P OLITICS 105
FALL 2011
Ayşe Zarakol
HUNTLEY HALL 109
540-458-8256; zarakola@wlu.edu
Section 03: MWF 10:10
E ARLYF L 109
Section 04: MWF 11:15
E ARLYF L 109
Office Hours: MW 1:00 – 2:30 or by appointment
Introduction to Global Politics
This course will introduce you to the basic issues in international politics. Throughout the term, we
will have three main goals. First, the course will familiarize you with the political and economic
history of the international system, as well as its primary institution, the modern nation-state. The
first step in solving present day problems is to gain a firm understanding of their historical origins.
The first half of this course is devoted to this task. Next, we will turn our attention to contemporary
public policy problems encountered in global politics, such as: Is decline inevitable for great powers?
What is the best solution for underdevelopment? How (and whether) do we encourage
democratization around the world? Do cultural differences in the international system propose a
security threat? The second half of the course is devoted to analyzing these issues from multiple
perspectives. Finally, by the end of the course, you will have read works by some of the most
influential scholars of global politics. You will also have learned how to read social science texts and
will have acquired your own conceptual toolbox to evaluate arguments about the global system
critically.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
This course involves a substantial amount of reading. Some weeks have heavier reading loads than
others, so you should plan ahead. It is extremely critical that you keep up to date with readings in
order for you to fully succeed in this course.
Your grade in this course will be based on:
A) Short Paper: You are expected to write one short paper, which should not exceed 1000 words.
Topics will be distributed in advance.
This assignment is due on October 3rd, Monday, in class.
(20%)
Optional: You may revise this paper and turn it in to be re-graded by November 28 th. If you
choose this option, you are also required to turn in the graded first draft. Be warned, however,
that taking up this option does not guarantee a higher grade.
B) Midterm Exam: There will be one in-class midterm, consisting of short answers and true/false
questions.
Midterm Exam: October 21 st, Friday, in class.
(30%)
C) Final Exam: The final exam is two parts. There is an in-class portion and an open book,
cumulative take-home essay. The essay question will be distributed in the last day of class, and
you will have 72 hours to turn it in.
(40%)
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D) Participation: You will be judged on general attendance, preparedness and participation. Any
quizzes, if administered, will also count towards this evaluation. Learning is not a passive activity;
the more you engage in the material, the more you will become invested in it. Failure to follow
the electronic items policy (see below) will result in a failing participation grade.
(10%)
COURSE CONDUCT
Please be advised that no extensions or make-ups will be given for any of the assigned work or exams,
except for family emergencies and personal health problems. All late papers will be graded down a
third of a grade for each day they are late (e.g. from a B+ to a B). Late final exams will not be graded
and will receive an automatic F.
Any written work must follow the rules of proper citation. Failure to do so may result in lower grades
and/or charges of honor violation. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with these rules. You
can start here: http://library.wlu.edu/research/ref/cite_plag.asp
You are not allowed to use laptops in class for any other purpose but note-taking. Laptops users have
to sit in the back row of our classroom. In other words, if you MUST use a laptop for note-taking
purposes, it is your responsibility to show up in time to secure seating in the back row. Furthermore,
laptop users have an additional burden of demonstrating they are paying attention in class by actively
participating in the class discussions. Tablet users (ipads etc) may sit anywhere, provided they do not
have a keyboard attachment that turns the tablet into a laptop.
Cell-phones should be turned off or set to vibrate during class hours. There should be no texting after
class starts.
You can purchase some or all of the books we are reading excerpts from (most are available on
Amazon). Electronic reserve copies of these excerpts and all articles will be available THROUGH
SAKAI for the duration of the term.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Part I: Understanding the International System
Sept. 9 (F)
NO CLASS. Read syllabus, purchase books, download articles from SAKAI.
Week I
Study of Global Politics
Sept. 12(M)
How do we study Global Politics? I: Introduction
Readings
Sept. 14 (W)
Syllabus
How do we study Global Politics? II: Levels of analysis
Readings
Sept. 16 (F)
Kenneth Waltz. 2001 [1959]. Man, the State, and War. New York: Columbia University
Press.
pp. 1 – 14, 224 – 238
How do we study Global Politics? III: Units of analysis
Reading
Immanuel Wallerstein. 1976. “A World-System Perspective on the Social Sciences”
The British Journal of Sociology. Vol. 27, No. 3.
pp. 343 – 352
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Week 2
The Modern State
Sept. 19 (M)
What is the State?
Readings
Sept. 21 (W)
Readings
Sept. 23 (F)
Mancur Olson. 2000. Power and Prosperity. New York: Basic Books.
pp. 3 – 21
How the Modern State came to be
Charles Tilly. 1985. “War Making and State Making as Organized Crime.” In Bringing the
State back In. Edited by Peter Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, and Theda Skocpol.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
pp. 169-91
Modern State & Sovereignty
Readings
Max Weber. 1919. “Politics as a Vocation”
pp. 1 – 3
Week 3
Modernity, State and Nationalism
Sept. 26 (M)
Before Modernity
Readings
Sept. 28 (W)
Readings
Ernest Gellner. 1983. Nations and Nationalism. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.
pp. 8-18
Industrial Society
Ernest Gellner. 1983. Nations and Nationalism. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.
pp. 19-38
Sept. 30 (F)
The difference Nationalism Makes
Readings
Ernest Gellner. 1983. Nations and Nationalism. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.
pp. 1-7; 39-52
Benedict Anderson. 1983. Imagined Communities. London: Verso.
pp. 48-57
Week 4
The Modern State and the Evolution of the International System
Oct. 3 (M)
Origins of the Modern States’ System: From the Treaty of Westphalia to the French
Revolution
Readings
Oct. 5 (W)
No reading / Papers due
The Industrial Revolution and Imperialism
Readings
Oct. 7 (F)
No reading
Transformation of the International System:
WWI, the Russian Revolution & the League of Nations
Readings
No reading
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Week 5
The Cold War
Oct. 10 (M)
Division of the International System:
WWII, the Cold War & the Emergence of the Third World
Readings
Oct. 12 (W)
No reading
Decolonization and the Emergence of the Third World
Reading
No reading
Oct. 14 (F)
Reading Days
Week 6
The International System after the Cold War
Oct. 17 (M)
The Collapse of the Soviet Union & the End of the Cold War
Readings
Oct. 19 (W)
Readings
Oct 21 (F)
Francis Fukuyama. Summer 1989. “The End of History?” National Interest
pp. 1 – 25
The Post-modern International System
Robert Kaplan. Feb 1994. “The Coming Anarchy.” The Atlantic Monthly 273: 2
pp. 44 – 76
Midterm Exam
Part II: Problems & Solutions
Week 7
Poverty; Underdevelopment; Economic Inequality
Oct. 24 (M)
Explaining developmental inequality: The Classic Thesis
W.W. Rostow. 2003. “The Five Stages of Growth” in Development and Under-development.
Edited by Mitchell A. Seligson and John T. Passe-Smith. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner
Publishers, Inc.
pp. 123-131
Oct. 26 (W)
Readings
Explaining developmental inequality: The Other Perspective
Theotonio dos Santos. 2003. “The Structure of Dependence” in Seligson and Passe-Smith.
pp. 277-287
Oct. 28 (F)
Future of economic inequality: Convergence or Divergence?
Suggested Reading
Parents Weekend
(Skim) Roberto Patricio Korzeniewicz and Timothy Patrick Moran. 2003. “WorldEconomic Trends in the Distribution of Income, 1965-1992” in Seligson and Passe-Smith.
pp. 183-207
Week 8
How important is democracy?
Oct. 31 (M)
The argument for why democratization hinders development
Readings
Samuel P. Huntington. 1965. “Political Development and Political Decay.” World Politics.
Vol. 17, No. 3.
pp. 386-430. (Skim beginning, focus on pp. 405-430, especially after p. 417)
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Nov. 2 (W)
The argument for why democratization helps development
Readings
Nov. 4 (F)
Amartya Sen. 1999. Development as Freedom. N.Y.: Anchor Books.
pp. 146-159; 178-88
Is it really about regime type?
Mancur Olson. 2003. “Big Bills Left on the Sidewalk: Why Some Nations are Rich, and
Others are Poor” in Seligson and Passe-Smith.
pp. 381-405
Week 9
North and South tensions
Nov. 7 (M)
Does the North have a moral responsibility toward the South?
Readings
Peter Singer. 1972. “Famine, Affluence, and Morality.” Philosophy and Public Affairs. Vol.
1. No. 3.
pp. 22 – 43
The Durban Declaration. 2001. [World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance]
Skip the preambles, skim the body, focus on the “Programme of Action” after p. 22
Nov. 9 (W)
Does foreign aid work?
Readings
Nov. 11 (F)
Janet Reitman. 2011. “How the World Failed Haiti.” Rolling Stone. August 18.
pp. 1-20
Is Globalization good or bad?
Readings
(skim) Joseph Stiglitz. 2006. “Globalization and Its Discontents: The Promise of Global
Institutions” in Beyond Borders. Edited by Paula S. Rothenberg. N.Y.: Worth Publishers.
pp. 419-431
Week 10
Cultural Tensions in a Globalized Society
Nov 14 (M)
Universalism vs. Particularism: Women’s Rights
Readings
Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. 2009. “The Women’s Crusade.” The New York Times
Magazine. August 23.
pp. 1-10
Selections from Susan Mollier Okin. 1999. Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women. Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press.
Susan Okin, “Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?”, pp. 9-24
Katha Pollitt, “Whose Culture?”, pp. 27-30
Nov 16 (W)
Readings
Assimilate or Tolerate?
Elizabeth Heger Boyle. 2008. “The Evolution of Debates over Female Genital Cutting” in
Lechner and Boli.
pp. 268-273
Fuambai Ahmadu. 2001. “Rites and Wrongs: An Insider/Outsider Reflects on Power and
Excision” in Female “Circumcision” in Africa: Culture, Controversy and Change. Edited by
Bettina Shell-Duncan and Ylva Hernlund. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
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pp. 283-310
Nov. 18 (F)
Is Intervention Ever Justified?
(skim) Debate: “Humanitarian Intervention v. Respect for State Boundaries” by Amitai
Etzioni vs. Mohammed Ayoob. 2010. In Thayer and Ibryamova.
pp. 262-267
Nov. 21-23-25
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 11
East and West tensions
Nov. 28 (M)
Is there a “Clash of Civilizations”?
Readings
Samuel P. Huntington. Summer 1993. “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs.
pp. 22 – 49
Paper Due
Nov. 30 (W)
Readings
Sources of “Cultural Tensions”
Amartya Sen. June 2002. “Civilizational Imprisonments.” The New Republic.
pp. 28 – 33
Ian Buruma and Avishai Margalit. 2002. “Occidentalism.” The New York Review of Books.
Vol. 49. No. 1
pp. 1-9
Dec. 2 (F)
The Arab Spring: Should the West do anything?
Readings
Ian S. Lustick. 1997. “The Absence of Middle Eastern Great Powers: Political
‘Backwardness’ in Historical Perspective” International Organization, 51: 4.
pp. 653 – 679 [Focus on pp. 653-663; 669-79]
Mohammed Ayoob. 2011. “Beyond the Democratic Wave in the Arab World: The Middle
East’s Turko-Persian Future” Insight Turkey, 13, no.2.
pp. 57-70
Week 12
The Future of the International System
Dec. 5 (M)
The Global Financial Crisis and Its Implications
Readings
Rana Foroohar. 2011. “The End of Europe” Time August 22.
pp. 22-25.
Other readings may be assigned as events unfold.
Dec. 7 (W)
End of Western Hegemony?
Readings
Dec. 9 (F)
Parag Khanna. 2008. “Waving Goodbye to Hegemony” The New York Times Magazine
January 27.
pp. 1-12.
Final Exam: Part I (in-class)
Final Exam: Part II (Take-home) Essay Questions Distributed. Due Monday, December 12, noon.
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