INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 3000, SECTION 002
SPECIAL TOPICS: STATE-BUILDING IN THE 20th and 21ST CENTURY
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER, FALL 2015
TuTh 2:00-3:15, UNIVERSITY CLUB 4
Instructor
Office Location
Dr. Dan DuBois
UClub, A4
Office Hours
W/F, 10-11am (and by apt)
E-mail
[email protected]
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course explores the geopolitical idea of state-building, including: its origins and fundamental
principles; its evolution in modern history; and its current iterations in contemporary world affairs.
Although it has many antecedents, state-building took on an unprecedented importance to the
international community at the end of the Cold War. America’s global War on Terror and the attending
uprisings in the Middle East have complicated the theory’s applicability, at least for its proponents,
showing the difficulties involved in arranging sovereignty for someone else. This class will attempt to
use evidence from both the past and present to understand why state-building as a theory and policy
struggles to accomplish its objectives, and also why the idea continues to have relevance and appeal
among scholars and policymakers around the world.
The readings and course material will provide an international perspective on the subject of statebuilding, but there will be an emphasis on how the United States has engaged with the idea. The class
will also attempt to elevate the importance of history – how we remember the past, and why – in the
broader discussion about the contemporary utility of state-building as an approach to instability around
the world. The class’s final project – a policy paper – will require the students to combine what they
learned from historical state-building case studies with their knowledge (including what they learned from
in-class discussions) about current international affairs to advocate a policy position regarding America’s
approach to either Syria or Egypt.
COURSE STRUCTURE AND SOURCES
This is a reading and discussion-heavy course. Students are expected to have done the day’s readings in
advance of the class and to come prepared with questions and thoughts about the material, and to
contribute those thoughts during in-class discussions. In cases where the day’s topic requires some
greater context, I will try to provide some with short pre-discussion lectures or topic introductions.
The readings range from historical interpretations of state-building, political and social scientific
assessments of the idea, and more current reactions (by scholars, policymakers, and journalists) to
contemporary crises. In some weeks, we will utilize documentaries and photographic collections to help
supplement the reading material.
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Discussion Leader
You will be required to lead discussion twice this semester. For each day you lead discussion, you will
create the following:
1) A brief summary (1-2 single-spaced pages) of your reading assignment, with special focus on
the author’s argument(s)
2) Two questions related to the readings to facilitate class discussion
3) Brief bullet points (again, 1-2 single-spaced pages) outlining possible answers to each of your
questions. You must either e-mail me an electronic copy of your summary before class, or
turn in a hard copy of this into me at the beginning of class. This means you may want to
print an extra copy for yourself to refer to during class.
***Your questions must be sent to me via email by 5 pm the night before your discussion day.
Current Events
On many weeks, we will discuss current events as they relate to ongoing state-building issues. Please
come ready to chat about new developments and bring any articles you consider appropriate. I will
occasionally post articles on the course D2L page and I have created a D2L forum for you to share
relevant stories with your peers as well.
Participation
Your effort during discussions accounts for over 1/3 of your grade. As mentioned, having done the
readings in advance and coming prepared to talk about them is the minimal expectation. I encourage you
to come armed with questions you think will foster responses from your classmates, even debates. The
more thoughtful and seminal your discussion points, the better off will be your participation score.
In addition to your effort during class discussions, your participation grade is contingent on your
consistent attendance. You are allowed 2 unexcused absences. For each unexcused absence fter that, I
will deduct ½ letter grade from your final participation score.
GRADES
Participation
Discussion Leader
Paper One
Midterm
Paper Two/Policy Paper
Final Exam
15%
20% (10% each time)
15%
15%
20%
15%
PAPERS
You will have two 10-page, double-spaced papers to complete this semester. The first will ask you to
assess America’s past record of state-building, from Japan to Vietnam to Iraq. A more detailed prompt
will be provided approximately two weeks before the paper is due. The second paper will offer policy
recommendations for the United States related to either Syria or Egypt.
Policy Paper
This paper will be ten pages (no more, no less), Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, not
including bibliographic information. You will choose either Egypt or Syria and write a document that
recommends what the United States. Your position could include coordinated actions with the UN or
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NATO, or other international bodies. Or it could advocate unilateral action. It could also propose
isolationism as the optimal strategy. But the objective is stability in your country of choice.
The paper should consist of the following sections:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
Introduction with a clear thesis
Modern historical context of the state in question
Current status of democracy and state-building efforts there
Assessment of state’s relationship with the United States
Your philosophy on state-building
Your policy recommendations
Conclusion
Each section should be clearly labeled. The paper should draw on AT LEAST three of the sources
assigned on the syllabus this semester as well as AT LEAST three additional reputable sources of your
choice. You must submit a proposal with your initial ideas to me by Thursday, November 19. The
completed paper must be turned in, in hard copy, in class, on Tuesday, December 8. Failure to turn this
paper in will result in failure of the course.
We will also devote class on December 8 and December 10 to presentations based on your policy paper.
Your performance during the presentation will be incorporated into your paper’s grade.
EXAMS
There will be two exams, both worth 15% of your grade. Both will be essay exams, and both will require
you to draw upon all of the material we have touched on to that point. We will have an in-class review
before each exam, and you will be provided with a list of potential essay questions in advance.
BOOKS
 John W. Dower, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II (New York, 2000), ISBN
978-0393320275
 James M. Carter, Inventing Vietnam: The United States and State Building, 1954-1958
(Cambridge), ISBN 978-0521716901
 Rajiv Chandraseskaran, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone (New York,
2007), ISBN 978-0307278838
 Emile Kokayem, Syria’s Uprising and the Fracturing of the Levant (London, 2013), ISBN 9780415717380
 Mary Jane Harper, Getting Somalia Wrong? Faith, War and Hope in a Shattered State (New
York, 2012), ISBN 978-1842779330
**Other readings will be posted on D2L
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CLASS SCHEDULE
Readings marked with an asterisk are available on D2L
Readings should be completed by class on the date listed
SECTION ONE: STATE-BUILDING AS AN IDEA
Week One
8/25
Introductions
8/27
Theories and Fundamentals
*Paul, “Nations and States: What’s the Difference?
*Frewan, “State-building Woes of the UN”
*Fukuyama, State-building: Governance and World Order in the Twenty-First Century,
Preface and Ch. 1
Week Two
9/1
Proponents (4 leaders)
*Fukuyama, State-building, Ch. 2-Ch. 4
*Gates, “Helping Others Defend Themselves”
9/3
Critics (4 leaders)
*Paris and Sisk, excerpts from The Dilemmas of State-Building
* Mazarr, “The Rise and Fall of the Failed State Paradigm”
SECTION TWO: ATTEMPTS AT STATE-BUIDING IN U.S. HISTORY
Week Three
9/8
American Occupation Strategies after World War II: Germany and Japan (4 leaders)
* Excerpt from Gaddis, We Now Know (Chapter 5, “The German Question”)
* Dower, Embracing Defeat, Part I
9/10
Brewing Democracy in Japan (4 leaders)
*Dower, Embracing Defeat, Part 2&3
Week Four
9/15
Adulterating the Recipe: The Influence of Politics and Ideology (4 leaders)
*Finish Dower
*MIT Visualizing Cultures Project: Protest Art in 1950s Japan & Tokyo 1960: Days of
Rage and Grief (url: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/home/vis_menu.html)
9/17
What To Do with a History of Resistance? America’s Attempt to Remake Vietnam (4 leaders)
*Carter, Inventing Vietnam, Chapters 1-5
Week Five
9/22
An Early Technocratic Approach to State-building (4 leaders)
*Carter, Inventing Vietnam, Chapters 6-7 & Epilogue
*Marquis, “The Other Warriors”
*Start Fog of War
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9/24
Vietnam In Retrospect
*Watch Documentary on Robert McNamara, The Fog of War
Week Six
9/29
9/11 and the Road to Iraq (6 leaders)
*Excerpts from Marr, Modern History of Iraq
*Excerpts from Shadid, Night Draws Near
*Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life, Prologue
10/1
The American Mission in Iraq (4 leaders)
*Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life, Ch. 1-Ch. 8
Week Seven
10/6 The Trouble with Baghdad (4 leaders)
*Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life, Ch. 9-Ch. 16, Epilogue
10/8
Wars for Democracy (4 leaders)
*Shadid, “In the City of Cement”
*Parker, “The Iraq We Left Behind: Welcome to World’s Next Failed State”
Week Eight
10/13 Lessons of American State-Building
*1st Papers Due; Discussion
10/15 Midterm Review
SECTION THREE: CONTEMPORARY CASE STUDIES
Week Nine
10/20 NO CLASS - Please Consider Attending the Dalai Lama’s Speaking Event at CU
10/22
Midterm Exam
Week Ten
10/27 Taking to the Streets
*Watch The Square
10/29 The Future of the Arab Spring in Egypt (6 leaders)
*Ajami, “The Arab Spring at One”
*Interactive Timeline of the Arab Spring
*Hamid, “The Islamist Identity Crisis”
Week Eleven
11/3 Syria: History and Context (4 leaders)
*Excerpt from Khatib, Taking To the Streets
*Kokayem, Syria’s Uprising and the Fracturing of the Levant, Introduction, Ch. 1
11/5
The Uprising in Syria (2 leaders)
*Kokayem, Syria’s Uprising, Ch. 2-Ch.3
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Week Twelve
11/10 State-Building in Action (2 leaders)
*Kokayem, Syria’s Uprising, Ch.4-Ch.5, Conclusion
11/12 The Human Problem in Syria (4 leaders)
*McClelland, “How to Build a Perfect Refugee Camp”
*Sparrow, “Syria: The Other Threat”
*Bajekal, “Inside the Syrian Refugee Camps”
Week Thirteen
11/17 The Persistence of Outside Forces in the Syrian Uprising
*Selection of recent news articles on Syria
*POLICY PAPER PROPOSAL DUE
11/19 A Failed State? (4 leaders)
*Harper, Getting Somalia Wrong? Faith, War, and Hope in a Shattered State,
Introduction, Ch. 1-Ch. 3
FALL BREAK: NO CLASS
Week Fourteen
12/1 Making Sense of Somalia (4 leaders)
*Harper, Getting Somalia Wrong, Ch.4-Ch. 6, Conclusion
12/3
The Viability of State-Building Theory in the 21st Century
Week Fifteen
12/8 POLICY PAPER DUE; Reflections on an American history of State building
12/10 Final Exam Review
FINAL EXAM – Thursday, Dec. 17, 1:30-4
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http://www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices
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