Towson University
International Law and Organization, POSC 447/547
Spring 2014
Monday and Wednesday 3:30-4:45, LA 2303
Instructor: Molly Ruhlman mruhlman@towson.edu
Office Hours Monday and Wednesday 10:30-12:30
Office: LA 3206
Course Description :
T he nature, structure and sources of international law, the relationship between international law and domestic
U.S. law, the role of international organizations such as the United Nations. Prerequisites – POSC 107 or consent of instructor.
The last day that you can drop this course with no grade posted is Tuesday Feb. 4 grade of “W” or change your grade to a Pass/No Pass is Friday Feb. 28 th
. th
, Last day to withdraw with a
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
The goal of the Department of Political Science is to provide students with an understanding of politics that will prepare them for further study in graduate or professional education or that will prepare them to enter the world of domestic or international public service or business. To meet this goal, the department seeks to accomplish the following four general student learning outcomes:
1.
Substantive Knowledge about Politics - Describe the structure and nature of politics in international relations.
2.
Critical Thinking Skills - Identify historical, cultural, and socio-economic assumptions that underlie understandings about politics and explain how they affect one’s perspectives and actions.
3.
Affective Meanings of Politics - Explain the importance of politics in the attitudes and beliefs about current issues that affect local, national and international affairs.
4.
Skills for Learning and Life - Present articulate and persuasive arguments about politics in written and oral communications.
This course addresses these outcomes by introducing you to the study of International Relations with a focus on governance through organizations and law. Upon completion of the course, students will have an understanding of the challenges that states face in their interactions, and the role that international organizations and law play in global politics. You will understand the difficulties of collective action and strategies for overcoming them.
Students will be familiar with the United Nations system, key International Economic Organizations, and regional political organizations among other intergovernmental as well as non-governmental organizations and know how these many actors interact within complex issue areas.
Course Overview
In this class you will learn about international institutions; what they are, how they are created, and how they help states overcome collective action problems. You will learn that “institution” means both rules and organizations. While we will study both, this course will emphasize international agreements, rules and law.
The first weeks will be dedicated to obtaining a solid understanding of the institutions and actors of global politics and several ways to think about global governance. We will then turn to specific challenges in international politics. Our examination of specific organizations and how they interact with others will be guided by a study of real-life situations. By the end of the course you will have gained both a theoretical
1

understanding of global governance, organizations and law as well as a practical understanding of real foreign policy. We will regularly discuss current affairs in international politics, and track relevant news.
Our class sessions will focus on discussion of the assigned reading as well as current affairs in international politics. Students are expected to take an active part in class discussions and to have completed reading assignments prior to class.
Assignments and Grading
Participation in news sharing*………………
Writing assignments* (10% each)…..………
Midterms (17% each) ……………………...
Final ……………………………………….
06%
40%
34%
20%
*details starting on page 7
Variation for 557
The following information applies only to students who are registered for 557, for graduate level credit.
Students enrolled in 557 are expected to complete all of the assignments as explained in this syllabus, except for the fourth writing assignment. Instead, 557 students will work individually with the instructor to determine an individually designed writing assignment that will explore each student’s specific area of interest in international governance and law. This paper will involve research and argument, and be of 10-15 pages in length.
Late Work
The first three writing assignments are due during the class period that we are scheduled to discuss the material that you have elected to write about. At the end of that class period, writing assignments for that material will no longer be accepted . You must submit one writing assignment before the second exam. Failure to do so will result in one a grade of zero for one of your writing assignments. There are many opportunities to hand in work before the second exam, so you must plan ahead. The fourth writing assignment is due on Monday May 13 th
, and your grade will be reduced by 10 points each day that it is late, beginning with the end of the class period on its due date (not including weekends).
Missed Exams: If you have a conflict with the exam period you must speak with me at least one week before the exam to make arrangements. There will be no “make-ups” for missed exams without DOCUMENTED and
VERIFIABLE evidence of an unavoidable and unplanned EMERGENCY. If you experience such an emergency you must contact me within 24 hours of the exam .
Attendance
It is your responsibility to attend class. I will not take attendance nor will your presence be directly recorded in the grade book in any way.
However, if you do not attend class you will struggle to pass. You will be tested on material that is covered both in your reading assignments and that which is covered in class.
Grade Scale
I use the +/- grading system for grades A-, B+, B-, and C+. I do not use +/- below the grade of C. My scoring for grades is as follows
Range Range Letter
Grade
A
A-
B+
B
B-
92-100
90-91
87-89
82-86
80-81
Score Recorded when only a
Letter Grade is Assigned
95
90
88
85
80
Letter
Grade
C+
C
D
F
78-79
70-77
60-69
Below 60
Score Recorded when only a
Letter Grade is Assigned
78
75
65
Varies
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Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Copied here is an excerpt from the Towson University plagiarism policy:
“Presenting the work, products, ideas, words, or data of another as one’s own is plagiarism. Indebtedness must be acknowledged whenever:
1.
one quotes another person’s actual words or replicates all or part of another’s product. This includes all information gleaned from any source, including the Internet.
2.
one uses another person’s ideas, opinions, work, data, or theories, even if they are completely paraphrased in one’s own words.
3.
one borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative materials.
Academic dishonesty will absolutely not be tolerated. Any assignment or exam with evidence of cheating will receive a zero. Instances of clear intention of deceit will be reported as an honor violation. Cheating and plagiarizing are violations of the university’s policy on academic integrity (see http://www.towson.edu/provost/resources/studentacademic.asp
).
Cases of cheating and plagiarizing will be handled according to that policy. Under that policy, I will inform
Student Affairs of an infraction and two infractions on your record may be grounds for suspension from the university.
Individual Student Needs
If English is not your first language special arrangements can be made to improve your performance on the exams and assignments. Please see me prior to the first exam for more information.
This course is in compliance with Towson University’s policies for students with disabilities. Accommodations can be made on exams and assignments for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are encouraged to register with Disability Support Services (DSS), 7720 York Road, Suite 232, 410-704-2638 (Voice or TDD).
Students who expect that they have a disability but do not have documentation are encouraged to contact DSS for advice on how to obtain appropriate evaluation. A memo from DSS authorizing your accommodation is needed before any accommodation can be made.
If you have special needs regarding assignments or exams, please talk with me at the beginning of the term. The number for Towson disability support services is
410-704-3475
Required Text

Shirley V. Scott, International Law in World Politics . 2 nd
edition. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2010.

All reading assignments that are not in the Scott text will be posted on Blackboard, or distributed in class.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Monday January 27th
Introduction to class and each other
Wednesday January 29th
Understanding Global Governance and International Law

Scott chapter 1
3

Monday February 3rd
States in International Law

Scott chapter 2
Wednesday February 5th
Institutions, Prisoner’s Dilemma Game
Monday February 10th
Collective Action and other challenges

False Promise of Institutionalism, Mearsheimer

The Promise of Institutionalist Theory , Keohane and Martin
Wednesday February 12th
Origins of the current liberal order

Future of the Liberal Order , Ikenberry
Monday February 17th
International Organizations

Scott chapter 3
Wednesday February 19th
IGOs, Continued. Legal personality and responsibility.
 How the UN Caused Haiti’s Cholera Crisis and Won’t be Held Responsible , Rosen

Update on lawsuit, links on BB.
Monday February 24th
Non-State Actors in global governance

Scott chapter 4
Wednesday February 26th
Review/Current Events
Monday March 3rd
Exam 1
Wednesday March 5th
The structure of International Law

Scott chapter 5
Monday March 10th
Reading Multilateral Treaties

Scott chapter 8
Wednesday March 12th
The Evolution of Multilateral Treaties

Scott chapter 9
SPRING BREAK
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Monday March 24th
International Law and War

Scott chapter 6

When is it Right to Fight?, Evans
Wednesday March 26th
Indeterminacy of International Law, and Legal Argument

Scott chapter 7

International Law and the NATO Intervention in Kosovo, Greenwood

The UN, NATO, and International Law After Kosovo,
O’Connell
Monday March 31st
Humanitarian Law

Scott, chapter 12
Wednesday April 2nd
Humanitarian Law continued: Terrorism and IL

International Law Under Fire: Interesting Times for International Humanitarian Law: Challenges from the "War on Terror", Rona

Can Pakistan Legally Shoot Down US Drones?, Afpak blog
Monday April 7th
Weapons, Arms Control

Scott, chapter 10

TBD article about Syria and chemical weapons
 Why isn’t tear gas illegal?,
Slate Explainer
Wednesday April 9th
Human Rights and Law

Scott chapter 11
Monday April 14th
Human Rights and Law, Part 2

HR instrument texts posted: UNDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR

The Long Arm of International Law , Leval
Wednesday April 16th
Review/Current Events
Monday April 21st
Exam 2
Wednesday April 23rd
Governing the Economy, and Development

Chapter 11 for countries?, Cooper
 For Transatlantic Trade, This Time it’s Different , Barker
Monday April 28th
Governing the Environment

Scott, chapter 13
5

Wednesday April 30th
More on Global Public Goods, Transnational Challenges

Who Will Control the Internet?, Cukier

Too Many Stakeholders Spoil the Soup, Dourado
Monday, May 5th
Legitimacy and democracy in Global Governance?

Is there a democratic deficit in world politics? Moravcsik o talk, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN-nx-Q5xx4 (minutes 4:30-55:00, rest is intro/q&a) o Or the paper posted on blackboard

We the people of the Earth, Toward Global Democracy
Wednesday, May 7th
The future of International Law and world politics

Scott, Chapter 14

The Merits of Global Constitutionalism , Peters
Monday, May 12th
Review/Current Events day
FINAL EXAM: May 19th 3:00-500pm
At least once between each exam (three times in total) you must distribute an article of news related to the subjects we are discussing in class that week. You will post the link and a short description or comment about it to the News Discussion Board on blackboard. Please feel free to reply to any of the posts.
You must submit FOUR memos in total . One must be turned in before the first exam, and another before the second exam (the other two at any time in the semester). You choose which articles you will write about, and thus you choose your due days. There are eleven possibilities. When there are two essays assigned on a single day then your memo should discuss both of them – they will be related to one another in an important way.
Papers are due the day that the articles are listed in the syllabus. This means that we will not talk about them in class prior to your writing. Instead, you will come to class prepared to discuss the material that you have written about. Once we have had that discussion in class then you are no longer able to submit a memo on that material.
Each memo should be: double-spaced, TNR or equivalent font size 12, 4-5 pages.
1.
The purpose of writing this critical memo is to enhance your critical thinking abilities using the assigned readings and to improve the depth and breadth of our in-class discussions.
2.
Simple summaries of the material are not sufficient.
3.
As preparation for writing the critical memo paper, think about the following questions and topics as we do each of the assigned readings. We will be incorporating these questions and topics into our in-class discussions and activities, so come prepared.
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Questions that you MIGHT consider while reading, and that MIGHT guide the writing of your memo (this is not intended to be a formulaic essay where you systematically answer each of these questions. These are mere suggestions.):
1.
What is the intended purpose of the assigned article? Is the author making an explicit argument about a topic? Does the author purport to present an “objective” description of facts? What are the most important points the author is trying to convey? How well does the author succeed in conveying these points?
2.
If the author is making a clear argument, what is the author’s normative agenda in making the argument(s)? More interestingly, to what extent do you agree or disagree with the author? Why?
3.
As you think about each individual reading, compare it to the others you have read in this term. How might the authors of the articles speak to each other or what might they discuss if they were seated at a seminar table, on the same roundtable panel, on a long flight together overseas? Choose two authors.
What would be their topic of conversation and what would be their points of agreement, disagreement, and compromise?
4.
To what extent are these authors talking about the same issue or different aspects of the same issue?
That is, how do the themes in one reading relate to themes in earlier readings this term or themes and ideas in our class discussions?
5.
If you were invited to participate in their discussion, what would you say? In other words, would you find yourself siding more with one author than the other? Why? Or would you make an alternative argument and/or interrupt with additional evidence? What would that argument be or what would the additional evidence consist of?
6.
How has the reading(s) enhanced your understanding of the subject? In what ways did it amplify, differ from, or change the impression you got from my summaries or our in-class discussions?
Guidelines for writing the Critical Memo paper
Memos are meant not only to assist you in carefully considering the readings you have done for this course, but also in understanding what they suggest about world politics and international institutions. Memos should not be used to summarize the readings — I want to see evidence that you have thought analytically about the readings in some depth and considered their implications.
Each memo should respond to a specific article or set of articles. But your analysis should be informed by what you are simultaneously reading in the Scott text, and what we have been reading/discussing throughout the semester. Always remember to use proper citations for any material that you refer to while writing these memos.
PAPER OPTIONS (Choose FOUR in total, and turn in at least one from each of the following groups)
1.
February 10: Mearsheimer AND Keohane/Martin
2.
February 12: Ikenberry
3.
February 19: Rosen
************************************************************************
4.
March 24: Evans AND BB posted update.
5.
March 26: Greenwood AND O’Connel
6.
April 2: Rona AND Afpak blog
7.
April 7: TBD Syria chemical weapons article AND Slate Explainer
8.
April 14: Leval
************************************************************************
9.
April 23: Cooper AND Barker
10.
April 30: Cukier AND Dourado
11.
May 5: Moravscik AND “People of the Earth”
12.
May 7: Peters
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