AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY
POLS
453/553
MW:
4:00-5:15
Office:
110 Dakota Hall
Phone:
677-5707
Office
Hours:
MWF 9:00-11:00, 1:00-2:00, and by appointment
E-mail:
tschorn@usd.edu
“American Foreign Policy” is designed to give
students a relatively detailed look at foreign policy and the policy-making
process. Since policy and process
are best understood in context, a brief overview of the history of American
foreign policy will be included, along with a look at specific events and
policies. We will take a look at the participants in the policy-making process,
along with the influence and power of those participants.
Instructor’s
Introduction
For those of us who grew up during the Cold War, and studied American
Foreign Policy during the closing days of that era, the recent changes in the
international political milieu present an incredible challenge.
Adding to the confusion about American Foreign Policy are the events of
September 11th and the position the United States finds itself in the
world today.
It was somehow comforting to “know our enemy”
during the Cold War, even if we did not understand him/her. The world was somewhat more predictable.
Crises in any region were important oftentimes only to the extent that
the perceived balance of power between the US and USSR could somehow be upset.
Now the regions have gained an importance of their own. Issues that were submerged by the rhetoric of the Cold War
have surfaced with a vengeance. And
America’s emergent position on the world stage means that the US is lightning
rod and leader simultaneously. Balancing
America’s interests and the needs of the world is not always easy, or
accomplished.
While this course and your reading assignments are in no way
comprehensive, we will attempt to take a look at some of the regions and issues
that are of greater importance than they were ten years ago.
China, the Middle East, Russia, and other countries and regions will be
studied. Human rights, the United
Nations, international trade, weapons of mass destruction, and the size of the
American military are just of few of the issues discussed in Washington and in
this class.
Many of the authors in the assigned and recommended readings are past and
present policymakers or scholars who study and write extensively on American
Foreign Policy. Authors include
Henry Kissinger, Anthony Lake, George Kennan, Stephen Ambrose, and Michael
Mandelbaum. Some have been on both
sides of the door—policymaker and scholar.
None have been more influential that George Kennan.
His seminal “X” article on containment, one of the first readings, is
an excellent example of a proposal that became the cornerstone of foreign
policy, and one that may have set the tone for the Cold War. It seems fitting to include an article by Henry Kissinger,
the architect of détente and
relations with China, reflecting back on containment.
It also seems fitting to end the semester with a second article by Kennan
on values and principles vis-à-vis American Foreign Policy.
Date Material to be Covered
Wednesday, Sept. 4 Syllabus and Introduction
America as Part of the World
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 1
Monday, Sept. 9 History of AFP
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 3
Reserve
Reading:
(all
from Foreign Affairs)
“The Sources of Soviet Conduct” by “X” (George Kennan), July 1947
Recommended
Reading:
“American Primacy” by Stephen Brooks and William Wohlforth, July/August 2002
(not on reserve)
Wednesday, Sept. 11 History continued
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 2
Recommended
Reading: see
May/June 1997 on Marshall Plan
Monday, Sept. 16 Actors: President
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 8
Reserve
Reading:
“The Presidency and Foreign Policy” by Stephen Ambrose, Winter
1991/1992
Wednesday, Sept. 18 President continued; Doctrines
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 4 and 5
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 10
Reading Assignment:
Monday, Sept. 30 Building a Better Mousetrap
Reading Assignment:
Wednesday, Oct. 2 Congress and the War Powers Act
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 7 and 9
Carter Chapter 4, 7, 11, and 14
Reserve
Reading:
“The Gulf War and the Constitution” by Michael Glennon, Spring 1991
Monday, Oct. 7 Public Opinion, Interest Groups, and the Media
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 6
Carter Chapter 2
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 11 and 12
Wednesday, Oct. 16 Guest Lecturer
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 13
Carter Chapter 3
Reserve
Reading:
“Dollars and Sense Diplomacy” by Eagleburger and Barry, July/August
1996
Research Topic Due
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 15
Reading Assignment: “Redesigning
Foreign Aid” by Carol Lancaster, September/October 2000 (not on reserve)
“The One
Percent Solution” by Richard N. Gardner, July/August 2000 (not on reserve)
Monday, Oct. 27 Covert Activities and Sanctions
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 14
Wednesday, Oct. 30 Military Force; Defense Spending
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 16 and 17
Carter Chapter 5 and 6
Reserve
Reading:
“Desert Storm and the Future of Conventional Forces” by Carl Vuono, Spring
1991
“The New Nuclear Threat” by John Deutch, Fall
1992
Monday, Nov. 4 Policy Proposals
Wednesday, Nov. 6 Policy Proposals
Monday, Nov. 11
No Class: Veterans’ Day
Wednesday, Nov. 13 Rogue States and Pivotal States
“The Case for Deep Engagement” by Joseph S. Nye,
Jr., July/August 1995;
“The Pentagon’s Ossified Strategy” by Johnson
and Keene, July/August 1995
“Confronting Backlash States” by Anthony Lake,
March/April 1994
“The Illogic of Dual Containment” by F. Gregory
Gauss, March/April 1994
“America’s Two-Front Economic Conflict” by C.
Fred Bergstrom, March/April 2001 (not on reserve)
“Challenges for the Next President” Four
articles, January/February 2001 (not on reserve)
“A Twenty-first-Century Military” by Eliot Cohen,
November/December 2000 (not on reserve)
Recommended
Reading: see
May/June 1997 articles
Monday, Nov. 17 Policy Proposals
Papers Due
Wednesday, Nov. 20 Policy Proposals
Monday, Nov. 25
Homeland Security
Wednesday, Nov. 27
Graduate Student Reports
Monday, Dec. 2 Graduate Student Reports
Wednesday, Dec. 4 Simulation: Crisis in AFP
Monday, Dec. 9 Simulation: Crisis in AFP
Wednesday, Dec. 11 Reappraisal of American Foreign Policy
Reading Assignment: Hastedt Chapter 18
Reserve
Reading:
“Reflections on Containment” by Henry Kissinger, May/June 1994;
“On American Principles” by George Kennan,
Mar/Apr 95
The
required texts for this course are:
American Foreign Policy: Past,
Present, Future, by Glenn P. Hastedt;
Contemporary Cases in U.S. Foreign
Policy: From Terrorism to Trade, by
Ralph G. Carter.
Recommended
reserve readings are also included so students can augment the assigned reading
with articles suggested by the instructor.
These readings are located in the Reserve Section of the Library located
at the Circulation Desk. Not only
will reading the reserve readings be of benefit to the individual students, they
will also enhance class discussions and students’ class participation.
All of the readings on reserve are from Foreign
Affairs.
Additionally,
students are encouraged to read a weekly newsmagazine such as Time,
Newsweek, US News & World Report, or The
Economist, watch news programs on PBS, CNN, ABC, NBC, or CBS, or listen to
“Morning Edition” or “All Things Considered” on Public Radio.
Students are expected to be aware of current foreign policy issues and
events.
Recommended
Reading:
“The
Recovery of Internationalism” by David Hendrickson, September/October 1995
“Is
America Abandoning Multilateral Trade?” by Jeffrey Garter, November/December
1995
“Human
Rights Quandary” by Robert Cullen, Winter 1992/1993
“Dealing
with a Russia in Turmoil” by Jack F. Matlock, Jr., May/June 1996
“China
I: The Coming Conflict with America” by Bernstein and Munro, March/April 1997;
“China
II: Beijing as a Conservative Power” by Robert S. Ross, March/April 1997
“China:
Can Engagement Work?” by Bates Gill, July/August 1999 (may not be on reserve)
The
class will be based on lecture and discussion.
Students are required to read the assigned material and be prepared to
discuss it.
Course
Requirements and Grading
Attendance
and participation are required. This
will be especially important when the individual projects are presented to the
class.
A
special project/research paper of twelve to fifteen pages is required for this
course. Students may pick any
foreign policy issue, in consultation with the instructor, to address as part of
this requirement. The paper is due no later than 4:00pm on Monday, November 17.
The topic is due no later than Wednesday, October 9.
Students will present their projects to the rest of the class.
Each student will be allotted approximately 20 minutes.
For additional information on paper requirements, see Notes on Paper Writing on the instructor’s website: www.usd.edu/~tschorn. Late papers will have points deducted. All papers must be double-spaced in 12 point, Times New Roman type, with page numbers, and stapled.
There
will be a comprehensive Final Exam over the material covered during the
semester. The final is on Monday,
December 16.
The
final grade will be based on:
40%
Special Project
40%
Final Exam
20%
Discussion and Participation
Grade
Distribution:
A 94-100%
Superior, outstanding work.
B
86-93%
Excellent, high quality work.
C
78-85%
Average, satisfactory work.
D
70-77% Below
average, passing work.
F
below 70%
Failing.
Graduate
Student Requirements
Graduate
students are required to write a book review of a book pertaining to American
Foreign Policy, chosen in consultation with the instructor.
Graduate students will discuss their chosen books in class.
A
strict honor code is enforced in the class.
If a student is suspected of cheating on a test, he or she will have to
retake the test. If a student is
caught cheating, he or she will be given a failing grade for the course.
Additionally, a student caught plagiarizing will fail the course.
Supreme
Qualification
The
Instructor reserves the right to alter or change the syllabus if time
constraints or other requirements necessitate such change.
Course
Goals
The
goals for this course are:
1. to
know who the governmental actors are in American Foreign Policy-making, and to
understand the positions they present, defend, and why they do so;
2. to
know who the non-governmental actors are in American Foreign Policy-making, and
to understand their motivations, and how they go about influencing American
Foreign Policy;
3. to
understand the process by which American Foreign Policy is made, and how the
various actors interact;
4. to
gain insight into major foreign policy events in American history and to
understand why actors acted as they did, the ramifications of those actions, and
how they may have acted differently.
We
will accomplish these goals by utilizing the text, observing current affairs, by
performing individual research, through simulations, and by discussing the
observations and questions that we have.
University
Policy
If you have a
disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are
encouraged to contact both your instructor and Dr. Elaine Pearson, Director of
Disability Services, (Service Center, 119; 677-6389) as early as possible in the
semester.