The Comparative Study of Foreign Policy

 

 

 

 

Political Science W3961                                                                                                                                     Professor R. Legvold

Fall 2006

 

 

 

            This course is an exploration of foreign policy as both a crucial element of international politics and a crucial product of domestic politics. Above all, it is an attempt to understand the nature and sources of contrasts in foreign policy. Comparison will serve as our primary tool: Comparison of foreign policy from different historical eras, in different international settings, and by states with different political systems and at different stages of political and economic development.

 

Course Requirements:  In addition to  the following assigned reading and an hour examination on October 11, members of the class are expected to write a substantial research paper on a comparative theme. You may compare the general foreign policy of two or more countries or specific aspects of foreign policy involving two or more countries. There, of course, must be a basis for the comparison, but the subject can be anything from the critical characteristics of a state's behavior over long periods of time to the way different states handle a particular issue or feature of contemporary international politics.  The paper should be 35-45 pages, double-spaced, and is due on the first day of the exam period.

 

Reading materials: Only one book has been ordered for purchase: Robert Pastor's, A Century's Journey (Basic Books). It will be available at the Columbia University Bookstore.  Unless otherwise marked (†) or noted, the assigned reading will be on reserve at Lehman library, listed under Political Science W3961. Books are requested by author, title, and call number. In some cases, when only a portion of a book is assigned, the photocopied material will be filed in folders. Thus, if the reserves attendant does not find the assignment in one place, have her or him search in the other. Reading marked (†) will be available in the Reading Room of the Harriman Institute, 12th floor, International Affairs Building.

 

Office Hours: Wednesday 4:15-6:00 (Sign up Sheets at Reception, Harriman Institute)

Office: 1226 International Affairs Building

Telephone: 854-5426 E-Mail rhl1@columbia.edu

 

 

 

Reading Assignments

 

I.          Introduction:  September 6

II.         Thinking about foreign policy: September 13

 

Ikenberry, G. John, “Introduction,” in G. John Ikenberry, ed., American Foreign Policy: Theoretical Essays. New York: Harper Collins, 1989, pp. 1-12. [E840 .A634]

Pastor, Robert, ed., Introduction, A Century's Journey (New York: Basic Books, 1999).

Holsti, K.J., International Politics. Seventh edition, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1995, Chapter 11 ("Explanations of Foreign Policy"). [JX1305 .H6 This book is on College Reserve. There is also a copy in Lehman circulation.]

 

III.        Explanation in Political Science and Comparison as a Method: September 20

           

Elster, Jon, Nuts and Bolts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), Chapters 1 and 2, pp. 3-21. [H61 .E434 1989, both on reserve Lehman and in Butler]

George, Alexander L, “Case Studies and Theory Development: The Method of Structured, Focused Comparison,” in Paul Gordon Lauren, ed., Diplomacy: New Approaches in History, Theory and Policy (New York: The Free Press, 1979).

Eckstein, Harry, “Case Study and Theory in Political Science,” in Fred I. Greenstein and Nelson W. Polsby, eds., Handbook of Political Science, vol. I (Reading: Addison-Wesley, 1975). [Lehman Social Work Reserves JA71 .G752]

           

IV.       China, India, and Russia: September 27

           

Mohan, C. Raja, “India and the Balance of Power,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 85, no. 4 (July/August 2006), pp. 17-32.

Trenin, Dmitri, “Russia Leaves the West,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 85, no. 4 (July/August 2006), pp. 87-96.

Christensen, Thomas J., “Fostering Stability or Creating a Monster?”, International Security, Vol. 31, no. 1 (Summer 2006), pp. 81-126.

V.        Comparing the Great Powers in the Twentieth Century:  October 4

 

*Pastor, Robert, A Century's Journey (New York: Basic Books, 1999), and two chapters on any two countries. After reading sufficiently to know which two countries offer an interesting comparison, select two chapters, and prepare a outline of the comparison you wish to make. Some of you will be asked in class to describe the comparison that interests you, using this outline as the basis of your comments.

 

October 11 Hour Examination

 

            No assigned reading

 

VI.       Iran and Cuba:  October 18

           

Hunter, Shireen, Iran and the World: Continuity in a Revolutionary Decade. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. pp. 6-130 and 165-69. [Lehman Social Work Reserve Call Number DS318.83 .H86]

Dominguez, Jorge I., To Make a World Safe for Revolution (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989), pp. 1-146, 219-47. [F1788 .D59]

 

 

VII.      States, Policy, and Separatism:  October 25

 

Lustick, Ian S., Unsettled States, Disputed Lands: Britain and Ireland, France and Algeria, Israel and the West Bank-Gaza (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1993),  [JX4088 .L87 1993]

 

VIII.     Comparison and Theory:  November 1

 

Katzenstein, Peter J., “Same War -- Different Views: Germany, Japan, and Counterterrorism,” International Organization, Vol. 57 (Fall 2003), pp. 731-760.

Callahan, William A., “Beyond Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism: Disasporic Chinese and Neo-Nationalism in China and Thailand,” International Organization, Vol. 57 (Summer 2003), pp. 481-517.

Risse-Kappen, Thomas, “Public Opinion, Domestic Structure, and Foreign Policy in Liberal Democracies,” World Politics, Vol. 43 (1991), pp. 479-512.

Golob, Stephanie R., ”Beyond the Policy Frontier: Canada, Mexico, and the Ideological Origins of NAFTA,” World Politics, Vol. 55 (April 2003), pp. 361-398.

IX.               Reports: November 15, 22, 29, and December 6