POLS554 Comparative Foreign Policy Spring 2011 Ezzedine C. Fishere

POLS554 Comparative Foreign Policy Spring 2015 Ezzedine C. Fishere

POLS 5254 - Comparative Foreign Policy:

Theories and Applications

Sunday 17:00-19:40 @ WALEED CP60

Professor Ezzedine Choukri FISHERE

Office Hours

Sunday and Wednesday 12H00: 13H30 @ WALEED 2015

Teaching Assistant: Farah Hegazy

World politics - and World Orders - are greatly shaped by strategies, positions and decisions of states, i.e. by their foreign policies. This course explores the theories, approaches and models of foreign policy analysis. Through the examination of theories and case-studies, the course explores the role of actors, their interaction, and the structural constraints they struggle with as they formulate foreign policy. This includes looking into the multiple ways of assessing the role of leaders, bureaucracies as well as the impact of domestic, regional and global settings on foreign policy making. The main objective of this course is to familiarize graduate students with the different ways of analyzing foreign policy and, by the same token, help them formulate their own research questions and approaches related to analyzing specific foreign policies of states.

Textbooks

- Allison, Graham (with Zelikow, Philip), Essence of Decision (New York: Longman, 1999). (Availabe in Library’s Reserve)

- Beasley, Ryan K. Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective: Domestic and International Influences on State Behavior. Thousand Oaks: CQ Press, 2013. Second edition. (Available in Library’s Reserve)

- Hudson, Valerie M., Foreign Policy Analysis (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2007). (Availabe in Library’s Reserve)

- Janis, Irving L. Groupthink: psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascoes. 2nd ed. Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Houghton Mifflin; 1982. (Availabe in Library’s Reserve)

- Jentleson, Bruce W., American Foreign Policy: The Dynamics of Choice in the 21st Century (New York: W.W. Norton, 2007) (Availabe in Library’s Reserve)

- Kingdon, John. Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, 2nd ed., Longman classics in political science (New York: Longman, 2003). (Availabe in Library’s Reserve)

- Neustadt, Richard, E. Presidential Power: The Politics of Leadership from FDR to Carter (New York: Wiley, 1980). (Availabe in Library’s Reserve)

- Woodard, Bob, Plan of Attack (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.) (Availabe in Library’s Reserve)

Evaluation

1. Participation 10 %

 Students’ participation (i.e. reading the required texts before class and discussing them during class) is an integral part of the learning process.

 Participation counts for 0.5% of the total grade per class. Each student will be quizzed on all readings; each unread text costs 0.1% (with maximum 0.4%). Participation in class discussions is measures for the remaining 0.1%.

2. Book Review and presentation each 10%

 Students should review six books (10% each). A typical review includes a summary of the books’ main arguments, how these arguments are presented, and what is the contribution of the book in comparison to other books in the same area. Each review should not exceed 2500 words. Two students present the material each session.

 Each review is due on the day when that book is discussed in class.

3. Final Exam 30%

 The test is a take home exam during the examination period. It will cover all material and requires research. Students will have three days to submit their copies via BlackBoard.

The following is the grading scheme in this class
A starting 90%
A- starting 88%
B+ starting 85%
B starting 80%
B- starting 78%

Submission of work

 Late submissions are not accepted and make-up assignments are not possible.

 All submissions are done through BlackBoard; email attachments and hard copies are not accepted.

 Work should be typed, in Times New Roman font, size 12, spaced in 1.5, 1-inch margin each side, on regular A4 sheets.

Expectations

- Students are required to read the texts thoroughly before coming to class. Not reading means a loss of the participation grade. Students will be quizzed on the readings.

- Students should arrive before class begins. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of class. No entry is allowed 10 minutes after class begins. Those who arrive during these 10 minutes - and those who leave before class ends - lose a third of the attendance grade. Students who are absent for more than three sessions, regardless of the reason, will receive an F grade in the course.

- AUC has adopted a zero-tolerance policy regarding academic integrity. Lack of integrity, like plagiarism, is severely punished.

- General rules of civility apply (no screens in class, collegiality, no monopoly of discussion, mutual respect, etc.).

- Negotiation of grades or deadlines is not tolerated.

Communication

- The instructor is available to answer the students’ academic questions, in class as well as during regular office hours (or by appointment).

- All other questions including questions about course readings should be directed to the teaching assistant.

- All emails to the instructor should be copied to the teaching assistant.

Schedule

Week 1

Sunday 31 January

Introduction

Week 2

Sunday 7 February

A Road Map of Foreign Policy Analysis

- Hudson, Valerie M., Foreign Policy Analysis, pp. 3-36.

Week 3

Sunday 14 February

Four perspectives on Foreign Policy: the four chapters of Hudson

- Hudson, Valerie M., Foreign Policy Analysis, pp. 37-163.

Week 4

Sunday 21 February

American Foreign Policy

- Jentleson, Bruce W., American Foreign Policy: The Dynamics of Choice in the 21st Century (New York: W.W. Norton, 2007). (First book review)

Week 5

Sunday 28 February

Russian, British and Iranian Foreign Policies

- Omelicheva, Mariya. “Russian Foreign Policy: A quest for a Great Power status in a multipolar world”, in: Beasley, Ryan K. Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, pp. 94-117.

- White, Brian. “British Foreign Policy: Continuity and Transformation.”, in: Beasley, Ryan K. Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, pp. 27-52.

- Davies, Graeme A.M.. “The Changing Character of Iranian Foreign Policy.” , in: Beasley, Ryan K. Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, pp. 204-222.

Week 6

Sunday 6 March

Rational Actor Model and the case of the Cuban Missiles

- Allison, Graham (with Zelikow, Philip), Essence of Decision. Introduction, chapters 1 and 2. (Second book review)

Week 7

Sunday 13 March

The Governmental Politics Model (Case-study: Cuban Missiles)

- Allison, Graham (with Zelikow, Philip), Essence of Decision, chapters 5 and 6.

Week 8

Sunday 20 March

The Organizational Behavior Model (Case-study: Cuban Missiles)

- Allison, Graham (with Zelikow, Philip), Essence of Decision, chapters 3 and 4

24 March: deadline to drop the course

Sunday 27 March Official Holiday (Western Easter)

Week 9

Sunday 3 April

Groupthink

- Janis, Irving L. Groupthink. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982. (Third book review)

Week 10

Sunday 10 April

Agenda Setting Approach

- John Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies. (Fourth book review)

Week 11

Sunday 17 April

Leaders and Bureaucrats

- Richard Neustadt. Presidential Power. (Fifth book review)

Spring Break 24 April – 2 May

Week 12

Sunday 8 May

- Woodward, Bob, Plan of Attack (Sixth book review)

Week 13

Sunday 15 May

Putting it back together: Foreign Policies of France, South Africa, Germany, Venezuela

- Treacher, Adrian. “French Foreign Policy: Maintaing Global Ambitions.”, in: Beasley, Ryan K. Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, pp. 53-70.

- Harnisch, Sebastian. “The Evolution of German Foreign Policy.”, in: Beasley, Ryan K. Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, pp. 71-93.

- Giacalone, Rita. “Venezuelan Foreign Policy: Petro-Politics and Paradigm Change.” , in: Beasley, Ryan K. Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, pp. 290-312.

- Becker, Derick. “South African Foreign Policy: Power and Post-Apartheid Identity”, in: Beasley, Ryan K. Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective, pp. 246-264.