POLS 120 INTRO TO WORLD POLITICS and International Relations
Instructor: Kate Xiao Zhou
E-mail: katezhou@hawaii.edu
Course Objective: The purpose of this course is to understand political power as exercised
in world politics since 1945. Since this understanding requires a deep knowledge of the role
of the United States, the major player in the post-war period to this day, we focus on United
States foreign policy and America’s interactions with the world. We trace the several
strands of policy as they develop and as they are applied to the changing environments of
the post WWII world, and we consider the theoretical contexts in which they operate. We
challenge students as citizens to decide how the United States should engage the world in
their future. The textbook for this course is American Foreign Policy Since World War II,
Nineteenth Edition, by Steven W. Hook and John Spanier.
Readings in the syllabus will be designated: AFP with page numbers shown. There are also
17 assigned articles, and these may be found posted on laulima in the resources section. The
syllabus specifies when each article should be read.
Course Grading: Grades will be based on your performance in the following areas:
TAKE HOME EXAMS: Take home midterm and take home final will be worth up to 30 points
each on your final grade. These will be distributed on a Tuesday (see course outline for
dates), and will be collected the following Tuesday. Questions will be based on the readings
and class presentations. Format will be a mix of short essay and non-essay. You may refer to
the readings, to your notes, and to any other independent readings you may consider
relevant. You may work in groups, but you are responsible for submitting your own exam
paper, which may reflect group work, your work, or a combination of both.
LAULIMA REFLECTIONS POSTINGS: Each student is responsible for twenty-five postings on
laulima, reflecting his/her opinion on the material presented in the readings or discussions
for a given class (which can include reactions to opinions about the class posted by
classmates). This will begin with the January 21 class and end with the April 22 class.
DEADLINE FOR POSTING WILL BE ONE WEEK AFTER THE GIVEN CLASS!! Each quality post
will be worth one point on your final grade, to a maximum of 25 points. A discussion thread
will be established for each class date.
ATTENDANCE: It is important that you attend class to benefit from the discussions of the
material. Each student is responsible for signing the class sign up sheet before leaving each
class. Good attendance is worth 10 points on your final grade. One point will be subtracted
for every absence beyond three.
CLASS PARTICIPATION: We want to know what you think about the materials assigned, and
see some debate among your classmates. Speaking up regularly in class can earn you up to 5
points on your final grade.
“Easy” Points: Attendance 10.0
Participation 5.0
Reflections 25.0
Subtotal 40.0
Exam Points Midterm 30.0
Final 30.0
Subtotal 60.0
Grand Total 100.0
Along with the 100.0 maximum points above, there will also be extra-credit opportunities
announced by Professor Zhou over the course of the semester.
COURSE OUTLINE
Course Introduction* 3/1/17
Theories of International Relations#
Walt: International Relations: One World, Many Theories
Founding Principles in Foreign Relations#
AFP pgs 10-13
Washington: Farewell Address
Monroe: Monroe Doctrine
Progressive Imperialism & Mission#
AFP pgs 14-20
Beveridge: Speech on Philippines
Wilson: Declaration of War (Make World Safe for Democracy)
Conclusion of WWII: Yalta & Soviet Expansion*
AFP pgs 21-33
Containment, Truman Doctrine, and Opening of Cold War#
AFP pgs 34-43
Guest Speaker, Prof. Shen Genglin, Fudan University
Kennan: The Sources of Soviet Conduct
Truman: Speech to Congress (Truman Doctrine)
Guest Lecturer: Barry Goldwater Jr./ Jim Chapman
Institution Building*
AFP pgs 44-56
Trouble in East Asia: Revolution&War in China&Korea, US Response (Truman,
Eisenhower)*
AFP pgs 57-70
Kennedy, Cuba, & Russia: Bay of Pigs/Berlin Wall/Missile Crisis*
AFP pgs 71-87
The War in Vietnam#
AFP pgs 88-100
Major Events of the Vietnam War
Nixon, Kissinger, and the Policy of Détente*
Guest Speaker, Prof. Bian Yi, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics
AFP pgs 101-109
Carter’s Failed Idealism*
AFP pgs 110-126
Reagan Realism: Peace Through (U.S.) Strength#
AFP pgs 127-150
1985 State of Union (Reagan Doctrine)
1983 Remarks to Evangelicals (Evil Empire Speech)
1987 Brandenburg Gate Speech (Tear Down This Wall)
1983 “Star Wars” Speech
Kautman: The First Principles of Ronald Reagan’s Foreign Policy
TAKE HOME MIDTERM (BASED ON CLASSES THROUGH 3/4)
DISTRIBUTED/POSTED TUESDAY
DUE NO LATER THAN TUESDAY
Field Trip to Wuhan, the 1911 Revolution Museum, training to Wuhan takes 3 and half
hours.
End of Cold War: GHW Bush Manages Collapse of Soviet Union*
AFP pgs 151-173
The European Miracles & National Sovereignty Issues#
AFP pgs 226-233
Sovereignty and the EU
Woods: Globalization and Sovereignty: A Short History of the Bricker Amendment
America’s Foreign Policy Choices & Failing States in Clinton’s Unipolar World*
AFP pgs 174-225, 234-251
Visit Hang Zhou, where President Nixon started the peace talks (weekend by train 45
minuts) and visit Tai River, the clearest river in China. (weekend visit)
Guest Lecturer: Life in a “Captive Nation” During the Cold War
Guest Lecturer: A Libertarian View of the Cold War
Guest Lecturer: Arguments on Both Sides of Hawaiian Statehood
Asymmetric Challenges from Islamic Terrorism*
AFP pgs 252-266
9/11 and the Bush Doctrine#
AFP pgs 267-281
Bush’s National Security Strategy
War in Afghanistan*
AFP pgs 282-289
Tuck: Afghanistan: Strategy and War Termination
War in Iraq*
AFP pgs 290-308
Guest Speaker, US Official at Shanghai Consulate
US-Iraq War
2008 U.S. Financial Crisis: Causes & Impact on U.S. Foreign Policy#
AFP pgs 309-317
An Obama Doctrine?#
AFP pgs 318-330
Krayewski: What the Syria Crisis Tells Us About the Obama Doctrine or Lack There of
TAKE HOME FINAL (BASED ON CLASSES
DISTRIBUTED/POSTED TUESDAY
DUE NO LATER THAN TUESDAY
Cracks in the Unipolar Order: Arab Spring/China Rise/Nuclear Proliferation*
AFP pgs 331-357
Foreign Policy Recommendations from a Liberal Realist Perspective#
Foreign Policy Recommendations from an Institutionalist Perspective*
Wrap-Up