Political Science 310 War and Politics

Political Science 310 War and Politics

Political Science 310-- War and Politics

Tuesday/Thursday, 2:30-3:45

Tarbutton Hall Room 321

Professor Dan Reiter

Spring 2001

office: 334 Tarbutton Hall

office hours: Wednesdays 1:30-3:30 or by appointment

phone: 727-0111

email:

webpage:

This class is about war-- its nature, causes, prosecution, and effects. The emphasis here is on treating warfare as a phenomenon to be explained scientifically. Issues of American foreign policy will not receive extensive treatment in this class, but do get closer attention in Political Science 314, “U.S. National Security Policy.” This is a discussion- rather than lecture-oriented class.

The breakdown of each student’s semester grade is as follows:

5 page non-research paper: 10%

15-20 page research paper: 30%

Midterm: 15%

Final exam: 30%

Class participation: 15%

Attendance is taken every day. Attendance is factored into participation grades. Each student is allowed to have a small number of unexcused absences without it affecting his or her grade. Extraordinary circumstances such as family crisis or illness constitute excused absences. Vacations do not constitute excused absences. Participation in university-sponsored activities, such as interscholastic athletics, is generally considered to be in the category of excused absences. In accordance with college policy, any time a student wants an absence to be excused, for any reason including illness, he or she must get a letter from the college office.

Any student wishing to take the midterm or final at a different time than scheduled must get a letter from the Emory College Academic Counseling Office. Makeup exams are not given in the event of conflict with vacation plans. Extensions on paper deadlines will only be given in the event of extraordinary circumstances such as family crisis or illness. Extensions require a letter from the college office. Late papers will be graded down a full letter for each day they are late.

Class participation grades will be determined by attendance, preparation for class, and participation in class discussion and other activities. Before each class, the instructor will distribute discussion questions on that day’s reading. Each student will need to be able to answer the discussion questions for that day’s class. During the class, the instructor will call on students to provide answers to the discussion questions, and the ability of students to answer discussion questions effectively will affect their participation grades.

Cell Phones

Please do not bring cell phones to class. If you do bring a cell phone to class, turn the ringer off. If a student’s cell phone rings during class, the instructor reserves the right to eject that student from class for the rest of the day.

Writing Requirement

This course can be used to fulfill the OLD writing requirement, but not the NEW writing requirement. A student must receive a grade of C or higher on the longer paper to fulfill the old writing requirement.

Pass/Fail

This course can be taken pass/fail. A student using this option must receive a C or higher to pass.

Readings:

Readings are available in the reserve room of the library. There are a number of books available for purchase at the Emory bookstore. They include:

Philip Caputo, A Rumor of War (New York: Ballantine Books, 1977).

H.E. Goemans, War and Punishment: The Causes of War Termination and the First World War (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000).

Michael Howard, Clausewitz (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983).

John R. Oneal and Bruce Russett, Triangulating Peace: Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations (New York: Norton, 2000).

Thomas C. Schelling, Arms and Influence (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966).

Jack L. Snyder, From Voting to Violence: Democratization and Nationalist Conflict (New York: Norton, 2000).

*=available for purchase at Emory bookstore.

January 18-- Organizational Meeting

January 23-- Clausewitz, War, and Politics

*Michael Howard, Clausewitz (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983), entire.

January 25— Military Effectiveness

Allan R. Millet, Williamson Murray, and Kenneth H. Watman, “The Effectiveness of Military Organizations,” in Military Effectiveness, volume 1, Millett and Murray, eds. (Boston: Allen & Unwin, 1988), chapter 1, 1-30.

January 30--Military Strategy and Victory

John J. Mearsheimer, Conventional Deterrence (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1983), 23-66; 203-211.

February 1-- Society and Military Effectiveness

Stephen Peter Rosen, “Military Effectiveness: Why Society Matters,” International Security 19 (Spring 1995): 5-31.

February 6-- The Human Face of War

*Philip Caputo, A Rumor of War (New York: Ballantine Books, 1977).

February 8-- The Human Face of War

*Philip Caputo, A Rumor of War (New York: Ballantine Books, 1977).

Rough Draft of First Paper Due in Class

February 13— Misperception and War

Geoffrey Blainey, The Causes of War, third edition (New York: Free Press, 1988), 35-56; 127-145.

Richard Ned Lebow, Between Peace and War (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981), 101-119.

Final Draft of First Paper Due in Class

February 15--Misperception and the Arab-Israeli Wars

Janice Gross Stein, “Calculation, Miscalculation, and Conventional Deterrence I: The View From Cairo,” in Psychology and Deterrence, Robert Jervis, Richard Ned Lebow, and Janice Gross Stein, eds. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985), 34-59.

Janice Gross Stein, “Calculation, Miscalculation, and Conventional Deterrence II: The View From Jerusalem,” in Psychology and Deterrence, 60-88.

February 20--Civil-Military Relations and Misperception

Jack Snyder, “Civil-Military Relations and the Cult of the Offensive, 1914 and 1984,” International Security 9 (Summer 1984): 108-146.

David H. Petraeus, “Military Influence And the Post-Vietnam Use of Force,” Armed Forces and Society 15 (Summer 1989): 489-505.

February 22— Two Paths to War: Deterrence and Spiral Models

Robert Jervis, Perception and Misperception in International Politics (Princeton:Princeton University Press, 1976), 58-113.

February 27— War Termination: Theory

*H.E. Goemans, War and Punishment: The Causes of War Termination and the First World War (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000), 3-52.

March 1—War Termination: The Case of World War I

*H.E. Goemans, War and Punishment: The Causes of War Termination and the First World War (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000), 232-309.

March 6--Midterm

March 8-- Deterrence and Commitment

*Thomas C. Schelling, Arms and Influence (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966), Chapter 2.

March 13-15—No Class, Spring Break

March 20-- Deterrence and Risk

*Thomas C. Schelling, Arms and Influence (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966), Chapter 3.

March 22-- The Offense-Defense Balance and Technology as a Cause of War

*Schelling, Arms and Influence, chapter 6.

Jonathan Shimshoni, “Technology, Military Advantage, and World War I: Military Entrepreneurship,” International Security 15 (Winter 1990/91): 187-215.

March 27-- Nuclear Weapons

Bernard Brodie, ed., The Absolute Weapon: Atomic Power and World Order (New York:Harcourt, Brace, and Company, 1946), 21-107.

March 29-- International Structure, Shifting Power, and War

Kenneth N. Waltz, “The Origins of War in Neorealist Theory,” in The Origin and Prevention of Major Wars, Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 39-52.

Scott D. Sagan, “The Origins of the Pacific War,” in The Origin and Prevention of Major Wars, Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 323-352.

Peter Liberman, “The Spoils of Conquest,” International Security (Fall 1993): 125-153.

April 3—Liberalism, I

*Bruce Russett and John Oneal, Triangulating Peace (New York: Norton, 2000), 15-80.

April 5—Liberalism, II

*Bruce Russett and John Oneal, Triangulating Peace (New York: Norton, 2000), 81-156.

April 10—Liberalism, III

*Bruce Russett and John Oneal, Triangulating Peace (New York: Norton, 2000), 157-238.

April 12— Wag the Dog? Diversionary Theory, Public Opinion, and War

Bradley Lian and John R. Oneal, “Presidents, the Use of Military Force, and Public Opinion,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 37 (June 1993): 277-300.

James Meernik and Peter Waterman, “The Myth of the Diversionary Use of Force by American Presidents,” Political Research Quarterly 49 (September 1996): 573-590.

April 17—Internal Political Change and International War, I

*Jack L. Snyder, From Voting to Violence: Democratization and Nationalist Conflict (New York: Norton, 2000), 15-92.

April 19—Internal Political Change and International War, II

*Jack L. Snyder, From Voting to Violence: Democratization and Nationalist Conflict (New York: Norton, 2000), 265-321.

V. P. Gagnon, Jr., “Ethnic Nationalism and International Conflict: The Case of Serbia,” International Security 19 (Winter 1994/95): 130-166.

April 24-- Ethnic Conflict and War

David A. Lake and Donald Rothchild, “Containing Fear: The Origins and Management of Ethnic Conflict,” International Security 21 (Fall 1996): 41-75.

Chaim Kaufman, “Possible and Impossible Solutions to Ethnic Civil Wars,” International Security 20 (Spring 1996): 136-175.

April 26—Clash of Civilizations, Review for Final

Samuel P. Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations,” Foreign Affairs 72 (Summer 1993): 22-49.

available online through EUCLID

*Bruce Russett and John Oneal, Triangulating on Peace (New York: Norton, 2000), 246-260.

Final Exam—Tuesday, May 8, 12:30-3:00

1