1)
Modern Diplomatic History
Albert Resis, "Spheres of Influence in Soviet Wartime Diplomacy," The Journal of Modern
History, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Sep., 1981)
Alan Alexandroff and Richard Rosecrance, "Deterrence in 1939," World Politics, Vol. 29,
No. 3 (Apr., 1977)
Arthur Schlesinger, "The Origins of the Cold War" Foreign Affairs No. 46 (Oct. 1967)
http://minotb52ufo.com/pdf/Schlesinger-Origins-1967.pdf
Geoffrey Roberts, "The Soviet Decision for a Pact with Nazi Germany" Soviet Studies,
Vol. 44, No. 1. (1992)
Philip E. Mosely, "Dismemberment of Germany: The Allied Negotiations from Yalta to
Potsdam," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Apr., 1950)
Week of November 12: Diplomacy of WWII and Aftermath (II)
Edward Johnson, "Early Indications of a Freeze," Cold War History, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2006
Raymond Mikesell, "The Bretton Woods Debates: A Memoir," Essays in International
Finance, March 1994.
Mark Mazower, "The Strange Triumph of Human Rights, 1933-1950," The Historical
Journal, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Jun., 2004)
Leland M. Goodrich, "From League of Nations to United Nations," International
Organization, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Feb., 1947),
Melvyn P. Leffler, "Adherence to Agreements: Yalta and the Experiences of the Early Cold
War," International Security, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Summer, 1986)
Week of November 19: Diplomacy in the 1950s and early 1960s
ELMER PLISCHKE, "EISENHOWER'S "CORRESPONDENCE DIPLOMACY1' WITH
THE KREMLIN-- CASE STUDY IN SUMMIT DIPLOMATICS," The Journal of Politics, Vol.
30, 1968
Vojtech Mastny, "The 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: A Missed Opportunity for Détente?"
Journal of Cold War Studies Vol. 10, No. 1, Winter 2008
Roger Dingman, "Atomic Diplomacy during the Korean War," International Security, Vol.
13, No. 3 (Winter, 1988-1989)
Week of November 26: Establishment of the Postwar Order
DAN PLESCH, How the United Nations Beat Hitler and Prepared the Peace,” Global
Society, Vol. 22, No. 1, January, 2008
M. J. Hogan, The Marshall Plan. America, Britain, and the Reconstruction of Western
Europe, 1947–1952 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), Main 338.917304 H678
Patrick J. Hearden, Architects of globalism : building a new world order during World
War II / IIR 327.73009045 H435
Sumner Welles, postwar planning, and the quest for a new world order, 1937-1943 /
Christopher D. O'Sullivan IIR 327.2092 W449 O85
Week of December 3: The US and Postwar Order
G. John Ikenberry, “America"s Liberal Grand Strategy: Democracy and National
Security in the Post-War Era,” in G. Ikenberry, American Foreign Policy: Theoretical Essays.
Randall Bennett Woods, A changing of the guard: Anglo-American relations, 1941-1946
/ IIR 337.7304109044 W896
Modern Diplomatic History
Paul Kennedy, The parliament of man: the past, present, and future of the United Nations
/ IIR 341.23 K36
G. John Ikenberry, “A World Economy Restored: Expert Consensus and the AngloAmerican Postwar International Organization, Vol. 46, No. 1, Knowledge, Power, and
International PolicyCoordination (Winter, 1992)
Week of December 10: US-Soviet confrontation in Europe
George Kennan, The Sources of Soviet Conduct (The "X" Article),
www.historyguide.org/europe/kennan.html
J. Gaddis, Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of American National Security
Policy During the Cold War, chapters 1-4, 7.
Douglas J. Macdonald, “Communist Bloc Expansion in the Early Cold War: Challenging
Realism, Refuting Revisionism,” International Security, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Winter, 1995-1996),
Melvyn P. Leffler: The American Conception of National Security and the Beginnings of
the Cold War, 1945-48, The American Historical Review > Vol. 89, No. 2, Apr., 1984
André de Staercke, NATO's anxious birth: the prophetic vision of the 1940s, edited by
Nicholas Sherwen IIR 355.031091821 St13
Week of December 17: Diplomacy Between US and China in 1960s and early 1970s
Documents relating to Nixon's trip to the PRC:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB106/index.htm;
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB145/index.htm;
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB70/
Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, "Taiwan Expendable? Nixon and Kissinger Go to China," The
Journal of American History, Vol. 92, No. 1 (Jun., 2005)
Evelyn Goh, "Nixon, Kissinger, and the 'Soviet Card' in the U.S. Opening to China, 1971–
1974," Diplomatic History, Vol. 29, No. 3 ( June 2005).
James C. Thomson, "On the Making of U. S. China Policy, 1961-9: A Study in Bureaucratic
Politics," The China Quarterly, No. 50 (Apr. - Jun., 1972)
Week of December 24: The End of the Cold War
Rey Koslowski and Friedrich V. Kratochwil, “Understanding Change in International
Politics: The Soviet Empire's Demise and the International System,” International Organization,
Vol. 48, No. 2 (Spring, 1994),
Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry, “The International Sources of Soviet Change,”
International Security, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Winter, 1991-1992),
Thomas Risse-Kappen, “Ideas do not Float Freely: Transnational Coalitions, Domestic
Structures, and the End of the Cold War,” International Organization, Vol. 48, No. 2 (Spring,
1994)
Week of December 31: China and the Aftermath of the Cold War
Richard K. Betts, “Wealth, Power, and Instability: East Asia and the United States after
the Cold War,” International Security, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Winter, 1993-1994),
Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry, “The Unravelling of the Cold War Settlement,”
Survival, 2010
Modern Diplomatic History
G. John Ikenberry, The Rise of China and the Future of the West: Can the Liberal System
Survive? Foreign Affairs , January/February 2008
Peter J. Katzenstein, “China’s Rise: East Asia and Beyond,” EAI Working Paper Series
12
YAN XUETONG The Rise of China in Chinese Eyes Journal of Contemporary China
(2001), 10(26), 33–39
Pak K. Lee, Gerald Chan & Lai-Ha Chan,"China's Realpolitik"Engagement with Myanmar,"
China Security, Vol. 5 No. 1 Winter 2009