- San Diego State University

Political Science 375: International Relations,
Spring 2014, Tuesday-Thursday: 11:00-12:15 (SSW 2501); 2:00-3:15 (MCN 107)
Professor Latha Varadarajan
Political Science Department
Nasatir Hall 124
[email protected]
Office Hours – Tuesday: 3:30-4:30; Thursday: 3:30-5:30
Purpose of the course:
International Relations is often regarded as a field disconnected from our daily existence –a
field dominated by diplomats, politicians and concerned with events that do not affect the
common man. However, events in the recent past ranging from the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan and the fallout of the intervention in Libya and the civil war in Syria to the ongoing global economic crisis, and the gradual expansion of popular opposition to political
oppression and social inequality have, in a sense, brought international relations home.
These events make it quite evident that the politics of international relations both links the
fates of people across borders, and is fundamentally linked to the promises and pitfalls of
our daily lives, more broadly understood. As a new generation comes to grips with the reality
of wars and recessions without seeming ends, it is not surprising that there has been a
renewed interest in the field of international politics, especially in the United States. The
purpose of this course is to use this renewed interest and the growing sense of urgency as a
starting point to make sense of the world that we are living in. That this happens to be a
world where our fates are intertwined, where interventions are a fact of political and
economic life, is stating the obvious. But, what is the nature of these interventions? Do they
help us arrive at a more equal and just global order? Is international politics merely a play for
power? Can, and for that matter, should it be altered, and if so, on what basis and for what
purpose? Rather than accept what one finds in mainstream media accounts and declarations
by the political elites at face value, this course aims to help you arrive at a more nuanced and
critical understanding of these questions. It does so by making you familiar with alternative
approaches to international politics, compelling you to take seriously analyses about the
origins and nature of the modern world order, and highlighting the enduring relevance of
historical and socio-political struggles for any analyses of contemporary issues.
The course will address many of the issues that dominate discussions of international politics
today, issues that you are all familiar with at some level– debates surrounding the question of
imperialism in general, and American empire in particular; the politics of humanitarian
intervention; and the logic of the current global economic crisis. However, rather than
starting with the assumption that the politics surrounding these issues are self-evident, we
will approach each question systematically, working through the underlying theoretical and
normative commitments that characterize competing world-views.
Throughout this course, you will be exposed to strong, critical and competing analyses of
crucially important issues in international politics. Given the contemporaneous nature of
these issues, it is expected that most of you (if not all) will come in with opinions about the
state of the world. While you are encouraged to give voice to those opinions, you will be
expected to go beyond that – to understand the implicit assumptions that have shaped your
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world-views, to engage with competing analyses and develop your own critical perspective
on international politics.
Reading for this course:
This is a book-centric course. The books that you will be reading for class have been chosen
with the aim of providing you access to competing theoretical perspectives as well as some
of the more provocative debates in international politics. Each of the books covers issues
that have been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent years. However, while some have
been published very recently (such as the books by Bacevich, Bass, and Prashad) and as
such, very self-consciously address events that have taken place in the past decade, the other
books you have been assigned are qualitatively different. Lenin’s Imperialism and to a more
limited extent, Said’s Covering Islam have withstood the test of time. The former, first
published nearly a century ago provides one of the most incisive analyses of the politics of
the global economy. The latter, first published in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution of
1979, engages with questions about culture and politics that continue to inform the on-going
“war on terror.” Regardless of the difference in provenance or viewpoints, what is common
to all the books chosen for the class is the fact that each of them, in their own way, take
seriously the historical underpinnings of the contemporary international system.
The required books, available at KB Books, are:
• Andrew Bacevich, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism, New York:
Metropolitan books, 2008
• Gary J. Bass, Freedom’s Battle: The Origins of Humanitarian Intervention, New York: Alfred
A. Knopf, 2008
• Edward W. Said, Covering Islam: How the media and the experts determine how we see the rest of
the world, New York: Vintage Books, 1997
• V. I. Lenin, Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, International Publishers, 2002
• Vijay Prashad, The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World, New York: The
New Press, 2007
In general, keep the following questions in mind while reading for class: What is the main point of
the chapter or article? What are the underlying assumptions? What are the normative and political
implications of the argument? What are some possible counter-arguments? In what ways (if at all) has
the chapter or article changed your thinking?
To help you as you navigate your way through unfamiliar readings, I will be posting reading
questions for each text on Blackboard. One way to make sure that you are getting all the
important points from each reading would be to use the reading questions as a guide.
Class Participation and attendance:
You are expected to have done the readings for class and participate in informal (or formal,
as the case might be) class discussions. This will determine 10% of you grade. A good grade
in participation is contingent on BOTH regular attendance AND consistent contributions to
class discussions. While I might not take attendance in every class, absences will be noted
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and will affect your grade. Although you are expected to come to every class, over the course
of a semester unforeseen events will prevent some, if not most of you from having a perfect
attendance record. For this reason, missing two classes will not affect the attendance part
your grade. Missing more than two will, however, result in grade penalties. Depending
on the number of absences these penalties will be as drastic as receiving no credit
whatsoever for attendance and participation, or failing the course altogether. Please note that
based on this policy there are no “excused” or “unexcused” absences. If, however, an
emergency situation arises during the semester that will make it impossible for you to attend
the course for a substantial amount of time (several weeks), it is essential that you contact
me.
Please note that the lectures and the readings, while complementary may not necessarily
cover exactly the same ground. Therefore, missing classes would imply missing valuable class
material that might appear on your exam. In addition, you also run the risk of missing a pop
quiz.
One of the most important elements of any class is the input offered by the students. It is
expected that you listen carefully and courteously to the comments made by your classmates,
and participate actively in the class by adding your own comments and questions. To
facilitate this process, use of cell-phones or laptops is not permitted in the classroom.
Cell-phone usage during class hours will lead to grade penalties. It is particularly
important that you refrain from using cell-phones, headsets, or any electronic device at any
point during the exam. Since it is not possible for me to determine exactly what the actual
purpose of any such activity might be – for example, a quick glance at your smart-phone, or
using headsets while you write – the use of any electronic device, however fleeting and for
whatever real or alleged purpose will constitute cheating and result in automatic failure for
the course.
If you have any concerns, do not hesitate to bring them to me.
Grading and Assignments:
Throughout the semester, there will be an unspecified number of pop-quizzes that will
account for 10% of your total grade. Pop quizzes can be handed out at the beginning of any
given class period and will pertain only to the readings assigned for that particular class. For
this reason, it is important that you be punctual. There will be no make-up pop-quizzes.
However, your chances of getting full credit will not be harmed if you miss one quiz only. If
you take all the quizzes that are handed out during the semester, your lowest scoring test will
be discounted. Please note that if you have several tests with the same low score, the rule will
still apply – only one test will be excused.
There will two in-class examinations for the course – a mid-term on February 27th and a
second one on April 10th.
The details for the simulation and the final analytical paper will be discussed after the Spring
break.
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The letter grade standards for the class are based on those described in the SDSU General
Catalog (2007-2008): A (for outstanding achievement); B (for praiseworthy performance,
definitely above average); C (average, awarded for satisfactory performance); D (minimally
passing); F (failing).
The assignments for the class and their respective weight will be as follows:
• Class participation – 10%
• Pop-Quizzes – 10%
• Mid-Term I (in-class), February 27th– 20%
• Mid-Term II (in-class), April 10th – 20%
• In-Class Simulation – 10%
• Final Analytical paper, Due May 13th – 30%
Due dates will be strictly observed, unless there are documented medical emergencies or
official exceptions granted by San Diego State University, in which case you will need
someone in the office to directly contact me.
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class,
it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid
any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability
Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that I
cannot provide accommodations based upon disability until I have received an
accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Cheating or Plagiarism of any sort will result in automatic failure for the course and be
reported to the University.
Schedule of Readings
January 23 – Introduction
I. Power, politics and the nature of an interventionist world order
[A] Understanding the Realist World:
January 28 –
• Bacevich, The Limits of Power, Introduction, pp. 1- 27
January 30 –
• Bacevich, The Limits of Power, pp. 28 - 66
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February 4 –
• Bacevich, The Limits of Power, pp. 67-123
[B] The Liberal Path: The power of humanitarianism
February 6 –
• Bass, Freedom’s Battle, Introduction, pp. 1- 43
February 11 –
• Bass, Freedom’s Battle, pp. 51-87, 100-110
February 13 –
• Bass, Freedom’s Battle, pp. 117-122, 143-151 (skim), 341-382
[C] The social construction of reality: Cultures of power
February 18 –
• Said, Covering Islam, Introduction, Chapter One, pp. xlix – xlx, pp. 3-36
February 20 –
• Said, Covering Islam, Chapter Two (Parts I, II and III), pp. 81-122
February 25 –
• Said, Covering Islam, Chapter Three (Part II), pp. 162-173
February 27 – Mid-term I
II. The making and un-making of the modern world
[A] The politics of the global economy: Marxism and International Relations
March 4 –
• Lenin, Imperialism: The highest stage of capitalism, pp. 7- 67
March 6 –
• Lenin, Imperialism: The highest stage of capitalism, pp. 68-128
March 11 –
• David North, “The capitalist crisis and the return of history”, in The Economic Crisis
and the Return of History, Mehring Book: 2011, pp. 9-28 [Blackboard]
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[B] Imperial orders, past…
March 13 –
• Prashad, The Darker Nations, Introduction, Part I, pp. xv-xix, 3-30
March 18–
• Prashad, The Darker Nations, pp. 31-74
• “Freedom Now” (Documentary)
March 20 –
• Prashad, The Darker Nations, pp. 95-104, 119-133
March 25 –
• Prashad, The Darker Nations, pp. 176-203
March 27 –
• Prashad, The Darker Nations, pp. 207-244, 245-259
***************************** SPRING BREAK********************************
April 8 –
• Prashad, The Darker Nations, pp. 276-282
April 10 – Mid-term II
[C] Imperial orders, present? Re-thinking intervention
April 15 – Kosovo: The promise of a “new” world order
• Elie Wiesel, “The perils of indifference,” April 12, 1999
http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/wiesel.htm
• Vaclav Havel, “Kosovo and the end of the nation-state,” New York Review of Books,
June 10, 1999 [Blackboard]
• Bernard Kouchner, “The right to intervention: Codified in Kosovo,” New
Perspectives Quarterly, Vol. 16 (4), Summer 1999 [Blackboard]
• David Gibbs, “Was Kosovo the good war?,” Tikkun, July-August 2009,
http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/jul_09_gibbs
Suggested Readings:
• Responsibility to Protect: Report of the International Commission on Intervention
and State Sovereignty (2001), 1-18, 31-37, available at
http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/ICISS%20Report.pdf
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•
•
Max Boot, “The case for American empire,” The Weekly Standard, Vol. 7 (5), Oct. 15,
2001, http://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith/courses01/rrtw/boot.htm
Robert Cooper, “The new liberal imperialism,” The Guardian, April 7, 2002,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/apr/07/1
April 17 – Libya: The promise fulfilled?
• Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Fiddling while Libya burns,” The New York Times, March 13,
2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/opinion/14slaughter.html?_r=2
• Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on Libya,”
National Defense University, March. 28, 2011, at http://www.whitehouse.gov/thepress-office/2011/03/28/remarks-president-address-nation-libya
• Juan Cole, “An Open letter to the Left on Libya,” Informed Comment, March 27, 2011,
http://www.juancole.com/2011/03/an-open-letter-to-the-left-on-libya.html
• “Libya, imperialism and the prostration of “Left” intellectuals: The case of Professor
Juan Cole,” The World Socialist Website, April 1, 2011,
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2011/04/pers-a01.html
• Hugh Roberts, “Who said Gaddafi had to go?,” London Review of Books, Vol. 33 (22),
November 17, 2011, http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n22/hugh-roberts/who-saidgaddafi-had-to-go
Suggested Readings:
• Jonathan Graubart, “R2P and pragmatic liberal interventions: Values in the service of
interest,” Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 35, 2013, pp. 65-90 [Blackboard]
• Stephen M. Walt, “On Qaddafi,” Foreign Policy, October 21, 2011,
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/10/20/on_ghaddafi
• Bacevich, The Limits of Power, pp. 125-169
• Peter Beaumont, “One year on: Chaotic Libya reveals the perils of humanitarian
intervention,” The Guardian, February 18, 2012,
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/feb/19/peter-beaumont-libyaintervention-gaddafi
• Alan Kuperman, “Lessons from Libya: How not to intervene,” Policy Brief, Belfer
Center, September 2013,
http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/23387/lessons_from_libya.html?br
eadcrumb=%2Fpublication%2F23297%2Fmodel_humanitarian_intervention_reasse
ssing_natos_libya_campaign
April 22 – Syria: The promise betrayed?
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•
•
Steven Lee Myers, “Nations press halt in attacks to allow aid to Syrian cities,” The
New York Times, February 24, 2012, The New York Times,
Patrick Martin, “International tensions mount over Syrian conflict,” The World
Socialist Website, February 20, 2012
Nicholas Kristof, “The Right Questions on Syria,” The New York Times, September 4,
2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/opinion/kristof-the-right-questionson-syria.html?_r=0”
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•
•
•
•
Diana Johnstone, “Justifying the unjustifiable,” Counterpunch, August 26, 2013,
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/26/us-uses-past-crimes-to-legalize-futureones/
John Holmes, “Does the UN’s Responsibility to Protect necessitate an intervention
in Syria?,” The Guardian, August 28, 2013,
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/28/syria-intervention-unresponsibility-to-protect
Joshua Rozenberg, “Syria intervention: It may not be wise, but using force may be
lawful,” The Guardian, August 28, 2013,
http://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/aug/28/syria-intervention-force-lawful
Ernesto Londono and Greg Miller, “US Weapons reaching Syrian rebels,” The
Washington Post, September 11, 2013
Suggested Readings:
• Hans Blix, “Even if Assad used chemical weapons, the West has no mandate to act
as a global policeman,” The Guardian, August 28, 2013,
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/28/chemical-weaponswest-global-policeman
• Seymour Hersh, “Whose Sarin?” London Review of Books, Vol. 35 (24), December 19,
2013, http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n24/seymour-m-hersh/whose-sarin
• Fred Hiatt, “Obama wanted US action in Darfur: Why not in Syria?,” The Washington
Post, December 15, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fred-hiattobama-wanted-us-action-in-darfur-why-not-in-syria/2013/12/15/d7e6b594-643011e3-91b3-f2bb96304e34_story.html
• The Editorial Board, “US inaction in Syria could be far more costly than
intervention,” The Washington Post, December 17, 2013,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/us-inaction-in-syria-could-be-far-morecostly-than-intervention/2013/12/17/9417c604-6738-11e3-ae5622de072140a2_story.html
• Bill Van Auken, “The catastrophe unleashed by US imperialism in the Middle East,”
The World Socialist Web Site, January 14, 2014,
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/01/14/pers-j14.html
April 24, April 29 – Simulation Preparation
May 1, May 6 – Simulation
May 8 – Peer Review and Wrap-up
May 13– Final paper due
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