UCB/Summer Semester 2013
Problems of International Relations:
Understanding Contemporary International Security
Dario Battistella
Visiting Professor of Political Science
Sciences Po Bordeaux/France
d.battistella@sciencespobordeaux.fr
www.dariobattistella.fr
Course Description & Requirements
In everyday language, 'problems' are questions to be considered, solved, or answered. In science,
'problems' are 'puzzles', identified by Thomas Kuhn as problems likely to receive solutions within
existing paradigms. If we combine these two definitions, “Problems in International Relations” can
be defined as questions to be considered, solved, or answered thanks to theories, concepts, and
methods used in the discipline of International Relations.
The aim of this course is to tackle some contemporary international problems by having a look at
them through the scientific lenses provided by IR. Given the potentially huge domain of
international issues at stake, the topics concerned will focus on international security, rather than
international political economy.
11 topics will be addressed, and every problem will be dealt with during two classes of, roughly,
one hour and a half each. The first class will take the form of a lecture recalling the major historical
and theoretical backgrounds of the topic at issue; the second class will consist in a seminar aiming,
on the basis of empirical and analytical documents, at proposing rigorous answers to the problem in
question.
Students are required to attend the lectures and prepare the seminar sessions. At the end of every
lecture, two or three (depending on the number of enrolled students) students will be designated, on
a voluntary basis, to make the day after an oral presentation of the documents related to the problem
concerned and thus launch the seminar discussion.
Students are also required to write a short research paper (8-10 pages, Word.doc(x) typescript,
double-spaced, 12 point font),
either on one of the topics enumerated hereafter,
or on a topic proposed by themselves and agreed upon after discussion.
Deadline to hand in the paper : Wednesday, August 7th, 11 a.m.
Oral participation will represent one third of the final grade, and the mark of the research paper will
count for two thirds. Three absences throughout the summer semester are allowed without penalty.
Syllabus
I. Systems and Structures
1. The End of the Cold War: Conceptual Surprise or Logical Outcome?
1A : M. Gorbachev, “Europe as a Common Home”, Address given to the Council of Europe,
Strasbourg, July 6th, 1989.
1B : R.N. Lebow & T. Risse-Kappen, “Introduction”, in R. N. Lebow & T. Risse-Kappen
(eds), International Relations and the End of the Cold War, New York, Columbia UP, p. 121.
1C : H. Nau, “Ideas Have Consequences: The Cold War and Today”, International Politics,
48 (4/5), 2011, p. 460-481.
2. The Contemporary Interstate System: Multipolar, Unipolar, Nonpolar?
2A : K. Waltz, “The Emerging Structure of International Politics”, International Security,
18 (2), 1993, p. 44-79.
2B : J. Ikenberry et al., “Unipolarity, State Behavior, and Systemic Consequences”, World
Politics, 61 (1), 2009, p. 1-27.
2C : R. Haass, “The Age of Non-Polarity: What Will Follow U.S. Dominance”, Foreign
Affairs, 87 (3), 2008, p. 44-56.
3. The Contemporary International Society: Pluralist or Solidarist?
3A : K. Annan, “Two Concepts of Sovereignty”, The Economist, September 16th, 1999.
3B : R. Paris, “International Peacebuilding and the 'Mission Civilisatrice'”, Review of
International Studies, 28 (4), 2002, p. 637-656.
3C : C. Reus-Smit, “Liberal Hierarchy and the Licence to Use Force”, Review of
International Studies, 31 (1), 2005, p. 71-92.
II. Institutions and Organizations
4. The United Nations: From A Peace-Prone to A War-Prone Institution?
4A : UN Charter.
4B : L. Goodrich, “From the League of Nations to the United Nations”, International
Organization, 1 (1), 1947, p. 3-21.
4C : UN Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011) on Libya.
5. The European Union : Economic Giant, Political Dwarf, Military Worm?
5A : H. Bull, “Civilian Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms?”, Journal of Common
Market Studies, 21 (1/2), 1982, p. 149-164.
5B : I. Manners, “Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms?”, Journal of
Common Market Studies, 40 (2), 2002, p. 235-258.
5C : Treaty of European Union, Title V, Art. 21-46.
6. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Alliance or Security Community?
6A : J. Solana, “NATO's 50th Anniversary-The Washington Summit-The Next Century”,
Address given in Rome, January 25th, 1999.
6B : S. Walt, “Why Alliances Endure or Collapse”, Survial, 39 (1), 1997, p. 156-179.
6C : T. Risse-Kappen, “Collective Identity in a Democratic Community: The Case of
NATO”, in P. Katzenstein (ed.), The Culture of National Security: Norms ans Identity in
World Politics, New York, Columbia UP, 1996, p. 357-399.
III. Actions and Interactions
7. Operation Iraqi Freedom: Legitimate Defense or Sinister Crusade?
7A : G.W. Bush, “President George W. Bush Discusses Beginning of Operation Iraqi
Freedom”, Radio Address, March 22nd, 2003.
7B : J. Mearsheimer & S. Walt, “An Unnecessary War”, Foreign Policy, 134, 2003, p. 50-59.
7C : J. Snyder, “Imperial Temptations”, The National Interest, 71, 2003, p. 29-40.
8. U.S. Foreign Policy Decision-Making: Tamed Princes or Imperial Presidents?
8A : U.S. Constitution (Original Text Adopted on September 7 th, 1787)
8B : A. Schlesinger, Jr., The Imperial Presidency, New York, Houghton Mifflin, 1973,
Chapters 1 (“What the Founding Fathers Intended”) & 2 (“Where the Founding Fathers
Disagreed”), p. 1-34.
8C : C. Kaufmann, “Threat Inflation and the Marketplace of Ideas: The Selling of the Iraq
War”, International Security, 29 (1), 2004, p. 5-48.
9. The Israeli-Arabian Conflict: A Never-Ending State of War?
9A : A. Sadat, “Address to the Israeli Knesset”, November 20th, 1977.
9B : Hamas Charter.
9C : A. Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics, Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press, 1999, Chapter 6 (“Three Cultures of Anarchy”), p. 246-312.
IV. Trends and Transformations
10. The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: More Will Be Better or Worse?
10A : “Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons”, July 1 st 1968.
10B : K. Waltz, “The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: More May Be Better”, Adelphi Papers,
171, London International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1981.
10C : S. Sagan, “The Perils of Proliferation”, International Security, 18 (4), 1994, p. 66-107.
11. The Rise of China: How to Cope With It?
11A : B. Obama, “Remarks by the President at the U.S.-China Economic and Strategic
Dialogue”, Washington, July 27th, 2009.
11B : A. Friedberg, “The Future of U.S. China Relations: Is Conflict Inevitable?”,
International Security, 30 (2), 2005, p. 7-45.
11C : S. Chan, Looking for Balance: China, the United States and Power Balancing in East
Asia, Stanford, Stanford UP, 2012 : Introduction, p. 1-17.
12. What Have We Learned ?
General discussion
Detailed look at the research papers and explanation of the grade obtained
Research Paper Topics
1. The Cold War, a state of war or a long peace?
2. Does the rise of the so-called BRICS imply multipolarity?
3. Book review : J. Rawls, The Law of Peoples
4. The Reform of the UN Security Council : feasible or illusionary?
5. Did the EU deserve the Peace Nobel Price 2012?
6. Explaining France's ambiguous stance in NATO
7. Operations 'Desert Storm' and 'Iraqi Freedom' : comparison
8. Does American public opinion influence foreign policy decisions?
9. America's role in the Israeli-Arabian conflict
10. The impact of the nuclear bomb upon the India-Pakistan rivalry
11. America's future peer competitor: beyond China, India?