DRAFT SYLLABUS –Spring 2015
The Harvard Kennedy School
International and Global Affairs: Concepts and Applications
IGA-100
Class Time: Tuesday & Thursday, 2:40pm – 4:00pm
The first day of class is Monday, January 26.
Instructor: Stephen M. Walt
Littauer 280
Office Hours: Wednesday, 2:30-4:30
Faculty Assistant: Jamina Coleman, L376
Course Assistant:
Kyle Herman- kyle_herman@hks15.harvard.edu
Objectives: This course is a wide-ranging introduction to central principles of international affairs and foreign
policy analysis. Introductory sessions will cover key concepts of international relations and policy analysis in this
area. Subsequent weeks will apply these ideas to different elements of statecraft and a diverse set of contemporary
policy problems. The course emphasizes skill development through written exercises, class discussion, and team
assignments.
Course Organization and Requirements: The course will be taught through a combination of lectures, in-class
discussions, and individual and team assignments. Some of these assignments will be coordinated jointly with
themed sections of the MPP1 core.
Students are expected to complete all of the required reading prior to each class and to arrive prepared to be called
upon by name and to participate fully in the discussions. Prompt, regular attendance is a requirement and students
are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with professional comportment.
Grades will be based on class participation (10%) written/oral assignments (40%) and a final take-home
examination (50%).
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.
Textbooks: three books are available for purchase:
1. Baylis, Smith & Owens, The Globalization of World Politics.
2. Lauren, Craig, and George: Force and Statecraft: Diplomatic Problems of Our Time.
3. Weston, A. A Rulebook for Arguments 4th ed.
Who should take this course?
IGA-100 is a required first year course for all MPP1 students considering a concentration in IGA. Unless
exempted, students who entered the MPP Program in the Fall semester of the 2014/15 academic year must enroll in
IGA-100 during the Spring 2015 semester in order to concentrate in IGA. These students are guaranteed
enrollment in the course and do not need to spend bidding points on it. Remaining seats in the course will go to
bidding by MPA, MPA/ID, or MC-MPA students.
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Class Schedule and Assignments
PART I: ANALYZING INTERNATIONAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS
January 27: Introduction: How Can We Understand a Complex International System?
Walt, Stephen M., “The Relationship between Theory and Policy in International Relations,” Annual
Review of Political Science (2005), 23-48.
Read either Baylis, Smith & Owens, Globalization of World Politics, pp. 1-89 or Lauren, Craig and
George, Force and Statecraft, pp. 3-131.
January 29: Theoretical Traditions: Realism, Liberalism, and Social Constructivism:
Walt, Stephen M. “International Relations: One World, Many Theories,” Foreign Policy, No. 110
(Spring 1998).
Mearsheimer, John J., The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (W.W. Norton, 2001), chap. 2.
Dunne, Timothy. “Liberalism,” in Baylis, Smith and Owens, Globalization of World Politics, 108-123.
Barnett, Michael “Social Constructivism,” in Baylis, Smith, Owens, Globalization of World Politics, pp.
162-73.
February 3: Why is There Conflict in World Politics?
Levy, J.S. “The Causes of War and Conditions of Peace,” Annual Review of Political Science 1 (1998),
pp. 139-165. [ONLINE]
Blainey, G. “Dreams and Delusions of a Coming War,” The Causes of War, chap. 3.
Kahneman, D. and J. Renshon. “Why Hawks Win,” Foreign Policy 154 (Jan. 2007), 34-38
Van Evera, Stephen, “Why States Believe Foolish Ideas,” (draft ms. MIT, 2002).
Skim J. Baylis, “International and Global Security,” in Baylis, Smith and Owens, Globalization of
World Politics, chap. 13.
Mahbubani, K. “Why Can’t Countries Think Like Companies?” Times of India, November 18, 2014, at
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/stoi/all-that-matters/Why-cant-countries-think-like
companies/articleshow/45163437.cms
February 5: Why and When Do States Cooperate?
Stein, A. Why Nations Cooperate: Circumstance and Choice in International Relations (Ithaca: Cornell
University Press 1990, pp. 3-20.
Oye, K. “Explaining Cooperation under Anarchy: Hypotheses and Strategies,” World Politics 38, no. 1
(October 1985).
R. Little, “International Regimes,” in Baylis, Smith & Owens, Globalization of World Politics, chap. 17
February 10: Transnational and Non-State Actors
Willets, Peter, “Transnational Actors and International Organizations in World Politics,” in Baylis, Smith, &
Owens, Globalization of World Politics, 330-349.
Kiras, J. “Terrorism and Globalization,” in Baylis, Smith, and Owens, Globalization of World Politics,
pp. 372-85.
Naim, Moises. “The Five Wars of Globalization,” Foreign Policy, No. 134 (January-February 2003).
February 12: Evaluating Foreign Policy:
Walt, S.M. “Making the Grade: Is There a Way to Judge if a Foreign Policy is Successful?”
Foreign Policy, January 6, 2014.
Clinton, W. David. The Two Faces of National Interest, (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ. Press,
1994), chapters 2-4.
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February 17: Policy Analysis in International Affairs
If necessary, review Bardach, E. A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis, pp. 1-64 (from API-505M)
Kugler, R. 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.
Weston, A. A Rulebook for Arguments (entire book).
“A One-Page Memo on Writing Policy Memos” (class handout)
[The 1st ASSIGNMENT WILL HANDED OUT FEB. 17 AND WILL BE DUE ON FEB 24]
February 19: Meeting the Challenge of Global Governance [Guest lecturer: John Ruggie].
Ruggie, John. “Reconstituting the Global Domain: Issues, Actors, and Practices,” European Journal of
International Relations 10, no. 4 (2004).
Abbott K. & Snidal, D. “Values and Interests: International Legalization in the Fight Against
Corruption,” Journal of Legal Studies, 31 (S1, January 2002);
Koh, H. “Filartiga v. Pena-Irala: Judicial Internationalization into Domestic Law of the Customary
International Law Norm Against Torture,” in Noyes, Dickinson & Janis, eds, International Law
Stories, chap. 2.
Xue, H. “Chinese Observations on International Law,” Chinese Journal of International Law 6, no. 1
(2007).
Falkner et al, “International Climate Policy after Copenhagen: Towards a ‘Building Blocks’ Approach,”
Global Policy, 1 (October 2010).
Annan, Kofi. “The New World Disorder: Challenges for the UN in the 21st Century,” David
Hamburg Lecture, Foreign Policy Association, October 2014.
PART II: POLICY TOOLS AND POLICY PROBLEMS:
February 24-26: Deterrence and Coercion:
Lauren, Craig, and George, Force and Statecraft, chapters 9-11.
Betts, R. K. “The Lost Logic of Deterrence,” Foreign Affairs, March/April 2013.
Drezner, D. “Serious about Sanctions,” The National Interest (Fall 1998).
Policy issue: The Crisis over Ukraine
“Ukraine Crisis Timeline,” at http://csis.org/ukraine/index.htm
Mearsheimer, J. J. “Why the Ukraine Crisis is the West’s Fault, Foreign Affairs, (September/October
2014)
McFaul, M., Sestanovich, S., & Mearsheimer, J. J. “Faulty Powers,” Foreign Affairs
(November/December 2014)
Putin, V. “Speech to the Valdai Club,” October 2014, at
http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2014/10/putins-speech-at-valdai-club-full.html
Applebaum, A. “The Myth of Russian Humiliation,” Washington Post, October 17, 2014.
March 3-5: The Role of International Alliances:
Walt, S, “Why Alliances Endure or Collapse,” Survival 39, no. 1 (1997).
Lake, D. “Anarchy, Hierarchy, and the Variety of International Relations,” International
Organization 50, no. 1 (1996)
Policy Issue: Asian Security and the Rise of China: Will the “Pivot” Work?
Blumenthal, D. et al., Asian Alliances in the 21st Century. American Enterprise Institute, 2011, at
http://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Asian-Alliances-21st-Century.pdf
Mearsheimer, J. J. “Great Power Politics in the 21st Century,” from The Tragedy of Great Power
Politics, rev. ed., 2013, chap. 10.
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March 10-12: Norms and Institutions:
Sikkink, K. and M. Finnemore, “International Norm Dynamics and Political Change,” International
Organization, Vol. 52, no. 4 (Autumn 1998).
Thomas, Ward. “Norms and Security: The Case of International Assassination,” International Security,
Vol. 25, no. 1 (Summer 2000).
Policy issue: Are Targeted Assassinations Legal? Moral? Smart?
Kreps, S. and Zenko, M. “The Next Drone Wars,” Foreign Affairs, March 2014.
Coll, S. “The Unblinking Stare,” The New Yorker, November 24, 2014.
Johnston, P. “Does Decapitation Work? Assessing the Effectiveness of Leadership Targeting in
Counterinsurgency Campaigns,” International Security 36, no. 4 (Spring 2012)
MARCH 17, 19: SPRING BREAK: NO CLASS
March 24, 26: TEAM EXERCISE #1: The ARAB SPRING (with DPI101)
Walt, S. M. “Fads, Fevers, and Firestorms: Thinking about Political Contagion,” Foreign Policy
Nov/December 2000).
Lynch, M. “The Arab Cold War,” from The Arab Uprisings, chap. 2
Patrick Cockburn, “Hazards of Revolution,” London Review of Books, January 9, 2014.
Seth Jones, “The Mirage of the Arab Spring,” Foreign Affairs (Jan/Feb 2013).
March 31, April 2: Science, Technology and International Affairs
National Academy of Sciences, “Executive Summary” from The Pervasive Role of Science,
Technology and Health in Foreign Policy,” (1999)
Elizabeth DeSombre, “Science, Uncertainty, and Risk,” from Global Environment and World Politics, (A
& C Black, 2005), chapter 4.
Policy issue: Long-term Resistance to Antibiotics: Global and National Responses.
[Readings to be determined]
April 7-9: TEAM EXERCISE #2: PREPARING FOR THE 2015 G20 Summit
“The Group of 20: A History,” 2008, pp. 1-55, download from http://www.g20.utoronto.ca
“G20 Leaders’ Communique,” Brisbane Summit, November 15-16, 2014, at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/16/g20-leaders-communiqu
J.A. Scholte, “Global Trade and Finance,” in Baylis, Smith and Owens, Globalization of World Politics,
chapter 26.
April 14: Mapping the Future of International and Global Affairs
Skim Linklater, A. “Globalization and the Transformation of Political Community,” and
Clark, I. “Globalization and the Post-Cold War Order,” in Baylis, Smith and Owens, Globalization of
World Politics, chapters 31 and 32.
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, @ http://www.ciaonet.org/journals/cceia/v22i2/f_0007579_6441.pdf
[ONLINE]
Pinker, S. “Violence Vanquished?” Wall Street Journal (September 2011). [ONLINE]
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Patrick Porter, “It’s Time to Abandon the Global Village Myth,” January 2014,
http://warontherocks.com/2014/01/its-time-to-abandon-the-global-village-myth/
Walt, S. “The Top 5 Foreign Policy Lessons of the Past 20 Years,” Foreign Policy,
November 2014, at http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/18/the-top-5-foreign-policy-lessons-of-the-past20-years/
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