Introduction to International Relations
Department of Political Science, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University
Spring 2008
Course and Contact Information
Course Number
Meeting Times
Meeting Location
Instructor
Instructor’s Office
Office Hours
Office Phone
Office E-mail
Office AIM
Course Website
01:790:102:12
Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:15-8:35 p.m.
Hickman 138, Douglass Campus
David Bell Mislan
Hickman 402, Douglass Campus
Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30-5:30 p.m. or by appt.
732-932-9250
mislan@polisci.rutgers.edu
professorDBM (online during office hours only)
http://sakai.rutgers.edu
Course Description
As a social science, the study of international relations tries to make sense of the world
around us without relying on superstition. It is a young discipline when compared to the
rest of the social and behavioral sciences (i.e. economics.) Prior to 1945, scholars
considered the practice of international relations to be the “sport of kings” that had little
to do with systemic causes or, practically, anything beyond the whim of a few influential
people. This changed when the three waves of democratization over the latter half of the
twentieth century encouraged Americans and other Westerners to establish IR as a field of
study— with the power to create policy in the hands of ordinary people, the sport of
kings was no more. In the current era, individuals like you and I have a say in the practice
of international relations and are duly affected by what happens across the globe. This
popularization of international politics has encouraged researchers to redouble their
efforts to understand international relations beyond the behavior of a few leaders. Some
of us, maybe Quixotian at best, feel that producing value-free knowledge about
international relations might lead to a better world. As a result, the scholarly field of IR is
a rapidly growing; we’ve learned more about macro-level politics in the past fifty years
than humanity has known in the past five thousand. This course is designed to introduce
you to this relatively new field and what we’ve learned so far.
We will pay close attention to the dominant paradigms in the study of international
relations, classic and current trends in research and theorizing, and the most pressing
theoretical issues and cases discussed today within the discipline. I expect you to conclude
that we have a long way to go in order to answer seminal questions about how politics
works on the global scale (i.e., what really causes war?)
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Course Objectives
Our course objectives are to:
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Familiarize you with the scholarly discipline of international relations
Encourage you to think like a social scientist and to improve your critical thinking
Help you explore career options in international relations
Develop your written, spoken, and inter-personal communication skills
Prepare you for advanced studies in international relations at Rutgers
Course Requirements
I have designed this course so that your final grade will reflect how well you achieve the
course objectives. There are four basic requirements:
Requirement
First exam
Second exam
Final exam
Event analysis
Grade Proportion
25%
25%
25%
25%
In-class exams. Each exam will consist of ten concepts, theories, or cases that you must
place into meaningful pairs and define. These ten terms will come from a study guide of
at least twenty-five terms that will be available on sakai.rutgers.edu. The hourly exams
are on February 27 and April 9.
Final exam. The final exam will consist of your choice of one of two essay questions that
will test your cumulative knowledge of the course material. I will select these two questions
from a study guide (available on SAKAI) that contains four questions. The final exam is on
May 12.
Event analysis. You will write a short (1000 word maximum) paper that analyzes one of
two global political events using a paradigm discussed in class. More information will be
available on sakai.rutgers.edu after the semester begins. The essay is due on April 21
before 7:15 p.m.
Introduction to International Relations, Spring 2008
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Course Materials
There are three required texts for this course. The following texts are on order and
available for purchase at New Jersey Books (732-828-7401, 108 Somerset Street):
Jackson, R. and G. Sørensen (2007). Introduction to International Relations: Theories
and Approaches. (Oxford University Press), 3rd edition, paperback.
Evans, G. and R. Newnham (1999). Dictionary of International Relations. (Penguin)
Snow, D.T. (2007). Cases in International Relations: Portraits of the Future. (Longman), 3rd
edition, paperback.
I will suggest recommended readings during our class meetings. I strongly recommend,
however, that you read The New York Times and its “world” section on a daily basis, as it
will help you study for the geography quizzes and I will refer to current politics in class.
Class Policies
These are my expectations for your conduct during this course.
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Attendance. Attending class is your responsibility. I will take roll occasionally,
but missing class will not incur a penalty. Accordingly, I am not responsible for
any work or notes you missed due to your absence.
Deadlines. You must submit all work when it is due and take all exams and
quizzes when I schedule them. I do not accept late assignments or give make-up
exams without a) a letter from your college dean and b) accompanying
documentation (i.e. a doctor’s note.) I reserve the right to verify your excuses
before accepting them. Submitting these documents does not automatically mean
that I accept your excuse. I will not, under any circumstances, consider any excuse
(regardless of documentation) after I submit course grades.
E-mail. I try to respond to your e-mails as efficiently as possible. Sometimes,
however, I receive e-mails from students that are too complicated or
inappropriate to answer. In these cases, I will ask you to use my office hours or
will gladly arrange a phone call. You should also know that I do not, without
prior knowledge and consent, accept e-mailed assignments.
Access. I will make every attempt to be as accessible as possible. In turn,
expect you to see me if you need my assistance. This semester, for the first time, I
am making myself available through instant messenger (AIM: professorDBM)
during my office hours for those unable to see me in person.
Academic Integrity. I ruthlessly enforce the University’s rules and regulations
regarding academic dishonesty. If you don’t know what this means, read
http://teachx.rutgers.edu/integrity/policy.html
Ecological Responsibility. Except for the exams, this will be a paperless class.
All handouts and submissions will be online, including the course syllabus.
Introduction to International Relations, Spring 2008
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Course Schedule
Date
Topic
Assigned Reading(s)
Wednesday 1.23
Course Introduction, Epistemology
J&S, 2-28
Core Concepts in the Study and Practice of International Relations
Monday 1.28
States, Nations, and Sovereignty
J&S, 2-28
Wednesday 1.30
Anarchy, Security, and Governance
J&S, 29-58
Monday 2.4
Power, Actors, and Interests
J&S, 29-58
Wednesday 2.6
CLASS CANCELLED
NA
Current Themes in the Practice of International Relations
Monday 2.11
The Distribution of Power
Snow, Chapter 3
Case Study: The Rise of China
Wednesday 2.13
The Growing Influence of NGOs
Snow, Chapter 2
Case Study: Doctors without Borders
Monday 2.18
Intractable Conflicts
Snow, Chapter 6
Case Study: Israel-Palestine
Wednesday 2.20
New Challenges to Security
Snow, Chapter 11
Case Study: DPRK
Monday 2.25
Careers in International Affairs / IR
Read “careers in PS” on
Review for the Midterm Examination
Rutgers Polisci Website
Wednesday 2.27
EXAM #1
Paradigms as Approaches to the Systematic Study of International Relations
Monday 3.3
Realism
J&S, 59-96
Wednesday 3.5
Case Study: Jammu & Kashmir
Snow, Chapter 12
Monday 3.10
Liberalism
J&S, 97-128
Wednesday 3.12
Case Study: The WTO
Snow, Chapter 7
Monday 3.17
Wednesday 3.19
Monday 3.24
Marxism
J&S, 186-191
st
Wednesday 3.26
Case Study: Oil in the 21 Century
Snow, Chapter 14
Monday 3.31
The British School
J&S, 129-160
Wednesday 4.2
Case Study: Climate Change
Snow, Chapter 6
Monday 4.7
Social Constructivism
J&S, 161-177
Review for Exam #2
Wednesday 4.9
EXAM #2
Introduction to Special Topics in the Study of International Relations
Monday 4.14
Foreign Policy Analysis
J&S, 222-247
Wednesday 4.16
International Political Economy
J&S, 178-221
Monday 4.21
International Security
Snow, Chapter 16
ESSAY DUE
Wednesday 4.23
Transnational Issues: AIDS
Snow, Chapter 15
Monday 4.28
The United Nations
TBA
Wednesday 4.30
Conflict Resolution
TBA
Monday 5.5
Course Conclusion
J&S, 248-278
Review for Final Exam
Monday 5.12
FINAL EXAM
NA
8:00 to 10:00 p.m.
SPRING BREAK
Introduction to International Relations, Spring 2008