Introduction toInternational Relations
Yonsei International Summer School (YISS)
Summer 2010
Professor Chung Min LEE
Dean, Graduate School of International Studies
Yonsei University
Tel: 2123-4182, E-mail:
I. Course Description
This course offers a birds-eye-view of world politics and international affairs in the early 21st century including the origins and evolutions in global affairs since the end of World War II, traditional and non-traditional sources of conflict, problems associated with conflict management, newly emerging global security challenges including global climate change, environmental degradation, the rise of new powers, and key evolving concepts that are likely to affect and shape the global village over the next 20-30 years.
The study of world politics and international affairs is a relatively “new” field, i.e., based primarily on developments since the post-1945 era. Yet over the past six decades, the field has evolved beyond anyone’s imagination. The world in 1945 compared to 2010, for example, is nearly beyond comparison. The sheer magnitude of issues, actors, societies, organizations, and technological revolutions defies any orderly conceptualization. Yet, one of the key goals of this course is to enable students to understand, analyze, and predict trends and issues in the global village.
Today, the ever-changing field encompasses aspects of traditional international relations, military studies and defense planning, arms control and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, economic and energy security, international law and regimes, and human and environmental security, gender equality, and human rights to name just a few of the more relevant sub-fields in world politics.
At a fundamental level, the course seeks to seeks to understand the visible and invisible forces which shapes the so-called “Five C’s Spectrum”, e.g., ConflictCrisisCollaborationCo-existenceCooperation. The first half of the course is devoted primarily to excavating the historical, conceptual, and theoretical components of international affairs. Whereas the second half (after the mid-term) emphasizes some of the more salient issues confronting humanity in the early 21st century. This course is designed for undergraduate students (particularly for freshmen and sophomores) who may seek to broaden and deepen their understanding of world politics.
II. Lectures, Requirements, and Evaluation
Although it would be helpful if students have had exposure to international relations, world history, and international economics, there is no prerequisite for the class given that it is designed as an introductory module. The final grade is going to be decided on the basis of mid-term exam, final exam, and attendance/class participation.
Readings:
All lecture notes, syllabus, and relevant materials will be posted on YSCEC. Whenever possible, reading materials will be posted on YSCEC although there will be a course packet. Students must read all of the required materials. From time to time, case studies will be posted on YSCEC that will be discussed in the following week.
There are thousands of Internet sites that cater to the whole range of spectrums in international affairs. Students are actively encouraged to search think-tanks, media outlets, government sources, etc., to buttress the readings and to also enhance the diversity of views and sources.
Office Hours:
Office hours will be announced on the first day of class. If students have an urgent matter to discuss outside of office hours, please make an appointment with my T.A. (Euijin Chung, 2123-4182), see me after class, or email me.
III. Course Outline and Weekly Topics
WEEK 1:
- Understanding World Politics: An Overview
- World Politics and International Affairs: Concepts and Theories
WEEK 2:
- Traditional Approaches to Wars and Conflicts
- The New Face of War and Humanitarian Intervention
WEEK 3:
- The Nuclear Question in the Early 21st Century
- The Global Economic Crisis
MID-TERM
WEEK 4:
- Globalization and Interdependence
- Transnational Issues and the Rise of New Domains
WEEK 5:
- Ethics, Genocide, and Human Security
- Terrorism and the Post-9/11 World
WEEK 6:
- The Rise of Asia
- New Frontiers in World Politics
FINAL EXAM
IV. Weekly Topics and Readings
WEEK 1: June 28-July 2
Topic: Understanding World Politics: An Overview
1. Chapter 1, “Is There an Enduring Logic of Conflict in World Politics?,” Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Understanding International Conflicts, 5th ed., (New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2005), pp. 1-32.
2. Chapter 1-5, Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd ed., (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1970), pp. 1-51.
Topic: World Politics and International Affairs: Concepts and Theories
3. Chapter 1, “Theoretical Approaches to International Relations,” and Chapter 2, “From Realist to Neorealist and Neoclassical Realist Theory,” in James E. Dougherty and Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr., Contending Theories of International Relations: A Comprehensive Survey, 5th ed., (New York: Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc., 2001), pp. 1-103.
4. Chapters 1-2, “International Relations and Security Studies,” and “Traditional Views of Security in International Politics,” Terry Terriff, Stuart Croft, Lucy James and Patrick M. Morgan, Security Studies Today, (London: Polity Press, 1999), pp. 10-64.
WEEK 2: July 5-9
Topic: Traditional Approaches to Wars and Conflicts
1. Chapter 3, “Balance of Power and World War I,” Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Understanding International Conflicts, 5th ed., (New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2005), 58-84.
2. Chapter 1, “The Causes of Wars,” and Chapter 2, “War and the Nation State,” Michael Howard, The Causes of Wars, 2nd ed., (Cambridge, M.A.: Harvard University Press, 1983), pp. 7-22, pp. 23-35.
3. Chapter 10, “Why Nations Go To War,” John G. Stoessinger, Why Nations Go To War, 9th ed., (Toronto: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005), pp. 221-245.
Topic: The New Faces of War and Humanitarian Intervention
1. Part 1, “The Changing Face of Global Violence,” and Part 5, “Why the Dramatic Decline in Armed Conflict?”Human Security Report 2005, (Vancouver: The University of British Columbia, 2005), pp. 15-54 and pp. 147-155.
2. Chapter 1, “Deadly Connections: Wartime Violence and ‘Indirect Deaths,’” and Chapter 2, “The Paradox of Mortality Rates that Decline in Wartime,” in Human Security Repot 2009, (Vancouver: The University of British Columbia, 2005), pp. 9-15.
WEEK 3: July 12-16
Topic: The Nuclear Question in the Early 21stCentury
1. David Cortright and Raimo Vayrynen, Chapter 1, “Why Disarmament? Why Now?” and Chapter 2, “Challenges to the Non-proliferation Regime,”Towards Nuclear Zero, (London: IISS, 2010), pp. 13-32, 33-48.
2. Paul Bracken, “The Structure of the Second Nuclear Age”, Orbis (September 2003)
Topic: The Global Economic Crisis
3. Daron Acemoglu, “The Crisis of 2008: Structural Lessons for and from Economics,” Working Paper, MIT, January 6, 2009, pp. 1-13.
4. Barry Eichengreen and Kevin H. O’Rourke, “A Tale of Two Depressions,” Working Paper, Advisor Perspectives, April 21, 2009, pp. 1-8
5. David Colander, et. al., “The Financial Crisis and the Systemic Failure of the Economics Profession,”Critical Review, vol. 21, nos. 2-3, (2009), pp. 249-264.
MID-TERM
WEEK 4: July 19-23
Topic: Globalization and Interdependence
1. Chapter 7, “Globalization and Interdependence,” Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Understanding International Conflicts, 5th ed., (New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2005), pp. 191-216.
2. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 in Joseph E. Stiglitz,Making Globalization Work, (New York:
W.W.Norton, 2007), pp. 3-102
Topic: Transnational Issues and the Rise of New Domains
3.Chapter 8, “The Information Revolution, Transnational Actors, and the Diffusion of Power,” Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Understanding International Conflicts, 5th ed., (New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2005), pp. 217-239.
4. Joel Kurtzman, “The Low-Carbon Diet,” vol. 88, no. 5, Foreign Affairs (September/October 2009), pp. 114-122.
5. Chapters 1-2, Jeff Rubin, Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller, (London: Virgin Books, 2010), pp. 27-83.
WEEK 5: July 26-30
Topic: Ethics, Genocide, and Human Security
1. Chapter 6, “Intervention, Institutions, and Regional and Ethnic Conflicts,” Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Understanding International Conflicts, 5th ed., (New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2005), pp. 153-187.
2. Chapter 6, “Cambodia: Helpless Giant,” Samantha Power, A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide,” (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2002), pp. 87-154.
Topic: Terrorism and the Post-9/11 World
3. Walter Laquer, Chapter 1 “Terrorism and History,” and Chapter 3 “Terrorist Motives: Marx, Muhammad, and Armageddon,” The New Terrorism, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000)
4. Graham Allison, Chapters 1-2, Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe, (New York: Owl Books, 2004), pp. 19~60
WEEK 6: August 2-6
Topic: The Rise of Asia
1. Special Issue (“India”), Gurcharan Das, C. Raja Mohan, Ashton Carter, and Sumit Ganguly, Foreign Affairs, vol. 85, no. 4 (July/August 2006).
2. David Shambaugh, “China Engages Asia,” International Security, vol. 29, no. 3, (winter 2004/05).
3. Chung Min Lee, “China’s Rise, Asia’s Dilemma,” The National Interest, (Fall 2005)
4. Chung Min Lee, “Divergence Amidst Convergence: Assessing Southeast and Northeast Asian Security Dynamics,” in David I. Steinberg, ed.,Korea’s Changing Roles in Southeast Asia, (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2009), pp. 48-74.
Topic: New Frontiers in World Politics
4. Chapter 9, “A New World Order?,” Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Understanding International Conflicts, 5th ed., (New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2005), pp. 242-263.
5. Fareed Zakaria, Chapter 2, “The Twisted Path” The Future of Freedom, (New York: W.W. Norton, 2003).
FINAL EXAM
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