Baruch College, The City University of New York
Department of Political Science
The United States in an Age of Globalization
Political Science 2001
Fall 2007
Section KM24
Tuesday and Thursday, 11.10a.m-12.25p.m.
Professor Dov Waxman
Office: Room 5-275, Vertical Campus
Office Phone: 646-312-4421
Email: Dov_Waxman@baruch.cuny.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 4.00-5.30pm or by appointment
Course Description:
Not since the period of the Vietnam War has U.S. foreign policy been the subject of as
much debate and controversy as it is today both in the United States and around the
world. At the heart of this controversy is the issue of the unrivalled global power of the
United States. What does this power mean for America’s role in the world? How should
it be exercised? For what purposes? Will it last? These critical questions will guide us
throughout this course. To gain some necessary background for addressing these
questions, the first part of the course will briefly survey the history of U.S. foreign policy,
especially during the Cold War, and outline the domestic political context in which it is
formulated, with particular attention paid to the central policy actors and processes
involved in making U.S. foreign policy. The second part of the course will then examine
some of the major issues in U.S. foreign policy in the post-Cold War era, including
preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, humanitarian intervention,
promoting democracy and human rights, and globalization and trade. The impact that the
terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001, have had upon U.S. foreign policy and the Bush
Administration’s conduct of the ‘war on terrorism’ and the Iraq war will be given special
consideration.
Course Objectives:
By the end of the course, you should have:
 A basic knowledge of the history of U.S. foreign policy
 An understanding of how U.S. foreign policy is made and the role of the major actors
 An understanding of the factors that shape U.S. foreign policy
 A substantive knowledge of the major contemporary issues in U.S. foreign policy
Course Text (available for purchase in the Baruch College Bookstore):
Bruce W. Jentleson, American Foreign Policy: The Dynamics of Choice in the 21st
Century, third edition. W.W. Norton, New York, 2007.
Course Requirements:
Participation: Questions, discussion and debate during class are strongly encouraged.
You are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings as well as
current events in world politics. You may be called on individually by me to answer
questions in class related to the assigned readings or current world events. International
events will often be used to illustrate points discussed in class. You must therefore read
the international section of a major newspaper every day in order to keep up with current
international events. The New York Times provides extensive coverage of international
news and is available free of charge at the Newman Library and the New York Public
Library, and on-line at www.nytimes.com. The weekly news magazine The Economist is
also worth reading. It is available in the library and some of its articles are online at
www.economist.com. To encourage you to keep informed about current world events,
occasional pop quizzes will be given at the beginning of class. The results of these brief
quizzes will be taken into account when determining your participation score.
Weekly Online Quizzes: Each week you must answer all the multiple choice quiz
questions for the week’s chapter on the American Foreign Policy textbook’s student
website: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/polisci/forpol3/welcome.asp. When you
finish the quiz, you must send me the results.
Debate: Once during the semester you will take part in a debate in class on a question
concerning the topic of the week. Two opposing teams each made up of two students
will present arguments in favor or against a given proposition.
Midterm Exam: There will be an in-class midterm exam on Tuesday October 9. It will
consist of short-answer identification questions and one essay question.
Final Exam/Term Paper: The final exam will consist of short-answer identification
questions and two essay questions. It will take place on Thursday December 20 from
10.30am-12.30pm. As an alternative to taking the final exam, you can write a paper of at
least 10 double-spaced pages (12 point, Times Roman font) examining one of the
contemporary issues in U.S. foreign policy covered in the course. If you would like to
write a paper you must first receive my approval by submitting a written description of
the topic of your paper by November 29 at the latest. The paper will be due on the same
day as the final exam (Thursday December 20).
Grading:
Participation: 10 points
Weekly Online Quizzes: 10 points
Debate: 20 points
Midterm Exam: 20 points
Final Exam/Term Paper: 40 points
Total: 100 points
Letter Grading System:
90-100 = A
80-89 = A70-79 = B+
60-69 = B
50-59 = B40-49 = C+
30-39 = C
20-29 = C15-19 = D+
10-14 = D
0-9 = F
I reserve the right to make adjustments to this system to take into account the overall
performance of the class.
Course Policies
Attendance:
Class attendance will be recorded. In accordance with the official policy outlined in the
Baruch College Undergraduate Bulletin, freshmen and sophomores with more than four
missed classes will be automatically dropped from the course (i.e., receive a grade of
WU). Those in danger of reaching the limit should immediately see me during office
hours, or contact me by telephone or e-mail. Juniors and seniors with more than four
missed classes will have their final grade lowered, but extenuating circumstances will be
taken into account.
Classroom Conduct:
ARRIVING LATE interferes with other students’ learning and is not acceptable.
Subway delays and other problems are unavoidable on occasion, but it is each student’s
responsibility to plan carefully to arrive on time and well prepared. Repeated latecomers
will be penalized. You must immediately let me know if you cannot arrive on time on a
regular basis due to extenuating circumstances.
LEAVING EARLY is disruptive, and is strongly discouraged. If you know you will have
to leave early for a valid reason, please let me know before class.
You must TURN OFF BEEPERS AND CELL PHONES BEFORE CLASS. If your
phone rings, you will be asked to leave. You may not use electronic devices of any kind,
including laptop computers, during class meetings.
EATING AND DRINKING IN CLASS is rude and distracting to other students; it is not
permitted.
Students with Disabilities:
Students who require reasonable accommodations or modifications should speak with me
as soon as possible. You should also contact the Office of Services for Students with
Disabilities, part of the Division of Student Development and Counseling.
Extra Credit:
Extra credit assignments will not be given on an individual basis to raise final grades.
Make-up Exams:
A make-up midterm exam will only be given if a student informs me prior to the
scheduled examination and provides a valid excuse with documentation for their absence.
If you miss the exam and do not give prior notice or if you do not have a valid excuse,
you will not be given a make-up exam and you will receive an F on the midterm exam.
If you are absent for the scheduled make-up exam, there will be no subsequent make-ups,
and you will receive an F.
Cheating and Plagiarism:
Your work must be your own. Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses and will not
be tolerated. For definitions of cheating and plagiarism you should consult the Academic
Honesty website: http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html
My policy is to give a failing grade (F) to any assignment that has been plagiarized or for
any exam or quiz in which you have cheated. In addition, I am required by College
policy to submit a report of suspected academic dishonesty to the Dean of Students
office. This report becomes part of your permanent file.
SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS:
PART I: BACKGROUND
Week 1 (August 28, 30)
Course Overview and Introduction
 Jentleson, ch.1, pp. 2-23
 Hans J. Morgenthau, “The Mainsprings of American Foreign Policy,” in Jentleson,
pp.176-179
 Inis L. Claude, Jr., “International Organization and World Order,” in Jentleson, pp.180184
 Gabriel Kolko, “The United States and World Economic Power,” in Jentleson, pp.185188
 Tony Smith, “The United States and the Global Struggle for Democracy,” in Jentleson,
pp.189-193
Week 2 (September 4, 6)
The Making of U.S. Foreign Policy (I)
 Jentleson, ch.2, pp. 25-40, ch.6, pp. 281-294
 Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., “What the Founding Fathers Intended,” in Jentleson,
pp.194-198
 Graham T. Allison, “Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” in Jentleson,
pp.199-200
Week 3 (Sept 11)
The Making of U.S. Foreign Policy (II)
 Jentleson, ch.2, pp. 40-58, ch.6, pp. 294-303
 Ole R. Holsti, “Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: Challenges to the AlmondLippmann Consensus,” in Jentleson, pp.201-207
Week 4 (Sept 20)
The Cold War
 Jentleson, ch.4, pp. 92-124
 Melvyn P. Leffler, “The American Conception of National Security and the Beginning
of the Cold War, 1945-48,” in Jentleson, pp.224-228
 Bernard Brodie, “Strategy in the Middle Age,” in Jentleson, pp.231-236
 George Kennan, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” in Jentleson, pp.237-240
Week 5 (Sept 25, 27)
The Vietnam War
 Jentleson, ch.5, pp. 128-138
 Leslie H. Gelb, “Vietnam: The System Worked,” in Jentleson, pp.241-244
Week 6 (October 2, 4)
Détente and the End of the Cold War
 Jentleson, ch.5, pp. 138-172
 John Lewis Gaddis, “The Unexpected Ronald Reagan,” in Jentleson, pp.251-253
 Mikhail Gorbachev, “The Soviet Union’s Crucial Role,” in Jentleson, pp.254-256
PART II – CONTEMPORARY FOREIGN POLICY GOALS AND CHALLENGES
Week 7 (Oct 9)
Midterm Exam
Week 7 (Oct 11)
U.S. Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era
 Jentleson, ch.6, pp. 258-303
 Charles Krauthammer, “The Unipolar Moment Revisited,” in Jentleson, pp. 556-560
 Joseph S. Nye, “The Battle between Unilateralists and Multilateralists,” in Robert J. Art
and Robert Jervis, International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues,
seventh edition (Pearson, 2005), pp. 472-479
Week 8 (Oct 16, 18)
Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
 Jentleson, ch.7, pp. 308-353
 Richard K. Betts, “The New Threat of Mass Destruction,” in Wittkopf and Jones, eds.,
The Future of American Foreign Policy, pp. 303-312
 Bill Keller, “Nuclear Nightmares,” New York Times Magazine, 26 May 2002
Week 9 (Oct 23, 25)
9/11 and the War on Terror
 Jentleson, ch.8, pp. 359-374, pp. 397-407
 9/11 Commission, “Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon
the United States,” in Jentleson, pp.579-581
 Jason Burke, “Think Again: Al Qaeda,” Foreign Policy (May/June 2004)
 Bruce Riedel, “Al Qaeda Strikes Back,” Foreign Affairs (May/June, 2007)
 National Intelligence Estimate, “The Terrorist Threat to the US Homeland,” July 2007
Week 10 (Oct 30, November 1)
The War in Iraq
 Jentleson, ch.8, pp. 374-389, pp. 407-415
 George W. Bush, “Pre-Emption and National Security Strategy,” in Jentleson, pp.573574
 G. John Ikenberry, “America’s Imperial Ambition,” in Jentleson, pp.575-578
Kenneth Pollack, “Next Stop Baghdad,” Foreign Affairs (March/April, 2002)
Stephen Walt and John Mearshimer, “An Unnecessary War,” Foreign Policy
(November/December 2002)
 James Dobbins, “Who Lost Iraq?” Foreign Affairs (September/October, 2007)
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Week 11 (Nov 6, 8)
Humanitarian Intervention
 Jentleson, ch.9, pp. 421-456
 International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, “The Case for
Humanitarian Intervention,” in Jentleson, pp. 582-584
 Warren P. Strobel, “The Media and U.S. Policies Toward Intervention: A Closer Look
at the ‘CNN Effect’,” in Jentleson, pp.585-592
 Samantha Power, “Bystanders to Genocide,” The Atlantic Monthly (September 2001)
Week 12 (Nov 13, 15)
Globalization (I): International Trade and Finance
 Jentleson, ch.10, pp. 461-478, pp. 495-504
 Thomas L. Friedman, “It’s a Flat World, After All,” The New York Times, 3 April 2005
 Fareed Zakaria, “‘The World is Flat’: The Wealth of Yet More Nations,” The New York
Times, 1 May 2005
 John Gray, “The World is Round,” The New York Review of Books, 11 August 2005
 Hal R. Varian, “Who really makes the iPod?” International Herald Tribune, 28 June
2007
Week 13 (Nov 20) Globalization (II): Development, Health, and Environment
 Jentleson, ch.10, pp. 479-495
 UNAIDS, “2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic,” in Jentleson, pp.593-596
 Al Gore, “An Inconvenient Truth,” in Jentleson, pp.597-599
Week 14 (Nov 27, 29)
Global Democratization and Human Rights
 Jentleson, ch.11, pp. 507-551
 Francis Fukuyama, “The End of History?” in Jentleson, pp. 609-612
 Samuel P. Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations?” in Jentleson, pp. 613-619
 Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder, “Democratization and the Danger of War,” in
Jentleson, pp. 620-626
Week 15 (December 4, 6) The Future of U.S. Hegemony
 The Economist, “The hobbled hegemon,” 28 June 2007
 Niall Ferguson, “A World Without Power,” Foreign Policy (July/August 2004)
 William Pfaff, “The Question of Hegemony,” Foreign Affairs (January/February 2001)
 Clark S. Judge, “Hegemony of the Heart,” Policy Review, no. 110 (December
2001/January 2002)
 Robert W. Tucker and David C. Hendrickson, “The Sources of American Legitimacy,”
Foreign Affairs (November/December 2004)
Week 16 (December 11)
Course Summary and Evaluation